Gavin

Camp anywhere you want. I like the Prong's to Rymers, or Buck Hollow (Hwy 17) to Rymers for an overnighter. The river gets a bit wider and slower below Rymers. There are plenty of gravel bars to pick from and lots of nice sandy flat spots in the woods just off the river.

If you really want to see good midge flies...take a look at what the english guys fish reservoirs with...The call em Buzzers..and they are a bit different from the beaded midges that everyone tosses in the tailwaters & trout parks. I'm sure they would be effective here. Cheers.

So whats your best color Jeremy...chrome, gold, or black beads?...Chrome is my top pick for some reason....probably because most use gold.

You could float a toon through the Blue Ribbon Area w/o much difficulty...Baptist to Parker..5.5 miles is the better float but you will have to run your own shuttle.Jadwin Canoe could shuttle you for a Baptist to Cedargrove float (7 miles).

A skinny little Pheasant Tail on a scud hook with a copper bead is a killer at times...Works everywhere I've tried it, but its particularly good before a sulphur hatch in size 16. Cheers.

You can apply a product called "Watershed" to your flies before you go fishing. Spraying them with Scotchguard works too...but the new stuff isnt as good as the old stuff...Otherwise...a bit of parafin disolved in white gas makes a great floatant...bit flammable though. Albolene from the cosmetic section is the same stuff as Gink which works OK too. Cheers.

I thought the kid in "Into the Wild" wasnt very well prepared and he made some really poor decisions. Folks with schizoprenia wander off all the time...makes me wonder if he had a touch of it?

The wall tent, 2 stoves, 2 card tables, and all our other stuff goes down the river in canoes...takes a bunch to haul it... That brown had a stoneroller in its stomach along with some unidentifiable green goo. I'll make no excuse for eating a 24" brown. Hardly a waste, folks got lots of pictures with it, and anyone who wanted some had some tasty fish to celebrate the new year. The rest of them are safe for awhile.

Not like we do...

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check that out...If you like that Jeremiah Johnson type of stuff, you might want to check out a book called "The Year Long Day". Hard to find but worth a read. Cheers.

Call Hargrove's Fly Shop...Craig & Tom know how to get ahold of him.

Ness, Senior passed the torch to Jr. this year. He still floats Baptist to Parker about every month of the year..but he's in his late 60's now and he's made it clear that he prefers a smaller group and warmer weather. Who can blame him after 30 years of winter floating? We had a bunch missing this year. Just a WAG but the float always goes on the first weekend after New Year, and I think a lot of folks had other committments due to New Years Day falling on a Friday. Cheers.

Joe, flies produced a bunch of fish last weekend, but the big ones came on jerkbaits.

I'm not sure....I know that there are some folks who gig gamefish intentionally...They are poachers plain and simple...Giggin certainly seems to be more accessable these days....but there isnt much you can do without hard data...I think that it would be interesting to see a survey about gigging participation, and its effect on rough & gamefish population & size structures. It will probably take 10 years...but I think its worth doing.

Glad you enjoyed the pics...Camp was on the woods..2nd hole below Ashley Creek..Chimney Rock hole...you can see the Chimney Rock on the right side of the across the river camp shot. Should have lit the tents up, paddled across, and taken that one at night. Put in at Tan Vat, took out at out at Parker on Sunday.. Cheers.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

more pics

Pics

Had a blast on the Current this weekend.Put in at Tan Vat at Dawn on New Years Day. Caught a bunch of fish, including a 24" brown on my way down past Ashley. Tons of wildlife too...deer, turkey, bald eagles.... Guess it was around 1pm when the rest of the bunch caught up with me. They reported good fishing on Thursday & Friday AM, but nothing huge. I slept late & didnt fish Saturday, but those who did had good fishing..My friend Kip caught a really nice one..Bigger than mine, 25" or so on Saturday AM judging from his picture, and my friend Barry lost a really nice fish due to a reel malfunction on Saturday PM. Sunday AM was really slow...Barry and I went out before breakfast...Barry drew a blank, I ended up with a 16" brown & a bonus smallmouth. Bit of snow falling, and we had a great float out. Fun weekend! WFT 2010 was a good one!

Hey Scudz, keep your $20 and spend it on a self help book. Dale Carnegie comes to mind. We had a bunch in camp this weekend. 6 guys camped above Tan Vat on New Years Eve, and we had 14 in camp, 2 holes below Ashley on Friday Night. Got off the river at Parker at 2pm Sunday. We didnt see anyone else on the river this weekend, so I guess you took my advice. Those who fished did pretty well on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday. Really slow on Sunday AM. Lots of folks caught fish...and some big ones too. Ran into Sam Potter while we were retrieving our cars from Tan Vat around 2:15pm on Sunday..he said fish were rising to small olives.. Will post some pics later.

That was the first weekend in February 2004. Just below the Braids ,2nd bluff on river right past the powerline, about half way between Baptist & Parker. REALLY cold weekend..colder than its gonna be this weekend. Theres a few ringing in the new year this evening, but you can expect lots of float traffic tomorrow. But if you see some on Saturday...its probably not us. I'd wouldnt hike to far below Baptist this weekend if you dont like a crowd. Have a Happy New Year! Hope to have a fish story or two on Monday.

Sounds like this developer doesnt have 2 nickles to rub together..... Guess ADEQ can get a lien against the property...but cash or compliance seems doubtful. Cheers.

Might be crowded down there......

Hex fishing is fun....Make sure you have some big Robert's Drakes, and some Regan's Hex Spinners. Goals...not many...the youngest will be old enough to stay with the grannies for the weekend by this summer and my wife dearly loves to fish and camp on the river. Maybe get out 2-3 weekends with her this year. Other than that...hit some new water on the G. Nade and BB..Fish the NFoW a couple more times next year.

Some hints from the Kipster. Some recomendations for you to stay warm. No joking here. Must Haves: 1. Thermarest 2. Bag rated at least below -15F. If concerned, bring two bags and put one in the other. 3. Thick wool face mask to use while sleeping. 4. Dry, thick wool socks for sleeping. 5. Dry wicking thermal underwear Nice to Haves: 1. Handwarmers 2. Propane Bullet heaters (I'm not a big fan because they only provide heat when you stand up in your tent and want a headache). 3. Coveralls (Walmart should have them for under $40) Things you can do to keep warm: 1. Lots of liquid (soup!) 2. Change your socks before going to bed 3. Poop before going to bed so you don't have to crap in the middle of the night and have to go through the whole bedding process again. 4. Bring a large glass of water to bed and keep hydrated.