fishinwrench

Yeah the only problem with fly gear and "swimbaits" (for bass) is that you really need a steady unchanging retrieve with no pauses most of the time, and you can't get that when stripping a fly. I was out the other day looking for whites when the snow had just started falling and caught some nice greenbass on a 3" Sassy shad. The only way they'd eat it though was on a straight steady pull with no twitches or pauses. You can pull off the jerkbait thing with fly gear and streamers, but not the swimbait thing. Wrong tool for the job.

I'm considering just using an old fly reel.

And therein lies the problem with THAT.

Yeah I use a SH 9footer for flipping around docks and shallow brush. I've caught quite a few 3-4lb. bass on it. I have also ripped the guts out of several of those cheesy little 10$ line holder reels and I need to research which (if any) of those POS things are made better. The current one I'm using is a Wally Marshall "Deluxe" with a busted anti-reverse pawl. Any recommendations ?

Bead pegging ?

So.....no world famous chili shore lunches?

Thx. Pic credit goes to Sherwood Flycaster. He and Ronnie Moore are both wicked good photogs.

I read on another forum some Texas hog hunters saying that hunting wild hogs down there was being blamed for the population INCLINE. Not sure how that could be, but nobody in the group was disputing it.

How hard can they be to build ? Borrow one, study it a bit, and start making your own.

Sheeze, that boat is so clean it's obnoxious. Do you allow your partners to fart in it, or do you rush them to the bank?

You can see the nest over my shoulder here. Closer look Eagle carnage.... They are rather wasteful basturds, Only wanted the fresh red gills and the eggs out of this one.

Hmmm, interesting. I always saw them in and around it in the late Fall and early Spring. Every Fall when the leaves cleard they'd be there. You can't see the nest when the leaves are on so I just assumed they used it as a roost all year long.

Speaking of Eagles.... There's a big nest at the mouth of "my" creek that has been there for over 7 years, and last Fall/Winter there were 5 balds using it. This Fall it is completely empty. The eagles are gone. Haven't seen a single one in the vicinity since late March - early April. Why would they pull up stakes and bail like that ? Is that typical Eagle behavior or is it likely that something happened to them ?

So if a cougar got a lamb then you'd be ok with shooting one on your property that wasn't in the act at the time, right ?

Yeah, you are comfortable because you know how to be careful, and know what to look for. Not everyone in this area is hip to cougar body english. Maybe they DO come up just for a sniff and a scratch behind the ears. But at this point that is not what I have been taught, so.... I guess that makes me a bigger danger to the cat, than the cat is to me. I'm good with that.

Claiming that you're perfectly comfortable around large wild animals doesn't come from being a "true seasoned outdoorsman", it comes from being a niave wannabe country boy who has only had one type of large animal experience. Even tame animals can jack you up if you get too comfortable around them. A cougar that more than likely knows I am there (or knows SOMETHING is there) and is closing the distance would certainly concern ME, and how close I allow him to get before I assure some dominance over the meeting would probably just depend on my mood at the time. I'd hate to be laying in the intensive care unit wishing I had shot it instead of trying to shoo it away, making it even more curious so that it just backs off out of sight and waits for me to make another move. That's what apex predators do ya know?

Maybe I should have capitalized "WE". (as in us humans). Get it now?

He was a threat alright. Sumbitch was on a cougar !

I dunno, but I could drop the hammer on a monkey as quick as I'd burn a tick. I'd make sure it was a clean head shot though, I don't wanna see it flopping around all spastic....just Boom! Instant dead monkey. No reporting to authorities, no hero shot selfies, wouldn't even brag about it to my friends.....Just personal gratification and a kind deed for the buzzards

Work is dead slow around here at the moment, so even with a minimum of notice I'm likely good to go.

Good points made in all directions. Thankfully I haven't seen any sharks in the waters I fish yet. But now that we have had this discussion I'll have to take an extra minute or two...and decide whether to release it or not if I catch one.

Then wouldn't they do the same after a good rainy spell and resultant higher warm(er) water ? (ie; good lower river streamer conditions) I've felt the Current during the heat of Summer and it's a darn sight cooler than the lower Niangua. The Niangua fish don't all head for Bennett during the low water Summer period because there are still plenty of places to hide. Just thinking out loud here. You can't lure a brown out of a good hiding spot with some slightly cooler water. If I was a current river brown wishing for better conditions I'd prolly go Down, not up.

A headache?

Good girl, Emily! Her world is just upside down cuz she's sleeping with the cat.

Yeah he might not be able to rip a cougars throat out, but he could wear one slick by shadowing it and chewing its tail. Just ask Sadie. Seriously though, puppy teeth are wicked. My hands and arms look like I've been gar fishing.