Gavin

Dunno, gigging is a touchy subject. Gigging has been called a a traditional Ozark activity, and it is. Things are different today though...Many of our streams are in bad shape from poor land use practices, drought, etc.... To compound the problem, our streams see a lot more giggers and the technology they use is alot better than what folks used in days past. I dont have a problem with folks who know how to I.D. their targets before they stick them, but its not always the case. Some giggers stick game fish by accident, and some bad apples stick whatever they see. Its a very popular activity in some areas. Accourdingly, MDC has been reluctant to add additional restrictions on gigging activities. At the moment the only place that gigging is banned is in the Blue Ribbon Trout areas..If folks wanted to lobby for additional restrictions I'd be in favor of gigging restrictions on some of the Smallmouth Special Management areas..I think it would be interesting to see what happens to the game fish populations if they cut the gigging our for a couple years.

Brian Ellis in St. Louis is a MCI and I think Jim Rogers down at Bennett has one too. Might look up Jim Laing and his running buddy Brad Eilering in Bellville, IL as well. Not sure if Jim and Brad have completed their MCI certification yet but they should get it eventually. I know that youll have to get your CCI first, then do a lot of teaching before you will be considered for an MCI. Good luck.

I've tied similar flies on occasion, but none that pretty. It usually takes at least an hour or three to tie one, not to mention the time involved in tracking down materials and suitable substitutes for those materials that you cant legally obtain anymore. They make a nice fly plates, but I'd never fish one. Cheers.

Assuming your a competant fly fisher, good caster, teacher, and an entertaining fellow...your going to need to learn how to row. A lot of the guides that I've fished with out west have some WW raft experience...Might take a ww rafting guide course to give you a leg up on the rowing aspect, then follow the guide school angle. Good luck.

No marinade is needed if its good salmon. A little olive oil, fresh dill, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper will do nicely..grill it skin side down to rare, scrape the meat off the skin, then finish it under a hot broiler. Serve with grilled veggies. Doesnt hold a candle to flakey white fish, but its not bad.

There are a lot of nice reels out there these days. The ones you mentione are all good reels, but I'd also take a look at the Galvan OB series of reels..I'm hard on fly tackle, and the two I own have have always been smooth and reliable.

I wont buy another Shimano spinning reel..They work fine unless you get them wet, then they bind up. Might be fine for sunny days in a bass boat but not good for canoe and kayak angling were stuff gets wet..Switched to a Daiwa's and my binding problems went away. Cheers.

Bait bucket biology is the only logical answer.

I see a lot of banded water snakes on the BB, but I've never seen a copperhead or cottonmouth on that stream. Doesnt mean that they arent there, cuz I've seen a few copperheads and cottonmouths on other streams in the Meramec drainage but I think that venomous snakes are more common on streams in the Southern part of the state. Cheers.

Jefferson Lake in Forest Park isnt so bad. Been there a couple times this year and I've never felt concerned about my safety, plus the Barnes Hospital ER is withing walking distance..I think its probably your best bet inside the 270 loop because its got more water and more fish. Cheers.

Keep a bag of match light charcoal and a change of clothing handy in case you get wet and need to get warm quickly. Never let your beer freeze to the point were you cant drink it. Cheers.

Its a white ribbon area..4 trout limit, bait legal, only one brown over 15". Not a lot of good wade access to the river, but you can fish out of NRO for a fee, or wade or down from Barclay access, fish around Prosperine. Some of the other campgrounds may let you access the river for a fee, but your best bet would be to float it from the Bennett access down to Barclay (6miles easy day float) or float from Bennett to Prosperine (10miles or more, long for a day trip with fishing). Cheers.

Caenis mayflies maybe? Hard to guess w/o a picture.

Might also try asking for the taper or a rod for sale on the rodmaker's list serve. http://smtp.goldrush.com/mailman/listinfo/rodmakers It generates a ton of email though. Cheers.

I'd go with a goretex jacket from Simms or Patagonia..Filson makes some great waxed cotton jackets. I have a the Filson Guide coat that I like a lot. Its great for working outside really cold rainy weather. Downside is that its too warm to wear most of the time, stiff, heavy, and it doesnt pack well..Heck, it doesnt even need a hangar..just stand it in the corner. Cheers.

I'd agree with Bill.. both SA and Rio make better fly lines. Cheers.

I'm 40 and I've been fly fishing for 28 years. Used to be a fly fish only type, but I grew out of it. I love to fly fish, but I use other methods when the situation calls for it. Its all about having fun and spending some time in the outdoors with friends. If you catch a fish or two its a bonus. Cheers.

Costables are hard to come by in the US....might try your luck on ebay,or the classic fly rod forum, but your best bet would be to check with some of the cane dealers (Bob Corsetti, Carmine Lisela, etc.) and see if they can track one down for you. Cheers.

It depends...fall smallmouth fishing is usually really slow for me, even with spin tackle. To many leaves in the deep back eddies where they hold this time. As for favorite flies...I do 90% of my smallie fishing with two flies..one is a Gaine's Sneaky Pete, the other is a sparkle minnow. http://www.ozarkflyfishers.org/pages/flies...rkleminnow.html its really hard to beat a sparkleminnow any time of the year. Brown and Orange works great sometimes, pearl works best sometimes but its always worth a few fish. Olive with red flash, or green flash can be hot at times..In stained water I go with black or chartruese. Cheers.

TG, sounds like you had a great time, but might want to check the regs the next time you visit. I think bait fishing isnt legal until the catch and keep season starts Feb 1st. Cheers.

http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/html/rod_bags.html These should meet your needs..lots of different sizes and they can make whatever you want. Cheers.

Its a good time and you can meet a lot of people..Most line up for breaky at Sand Spring and wait for the door to open so they can meet the buzzer. Dinner on Saturday is usually ribs with happy hour before and cocktails later. Park is a bit crowded, but you wont see anyone if you choose to float the Niangua between Bennett and Barclay. Wear something orange.

August isnt a great month for the park..Lots of touristas, peak of fire season, Mammoth Hot Springs is usually dried, and youll have to contend with restricted fishing hours and/or stream closures. The Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon below the Falls are usually closed to fishing due to high water temps in August, so most folks fish the NE Corner of the Park (Slough, Soda Butte, the Lamar). Spots near the road and 1st meadow at Slough are usually crowded, but you wont see anyone if you are willing to fish the back country..Some of my favs... Hellroaring Creek, access the Y. Stone at Tower Falls, Trout Lake, Cache Creek, Pelican Creek. Bring your bear bells and make sure you sign the trail register.

Phil, the fishing season in the park doesnt open until Memorial Day and you cant fish the Yellowstone, Slough, Soda Butte, and the Lamar until July 15th. Most folks fish the Madison and Firehole when the park opens, then they move over to Slough, Soda Butte,Lamar cuz the Y. Stone just below the lake really isnt worth fishing anymore. You can still find uncrowded fishing during peak season but your gonna have to be willing to fish different waters or hike for it. Not sure what the runoff situation will be in mid-May. Y. Stone will probably be blown out, but you might be able to get some fishing in on the Upper or Lower Madison. Cheers.

Stopped by Tilles on my way to work..There were half a dozen dead trout in the water, so it must have recieved fish yesterday. Time to get out there and hammer on them before the bucket brigade gets them.