fishinwrench

In all fairness, there IS considerable media brainwash concerning ethanol. I work in the marine repair field and I can't say at this time that I have seen an increase in fuel leaks. The "lack of maintanance monster" is still the leading cause of fuel leaks IMO

Yeah I've caught some big Redears there. I don't see very many, but when I do catch one....he's always big. The water snake population is crazy there. I don't get freaked out about snakes, but the adults are so thick this Spring (on the warm days) that it's rediculis. I can only imagine what the numbers will be like after this years hatch.

LOL no problem bro. Good luck with the Gills....gonna be a tough bite today. Spring cold fronts are a real kick in the nutts for stillwater.

I can understand that, can't say that I blame her. No, the river guage doesn't suit me and the park will be a zoo. So I'm gonna do something closer to home I guess. If you wanna cruise up we can go chase the Whites or Gills if you want. I'm free until 8 pm

I have been catching them in the LO tribs for going on 3 weeks. At first they were all males and mostly Whites, then some slightly bigger Hybrids and female Whites entered the mix. Two days ago we went and the area I had been fishing was void of them (nothing but Gar to be found), so I decided to hike upstream to see if I could catch a few Smallmouth or something. Three riffles upstream from where I had been catching them for the last 3 weeks...there the Whites and Hybrids were, thick as ants at a picnic. Sight fishing to them in clear shallow water is a BLAST ! Most that I'm catching are 12-14 inches but I'm starting to see a few in the 4 lb.+ range. Just wondering how much longer before they leave the creek. The run has never lasted this long in this particular creek before, usually it is a 10-14 day affair at best. This fly here has accounted for hundreds of whites and hybrids this spring, I've pretty much kept it under my hat until now but myself and a few close friends have done so well with it that I really want to share....plus I'd like to know if it works as good elsewhere. Seems to draw strikes in dirty AND clear water, even during the mid-day period.

Come early enough to man the hush puppy fryer and it's on the house

Excellent my Man ! And thanks for the kind words I wish you'd hurry up and get a 6wt. line for that rod though...it'll really come to life in your hands, promise. For what you are doing now, a Cortland 333 WF-6-F will do great (about 33.00+tax)

None as close as Pomme, or Truman ? I'll check the atlas and get back to ya on that. How's the far-upper Niangua lookin' ?

Nice one Cricket ! So...this "friends Grandma's pond"...how big is it, and does Grandma adhere to the barter system ? LOL zhoyt, Love to catch'em on top, but in my best bluegill hole (see accompanying pic) the water has been really dirty and topwater bugs haven't started drawing very many strikes yet. Even though the fish are usually in less than 3 foot of water I can't get any big ones to eat off the surface. A simple #10 black or tan sponge spider is usually the ticket when they do....and it's just like you said: cast it, twitch it, and let it sit.

The headwaters of all our rivers fall out quickly after a big rain, those areas are fishing better now than they will the rest of the year. Ponds and smaller lakes have fish in them, too. Just pointing out a few obvious options

I believe the difference in catching big ones verses little ones is simply "timing" the pond(s) you are fishing, because bluegill populations tend to "cycle". If all you are catching is 6-7 inchers you should find a different pond for now....but try that one again in 2 years. Secondly, look for ponds/lakes that always are stained or even muddy and that never really get clear. Big Gills in clear-water are rare unless there is dense vegetation nearby. Also, any body of water that has very many Green Sunfish in it will not likely have bigger sized Bluegill....not sure why, just a personal observation. Lastly, the best presentation I've found for big gills is either motionless (if on the surface) or vertically falling. Gills love to hit a fly that either appears helpless in the surface film or is slowly sinking (like a drowning or emerging insect). They aren't likely to chase down a fly when you are stripping it in. That's what makes rubber legged flys so productive, it's not the "action" of the rubberlegs as much as the fact that the legs really slow the sink rate. Hope this helps, and be sure to let us know when you get into them

Believe it or not, when tying flys to flourocarbon tippet a figure 8 knot (aka Davy knot) is smaller, stronger, and faster to tie than any other knot I know of....and I pretty much know them all. It also shines in that it uses (wastes) only 1/4 in. or less of tippet. The only drawback to it is that if you get snagged your tippet to leader connection will break first, unless there is some abrasion ahead of the fly. Here's your tutorial: http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/20..._tie_the_d.html

add a dental rubberband and you have a free "Thingamabutter"

Of all the bits of debris that floats..... leaf, stick, fish guts, busted orange strike indicators, ect. It's those butts that upset us the worst. Classic example of media mass brain programming. Not that it doesn't bother ME, just interesting when you think about it.

In this new age of radical regulation it won't be long until you'll risk felony charges for participating in tournaments for cash, PERIOD. Fishing, Golf, Billiards, or otherwise.

I'm all ears Can you get us on that mythical section of the upper Osage fork that is "guarded with cannons" ?

It's just a woolly worm with rubber tails. Hook: 9671 #12 Weight: 8 turns of .020 lead wire (middle of the shank). Tail: 2 strands of med. black round rubber. Hackle: 5 turns of dyed black saddle (tied in by the tip and palmered). Body: med. chenille. Cast it next to a stump, pull the slack out and give it a little twitch.... then just let it sink.

Hooked up with Cadillacricket yesterday on a Monataeu county bluegill pond, we had a blast catching Gills up to 11 inches, Crappie to 12" and Bass up to 15" on the flyrods. Cricket is taking to flyfishing quite well....the dude's got stamina and determination for sure, and he's not afraid to wade knee deep in the mucky quagmires that Snakes, Snappers and Beavers call home. Warmwater flyfishing certainly has it's own wading difficulties Here's the "bug" we're throwing We thought the bite was beginning to slow down in the late afternoon, but then we found a section of old sunken barbed-wire fence at the opposite end of the 70 acre "pond" that was absolutely lousy with 'em. Of course all the bites were on the other side of the fence....which made it interesting and shredded some leaders. So....anybody else pond-hoppin' for big Gills ?

Lazy Ike, or Flatfish style crankbaits are really good river/stream search-baits, and I seldom hear of anyone using them anymore. The Rebel craw is similar in design but doesn't bounce off of cover near as well. Just about the only way to get an Original Ike hung-up is to cast it directly into a bush or tree. There's a certain Mark Twain tributary that is home to a unique population of Smallmouth..... and the locals (in the know) always keep one rod rigged with a "bullfrog" Original Ike.

I'll second the nomination for P-Line FC. It's the best handling line for spinning reels I've ever used, and it's tough as nails to boot. I use it on all my crappie and smallmouth rods....and I use it for tippet on all my warmwater fly rods. Love the stuff

Dunno. The females are finally here, so it will probably be winding down pretty soon. You shoulda seen the LM that rolled out from under a log to eat Pinkie yesterday....easy 4lbs and FAT. It wasn't so much that she was "all that big", it was the way she materialized out of nowhere in less than a foot of clear water, and then spent more time in the air than in the water during the fight. Really cool !

Beautiful Bow ! Pheasant Tail, Bead Head.............. F B ? Flash Back ? and then.... R L ? (Rubber Leg) Whew, takes some decifering.....even for an old-hand

Cricket, You gettin' "lined up" yet ? They're still bitin'. As for "donations"....If you had been here tonite I was donating FREE filleting lessons Hey, you are a blast to fish with ! And as quick as you took to flyfishing....that's the ONLY thing I have to crank on ya about.

Yeah well, Here's some fly tying material for ya Cricket Any idea what caused THIS congregation in my back yard ? Hmmmm ?

Somebody created a monster.