fishinwrench

Here's a good mohair combo for really dirty water, I think it's the little bit of contrast that gets their attention. Mustad 9672 #10 1/8 black tungsten bead w/ 10 turns of .020 leadwire behind the bead. black marabou tail. black mohair body with 3 turns of white mohair for a collar behind the bead.

Cool, Thanks ! You've been suspiciously quiet lately Cricket, you're tearin'em up ain't ya ? Oneshot, Got a special recipe for tree rat ? I used to just roll them in flour and pepper and fry them, but I got some big old Reds this Fall and I was afraid they were gonna be tough as a shoe, so instead of frying them I baked them in a foil covered pie pan with butter, mushrooms, sliced onions and baby carrots.... it was good !

Anybody driven over the bridge or anything ? I was wondering how muddy it got and hoping to give it a shot by mid-week.

Just flushing the leaves and debris from last Fall, which was a welcome event from my standpoint...... They'll fall out quickly I think, there's no more significant rain in the immediate forcast. Shouldn't be any "fish kills" because of it. Doesn't look like the Current, or NFOW got hit very hard in comparison.

I certainly don't sell the trout parks short, I love them. The parks are the best place on earth to hone your skills, or "spar" with fish. Every technique I use that catches fish elsewhere for me, I originally learned in the parks. (I started to say "perfected" but I'm not quite there yet). Your line (or indicator, if that's your thing) reacts the same to a bite in the trout park as it does in Patagonia, and interpreting strikes is a MAJOR key to success everywhere. I wouldn't be half as good as I now am if it weren't for the thousands of bites I've had in the parks. You also get to watch fish react to all sorts of things in the parks...you get to see the "types" of places that they prefer to hold, or hide in. That is something you don't get many oppurtunitys to do when fishing for "wilder" fish. They act the same way in the wild, only difference is you can't always wade in amongst them without disturbing their behavior. I don't get very proud of myself for hooking 30-40 fish a day in a trout park, but I definately get better (at casting, mending, interpreting strikes, setting the hook, and fighting/landing fish) each time I do it, and that pays off bigtime when I fish areas with fewer and spookier fish. The parks are a good place to test or tweek new flys and play with presentations also, if those sore-mouthed, often leader-shy hatchery fish will eat it you can bet your dog the wilder fish in more remote areas will eat it too. At least that's been my experience.

Here's one from the bank of the Niangua river last November

Yep, I have one that I wouldn't trade for anything. It has been many-many miles, upstream and down, lived through two wives... and even lived through a head-on attack by a F2 tornado. The Guide 147 is a fisherman's canoe....perfect blend of propertys for the job. I may get a 169 Discovery and a Penobscott to play in...but I'll never get rid of my Guide 147. I can get down right sentimental 'bout it.

Blue Ribbon sure "sounds" better, but honestly there is only one BR river in MO. that I always find myself truly looking forward to returning to. Never really thought about it before now, but with equal time spent on all I must say that I have had more consistent action, and the most enjoyable times in White Ribbon areas, by far. Taneycomo tailwater, which to me is just another trout park, is my least favorite.... mostly because of the unpredictable flow.

Looks Awesome! What are all those smaller lakes like, that dot the countryside everywhere ? are they mostly shallow sandy holes, or deep crater type lakes ? What's in them? Crystal creek lodge sure looks like a prime location ! What is the name of that extremely crooked river that feeds in there ? That's where I wanna be !!!

The reasonable (do-able) figure I come up with is 3600.00 for 2 people. Much more than that and I could never even consider it....unless I hit the lottery. Personally I would not figure in extra for "seeing a bear", matter of fact I'd throw in a extra 20, if I could, to insure I didn't see one. LOL And no meal is worth more that 40.00 to me, regardless who cooks it or where I'm sitting at when I eat it. A guide for a couple of days would be needed to get a feel for things, but after that I'd want to do my own thing at my own pace. That is unless the river in question is one that requires fishing mostly from a boat ? Bill & Phil, Can you post a google earth image of the stretch of river that you guys guide on ? I'd love to take a birdseye look at it.

It is good to hear from time to time that certain streams are doing ok (fishing well), but in all fairness some really good points are being made here.

I absolutely agree, with a slight exception. I don't believe Crane to be one of them, but there are a few good fisheries in our state that need more "friends". You have to have enough people that love a certain stream and care enough about it so that if any disaster, or rediculis government oriented discision threatens it you have more than just a few guys fighting for it. Does that make sense ? In the case of Crane cr. I believe it is represented well.

"there are quite a few guides in AK who don't like beads... but we out fish them everytime." out fish ? LOL Naw, I'm not gonna go there. To each their own. A grass waving dry fly purist would probably hock-a-loogey on ME for swingin' muddlers, so who am I to say what's fishing and what isn't.

That's the thing, it isn't unethical (to me) if the hook is attached to the bead and you have to physically interpret the strike and set the hook. The theory behind the bead pegging method works like this: The fish take the bead....the hook swings down against the fishes OUTER jaw-line...when the fish expells the bead the hook usually pokes the fish. If you are trying to "catch fish" using this technique and aren't getting it done, then quit "trying"...and you will. For best success do not try to interpret strikes, or set the hook. The rigging is basically a "snare". And that's all I'm gonna say....'bout that

pegging beads is kind of an ethical issue, the technique is designed as a way for lazy guides to simply get a fish on the line of someone who lacks skills .....it is more like politically correct snagging ! whoo Boy, bet I get it for that comment...but that's how I personally see it. Whether it is truly ethical or not is up to the individual I suppose, but It certainly isn't "flyfishing".

Aren't there a few bass clubs that hit the Meramec several times during the year ? Get some side pots going (put a bounty on 'em) and thin them out real good this spring, say in April or early May. And Again in October. Is it legal to keep river spots right before memorial day ?

swEET! I have no room left in my smallie boxes....But who can resist that one ?

All of a sudden, over the last day or so many pics and videos only show up as empty boxes with an [X] at the left-hand corner. Has something gotten screwed up in my settings or something ? Anyone know of an easy fix for this, or something I could check ? I did all the java, media player, and quicktime "updates" but still can't view a lot of the pics and videos that I was able to see just a few days ago. Thanks

Midges have a flavor all their own... pungent, but not overbearing. Less bitter than dogpecker gnats. Pound for pound, I'd take a dish of them over DUCK anyday. "prepared properly" of course.

Once it drops into the teens it might as well be 40 below, far as I'm concerned. Those midges at the high-bank yesterday (Monday), were rediculis. I inhaled/swallowed so many that I didn't have room for the sandwich I took, the cab of my truck is still full of them this morning. What is their lifespan anyway ?

Take a friend, for sure. Night fishing solo, .. far from horse, .. in winter....Bad plan Kemosabe.

Brush is not a necessity for a dock to hold some good crappie, docks positioned over or near bottom structure (points, creek channels ect.) will hold fish just as well...and sometimes better. Now that the lake is low and you can see the shoreline, look for docks close to areas where the bottom composition changes (gravel to chunk rock, or chunk rock to bluff, for example). or docks positioned at the spot where a creek or river channel swings in close to the bank. Those type docks are most consistent on a year-round basis, especially during winter and during severe cold fronts. One of the best winter docks that I know of on this lake has only 15 ft. of water on the out end of it, it is positioned where a little well defined creek ditch runs tight to a shallow point in the back end of a big cove. Bottom line: look for places that would be good even if a dock wasn't there. Brush is an extra (if there is any there) but it doesn't need to be. And pay close attention to the angle of the sun. If a dock cast a shadow 25 feet off one side there may be fish suspended at the edge of that shade line.....which will be behind you if you were fishing THE DOCK. One last tip on dock fishing then I'll shut up: The anchor cables that run from the corner of the dock to the bank, even though they might only be 10 inches below the surface where they sag down ? Never-ever pass up a parallel cast by them at different depths, fish relate to them in a big way...they love'em. Some docks also have cables off the out-end attached to concrete anchors down deep. And don't forget NO WAKE bouy cables on cloudy days (hint: they lean with the current during generation). Go get'em. Good luck

We do a little thing called a slingshot cast. It's fun and works great. There's also baits like the Knight "Little Fishie" and a few other flat sided soft plastic minnow types that skip really well with a circular sidearm type cast. With a little practice you can shoot a jig under the dock from one side to the other, and in between the pieces of foam or encapsulated flotation. It's a neat technique, I'm sure there are a few video's on YouTube somewhere. Bill Dance even had a episode on it once.

That's a pretty stretch of water, reminds me of the upper Current. What is the designation for the water outside the park there (red,white,blue) ? and how far downstream does the trout holding portion extend to? Wish it wasn't so far for me to drive to, but I'll get there eventually. Nice Bows too, thanks for the pics

Bill, I wish I would have had the same Lawyer when I was fighting a trespassing charge on Gravois creek a few years back, there were no signs, no fences, and I accessed the creek from a county road bridge and stayed withing sight of it. I was never confronted by the supposed property owner....a deputy and MDC agent just SHOWED UP, told me I was trespassing and wrote me up. What you said sounds like a very good argument, I would have to agree that is the way it SHOULD work out. But I was given the whole "ignorance of the law" speech....and charged anyway. At the time I couldn't afford to fight it. (1000.00 to retain counsel). Different situations (creek vs. dock) but trespass is trespass I assumed. In closing my input on this I guess I should state that I do service on boats at many of the condo and resort complexes here on LO. The people at some of them are pretty ticked about finding hooks hopelessly tangled in their ropes, holes ripped in their mooring covers from guys extracting their jig hooks, and hooks stuck in the hoist hoses. Like everything else, a few slobs can ruin things for everyone else. That's kinda where I was going when I mentioned the cell phone/driving thing in my earlier post. For Example: I am perfectly capable of making a brief phone call or text while driving without killing anyone or mowing down any mailboxes...but because some teenagers and stressed out soccer Mom's can't seem to pull it off, it will soon be illegal.