vanven

I generally use the pinch on foam indicators. If you wet the line before you stick them on most times you can actually adjust them. They can be a pain at times and will not support droppers or lead very well. They are small, cast easily, and are stealthy at least. If I am fishing a dropper I will use two pinch-ons a couple inches apart. It supports the weight and you can watch the orientation of the two indicators to detect strikes. The putty is messy and can become a projectile if you feel the need to make an actual cast outside of roll cast range. The twist on football indicators work well for short range nymphing with minimal weight. They always seem to cause a horrible knot if I am flinging them just a bit too far. They also dont float high or support weight at all. I cant fish them at all with glare on the water because the indicator doesnt ride high enough. I do like the Thingamabobbers. I have used them several times when I had to use heavy flies or lead in heavier flow. They don't work as well with really light tippett: 7x or 8x. I will occasionally find that I have been fishing for the past half hour with my indicator 1 inch above my fly. -Jerod

It doesn't have one that I can find. I believe the old website which was very nice poofed with the change in ownership. It is unfortunate. I am forced to do 90% of my shopping online since I live in KC and there is not much for fly fishing shops (that I would give money to) around here. -Jerod

I am also very interested in seeing the net that Terry posted photos of. Unfortunately a Fb link doesn't do much for me. I need a link to the net in an actual shop. -Jerod

Mountain Hardware gear is among the very best for hiking and mountaineering. The only drawback is that it isnt cut for wading in rivers. The waists hang low and the sleeves do not have a waterproof cuff. But you can wear it to a movie and where you dont need waterproof cuffs. -Jerod

I am not an Orvis fan. I think I have made that clear in the past. I have read some mixed results on the Helios rods, mostly positive but there are some negatives out there. I own a Sage Z-Axis 590-4. I love this rod. I dont know that I have ever read a bad word about them other than the price tag. In my opinion it was worth every penny and then some. My wife is a layman when it comes to fly fishing. She has about 30 hours total with a rod in her hand. Enough to understand how to cast, but not practiced enough to be proficient. My wife has a TFO rod that is an amazing rod for what we paid for it. It casts well, it is a great all around rod. I handed her my Sage one day while I replaced her tippet and fly. She cast the Sage once with a perfect loop, dropped a few colorful words, and told me "I know what you paid for this rod and it was worth every penny." "Why are you making me fish with that crappy rod?" I got to fish with her rod for a while after that. Rio Gold fly lines are designed to be cast on a ZAxis. A fly shop owner told me that and I generally believe him. -Jerod

Gary Yamomoto Senko worm in 4" watermellon. -Jerod

The Flight is a good rod. You get a lot of the Sage expertise and experience without the steep price tag. Lamson tends to be very similar in their reels. They tend to use the same drag in a $130 reel that they use in a $400 reel. -Jerod

As a dedicated and almost fanatical catch and release fisherman these fish make me want to take up bow fishing. No way I would eat them, I would rather contribute to the local raccoon population by leaving them on the bank. I would even consider dusting off the AK-47 for some 7.62 fishing for these guys. Although I live in KC, I don't fish the KC area. I am not sure where they are an issue here. -Jerod

I know you said NOT TROUT, but Roaring River is only an hour away and the zone 2 area is not terrible as far as the crowds go. -Jerod

Nice fish BMan. My wife generally out fishes me when I take her to the trophy area. -Jerod

Now I know who to thank. Thanks for the help Dave and Carol! It was odd fishing with such a bright moon. I had a fog rainbow around me all night. If I looked behind me there was a solid white rainbow that extended about 10 feet off the water. I hadn't seen that before. I didn't even need the headlamp to see it. -Jerod

So which model did you pick, the Z-Axis or the ZXL? Which reel are you going to pair with it? Line? I am considering the ZXL in an 8'6" 4wt. I am also looking at a couple of the Winston rods like the BXII or one of their slower medium action rods. I need to get out and cast a few of them. I spent the weekend throwing my 5wt Z-Axis and am still in love with this rod. It was worth ever begging session it took and every penny. -Jerod

Friday: I was standing in my garage Friday morning trying to decide if I was going to head south or not. Leonard's post about the possibility of strong flows all weekend had me very apprehensive about the possibility of fishing Taneycomo over the weekend. I packed my stuff with the expectation of fishing Roaring River all weekend. I left my night fishing gear, the heavy socks, the headlamp, the sweatshirt. I had to get south for a weekend to get away. I fished Roaring River on Friday. Not a lot to report other than seeing trout chase a beetle dry fly is always fun. I caught several small stockers. I visited Tim's shop and drooled all over a beautiful Winston 4wt. Friday was not a super exciting fishing day, but it helped. I headed back to Cassville around 7pm to find a hotel room. Taney was still generating and the weekend clearly looked to be full of stockers. I couldn't find a room anywhere in Cassville. Well I did find one, but at $69 a night I couldn't justify the cost. I decided to drive to Branson to get a room. I would be close to Taney if something amazing happened with the generators, I could find a cheaper room, and I could eat something other than McDonald's/Sonic. Saturday: I woke up at 8am Saturday and checked the generation levels at Taneycomo. I was amazed to see that 0 units were running. I threw my stuff together and headed to the dam. I decided to avoid the sizable crowd at the outlets and went down to the boat ramp. I hadn't fished this area for quite a while. I did quite well. I caught several fish on a size 18 tan scud while the sun was high. Eventually around noon it got a bit overcast and I caught even more fish on a rusty midge and black/silver midge. About 1pm a thunderstorm decided to spring up. I was not anticipating this. I got caught on the south side of the water several hundred yards down from the boat ramp. The wind blew hard and it poured. At least it was a warm rain because by the time I managed to get back to the boat ramp, across the river, and up to my truck I was soaked. After the rain eased up I tied on another rusty midge in a 18 and caught several more fish in the 30 minutes before the horn sounded. Lunch and a nap... Saturday Night: I heard rumors that the water would shut off at 8pm. I went out and bought a $4.88 headlamp as an emergency stop gap. I also picked up some glow in the dark indicators and big scuds in case I had to stay close to the outlet. I got down to the water around 9pm and it was still churning at 3 solid units. I fished the tail-out of the outlet area for a couple hours halfheartedly and picked up a couple of nice 18" rainbows. At 11:52pm I headed back up to the Tahoe and decided to call it a night. I waited for 5 minutes to see if the schedule would change at midnight. I called the generator hotline at 12:00am....3 units. I called the generator hotline at 12:02am....3 units. I got in the Tahoe and started to drive off. I called one last time as I passed Anglers and Archers at 12:07am. 0 UNITS!!!! I drove back down and got dressed. I tied on 4x tippet and an olive PMS. I decided to use a polomar knot this time. I must have lost 12 flies to a poor cinch knot during the day. If I am breaking off at night it is because I hooked a monster and not my knot tying skills. I was not prepared to fish at night. I had not really packed for it. I was stuck wearing a troutbum tshirt and white athletic socks. It was cold down in the water but I was not leaving until I was exhausted. I started up at outlet one. I was not alone. There were was a car load of people up there. I couldnt tell what they were doing but it involved some kids, a plastic bucket, and some loud spanish possibly. I didnt ask, I just dropped my head and fished downstream quickly in the dropping water. I picked up several nice fish in the 16-18 inch range. These were good solid fish with broad backs that fought. Fun fish. By this point I had caught 10-15 fish in a bit over an hour and the excitement of netting them was getting old. I was simply lifting their heads, reaching down, and popping the PMS out without handling the fish. At around 1:50am below outlet 2 and near rebar I got a solid hookup. He pulled enough to get onto the reel then turned upstream and the fight was relatively easy after that. I am thinking silly stocker you probably jumped in front of a monster to greedily grab that fly. When I got the fish in I tried to lift his head to grab the fly. He didn't want to lift his head and fought a bit more. This repeated again. At this point I am sure my fly line is wrapped around the tip of my rod or something because this fish feels awfully heavy. I decide to net him, let him go, and get my rod issue fixed. When I made the first scoop I got him length wise I was amazed that the fish was the same size as my net. The second scoop I got him head first and he fit. When I turned on my $4.88 headlamp I was amazed at this fish. He stretched from the 11 inch mark at one end of my net to just under the 11 inch mark at the other. He was just under 22 inches in length and his girth was almost as wide as I could open my hands. I could get my thumb on his back and my finger tips under him. I didn't measure his girth in my rush. He had a solid jaw and I was very pleased to see the PMS hooked into his tongue. That was about the only place I could have hooked him solidly. He unhooked easily and I just about dropped my rod trying to use both hands to get a good view. I thanked him for his time, got one good view of his solid red side. Apparently he didn't feel the same kinship and bond as me, he made one big lunge and he was off like a rocket. This was my biggest rainbow ever. I would guess he was in the 5-6 pound range. I was very proud to catch him and see him take off so quickly. I fished for half an hour after that and never really got back into it. I was cold, my feet had been aching from the cold for an hour. I was done. I walked up to my car right before 3am. A couple had just pulled up and they were starting to get ready to fish the late shift. I got out of my waders and packed everything into the back of the Tahoe. I was just going to ride back to the hotel in my wading liners. It was late and I was tired. I closed the back and walked around to the driver door just as the back clicked shut. My door wouldn't open, the back door wont open, the back hatch wont open, it is locked. I had just locked my keys in my car for the first time in my 22 years of driving. The couple saw me standing there, actually they probably heard the stream of curse words coming from my mouth and offered me their cell phone. A few minutes later Onstar had my truck onlocked and I was back in business. I owe that couple a very big thank you. That is one of the things I like best about fishing Taneycomo at night. The people are always friendlier. They are almost always willing to hand you the hot fly of the night and to spend a few minutes chatting. They aren't in a rush to beat the other 53 guys to their favorite spot. So thanks again friendly couple, I appreciate you willingness to help out a foul mouthed stranger. -Jerod

NO no no OMG no. Reason #53 why I hate Beaver. I am still going or i will go crazy. If you see a fat man sitting in the pavilion crying while the water runs, that's me. -Jerod

It is too hot to fish during the heat of the day. Someone has to be planning on fishing friday night??? -Jerod

Headed down Friday morning from KC and I will likely be fishing late Friday night. Anyone else planning on being around? -Jerod

I will have to order a sample of flies from them. They cover most if not all of the usual patterns I fish plus a few slightly different patterns that Taney fish might not see often. -Jerod

I have interest in learning to tie flies, but generally lack the time, fine motor skills, and equipment to do it myself. So for the sake of this thread I buy all my flies. I have purchased flies through the internet from some of the bulk vendors. I am generally satisfied with the larger flies such as egg sucking leeches and wolly buggers. I don't see a lot of midge patterns and nymphs that I consider high quality, generally the glue is sloppy and the workmanship shoddy. The large flies are relatively simple to tie and I generally fish them at night where they get less scrutiny. I am comfortable buying these flies almost anywhere. I have purchased quite a few flies through the Lilley's Fly Shop. I generally shop for flies made by names I recognize. Leonard makes great streamers (PMS) while Jeremy Hunt makes great egg patterns and rusty midges. That isn't to say that the rest of the flies in his selection aren't worthy, but that I tend to stick with what I know. I am looking for a good source of midge patterns: rusty, red glass head, WD-40s. I am also looking for quality scud patterns: browns, flashy, gray, tan. Who makes good flies in these categories? Who makes the best? I know I can walk into Anglers and Archers, Lilley's, and River Run and walk out with quality flies. I am not interested in quality. I want the best. I want to pull that trout crack fly out of my box and know that it was made based on the original pattern and not a cheap offshore imitation. Suggestions? -Jerod

I use them in the winter. They are helpful although I am left handed and it feels awkward, like using right handed scissors. -Jerod

Shuffling should be illegal, but I love watching these guys. I rarely see them catch a fish and at some point he will fall, they always do.

His arm is extended a bit so I am going to go smaller. 19 inches. -Jerod

I throw a 5wt 9 foot Z-Axis and love it. My next rod will be a 4wt ZXL. The Z is a bit geared more for windy conditions and streamers. The ZXL is a bit better for very light tippets and dries. That's the abbreviated description of the differences. Both rods are great all around. I want a slightly lighter rod for bright sunny days with clear water for nymphing with small flies. The Z feels like a bot of overkill on those days. Both rods are fantastic and once you own one you will understand why they are expensive. They are a couple of the finest fly rods made. -Jerod

That was very tongue in cheek. At the same time our natural resources should be protected. I wouldnt want to see anyone permanently hurt, but it might finally teach someone a lesson. If you are going to call someone an idiot do it properly. It is you're, not your. -Jerod

If it was private property I would buy one of these. If it was public land I would string a dark nylon rope about 4 feet off the ground between a couple trees. -Jerod