JimDog

I fished upper Current the weekend before last (6/8 - 6/9) and the cicada bite was off the charts. A dragless drift through any spot that looked like it may hold fish resulted in a strike - and usually a very aggressive strikes. Probably 80% browns - bellies bulging. I went back on Saturday. It was weird - the fish would still respond to the fly, but would not bite. Same exact rig. Same exact spots. A good drift drew a lot of interested, but they would just swirl at it. It was frustrating. Several times you would see them torpedo off the bank when the fly hit the water, then within an inch or two of the fly, veer off and disappear. I must have checked my fly a dozen times to see if the hook bent or broke. Cicadas or not, I'm sure those poppers will produce. Even though you appear to have the heads on backwards 😛

My wife and I recently purchased a house outside of Salem in the hopes of one day retiring there. But retirement is still a few years down the road. So we are hoping to rent it when we are not using it. It is a modern home with all the modern amenities, and is less than fifteen minutes from Montauk, and less than fifteen minutes to Salem. It would make a great basecamp for your next fishing trip. We are completing renovations now, and hope to have everything complete by January 1. I am thinking about offering a package deal for the Montauk catch and release season. If any of you will be fishing catch and release during December, I will be at the property working, and would be happy to give you a tour if you want to check it out. For those of you that have never fished Montauk C&R during the winter (or the upper Current in general), you are missing out on a real treat! There is no better cure for the cabin fever that usually sets in after the holidays. Send me private message if you have questions, or will be in the area and want to check it out.

My son is a welder down in Cape. 121 heat index IN his shop yesterday. Add to that a welding hood, leathers, and of course the heat thrown off by the welder. I guess not ALL millennials are snowflakes.

My advice - skip Blue Spring Creek for now. That stream can be challenging even to experienced anglers. It is NOT a good place to start. If I were in your shoes, I would hit one of the trout parks. Maramec Springs is the closest to StL. I know the trout parks get a bad rap, and admittedly, I don't much care to fish them any more. But it is a great place to learn. And they will offer some positive reinforcement along the way. If you can sneak out during the week, the parks really aren't that crowded. You should be able to find a spot where you can spread out a little bit and hone your craft. I would start with egg patterns, mop flies, san juan worms, or nymphs under an indicator. Focus on getting good drifts. Don't be afraid to ask other anglers for tips or advice. Some will blow you off, but the vast majority will do whatever they can to help. Also - now that it is beginning to warm up, those ponds in Busch will become more active. I lived in O'Fallon for a while when I was in college, and used to go by Busch several times a week with my fly rod. I have caught bass, bluegill, crappie, channel cats and carp out there. And while there are a lot of differences between lake and stream fishing, most of the skills are transferrable.

That helps. My Google search took me to https://www.orvis.com/eggstacy/2RLB.html which looks more like mop fly material. I mentioned my cream colored wooly booger variant - it is essentially a wooly booger with palmer chenille in place of the hackle body. What you are showing looks more like palmer chenille but with a little "fluff" to it. I'm going to add that to my bench list for sure. Thanks for the info.

@netboy Thanks for the picture, but I am having a hard time seeing the eggstacy material in that fly. To my old eyes, the body just looks like the maribou. I had to google eggstacy, and what I found looked more like a "fuzzy chenille". Do you wrap with the eggstacy, then hit it with a dubbing brush? This looks very similar to a cream colored wooly booger variant that I have done well with.

You piqued my curiosity. I'm always flipping rocks, and don't recall ever seeing those. A bit of googling led me to this. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/turbellarians-planarians-free-living-flatworms

If this isn't one of those colors, you're missing out...

I think we all know this guy...

Wow! What a magnificent beast! PLEASE share with us how you prepare the heart. Last year in deer camp, we made liver and onions from one of the deer we killed. The first time I had ever eaten deer liver. I love beef liver and chicken livers, but for some reason, all organs were left with the gut pile. I kicked myself for having discarded all of those livers over all of those years. Which got me to thinking - what else am I wasting. I plan on keeping the liver and the heart this year, and would love to see you your prepare yours...

Keep Your Eye on Your Fly

From https://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/nuisance-problem-species/groundhog-control: The Wildlife Code of Missouri classifies the groundhog as a game mammal that may be taken during the prescribed hunting season (see current regulations for details). Taking groundhogs during the prescribed season can help control their numbers. Cage-type traps are allowed as a hunting method. The Code also specifies that you may shoot or trap damage-causing groundhogs out-of-season without a permit. Refer to 3 CSR 10-4.130 of the Code for details and restrictions.

I had a couple of hours free yesterday evening, so I decided to hit a nearby pond just to unwind a bit from a long week. I had a spinning rod with a 2" floating Rapala. I don't think there was a single cast where I didn't get a strike. It would get eaten immediately after hitting the water, or after a twitch or two. Some nice bass, a few crappie, and a whole bunch of huge bluegill. I am going back tonight, but this time with the fly rod. What do you recommend as a top water fly for bluegill. I have a bunch of cork poppers. What else do you throw at em? I have only targeted bluegill with a fly rod a couple of times, and I always used something that slowly sank, and they would take it sub-surface. I really like watching them explode on the surface.

Where did you get the tests done? I know that the reports from MU Extension contain fertilizer recommendations, and they will also have the name and contact information of the Extension Horticulturist that serves your county. I believe that you can also have the recommendations tailored to the specific crops you are growing. If you are in Jefferson county as your profile suggests, your horticulture specialist is Debi Kelly. Send her an email or give her a call - she'll get you all squared away...