Old Stumbler

Wonderful pics Ducky. I wished I hadn't wussed out on your invite. I would probably have scared all the fish off. Enjoyed your photos. Those are for a good studio photo show for sure. If it wasn't for guys like you, us homers would never see those fish. Proud to call you a friend. Dwayne and Pam

Thanks Duane. I am having a Roger Maris Birthday. 61 today. I may go tomorrow. I have too much to do today. I was going yesterday but they were running a lot of water so I stayed around home.

Congrats on your new arrival. Those big brothers can help keep track of her. I am sure you are all relieved and excited about getting her home. Pam and I are very happy for you, your wife, and the boys. Will talk to you later. Congrats again.

Scientists say the Pavlof Volcano in Alaska, seen here in an undated photo, is set to blow. Although it may disrupt air travel, the volcano doesn't make the list of the five most dangerous in the U.S. Good Luck Boys and Girls

I can tell you folks have a lot of experience and have lots of skill at what you do best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, now boys, remember what happens at Taney stays at Taney!!!!!!! I just thought I would have another tool in the bag and those little hooks don't weight much. Sometimes little means better and small is better than nothing at all in many ways of life. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I corrected the error Leonard. If thats my worst mistake today I am doing very well. I stumbled around half the night in the dark and made it fine. Then I take a fall going down the steps to the basement while putting up my equipment. Thank goodness no harm done but it could have been bad. Carrying too much stuff was my first mistake of the day. A little ice on the knee cap and I am ok. Hope you have better luck tonight.

I now have proof the myth that Leonard does not own a net is only fishing buddy harrassment. He definitely does have a net and he will use it once in a great while when he wants his picture taken. Fishing was challenging last night but Leonard saved us from a total shut out. Water ran all night or until we gave it up about 4 am. It was a beautiful night with light fog and a moon that provide a view of the horizon, but at 706 the water level limited where you would like to fish. His PMS (secret fly), contributed to our saving grace. It didn't help me however. Bites where far and few for the few fishing addicts who arrived last night.Many of them spent as much time setting and waiting for the water to shut off which never happened. Here is Leonard's 19" brown with his net included. He may need a larger net if he keeps catching those nice browns.

Nathan, I was planning on going down tonight. Leaving The Queen city about 10 or so. I have a green Chevy Silverado with a bed cover on it. Good luck.

Hey Leonard, your site looks great. You have a real passion, energy, touch of humor and skill for night fishing. I know you can pass on those skills to those of us who desperately need them. Knee Deep and I think you will do great. You are a good instructor and very patient. See you again soon on Taney nights. We will keep in touch.

Leonard and I were fishing at the big hole a week ago about 11 pm and it sounded like three bears coming down the penninsula toward us, crunch, crunch, splash, splash, . Well it wasn't bears. It was Michael, Eric, and Stubby. They aren't exactly night stalkers. I think they ran the bears off.

I may try tonight or early in the morning. It will be my last chance until mid July

Yes, Leonard doesn't have any hats to keep the water out of his eyes. A major weakness in his fishing equipment. He called me tonight and I warned him about the rain. Thats ok. I will sleep well tonight and worry about fishing tomorrow. I love my bed. I could float a boat down most of the streets in Springfield tonight. See you later and hope your lines are tight.

Well, it is Sunday morning and I have finally recovered from Friday night. I wish I had the go power some of these young guys. Leonard, I will call you about some of those secret flys. Keep on Stripping guys, I wanna be a better Stripper too. I need some better moves.

Had a nice evening and early morning at Taney with the experts. Caught and few fish and watched them show there wares and skills. Definitely takes some skill to fish in the dark and have patience to keep going when your back is screaming at you. Of course these guys feel no pain. They are youngsters and need little sleep. Warning, Leonard does know how to strip. He could make a real good living at it. I did learn a few tricks but I am a little old for the real money. We had a good time and mostly had the lake to ourselves. We left at 2 am. and we were the only two vehicles in the lot. I have one question that really is bothering me. How does Leonard have time to add to the family when he spends his nights standing in the Middle of Taneycomos cold water? Thanks Leonard and duckydoty for a great evening of stripping.

Saturday morning Knee Deep and I were fishing below the Table Rock Dam enjoying a beautiful day. We observed a young couple and a small boy maybe 8 or 10 years old coming down the bank on the South side of the lake. Not your easiest stroll climbing over huge rocks and trees that have fallen over. The little boy kept getting further and further ahead of the adults maybe 75-100 yards. The adults didn't seem to be too alarmed only an occasional wait up I presume. We were very disturbed watching this scene develop in front of us. The gap got wider and wider. When the little boy got to the cable he just kept on going, going and going. He reached the gravel bar in front of the Dam and he kept on moving. Now he was on the concrete in the center of the Dam. Still they acted like they were on a tour of the place. The adults finally reached the gravel bar in front of the Dam. They too took there place gazing up toward the top of this rather large pile of concrete. I guess they were looking for cracks. Well no one including ourselves even bothered to hollar at them. Just wondering how secure our infra structure really is in this country when wondering soles can get that close to a very important land mark with absolutely no difficulty. After about 30 minutes of standing around under the Dam they finally leasurely begain moving back down the south side of the lake . We weren't alone as we observed this development and no Corp officials spotted them. Amazing to us. Must not be much security on the place. Is there a fine for fishing above the cable but no violation for sight seeing? Keep the lines tight and enjoy the fishing. Old Stumbler and Knee Deep's Saturday Observations.

Pam and I will be down early Sat. Rain or Shine. Not sure of our menue yet. Brought K. C. chicken last time. Not sure how that goes over with all the exotic cooking going on. Look forward to listening to the experts. Take care and see everyone then. Good fishing!

Yes Saturday was a beautiful day. We started fishing about 6:45 pm below the Dam at Tablerock. It was a bit nippy and Pam or Knee Deep was cold. They were generating two and it was about 706. Nice for Chute No 1. Knee deep was complaining about her Arthritic hands being cold and after a while she went back to the truck to warm up. I stayed on fishing. It was rather slow but I kept on casting and catching a few. You see men can't leave when it is cold. We are the dominant ones you know. Well while she was gone I caught a 19" Brown that was rather heavy. I did have witnesses but no pic. It was also a nice fair catch. No snags. Well to make a long story shorter Knee Deep finally returned and caught a few on her new favorite self tied fly, the WD-40. We hung in until about noon and the bear in my stomach was talking to me and I decided I wasn't for being dominate any longer. I told my wonderful wife that I was going to the truck. She said ok and made one more cast at a large rainbow she had been stalking all morning. It took her favorite fly and the fight was on. Her and the Rainbow. I layed my net down in the water and she guided it in very gently. I didn't realize how big it was until I saw him fill up my rather large net. Well we got pics, measured him, weighed and released him in good shape. Pam was the happiest I have ever seen her. This was truly an epic moment in her short trout fishing experience. She has been fishing for trout about 3 years with a fly rod. She is the perfect fishing partner. She loves to tie exotic flies and all the basic stuff we use at Taney and elsewhere. To be honest she out fishes me on most days. We have really enjoyed our new hobby and all the great friends we meet. We have met most of you that post on here and will try to see you all on May 19. Enjoy what we have in the Ozarks because we aren't around long or healthiest enough to enjoy it. Good day Friends, and keep on casting.

Jim Murphy did a nice job at the MFTA meeting last night. He does an excellent job with the smallmouth patterns. It sure is gloomy out this morning. I have a few errands to run. I am out of here.

This is Pam. My first fish of '07 was caught on Jan 1 and it was a 17in. brown. Wasn't even wading just on the bank messing around.

My X had a 10 sec fuse. I always enjoyed lighting it She finally blew the coup

Pam and I had a nice time visiting the forum members today. We would like to thank everyone responsible for setting up this event. The food was great and the weather cooperated enough that it was a comfortable day to fish. Hope we can do this more often. Great day. The fish were cordial enough to provide us with some additional fun this afternoon. Happy New Year to ALL.

Well I fished from 12 noon till about 11 P.M on Friday and I was getting pretty tired. I had not sat down the entire time. I would have stayed longer but I still had to drive an hour back to Springfield. I drive a green quad cab Silverado with a bed cover on it. I even had to get it jumped when I was ready to leave. A young man from Dardenele (sp?) Ark. helped me get going with a jump from his truck.Thanks again. I caught a few browns that evening on a black bunny strip. Seems they would pick it up when I was letting it just sit on the bottom. When do the browns start to slack off on spawning? Well I have re-rigged and I am ready to try again soon.

I spend a lot of time reading the posts and have met a lot of you. With the help of my wife Pam and fishing partner I was able to negotiate this technology hurdle and am now able to visit a bit. We have fished for a long time and have adopted fly fishing as our favorite old folks pastime. I am a retired teacher and with a part time job. I have been doing some night fishing and thus doing a lot of stumbling around at Tanycomo down by the Dam in the dark. Thus the name Old Stumbler. I ran into Leonard last night and met his father. That is a great thing to take your Dad fishing. My wife and I are members of the MTFA and are regulars at Back Country Outfitters. I'm keeping Michael in business. Well I won't dominate your time. Keep your batteries fresh and the line tight. Thanks to the young man who helped me jump my pickup battery about 11 pm last night. Must find out whats causing that. Catch a few and enjoy the moment.

I spend a lot of time reading the posts and have met a lot of you. With the help of my wife Pam and fishing partner I was able to negotiate this technology hurdle and am now able to visit a bit. We have fished for a long time and have adopted fly fishing as our favorite old folks pastime. I am a retired teacher and with a part time job. I have been doing some night fishing and thus doing a lot of stumbling around at Tanycomo down by the Dam in the dark. Thus the name Old Stumbler. I ran into Leonard last night and met his father. That is a great thing to take your Dad fishing. My wife and I are members of the MTFA and are regulars at Back Country Outfitters. I'm keeping Michael in business. Well I won't dominate your time. Keep your batteries fresh and the line tight. Thanks to the young man who helped me jump my pickup battery about 11 pm last night. Must find out whats causing that. Catch a few and enjoy the moment.