3wt

Fished ~4 hrs on Saturday from 1-4ish. Fished up from Baptist. Caught a 16-17 incher on a mohair, at the same time my brother hooked a 13-14 incher. Caught several more, maybe 5 brought to hand, and five more that were hooked and didn't come all the way in. Used mohairs, olive bh wb's, red san juans. Sunday fished 6-10. Caught 2. The first on a mohair, and it was an 18 incher, and healthy. Easily the biggest fish I have caught or seen be caught the upper current (i'm not including pictures here, just what I've seen people catch). It was strange, all the fish I saw Saturday were nowhere to be found. They were actually more active in the afternoon. It was nice to not have the canoe traffic like you do down from baptist. There were more fish than I have ever seen there. The water is great. See you there next weekend.

Go now (water is at a great level, very wadeble, lots of fishable spots, more fish than I have ever seen in the water, bigger fish than I have ever seen in the water) Afternoons were actully better for me Mohair leeches, olive bh wollybuggers, san juan worms

wow, I dicovered this creek last summer and didn't know it was quite this popular... my fried floated the upper part a few weeks ago. He is an extremely experienced floater, and said he got swampted twice, and lost at least one fishing rod. Mentioned quited a bit of new hazards in the form of timber across the stream and submerged. can't wait to get to kinston now that i've seen the water conditions. it was barely ankle deep at the access last summer

probably worth while if you want to start slow and get some fishing in. the hidden one would be parkers ford, not turners point. I don't know how to get there from road, but i've waded there from baptist

I would think that sandals would be great for holding sharp gravel against your feet. I am planning on buying some wet shoes. My friend has a pair (salomon I think...there are other good ones) and loves them. Bass pro had a pretty good selection. Also, I would never spend that kind of money on any sandal.

I'm usually a pretty big cheapo with things. That being said, I won't buy any more cheap waders. I purchased a pair of Simms Riverteks on a stupid good deal from Feathercraft last fall. They were ~$190 (like $100 less than normal). I have worn them once and they kick the crap out of my old BPS low end breathables. At $60-$100 every couple of years for the BPS or Cabelas, to a real quality pair with lifetime warranty is a no brainer. Look around Ebay, there are deals, but you have to be a bit of a sniper, or check google "Simms waders clearance" or "closeout." You'll be much more satisfied for a longer time. Nothing sucks worse than wet feet on a cold day.

boo. Rio over SA ANY DANG DAY OF THE WEEK!!! If I had to choose 2 it would be my 3 and 5wt model. But I like light lines when I can get away with them. I'd rather work to chuck a wooly bugger than struggle to get a Trico to fall perfectly. For most I might suggest a 4 for a single stream rod, a 5 for a single tailwater rod. For a 2 rod combo, ...probably 5 and a 7 would be good if you don't dry fly on small streams much. I would never suggest for most to go over a 5 wt unless you're doing some night fishing on a tailwater where a submarine of a brown might bite. 6 is a pretty clumsy weight for trout, just in the middle of light enough for delicacy and heavy enough for the monsters.

If you lived in Missouri, I would say a 4wt. Since you're in Arkansas go with the 5. The difference is that we have more small to moderate spring fed streams here, and you all tend to have tailwaters. I usually fish a 3wt on streams and a 5wt on the odd occasion I make it to Taneycomo. I'm glad I have my old 5wt for those occasions. It is a Sage discovery series (old first rod from around '95). My point here is that if you're as serious as you sound, get a rod that is possibly a little less expensive, but will last you several years through your learning. You WILL eventually get the itch for a new rod, probably a more delicate feel and faster action, then you could get your 4wt, (probably ise your same reel with a different spool and line). Here's what I would do: First setup - TFO series one 5wt 8'6" w/cabelas LSR reel and Scientific anglers line (check their site, they'll combo anything, and you'll save on line cost) Second rod - a faster action 4wt, use the same reel, buy a new spool and line. The TFO is a forgiving, medium action rod, that casts like it costs more than it does. You can pick them up for <$100, one of the few rods in that range that are worth ANYTHING. All that being said, you can't really go wrong with Loomis. You're a serious fisherman, and you'll catch on quick enough that the fast rod won't be too tough to deal with.

I would keep my eye on the weather, and maybe call or check with folks down there, maybe the canoe outfitters, or contact Sam Potter from Tightline.biz (he's also the mod for this forum). He can also tell you what to throw. I'd say big heavy streamers are your best bet - bunny's, mohair leeches, wooly buggers, I like matuka's too.

Best of the parks, no contest. I agree with going through Licking. You won't have any trespassing issues on the Current. If you fish in the park, you should go for the fly only area probably. From the park entrance, take a left until you can't go further, park, put on waders, walk across bridge, take time to gawk over the railing at some of the big fish in the C&R area, keep walking, take first right, you'll be at what's called Hudson's corner (or as I always knew it, the concrete hole - there used to be chunks of an old contrete slab, to stand on on the bank, complete with rebar to hang your stringer on. There's a road that follows the stream all the way up to the spring. Fish it all if possible.

Just FYI, there's no such thing as openning day on the little piney, if that's what you're talking about. The season applies only to the trout parks, the little piney is a blue ribbon management area...you can fish there year-round. Also, if a bunch of guys are keeping a lot of fish out of there, then they're probably poaching. You get only 1 fish 18"+

It's what feeds the C&R area. Yes, springfead, yes has trout, some look like a submarine. It has a deep section that is closest to the raceways, and a "flats" section that is beyond the handicap access jetty. There are some behemoth fish in the flat area sometimes, but you need to be invisible, fishing without line or leader with a perfect imitation of a fly to catch them. They pretty much get spooked if you get close enought to see them. Pretty low pressure on the whole. I learned to flycast near the raceway on the lake. I find still water to be pretty much a yawner to fish.

I have caught fish on them, but not a whole lot. I tie them for my dad, and he can't get enough of them. He tends to sight fish more, kind of like if you were using a maribou jig and a spinning rod. Maybe that's the catch, you have to be a recent convert from spin fishing to get them to work.

RIO RIO RIO I won't buy a line product not made by Rio. Best line, best leader, best tippet. Well worth the money. I recommend Rio Grand over SA GPX. I've had both and the Rio is noticably superior. Not to knock Orvis, but I have heard bad things about their longevity, or lack thereof. I've only had the Grand for a year, so I can't say that it lasts forever, but I expect to get several seasons out of it.

RIO RIO RIO I won't buy a line product not made by Rio. Best line, best leader, best tippet. Well worth the money. I recommend Rio Grand over SA GPX. I've had both and the Rio is noticably superior. Not to knock Orvis, but I have heard bad things about their longevity, or lack thereof. I've only had the Grand for a year, so I can't say that it lasts forever, but I expect to get several seasons out of it.

Pretty sure an articulated fly would be considered a single fly with multiple hook points, so no they wouldn't be legal.

I fish the current primarily with mohair leeches and wooly buggers. I have recently started using zonkers with some success. Bunnies are supposed to work great on high murky water. As far as big ones go, I have caugh only a handful over the 15" range. They're in there. If you don't believe it, check out Sam's site.

I have the outcast wader/gearbag. Only cost about $60. One of the best buys I've made for fishing gear. I would say a decent gear bag is the first thing to buy once you've got all your essentials. It lets me just grab my rod and one bag, and I know I've got everything I need...and I don't get that "what did I forget this time" halfway through the drive to the stream. The biggetst deal for me is the segregated, water resistant section for waders and boots, a large compartment for evything else, and a place to strap a rod case.

crappiefisherman, Funny you should say that. My dad had a cool old Fenwich/Garcia Mitchell combo years ago that he left on a sandbar on the current river.

Kerry Livgren is kind of a personal hero of mine. One of the most under-rated of the geniuses of Rock. After a Kansas concert in St. Louis back in about '00 or '01, I almost blew off work and drove to the next show in KC, because Steve Walsh or Robbie Steinhardt said that they would be including Kerry in the show. Now I wish I would have, because the chances of ever seeing that lineup are lower and lower. Still, I hear his new group is worth the price of admission. AND you've played with Phil Keagy?? I'm jealous of your life. If you ever feel like trading for a day let me know...engineering can be pretty exciting too.....

I'm lovin mine. I saw before black friday that it was rated as one of the best HD deals...So I can't take credit for knowing squat about 'em. Now I just wish DVD's would do the picture justice. When will the HDDVD/Blueray thing ever be settled?

If you don't mind weight and noise, I'd get on ebay and find an old Garcia Mitchel 308. You should probably only use it with an old fiberglass ultralight to get the full effect.

I personally think the TFO series one rods are a hard to beat starter rod. They're about $90. I would also suggest going to cabelas and getting it in a combo with one of the Ross worldwide reels. You will likely not be able to beat the deal, especially since you will have a good line essentially for free. Do keep in mind that you will need to buy a rod case for the TFO,and it would be a 2 pc. I wouldn't think that this would be the last rig you'd ever want to buy, but that's boring anyway... You might get out of the store under $200 with a good rod, a good reel and good line. (this is probably the same rod as TFO has in their combo, but I'm not sure about the quality of their reel and line). Oh, and just to confuse you more, I still have my Sage Discovery (precurrsor to the Launch) from when I was 15, and fish it quite a bit, so they make terrific stuff.

I agree. I think I've come across 2 copperheads ever. Most people must never have seen one, because once you see one, you will KNOW what a copperhead is and isn't. They are unmistakable - they call the COPPERheads for a reason. One of the two I saw this year at Montauk crossing the road in front of me near the catch and release. They are really beautiful, in a stay the heck away from me kind of way. Cottonmouths are pretty much the same way. I've seen a handful ever. I generally just know that a bigger snake in the water is not worth getting close to, so I assume cottonmouth and stay away. As for non-poisenous vairieties I see, banded water snakes lead the pack by far. Probably followed by various small garter, then black rat (cool snakes), prarie king...I've come across one or two hog-nose in my day. Oh, once when I was younger me and my brother found a little worm snake. I don't even know what they're really called. Fascinating animals.

I got the Olevia you're probably talking about from Target on Friday. So far so good...good deal, hope you got in line in time.