Gavin

It might seem that there are too many up there, but they grow just fine. That seems to indicate that there arent to many fish and that the regs are working. Taney differs from our other fisheries in that it holds several thousand of fish per mile..Most of our other trout waters are lucky to support between 100-500 trout per mile. There are plenty of fish on Taney and most are big enough to be protected by the slot. Keep a limit if you want to...there doesnt seem to be much harm in it. Cheers.

You can probably buy 2 jon boats with motors for $5k. Craiglist is a good place to look. Cheers.

Good deal..will have to get together and put some new scratches on it soon.

There arent any trout in the vicinity of Meramec State Park and you will need a canoe to fish that water effectively....Your best bet for trout fishing on the Meramec right know would be to rent a boat from Adventure Outdoors at Scott's Ford. Have em put you in at Hwy 8 for an overnight float back down to Scott's Ford. Most of the trout are in the 2.5 miles below Maramec Spring Branch and there are several nice gravel bars to camp on in that area. Another option would be to park your vehicle at Suicide Hill or Cardiac Hill, and drag your camping gear down the hill. Pack light and dont leave any extra gear in your car. Red Ribbon trout regulations apply. Cheers.

Surprised I missed you last weekend Al...fished it above Parker on Saturday the 20th, and above Tan Vat on Sunday the 21st. fishing was slow and only a couple fish on redds..Floated Baptist to Parker Friday-Sunday and fishing was pretty slow. Saw quite a few redds this weekend, and some really nice fish in spawning colors, but I dont bed fish... Best day was Friday, white zonker in the rain. Water was still super low and clear on Saturday and Sunday caught a few on a Madame X and a couple more on mohairs and sparkleminnows.....but it was really slow.. If I had another permission slip coming I'd probably let the Current be and head to the 11pt. Less dragging and it usually fishes well this time of year. Cheers.

The BB can be good at times..Havent floated out of Mill Rock in a couple years, but the smallie fishing was fairly decent. Had to drag a quite a bit though. You guys catch any spotted bass? Not many smallmouth below Goodes Mill these days and it was 60/40 spots/smallmouth on an 8mile float from a friends place down to Rieker this year.

Had it out at Hargrove's a couple days ago...its a great casting line. Figure it added about 10-15' to my cast..I'd definitely buy several of them if I did a lot of distance practice, competition casting, or if I was going for a CCI. I dont need one to catch trout or smallmouth, but I'd plunk down money today if they offered the Sharkskin tecture on a saltwater fly line. Cheers.

http://flyfisherman.com/ftb/kgtrigger/index5.html Basically two buggers wired together with a deer hair head. Cheers.

If your looking at solo canoes...I probably wouldnt go with OT Pack...had one and it was OK but has a prominent keel and its a pretty wobbly boat. My current solo canoe is Wenonah Vagabond and I like it alot better. Cheers.

Has the spot below the dam filled in with gravel or has it just gotten wider and shallower over time? The presence of the dam would seem to eliminate the potential for new gravel and sediment to wash in from the lake. Maybe they need to add gravel and sediment to make the channel narrower and deeper. As for gravel removal..digging at the base of a dam just seems like a bad idea to me. Cheers.

Talk to Tom Hargrove...he builds some incredible custom fly rods and he'd be happy to help you out with whatever you need. Here's a pick of one of the inlays on a rod he built for me.

Meramec Spring doesnt have many brown trout due to the dam at the end of the park. The dam causes most of the bows to stay in the park, and very few browns move up over the dam into the spring branch. You can see it in the pic below. Brown trout must be a minimum of 15" long if you want to keep one in any of the trout parks. Cheers.

Chris Vogler is a great guy. His shop (C-Sports) used to be next door to my office on Manchester Rd. but he closed it and moved it into his home. Still run into him at the grocery store on occasion..Give him a call if you need prescription polaroids. Cheers.

The fish were in a friendly mood and you were there when it happened..No rhyme or reason to it, just fishing. Cheers.

Orvis Battenkill 8' 5wt bamboo..In graphite, forgetaboutit.

I think a 90hp jet is probably overkill..something around 16' long witha 40/30 or a 60/40 jet should do just fine. Lots of used jon boats on Craigslist. Cheers.

Not much water at Boiling Springs this time of year...might try around Slabtown to 6x, or 6x to Ross Bridge. Rich's Last Resort (just below Ross Bridge) services that area. Cheers.

Scary story....anchors can get you in a lot of trouble if your not careful...pays to wear your pfd and keep a knife handy.

Started with one of those 28 years ago. The cast OK, but they will work a little better if you few guides. Bought one just like my first rod off ebay a couple years ago for $5. Good luck.

A trip to Argentina or week of tarpon fishing in the keys.

Cant make it but maybe someday...For those of you fishing in Arky..Those planning to fish in Arkansas. Arkansas tailwaters are infested with Didymo..Clean you stuff up, and dont bring it back to Missouri. Cheers.

The heads look a little sparse, but they should work just fine. Another thing that might be giving you trouble is the quality of the deer hair you are usuing..You need good quality hollow hair that flares easilly to make a good deer hair bug, and different bunches of hair often have different properties. Google up a guy named Chris Helm and he can hook you up with some prime stuff. He also sells some great instructional videos on spinning deer hair. Cheers.

Mohair Leaches (brown, olive, cream), globalls, and some zebra midges are about all you need. Cheers.

Dave @ Eagle Park isnt very good at returning phone calls...I usually just go down there and pick a spot..when you need to pay just knock on the trailer door. Cheers.

Brownie, I'm hoping to get out of STL Friday PM, and if I do I'll be camped at Eagle's Park. PM to ya.