vanven

Last night I fished I was standing in calf deep water and felt a tug on my waders. I fumbled with my headlamp and looked down only to find a small muskrat climbing on my leg. I screamed like a woman and kicked him as far as I could. I had to go home and stop fishing because I couldnt stop shaking. -Jerod

And if you hear a strange noise blindly toss a rock at it. -Jerod

I am still fishing a 9 footer. I think my next rod will be shorter. I may just step down to an 8'6" rod. I get frustrated with some of the little things about a 9 foot rod. Things like pulling line out when the last eye is just out of my reach. The longer rod also makes it slightly more difficult to handle fish up close. These are very small details in the grand scheme and I am pretty sure 5% difference in rod length wont matter much. I would put more weight into the rod itself. my current rod is very fast action and most of the flexibility is centered in the tip. My next rod will be a bit slower action and flex more towards the handle. Jerod

I find it really hard to fish with a lighted indicator at night. It takes a lot of practice to get used to detecting takes. With the super clear water I cant tell when the indicator goes under. I would much rather drift or strip a streamer and have the fish try to yank the rod out of my hand. The fog also limits visibility, although with cooler air temps it shouldnt be a problem. In the summer time it gets really bad. Check your fly more frequently than during the day. I cant count how many time I have thought to myself "man they were nailing this fly 30 minutes ago and nothing since then" only to check my fly and notice it was gone or had been replaced my a birds nest of a knot. -Jerod

Most nights seem to be really easy for fly selection. Slumpbusters and mohairs in black, purple, brown, and occasionally white always work well. PMS is also a good goto fly at night. Like DD said, watch where you walk and slow down. It is very easy to get a bit off balance when you stub your toe and your eyesight is limited to a 10 foot circle of fog. Other simple advice, leave your light off as much as possible. It can take up to half an hour for your eyes to really adjust to the dark so get used to doing as much as you can in the dark or with a small light instead of a huge 1 watt headlamp. Night fishing is an amazing experience. -Jerod

The 0 to 3 wt section really gets me out of my comfort range for equipment. I like the fancy stuff and at those sizes and weights a tin can and some fancy line handling skills might work just as well. -Jerod

I probably fall into the dreaded catalog poser demographic. It comes from my hiking background. Things like weight and durability/reliability always trump price. I can remember far too many shopping trips where 6oz in weight was more important than $50. I have looked at a lot of the Fishpond stuff and really like some of their hip packs. They are also a pseudo Kansas City company so there is a bit of local loyalty there as well. It would be a bit easier if there stuff didnt have that circus clown color scheme. Black, browns, and greys for me please. That might be a bit of an exagguration, but I will never own a piece of fishing gear with teal on it. I may have to suck it up and drive the 30 minutes out to Cabela's to put my hands on it. -Jerod

Not a big fan of the Orvis reels. The non-sealed drags are gear based. They work great but after a couple dunkings in sandy or silty water I would rather have a sealed drag. I am tough on my equipment though. I would lean towards a Lamson or a Sage 1800 series. As was stated above, swing weight should have a lot to do with the final decision. Both of the reels I listed are a bit heavier. -Jerod

Size is definitely one of the major concerns I have. I just want something comfortable that will hold my nymph and streamer C&F fly boxes and tippett with a couple attachments for tools. -Jerod

The discussion in the General Angling forum, as well as an upcoming cold weather trip have me strongly pushing towards a waist pack. I am going through a few plusses to a waist pack tring to justify the purchase. Help me convince my wife. Cabela's has this pack for about $30 lower than most other online stores. Pros Simms makes quality gear Easier to layer clothes in the winter without a bulky vest Cold weather means less deep wading so not concerned about dunking the back Wearable in the summer when it is hot and the vest is too bulky lumbar support - I was looking for a back supporting wading belt anyway Cons It is a darn fanny pack Lack of storage compared to my W&J Fusion Vest Where do i wear my net? -Jerod

I am constantly debating whether I need a small chest pack as well. I have a William Joseph Fusion vest that I love. It is very similiar to the Simms G3 vests. I just find myself carrying too much and like many other posters the vest is hot in the summer and bulky in the winter when layering clothes. I tend to do a lot of night fishing where most of the stuff in my vest is useless and where I am typically wearing the most layers. In that case all I really need is my streamer box, a spare leader, one spool of tippet, nippers, and on cold days my catch-em-release tool. I know a waist pack would work perfectly for this. -Jerod

The southwest power administration graph for projected generation is generally only one day ahead. As far as I know guessing anything past that is dumb luck. -Jerod

There is some slack water around outlet 3 that is wadable in two units. I have pulled a couple of nice browns out of that area during heavy generation. One unit is great for wading most of the upper section but it looks like they will be running one and a half most of the day. -Jerod

I wear a pair of the Cabela's fleece wader liners in a mid weight. In the winter I might wear hiking socks instead of the standard tube socks. It is normally easy to keep the areas below the water warm, the water is always ~50 degrees. It is the stuff above the water that is exposed to the elements that needs attention. -jerod

I will be down in a couple weeks and will likely hit you up Duane. I will be down in a couple weeks and will likely hit you up Duane. I will be down in a couple weeks and will likely hit you up Duane. -Jerod

That is exactly it. Those Ace of Spades were not the standard fly shop fodder. They was some extra attention to them. -Jerod

I am pretty sure Duane is part ninja, his face is always covered in these pictures. -Jerod

I was down for the night fishing clinic last year and it was a good time. I fished with Stubby and was quite the frustrating pupil. That was my fault, I showed up having not touched my fly rod in 3 months and expected to cast perfectly in the dark. A couple of wind knots and some short strikes and I struck out in a couple of hours. It was a tough night fishing for everyone though. Next time will be a different matter. Michael I will be down in a few weeks and will make sure I can get my the shop during business hours. I will shoot you a PM to give you some warning. You might have a Z-Axis with my name on it anyway... I have to stay true to my KState roots, purple is always the second fly. Always. -Jerod

Not trying to hijack the thread but while we are on the topic of Michael's flies... Michael, I fished with your dad and he gave me a couple of flies he called an Ace of Spades. One in black and one in purple. They looked like a common sculpin pattern but I havent been able to find them again. I always seem to pass through Springfield at odd hours, do you have them in the shop? Duane recognized them last time I ran into him. The black one was on its last leg. -Jerod

I swear I posted on this thread again. The internet fairy must have stole it. -Jerod

"It is Sunday, July 4th, 2009" Looks cold for summer time! I really like the video. I will never turn down instruction and some time from someone that spends 100x the time I can on the water. -Jerod

I am a web developer so I tend to pay too much attention to that. I went to OzarkAnglers and couldnt find a link anywhere then tried the LilleysLanding site without much luck. I didnt think to check the top of this page, I am so used to seeing the other ads there. -Jerod

I really like the way you have Leonard and Jeremy Hunt links (and others) on the main page of the store front. It makes it very easy to navigate to their selections. I do have one small complaint. I never knew you had an online shop and actually finding it was not easy. You might want to take a look at the fact that your websites could funnel traffic to the store more efficiently. More links on the front pages for example. -Jerod

If you want to look straight at the projection chart anything below 1500 cfs or 20 mwh leaves most of the upper end wadable. The area around and straight out from outlet 3 is really great fishing in these conditions. That is from Lilley in another post. A good source. -Jerod

I wish they could project out a little further accurately. I have a long drive from KC with limited opportunities to head south. I would like to be able to read the charts and know with a little more certainty that there will be wadable and fishable conditions. I realize weather has a big impact on it, but after so many years the corps should have a pretty good grasp on the hydrodynamics of the system and impact of rain, wind, etc. -Jerod