vanven

A good hat and gloves make a significant difference. I have some Simms fingerless gloves with the pull over mittens. The mitten piece is nice when my fingertips get a chill and i need to warm them up. You lose something like 40% of your heat through your head so a good hat is important. A combination baklava and hat will use some of that heat to keep your face warm. Layer your clothes and avoid sweating as much as possible. A good undergarmet is important to wick away moisture and still provide insulation. Avoid some of the cheepy stuff that is out there because it may hold in moisture and actually make you colder. -Jerod

"Powerbait is for fat kids and old people." I said that once upon a time. It was funny and seemed fitting. It was more of a rhetorical comment on how funny the whole debate was. To each his own and good luck to them as well. Personally I release every fish. I would undoubtedly release a state or world record. I would take some pics and hopefully have a replica mount made that would sit in the garage and gather dust since my wife would smother me in my sleep if I brought it in the house, plastic or not. I am the type that would spend 5 hours reviving a fish. -Jerod

Congrats Michael! -Jerod

Bah! What is with the "undisclosed locations" stuff? A few of these spots I can recognize. I would understand if you were fishing private land and would not like to try and fight off crowds. A few of those spots were gorgeous and look like they would be fun to fish. -Jerod

This is always an interesting read every 6 months or so when it comes up. I intentionally went two years not fishing the PMS due to the discussion on these boards with the expectation that it was simply Leonard fanboys over hyping the fly. I tied one on last summer and it has now become my go to night fishing fly. It is one of the few flies that I scream and cuss when I break one off. Great fly Leonard. -Jerod

Haven't seen the bright lanterns before. I always seem to get my own night time issues but they usually don't involve lanterns. I am excited to see the generation tailing off a lot more. Time to get back down there for a few days in a couple of weeks. -Jerod

I would definitely like to see more deep holes above the big hole. I don't even remotely know how that would be accomplished. -Jerod

I am wishing I would have paid more attention in Fluid Dynamics 501 now.... -Jerod

If I had a friend wanting to spend $300 on a solid setup that would last for years I would have recommended the exact setup you bought. -Jerod

me

I think she needs a Sage VT2 in maybe a 4wt for those summer days when the water is low and gin clear and the sun is high and you feel like you can see your 6x floro tippet from 30 feet away.... I love my Z-Axis. It is a very versitile rod that can handle almost every situation. It is light yet has enough backbone to throw streamers comfortably into a headwind all day long. I feel comfortable fishing it at night. It can handle light tippet quite well. It makes my Orvis rod feel like a broomstick. I think my next rod will be a 3 or 4 weight for those summer days when the odds of hooking into anything but a stocker are zero. It would be fun at Roaring River when Taney is washed out as well. -Jerod

My wife fishes a 9ft 5wt TFO Pro series rod. I like it and it casts well. She likes it as well and for an absolute beginner she swings the rod quite well. Last fishing trip she had a knot and wanted to change flies so she handed me her rod and I handed her mine. I fish a 9ft 5wt Sage Z-Axis with a Lamson reel. She made one cast and looked at me rather upset. "#$*@* H @!@!#, OMG this @%$#%#$ rod, now I understand why you spent so much @%#^ money on it." I fished with her TFO for the next hour. Expensive rods are expensive for a reason and in most cases they are worth the cost. -Jerod

I know it has been discussed in the past and there have been some feasibility tests on Taney also, but I would love to see a minimum flow on Taneycomo. Just enough water to keep the rocks between outlet 3 and rebar under about a foot of water. Make that one big riffle and spread some of the fisherman out. I would also like to see some longer deeper holes with structure (boulders) in them. -Jerod

I would hate to see the restrictions on the upper end of Taney lifted. There simply is not enough easily accessable water to accomodate everyone. I have fished Beaver once, and despite it being a beautiful place to fish the experience was horrible. Too many people parked along the bank with lines everywhere making large portions of the water inaccessible. The geography of Taney makes it ideal for wading and I would hate to see that wasted. Of course this statement comes from a dedicated catch and release fly fisherman who has made his thoughts on powerbait fishing known in the past -Jerod

As soon as I stop trying to plan a weekend trip down there and my wife spends my fishing money on another new purse it will be perfect generation levels for wading. -Jerod

I would be plenty happy to see a policy change that only allowed children or special needs fishermen to fish within 50 feet of the existing outlets. Fishing the raceways seems a bit dangerous to me for kids. That water is typically moving quickly and there banks are steep and covered in slick wet vegitation. That has bad accident written all over it. -Jerod

Thanks for the email Jeff. I will check out the nets again and get back to you.

Those nets are great Jeff. Have you given any thought to replacing the cloth net with one of the new rubber nets?

We are forecast to get something like 5 to 7 inches of rain in the next couple of days in the northern part of the state. I am not sure how far south it will extend and how much of that eventually makes it's way towards Table Rock. -Jerod

My understanding is that generation levels are based purely on energy demand requirements and impact on the fishery is always a distant second. I am curious to see the constant generation that has been going on for the past couple of weeks. There is not a ton of peak flow but a constant 2000-4000 cfs. Is it just dumb luck that this constant generation is falling at a time when we see a lot of fish moving up near the dam or is it a planned event to keep DO levels up? How has this impacted fishing over the past couple of weeks? Is it enabling the larger fish to stay out of the outlets and away from the outlet humpers? I am trying to plan a trip in a couple of weeks and as usual am trying to be prepared. -Jerod

I am probably late to jump into this but here is my thoughts. My first pair of waders was a pair of Hodgeman's stockingfoot breathables from Dick's Sporting Goods for about $60 with a pair of wading boots for about $50 from Cabela's. They lasted about two years until I decided that I really loved the sport and decided to upgrade. I have no complaints aobut these waders and still use them from time to time with my float tube. They are much lighter than my current waders so they are a bit more comfortable in warm water. I am a big proponent to good quality name brand gear like Simms (not Orvis). I think you definitely get what you paid for. The one exception to this is someone who is just getting started and not sure. That person should consider the bare minimum because this can be a very expensive sport. Dont fall into the habit of continuously buying the cheapo stuff that you have to replace every year. Buy the minimum and when you decide that you really love the sport, then jump in head (and wallet) first. -Jerod

One other thing to consider when choosing tippet size and whether to fish mono or flouro is the fly you will be using. If I am nymphing where the fish has a longer time to analyze the fly I will always go with the smallest possible line in a flouro. If I am ripping streamers it does not matter near as much because the fish is going to be focused on the moving fly and a lot less on the line attached to it. The weight of a streamer is also going to offset and float or sink in the tippet. I generally save the flouro for daytime when it seems to help. -Jerod

I use 6x and 7x during the day. At night i use 4x on a much shorter leader. In both cases I use a 5wt and the rod is going to be my limiting factor in how hard I can really pull. I have fished many a night with 6x that I was too lazy (or to busy catching fish) to swap out before it got dark. I would probably not do that late fall when i knew a big fish was a higher possibility. When i break off at night it is generally because the fish drilled the fly on the take and in most cases the difference between 6x and 4x wouldn't have saved me. A really heavy leader probably would have resulted in the rod being yanked out of my hand. -Jerod

I do similar things to some of the other posters. I typically fish with 6-7x flouro. It is much harder to break than most people think. I will usually bulldog a few of the smaller fish to get a feel for exactly how hard I can pull. I continuously adjust the drag as well. A decent rod will go a long ways towards dampening shock that might break lighter line. Preventing slack line will also really help. Also keep your fingers, nips, gloves, and vest out of the reel. Thats easy advice when I have never caught a trout over 5 pounds though.... -Jerod

This is exactly what would concern me. By introducing an apex predator it would really throw everything out of whack. Browns are carnivorous and canabilitstic. They would quickly gobble up the smaller resident fish who can not adapt to such a change. Fewer small fish could mean things like algae and bugs growing uncontrolled affecting the quality of water. Poor water kills trout. It is not so much the triploid fish that could really do the damage but the chain of dominoes that their addition could set off over years that could ultimately ruin a great fishery. There are various opinions on this. Some folks view the lake as a giant aquarium that should function strictly for their enjoyment. I am more interested in the long term impact. -Jerod