fishinwrench

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.

I have no doubt that it would draw a crowd, but I question the motive. The info and product is already out there, easy to find for anyone interested in either getting into FF, or looking for something to serve a specialized need. Plus there are clubs and forums for comaraderie,outings and sharing of skills and experiences. Leave the product showcasing to the retailers in their shops. It is my opinion (and I'm sure this is going to rub a bunch of you the wrong way) that FF is being somewhat overly promoted. Sure FF is a great sport, but it is also at a pretty good balance point already. I watched Bass fishing (as a sport) go completely stupid with "pro staffers" and "reps". In Bass fishing nobody buys much from smaller retailers anymore because EVERYONE knows SOMEONE who's father, brother, or best friend is a "rep" or a "pro-staffer" and can "get them a deal" or better yet, the holy grail...a sponsorship It is rediculis and I see FF headed in the same direction. Lately it seems that everyone that is into flyfishing is agressively promoting something, and frankly (to me) it is starting to get an old familiar smell to it.

I use the no-knot barbed metal pins in my 6 and 7wt. sink-tip lines, and just tie on 3-4ft. of 4x usually. The way I look at it.... the less knots between me and the fly, the better.

Are we talking "above" the lake, or below ?

Nine-point balsa streamer, I bet

As a general rule A good catfish lake doubles as either a good Bluegill or Crappie lake....one or the other, but seldom both.

Starting to see bass on beds, in the little protected sub-coves. (no longboats around those spots) Pitch a tube or lizard at them and you should get some action. If you are opposed to sight-fishing bedding bass you can drag carolina rigs, or pitch jigs to shallow docks and brush. It's almost hard to NOT catch bass right now. Crappie are beginning to scatter, they should be on the beds full force by the time this front passes.

Nice mess. I'm not sure why, but they taste better when you catch them on flys.

Thanks. Well, the wind settled down this afternoon and I caught a dozen eating sized Gills, several mediocre Crappie and a few Bass....no more Redears. Flyrodding ponds is a blast ! Had a run-in with a pissed-off beaver...I think she had babys nearby. She smacked a few times then headed straight for me...GROWLING... and went underwater about 30 feet from where I was standing knee deep in hip boots. I leaped back up on the bank like Spiderman

Anything less than a 9 for 7 and I feel handicapped, when targeting smallies. Some of the flys I throw push a lot of wind, and others are like casting a wet dishrag. I require a rod like a 7wt. St.C LU to throw tight loops with bigger flys.

I hit my favorite bluegill lake this morning, I had caught several 8-9 inch gills and then set up on one that felt like a record-buster...turned out to be a big Hybrid Redear....talk about a fight on a moderate action 5wt. Several casts later, to the same stump, another one (as big or bigger) broke 4X and jumped to throw the fly. I would have hammered'em today I think, but by 12:30 the wind got to be too much. I'm hoping it will lay down a few hours before dark today.

Yeah, I've seen them on fish before, just thought it was odd (and a little disturbing) that the only fish in the creek that had them were the Smallies (10 to 13 inchers). I couldn't believe the size of some of the green Sunfish I caught... they were pounders, big enough to inhale a 4 inch fur strip muddler on a #2 hook

Hit a creek today that was kinda choked up with algae (cow farm upstream). I caught Smallmouth, Largemouth, and some really big green sunfish. All the Smallies had little black specks in all their fins and tails and a couple had small leeches attached to their gill plates. They seemed healthy as far as color/size/weight, but I don't understand why the Largemouth and Sunnies were clean of the parasites. None of the LM's or Sunfish had a single speck on them....but the Smallies were pretty much ate up with them. Any ideas ?

How's the Dairy farm fishin' ? I hear tales of dinner plate sized Bluegill..... Real or urban legend ?

I was told by a old MO.river Rat (and it has proven true so far...) that the best wing-dike action comes from the dikes that are just downstream from big sand bars. The area from Portland access down to where the Katy trail turns away from the river is really good, and you can access several good dikes on foot, although a bicycle or a boat helps. And BTW, that little pub in Portland serves a mean tenderloin sandwich

I had a pretty good afternoon on the river yesterday (Fri.), Caught 6 Rainbows, one was a real pig, and missed a lot of bites. I was swinging Muddlers on a sink-tip. I'd give it a twich about mid-swing and they'd hammer it. No locational pattern really, I got bit in the riffles, tailouts and pools. It seemed like the fish were scattered everywhere. Saw a pair of guys doing pretty good throwing spinners and spoons also.