Gavin

Thanks for the suggestions. My wife has an Canon SLR film camera with a couple decent lenses, so well probably be looking in that direction.

Scooter, I had a conversation with one of the higher ups at the NPS while camping at Pulltite over 4th of July, and I also talked with an MDC biologist about the Akers to Pulltite stretch recently. Trout stocking probably isnt going to happen because the NPS has a policy against the introduction of non-native species. Accourding to the MDC biologist, the Akers to Pulltite stretch holds a depressed smallmouth population and very few trout. The Akers to Pulltite stretch is fine habitat for trout but the stockers they plant upstream get caught out before they make it down there. IMO, it might be worth trying an experimental trophy smallmouth area between Akers & Round Spring and hope that it improves the fishing. Its fantastic stretch of river, its just too bad that it has so few fish in it. Cheers.

Hi folks, thinking of taking the plunge on a Digital SLR. We currently have a Pentax Optio WPi. The Pentax is a great knock around no worries camera, but we want something more capbable for outdoor photography, etc. Any recommendations on what we should be looking for in a good reasonably priced Digital SLR? Gavin

Thats a lot of river to cover in 3 days (35 miles). Sure you want to float that far? If you do....make sure you bring a water purifier so you can get some when you need it. Baptist to Cedargrove is the best trout water. Most of your catch will be brown trout, mixed with an occasional rainbow, and smallmouth bass.. Terrestrials work well this time of year, caddis & tricos are possible, and bring some nymphs, buggers, sculpin & minnow patterns. Your spin fishing buds should do well early and late on spinners, jigs, and minnow crankbaits (1 trout >18" limit, bait & plastic are illegal). Cedargrove to Akers Ferry offers fishing for stocked rainbow trout and the occasional smallmouth. Bait is legal below Cedargrove, so anything goes for the spin guys, try nymphs and buggers on your fly rod... The Akers to Pulltite stretch doesnt really fish that well. To cold for bass to grow big, and no trout stocking. Fishing picks up a little bit between Pulltite and Round Spring though. If the river isnt crowded, I'd probably run & gun with a buzzbait, walk the dog plug, or fluke and have another rod rigged with a 4" worm or grub for a follow ups. If its crowded, plastics on the bottom. Cheers.

What section are you floating?

There is free camping and some pit toilets down at at MDC's Patrick Bridge Access, or you might be able to camp up at the USFS Hammond Camp Access (might be a fee at the USFS campsites). As for fishing, its best to float the trout water, but you can wade up by Kelly Ford, Blair Bridge, and upstream from Patrick Bridge. If you want to catch bass, there is some good wade fishing to be had up above Hammond, and on the Bryant too. Cheers.

Nice fish! Good for you...

I'd have to agree with Silver Mallard. St. Charles, Alton, IL & East St. Louis have improved since the casino's went in. They do a lot of advertising, but if your not into casino gambling you hardly notice they are there. Travel Channel Poker has helped gambling improve its image a lot since the Rockaway Casino got voted down a few years ago. I have a feeling that a casino amendment would pass if they put it on the ballot again. Cheers.

I dont have the recipe, but I picked up a few from Brian a few trips ago. Its a big (size 4, 6, or 8) rubber leg stone fly pattern with a couple big tungsten beads and lots of lead on it. Its tied on a york bend hook (TMC 200R or Dai Riki 270), two long brown rubber legs out the back tied long, dubbed body, 4 or 6 brown rubber legs out the thorax, and two out the front. Brian can give you more detail, but IMO anything big & heavy with lots of rubber legs seems to work well on the NFoW & 11pt. My fav is the old fashioned rubber leg stone fly. http://www.flyfishingmagazines.com/images/...rstoneflyHR.jpg Its easy to tie and it works. Cheers.

I'm not a fan of casino gambling but I have no objections to Casino's. To me it comes down to a matter of personal choice and responsibilty. If you have some extra money, and want to waste it in a casino go for it. If you cant afford it, or dont like it, stay home. Cheers.

Avoiding the stuff is the best bet, but if you get exposed youve got to remove oil quickly before its too late. Someone once told me that rubbing the exposed area with a liberal amount of dirt helps absorb the oil and lessens the reaction. Not sure how well it works, but the only thing that really works on the rash is time, or prednisone. Cheers.

If your talking trout I'll spill, its a toss up between the Current, 11pt, or NFoW, but I float & fish the Current most often. When it comes to smallmouth, its tributary of a stream that eventually drains into the Gulf of Mexico . Cheers.

You can camp at Tan Vat & Parker Access, but not Baptist. If your looking for a little backpacking and trout fishing, the Ozark Trail runs along side the blue ribbon section of the 11pt its pretty rugged country though. McCormack lake is a good place to start and pull out down by Hurricane Creek. www.ozarktrail.com... Baptist to Parker or Cedar Grove is a pretty easy 5.5 or 7 mile at low water levels...just follow the fisherman's/horse trails. If trout fishing isnt a requirement, Ozark County has a lot to offer. The area around Noblett Lake is pretty neat, and the Devil's Backbone Wilderness on the N. Fork of the White is pretty cool. The Paddy Creek Wilderness off the Big Piney is worth exploring too. Cheers.

How do you join this fine organization or is it an invite only buddy club? Never paid attention to the MTFA or trout derby's before but this peaked my interest. I found it odd that Montauk has 6 trout derby's a year and Bennett and R.River only have one. Does St. Louis MTFA organize these events? Why so many? All those trout derby's have to be a PIA for the folks who work at Montauk and people who accidentally stumble into a trout derby. Regardless, it looks like KC and Springfield MTFA have something on ball, but I couldnt find anything on the St. Louis chapter. Doubt if they will be around much longer if they have difficulty running events and cant maintain a web presence. Who knows, we might be better off without them. Cheers.

Thats a shame. You have nothing to lose, so why not make some noise and draw attention to the issue. Does Arkansas require a number on rental boats? Rental Operations on the Current are required to put a big number on both sides of their boats so if people have a problem with the occupants of say Schmuckatelli'Canoe Rental #146 they can call in the number to law enforcement and they can try and meet them at the next river access. Cheers.

Brown trout are a little different than rainbows. Rainbows tend to hang in current and feed off what is drifting in the water while browns are more of an ambush type predator (slower current, wood or rock cover, etc). Browns will feed on tiny stuff if its in abundance but they tend to feed at low light and have a preference for larger food forms (minnows, sculpins, crayfish, large terrestrial insects, stocker rainbows, etc). Fish accordingly. Cheers.

Fishing below the park is either hit or miss due to the aluminum hatch but there are some decent fish down there. If you fly fish, go with streamers, terrestrials, or midges, if you dont try crankbaits, inlines, and jigs...No bait or soft plastics are allowed. Good luck.

Yikes, thats one ugly mount!

You can change all the components and add a guide or two to improve the performance a bit, make it look a lot better, etc, but its not going to make a huge difference. Depending on the cost of the components you are considering, you may be better off buying a blank you like and wrapping that instead. Cheers.

Sounds good..headed to the Current for a couple days this weekend, but maybe well swing by. Have a great 4th.

The Supreme's http://www.supremeboats.com/ and Shawnee's are nice boats, but they are made of fiberglass. If you want aluminum, you might check out Blazer Sport http://www.blazerjetboats.com/ or a Legend Craft http://www.legendcraft.com/customboats.htm . They do a lot of jet hulls, but they can weld up just about anything you want. Cheers.

Foam Blocks slide all over the place..I'd get a nice rack from Yakima or Thule. Cheers.

Dont know if crawdads do it, but some friends from Florida took me out lobster netting on the flats several years ago. The spiny lobsters prowl the flats at night in long lines like ants, and if you can find them, you can load up the boat in hurry. Maybe crawdads do the same. Cheers.

The fishing is poor but there is some great scenery. Cave Spring is really cool, and make sure you take some time to hike up Pulltite Spring Branch after you take out. Pulltite spring branch enters the Current across the river from Campground Group Site 2. Some friends camp down at Pulltite every 4th of July and the river is very crowded. Cheers.

Your probably a little early for Silvers, but there should be plenty of Sockeyes to mess with and this summer might a Pink Salmon year.As Phil said your best shot at a fresh silvers will be in the bay, or near river & creek mouths. Another spot that congregates salmon, trout, & char are lake inlets & outlets, and especially the short runs between lakes. Dont forget your nymph box, your probably going to need it before the salmon drop eggs, and make sure you have different sized eggs or beads, big for king salmon roe, small for sockeye and other roe. As for Pike, I've hooked a few in AK, usually in weedy pockets off the main rivers, but never really targeted them. When preping for last years Kenai trip, we found a lot of good info about salmon, and pike fishing on the Alaska Fish & Game site. Sorry but I dont have the link. Cheers.