Gavin

Public access is on the lower end...and the upper end is strictly private...Still worth a drive up that way to see Relfe Spring though.....You can get in a the TU Access, the Bridge, and there's a poorly marked FS road that you can park on...not an easy creek to cover water on...very brushy...Mill & the LP are short drive from there...so you could easilly fish all three in a day. Cheers.

Looks like a South Bend Mitchell 300 copy...might be fun to find an old rod to pair it with. As for value, probably not much...but check closed auctions on ebay. Cheers.

Think Bass Pro sells the Ascend kayaks...they will get you down the river but there are allot of good choices...the Jackson Coosa seems to be getting all the buzz in the Sit On Top market right now....definitely worth a look. Sit ins...still hard to top a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120. Cheers.

Definitely floatable...I'd want it to be around 200cfs on the Newburg Guage and no more than 300cfs or so...Its a long narrow drainage and subject to flash flooding...dont do it with heavy rain in the forecast. Put in & take out suggestions....63 bridge, Lane Spring, Vida Slab, Mill Dam Hollow, USFS Fire Ring(aka the Goat Farm), Newburg Bridge, Grotto Bridge, I-44, or Jerome on the G. Nade. There are some nice rip rap holes were the creek intersects the rail line on the north side of the creek when you get down near Newburg. Cheers.

Fly rods can really slay on top at times though....For those times...I bring a 6-7wt, and a selection of poppers in the 2-1/0 range.. The Gaine's Sneaky Pete size 2 and my Leroy Brown in 1/0 are my two favorites......Presentation wise...Dead Drift usually catches bigger fish than a more active retrieve...but sometimes they want action on the bug, not very often but they do...If they wont come up...try a sparkleminnow in pearl, brown, or olive....wont eat that...fish plastic...a small plastic under a big float works really well on a fly rod. Cheers.

Those look great...I'm sure they will slay.... Made an observation this weekend.....Not many cicada's in my neighborhood so pickings or slim...but about half a dozen landed in the pool yesterday.......Every one has been floating on its side...will see if the trend continues.

Thats a great fish...good for you... 23" or so?

Not really...There is a 2 track that leads down from Baptist on the access side..It will take you downstream about a 1/2 mile....but you will have to cross the creek at least twice get to Ashley...not all that hard..just pick your crossings..........2-3 mile round trip walk & wade. Maybe 3-4 hours...if you fish lots...All day if you fish relentlessly.

I'd agree with the Wrench.....if you havent paid your dues in boot leather or paddle stokes...you have no reason to expect exclusive or even reasonable use of the stretch of water you want to fish..choose wisely.

Get on with it already......and if you and Al want to have a love fest....I wont ask or tell.

I like Reading's....I havent been to Bennett in 7-8 years......but on the rare occassion I stop there...Its always a hoot to get him rolling on a subject or jerk his chain by asking for something you cant find on the pegs or in the bins (Then watch him root around in a disorganized box and come up with it).

Adventure Outdoors does the 8 to Scotts stretch...do it during the week and call ahead for an early departure. Call Green's for floats above 8....Dont like the stretch between Scott's & Indian....too many cattle....kinda ugly...poor fishing...better smallmouth fishing down river.

You most certainly can but you will probably need to run your own shuttle. I've floated from Lane all the way down to I-44 over the course of several trips but its been awhile.....Plus, there is allot of dead water due to cattle & gravel mining, and it doesnt get logged...There can be some hairy log jams to portage..Its good in spots though...every place you find good habitat holds fish.

Good one Ronnie.....I can take a joke....24th is out for me...not the Pride Float (one of my tax clients told me about that) but its the 34th anniversary of Float Fest down at Pulltite on the Current. Met my wife there 7 years ago. Thinks its booked up but its a fun time. This year's theme is a famous foursomes trivia contest...last years contest was about 33 and a Third.... Music & album art. www.floatfest.com

Somebody needs to pick a date and organize this fiasco. Who's that gonna be? I've organized a few similar trips...you might want to pick a date thats at least 4-6 weeks out so folks can clear their calendars.

Thanks Ted...thats similar to the bugs that Craig has been tying up at Hargroves....the one in the hatches...just doesnt seem to have the right profile..more like a beatle but thats just my opinion.

Think yall need to sign up here... http://www.pridefloat.org/home.htm

Which One Ted? http://www.idylwilde.com/html/fly_gallery.php?category_id=1&subcat_id=27

Hope you brought some wasabi & soy! Looks like a great trip!

Mine were too big...tied on size 1/0 Mustad Signature Series Popper Hooks....bought my usual size for a smallmouth bug...will be sorting through my hooks this evening looking for something suitable...Gotta have a big hook gap, sharp point, and a shorter shank than most trout patterns...I'm thinking that the Dai-Riki 810 or TMC 8089 might fill the bill...there will be tons of foam to float it. I've attached a little sketch of the bug that was working best. Use a long needle to thread the legs and lots of super glue. Cheers.

I used some Krystal flash for wings...it doesnt fade...and the foam...was black pipe insulation from the hardware store carved to shape...there are some of the bugs that worked in my report from June 4..They were tied on 1/0 Mustad Signature Series Popper Hooks...great splat.the foam is very light..My wife had no trouble casting them on a medium fast 9' 5wt......but the foam was fragile. Heading out of town on biz tomorrow...but our pool is finally warm enough to swim...planning to round up some cicada's and toss them in the pool for some underwater shots next weekend. Cheers.

Those flies look great....had some design issues myself this weekend...bugs too big, double X legs attracted more hits than other configurations, orange & black barred legs worked best. Divided wings worked best....We got a ton of hits on big oversized bugs but we lacked in the hookup department. But I think I'll tie more...seemed to be great fish finders...will be tying some smaller bugs for followup shots. Cheers.

Sounds like fun....must have been your footy prints on the gravel bar below Ashley. Glat you had a great time!

I'm not worried about a tourney...That creek see's a ton of pressure...and it almost always fishes well (provided that we have some water in the creek). Crowded fishing...just mean that you didnt expend enough boot leather, got there late, or forgot the boat...Cheers.

Had a great time at the trout bust this weekend....Nice drive down on Friday afternoon..decided to take 19 down to Salem for a change...and we had a great time on the roller coaster with cicada's bouncing of the windshield the entire time...Didnt fish Friday but set camp, and caught up with some old friends and made a few new ones. My wife and I got on the water around 10:30am at Tan Vat for a float down to Parker...really crowded at the access, including one 15-16 year old boy who got a lecture from me about the short rainbow on his stringer. Hardly a soul out on the water after we got more than 200 yards from the access..Saw 4 more canoes and my buddy Doug's jon boat sitting empty at Baptist, but they never caught up...and we ran into 4 other canoes from Akers down river...nice folks... 30-40 something couples on an overnight float down to Akers and they werent fishing much. Kath picked up 4-5 right away on a small crome kastmaster...but we got to the bluff stretch below tan vat, broke out the fly rods with some cicada patterns...and started getting some interest...spin rods stayed in the boat the rest of the day. Nice float...and the river is in great shape...lots of deep water, and most of the big bars lost allot of gravel...Ashley gravel bar is about a 1/4 of its former self, big bar below the bluff stretch is about a 1/3rd of its former self...One log across the river at Mountain Lion Camp...bought 1-1.5m above Parker. Didnt fish much...it was more fun to watch her fish..She ended up touching ten or so on top and she lost two beauty browns that wrapped her...4-5 for me....all on Cicada's...no reason not to fish one right know...Cicada's arent aquatic insects...you may not see them struggling on top...but many are drowned..and the fish are keyed on them. Some fish puked a few up! I think we would have done allot better with a smaller pattern...The ones I tied up were too big...probably 3 times the size of the actuals down there. Probably 3-5 looks & smacks for every hook up but still a ton of fun!..Tried some smaller Chernobyls and no interest...Ran into Chris Conant on the way back to camp at 5pm...we were headed to Montauk for ice...and he was walking from Ozark Mountain Ranch to Tan Vat...we talked a bit, and he and showed me a really nice bug that he'd been working on...bought the perfect size, and several good triggers...He ended up with around 15 for the evening. Great time that evening as well...fish dinner, some live music, and some great raffle & auction prizes...ended up with a half dozen flies tied by Chuck Tryon in the $5 raffle, and $40 in the silent auction brought me one of those Feather-Craft Streamer boxes stuffed with a dozen Kelly Galloup Patterns. Fun Time! Some Pics. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1938758722470.107417.1647470288&l=45ab898c90