Flyfisher for men

This is all helpful. Many thanks. I'm thinking a adjustment either on the date or even a different lake might be in order. Thanks again!

My Father and I are thinking of spending some time there next July. We like anything that swims, but would focus most likely on bass and crappie. We have basic spin tackle and a 14 foot aluminum boat with a 5-10 HP motor. We'd probably have a trolling motor and one of the simpler depth finders. I'm hearing the lake has a thermocline and is clear. I'm guessing we'd need to fish deep with fluorocarbon??? We'd like a federal campground (My father's senior citizen's discounts apply to those). Ideally, we'd like a campsite that's shaded where we can have the boat anchored for easy access and even fish offshore when we're back at camp. If we came in the middle of the week would we still need reservations?

Shoe polish, maybe?

I noticed a bizarre looking stuffed toy that was being thrown away at school. What I wanted was the hair, but the stuffing looks to be good for dubbing--at least it looks good on a fly. It's white, though, and I'd like to dye some of it to other colors, particularly the browns and blacks used in nymphs. It's some sort of synthetic material; I dropped a bit in some coffee, but it didn't stain. Any suggestions besides the ol' magic marker/sharpie approach? That toy (I believe it's called a Blockhead) was a jackpot--the hair is long and flourescent green and could be used for bass flies. An added bonus is an orange/yellow puffball nose that's just about right for a glo-bug.

I'll add the gold ribbed hare's ear. One of the best ever. The advice you're getting is very good, and from people who know those places well. Here's a website for you that will be a treasure trove for learning flyfishing: www.flyanglersonline.com/ They have some great articles. For good flies, click on "Flyfishing basics" on the left side of the screen, then "Flyfishing 101". Scroll down and you'll see several things like "10 best dry flies," "10 best nymphs." There are also links for streamers and wet flies. I think a good strategy is to build up a small arsenal of flies that have worked in many places over and over; those pages will guide you well. The people in the flyshop will know what is working locally--and they could well be the flies you already have. If not, you can get them at the shop. A lot of those flies will work on other species, too, especially bass and bluegills. It's a good idea to get a handful of poppers for them and keep them with your trout gear. If you find yourself near bluegill and bass water, you'll be fully loaded for them as well. They also give you something very offbeat to present to trout when nothing else is working.

Thanks for the reply, Terry. I think you're right about the felt being too limp. It's very wispy. I'll play around with some other materials and see what happens.

Reading other threads, I don't exactly understand what dubbing wax does. Also, I am a priest and have been cleaning out an old chapel storage closet. There's some old pieces of candles (enough to fill a box) that I was going to throw out. Church candles are normally a high percentage of beeswax and some of these I know are 100%. Should I save them? Next question: I have some felt pieces I used on a couple of basic nymphs. I'm new to this and the flies look like something only a starved bluegill could love. Looking at it with my inexperienced eye, though, the felt doesn't appear to be the right material to give the nymph the woolly/crinkly look of gills and legs. Is that anyone else's experience or is it probably my due to my inexperience as a tyer?

I grew up in the Flint Hills of Kansas near Council Grove reservoir and city lake. I learned to fish there and think of them as home waters. I live in Atchison, Kansas now and fish some watersheds in town and a nearby state fishing lake.

During our coffeee break this morning, a friend and I were doing some planning for a fishing trip to Bennett Spring this summer. Somebody set out a package of those hideous-tasting "peeps" they sell for Easter candy, and I suddenly had the idea that they'd make deadly trout bait. I'm a hardcore flyfisherman, but I think at some point on the trip, I'll wander over to the bait section and put one of those glorified marshmallows on a baitcasting rig. I've got a hunch the trout would slobber over them. If it works, we might have found a use for those awful things . . .

Thanks for the replies. I've never had any thought of wading in high water, only low. I use the life vest mainly to protect against a sudden rise in water level that catches you out in the stream. Not sure if the rises are that sudden on the White, but I've been around tailwaters that were. Frankly, I'd stay out of the water altogether on that sort of river/stream. Again, thanks for the input. It sounds like in my situation, the White may not be the best option. I may look at Missouri as was suggested.

I am thinking of taking a trip to the White in July or August. While I prefer wading and flyfishing, is it possible to fish the bank when the generation makes wading too dangerous? If the fly rod is not feasible, I could certainly be content using spin tackle to fish from shore, if that is possible. My concern is making an eight hour drive to Arkansas and not being able to fish at all. The other issue I want to mention is that there's a good chance I'd be fishing alone. I would always have a life vest and wading belt and can swim. However, I'm 350 lbs. and won't set a speed record exiting the water. I'd appreciate anyone's do's and don'ts and even blunt words like "It's too dangerous to wade if you're alone or not in top shape."

I took my first trout fishing trip ever at Bennett Spring in August and have been wondering ever since why the trout there (and the other parks) don't spawn. Is it due to water temps, bottom quality, or something else altogether?