Ham

Man, I love the part of Bull Shoals that is around the Oakland area. Millions of fish to be caught there. Stupid good.

Hard to find the negative in Murray's success, but I will. I've been a Fleury defender for a long time. I felt like he got made into the scape goat when they were ravaged by injuries going into the playoffs. He has been really solid since that one bad playoff run. I watch his win totals rise and him inch into a Top 20 all time goaltender and if he can stay in Pittsburgh and keep getting 60 starts a season, he will be a Top 10 all time goaltender in 3 years. BUT professional sports are a business and Fleury's $5 million a year may get him replaced by younger and less expensive Matt Murray. Expansion draft target.

Phil, Ducky, and Bill Babbler (and a host of other side) have posted lots of great information on fishing Taneycomo. Look for reports just prior to your trip to get a feel for what is going on. I am very far from a Taneycomo expert. I've fished it three times, but we whacked me everytime I have fished it. Two trips with current and one trip without. I would expect drift rigs fished bouncing along the bottom will produce BUT I'm sure there will be trip reports.

I'm one happy,happy, happy Pens fan. Very impressed with the effort that the Pens dialed up tonight. Murray frequently lets in a soft goal early and then shuts the door pretty hard. I never would have expected him to be the hot goalie that stole a series for his team, but he's been key. If he had played this well in Game One, the series would be over. it takes four wins to move on and getting #4 may prove very difficult, but I love their chances. Look forward to seeing Letang back on the ice. I hope he has the best game of his career.

It is very ikely that we can do something, but way too far out for me to have a work schedule.

Add in a 4 wt for panfish popping bugs and you're all set for a fun summer day float

Looking at the stats sheet, The Faceoff wins were nearly equal, but down the stretch when the Pens took icing after icing calls, it seemed the Caps won most of them and got decent scoring chances way too often. They really stressed me out in that last three minutes. Heck, I'm so superstitious that I think the Pens might do better if I don't watch.

Great game for the Blues. Dallas has been winning by scoring one goal more than they allow and they allowed a ton, but last night they didn't score much. I love the Blue's chances. My Pens are up against it tonight. Losing Letang to suspension hurts them Defensively and Offensively. I did not think the hit should have earned him a suspension especially in light of what they are letting the Capitals do after the whistle and in the corners. I think the suspension to Orpik for three games hurts the Caps, but that was a really egregious hit. I wonder what he was thinking. Maata certainly seems star crossed. IF the Pens are going to win tonight, they'll have to get at least 5 goals and they had better get more scoring from the power Play unit and from Crosby and Malkin. IF they start scoring on the Power Play they can make the Caps to stop the rough stuff. As much as I hate it, I expect a Pens loss tonight. Without Maata and Letang, I expect the Caps to fill up the net.

Freaking awesome John! I built a kayak rack and put together some wire racks at the new boat barn. I wish weather had allowed us to do the Current River trip as originally planned. We will make it happen a little later and won't have to deal with waders! I'm sticking with my #16 dry fly hooks. If they are too small to catch with a #16, I'll just have to do without.

I've never used that Pfluger Trion. I've been really happy with the Presidents. I get the 6930 size. It's not too heavy and has a large enough arbor for me. It's a 60 dollar reel. Get down here and we'll get you lined out on jig fishing. You'll catch > 1000 trout on that first batch of jigs for sure. Once you get the hang of it, you'll average about 30 trout per jig. Don't attached to any one of the jigs, they most definitely have a finite lifetime once you fish with them. They will last a lot longer if you'll mash the barb down and if you always cast downstream, but more on that later.

I've literally caught 1000's of trout on 6 lb nanofil with 6 lb leader so I tend to suggest it to folks pretty strongly. KI used to use 10 lb Power Pro, but was really losing casting distance with it. I prefer P Line CX Premium in Moss Green for my leader material. lots of ways to skin that cat though. i am trying out some Prototype 2 nd generation Crossfire rods for Richard. They feel great in hand and I assume that they will fish great, but I need to go prove that. of late I have been using a Browning Air Stream rod. It is a two piece 7 foot UL that is not a buggy whip and actually fishes like a Light action rod. It would be too light for a Ned rod, but really good for fine wire jigs. It is around 60 dollars I think. bass Pro has them. I have not tried the other sizes it is offered in. I would strongly recommend those ove the Micro Lights, but again lots of people do well with the microlight.

The Zebra mussels are clearly thicker up lake than they are on the lower end BUT I believe they are lake wide and will continue to establish themselves. I caught on on a jig hook. It clamped on the hook and lost his glue grip on his house when I pulled the jig free. That was in the VERY back of Sister Creek. later I had a Zebra mussel break off in the portion on Noe Creek that is close to the main lake. The last foot of line was shredded. Typical of the other zebra mussel break offs.

I saw the photos while I was on the water. Glare made it pretty difficult for me to see, but it looked like an Ozark Bass to me, but I couldn't figure out how Bret would have caught one of those in his usual haunts. Later, I get the rest of the story. Good for you man. I'm glad you got a break from the long days of farming.

There are several really, really good fly fishing guides. It is a very enjoyable way to fish and something you should play with lots and lots. You'll be in a fantastic area for it. They can teach you tons in a hurry. I still enjoy fly fishing, but the jig fishing is simply fantastic. It has to be seen to be believed apparently.

John, On solo trips, I'm generally taking 10 bait casters and 10 spinning reel combos out. That is of course excessive, but you should plan on having as many spinning reel combos as bait casters. I'm not poo- pooing the idea of hiring a guide, but you could go with quite a few of us on here and we can put you much further down the learning curve on the river. I am an advanced novice with the fly rod, but I catch my share of trout with a spinning reel and a White River Zig Jig.

Wow! Good for you guys getting to work less and live more so early in life. I anticipate working until lunch on the day I die. like Mark, I'm up usually off of Bull Shoals until the fall by mid June. I can offer no personal experience driven advice on the lake, but I'm likely to be on the White River any day of the year. The trout bite all year long and have caught them when the air temp was 15 degrees all the way up to an air temp of 103 degrees. touch base with us again when you arrive. You can always PM me and I'll offer you whatever help I can on fishing and relocation advice.

I've seen one Eastern Collared lizard and he was flying! He ran down hill thru a pasture and flew across the road when I was on my way into Sunburst Ranch. Lid love to see more. Eastern Red Cedars have degraded their preferred habitat and reduced populations. ham

Not hardly. I expect the Blues to beat Dallas and I hope the Blues play for the Cup, but it aint ever easy in the playoffs. My Pens match up well against The Caps and held Ovie to zero points in 5 games this year. I doubt they can sustain that in the playoffs, but they seem to know how to play against him. The Caps are the better team, but the Pens are playing their best hockey right now. I hope they can get it done.

Nice upgrade!

Striped Shiner in breeding colors I think. Real nice sized one. Good for you man. I would loved to have caught it.

The river looks lovely from the highway or from the back deck of my cabin, but the lake fishing is too good. However, Richard Cross has loaned me a couple of two piece jig rods to test drive and give him my opinion on. I'll have to go try those out soon.

But it does pay to keep an open mind about things. There's always that one day...

Woot Woot!

What just happened?

June? I'm generally catching them pretty darn good in June, but Super Dave with likely have the fams with him and they come first as well they should.