Robert

TFO builds a fine rod. I have three. Two four pcs, and one two pcs. I have a 9'5wt and a 9'8wt in four pcs, and a 9'8wt in two pcs. The Pros are lighter, and quicker rods, and the alignment of the pieces is easy, just match the blue dots. The two piece Signature series is a great rod as well. More flex to the rod than the Pro series, but it is also a heavier rod. Now, the real reason for going to four piece rods is, I'm tired of messing with the airlines. It usually goes something like this, I'm sorry sir we can not let you take that package on board. There is no room in the over head. The bottom line is the airlines actually did me a favor and forced me to by a couple of rods I really like. I would reccomend the Pro rod to anyone and do.

Nice looking vest. I have tried many of them. They all just get down right heavy. When a person thinks about it we rarely use all we carry. All we really need is a fly box, spare leader, tippet, lead, nippers, floatant, and such. I refuese to carry a net. I do not keep fish anyway. The $19.USD gadget that slides down the leader and releases the fish works fine. Opps, I do cary a couple of pair of forceps. My vest wears me out as have all the other ones I tried. As older age approches eight pounds or more of vest is not too exciting.

Terry, That is a good site for Davy's knot. I use Davy's knot when I'm fishing, and I demo it at least once a day when I'm working. I believe in an email Davy said he has been using his knot since the 1950's.

Phil, Thanks for a great site. BTW, maps of Taney help a great deal. Please keep up the good work. Robert

Rick, I agree with you for what it is worth. How about the Royal Coachman, now the Royal Wulff. Modified and maybe for the better. Does this make Lee Wulff a bad guy or a man who liked a fly and improved on the origional? Jim Murphy ties the best Leech there is going. He has been very kind with me, and showed me how to tie the leech. In fact if there was a fly tieing contest my money would be on Jim!!

Davy, Your knot is tops. I saw some friends of Dave Whitlock at the store last week and showed them the Davy knot. I'm sure you must have heard about it. We spent much time tieing your knot and discussing same. All agreed to give it a try. I need to bring in some clipped off shoe laces for a better demo I have a huge hook to use for demo. I have given up using the improved cinch for tieing on flies. Your knot and the polomar knot for Atlantics is all I use know. Thanks for a great knot!! Bob

I have fished in North Carolina, and in Tennessee. In fact I have pretty much fished the whole mountain range from Maine to Georgia. Native brook trout are the name of the game. They are wild and spooky. I caught my first brooky at age six, and at age 69 it is still a thrill. The mountains are like a second home for me. I go back East every year. Quite like the salmon returning home every year. I have caught and released many in my lifetime. Just to be out there is a huge high. Robert Springfield, MO

Knots can be troublesome. Lubracation is usually the problem when snuging the knot tight. Florocarbon tippet is very prone to heat up when the knot is tightened. I'm using the Davy Wotton knot for tieing on flies. The following site will give anyone instructions on how to tie it. http://www.pechetruite.com/Noeuds/Davy-knot.htm Lubracate the knot before you pull it tight. 90% of all fish lost are due to a knot tied incorrectly.

I'm very sorry to hear about Jim. I was speaking with him a week ago about his salmon fishing trip in Canada. Bob

I use the improved clinch knot, and have no problems. As suggested in another post I do cut off 1.5' on a nine foot leader and tie on a tippet. Of course lubracation of the knot has a lot to do with its ability to hold. A little spit helps a lot. Heat is generated when pulling a knot tight.

An old Boy Scout here. If you get in poison ivy make sure you have a cake of Fell's Naptha soap. That soap will do the job. I hope they still sell the stuff. Brown cake of soap.

Mine is sent as well. The whole thing sounds pretty sneaky. Thanks for the heads up on this one Phil.

Hi Dano, You are quite right the trip to New Brunswick was about a quarter of the price of a trip to Alaska. I looked into Alaska, and it was about $4,000 + Airfare. I have the change and dollar jar ready for next year. I'll be filling it as the year goes by. Robert

Hi Dano, If it had not been for the airfare this would have been a very reasonable trip. Seven nights, six days guided on the river, three squares a day, and pickup and delivery to the airport was only $1,100.USD. The airfare got me for $600.USD. I just called up there last night to get the proper address, and was told the water is receeding and four salmon were caught this past week. Next year I will fly to Manchester, NH or Bangor, ME from Tulsa. There was a couple visiting one evening while I was in camp. The lady had landed a 35 pound salmon last year. She figures a pound a minute on landing a fish. Next year it will be September for me. Robert

Hello All, I made it back all safe and sound. I had a great time on the Miramchi River in New Brunswick Canada. The water was high and fast as it had only stopped raining a few days before I got into camp. The fish were running and that is a good thing, but with the high water they were not stopping in the pools. Not a salmon was caught in camp all week. We were catching Smolt and fiesty brook trout on salmon flies. They have recieved some more rain since I left. I got to the lodge at 2:00AM we saw two moose and a deer on the way up from the airport. I got four hours sleep, and then off to a breakfast big enough for a lumberjack. We fished from 0800 to 1200. Then a huge noon dinner and back on the water from 1700 to 2100. Time for a whisky and a shower and off to bed. I had a cabin to myself with a screened in porch. My biggest problem was to get the meals cut down. I got it down to two pcs of toast and plenty of coffee for breakfast, smaller meal at noon time, and saved the desert when I got in for the evening to have with the whisky. I fished very hard and for eight hours a day for six days. My rod broke after the third cast on the first day. I got a full refund from the shop and bought a new TFO 9' 8wt 2pcs. The guide went right to his truck and grabbed a new Ovis rod we put my reel on and I used that rod for the rest of the week. I was very lucky as I fished with a very seasoned guide for the whole week. He was a heck of a nice guy. I think we tried every high water spot he had ever seen a salmon taken from. Same guide all week. He was the owners brother. 40 years on the water. I did not catch a salmon. Smolt do not count. I'm booked in for September of 2007. That should give you all an idea of what I thought of the place. The main lodge was better than most plush hotels. We had a seperate building for meals, and a seperate building for dressing for fishing, and a seperate stall for each fisherman in camp. Aminals seen. 9 moose(two young bulls not 50' apart, in a bog), 2 black bear, deer, golden and bald eagles, lots of grouse, and a bever that must have weighed 60 pounds. Early spring and fall are the best times. If the water is down mid June can be very good. The water temperature was 60F, and the air temperature was in the 80's daily. One afternoon I was taken to a fly shop nearby. I have been having a hard time spinning deer hair. The owner sat me right. All he sells in that shop for reels is Hardy. I gained no weight, met some really great people, caught some wild fish, and got back to some really great country. I made three vows. I'll never fly out of Kansas City, never fly Delta, and never fly through Logan Airport in Boston. The next time I will fly out of Tulsa via Southwest Airlines to Manchester, NH. Drop the wife off at her mother's place, get a rental and drive to the lodge. Bob Andrews Springfield, MO

Thanks Phil for a great forum.

Taney was great Wednesday. According to the report they ran two generators Tuesday night. The upper end is cleaner, but still too much bottom scum. Wednesday I had a super day at the upper end. I fished from the riffle above shoot two almost down to rebar. It was almost a fish a cast. If not a fish it was a short strike. The fish had some fight to them. It was a lot of fun. I even caught about six down below the big whole on Crackleback. Not big fish on dry but fun. I believe I saw Phil drift fishing. He was doing very well. An hour flush a day would help Taney a lot.

The best season would be the Cards and Red Sox in the World Series with Stan The Man tossing out the first pitch.

Shuffling should be Illegal. As I understand it Arkansas does not allow it nor do they allow more than one fly on a line. Yet, a couple of weeks ago a SUV from Arkansas pulled in at the shoot two parking lot. Four guys jumped out and proceed to the water and shuffled to rebar. These guys had a plan and it worked. They caught some nice fish. They came to Missouri to do something they can not do in Arkansas. Isn't there a sportsmanship issue here as well?

I'm a newbe to Taney. I started fishing right after the schools opened last year. I have been fishing in the lake/river at least once a week since. The regulars are very helpful. I watch and observe, and catch/release my fair share of fish. I perfer stripping flies and do most of the time. One of the reasons I moved here was to trout fish. My wife and I moved to Springfield last July after living in Virginia for 26 years. We are from New Hampshire origionally. While living in Virginia my fly fishing skills were an anual trip to The Forks in Maine for native Wild Brook Trout. I'm looking into a trip to Newfoundland for big brookies and Atlantic Salmon. Just looking at the moment. The Airfare is a killer. The fishing is reasonable. I'd like to go to the Stephenville, NF area. I Moose hunted there in the early 70's with great success. The fishing season was coming to an end that time of year. We did see some nice trout in the remote lakes and ponds. The Atlantic Salmon runs are some of the best. Springfield was a compromise and a good one. I fish and my wife shops. My wants at Taney are few. I'd like to see the trophy area fly fishing only, and catch and release. The Lake/River is 21 miles long as I understand it. Three miles for fly fishing is very little. Thanks very much to those who have been so helpful.

Sounds like we are doing it the same way Steve. Except I will get some Loon Knot Sense to seal the nail knot and fly line end. I too have 200' of ?Amnesia? I carry a some loops made up in my vest. Their is always someone looking to cob up a leader attachment. Just something to pass on. If we can keep people fly fishing we are doing a good thing.

I do not use anything on the knots, but will give that some thought. I trim my knots very close. I get a very small loop with the perfection knot. I did not mean to say that super glue was not a good idea. It worked for me for many years. The only problem with that set up is you loose line every time you change leaders.

I used Super Glue for years for leader to fly line attachment. It worked fine except when a leader change was needed. If you are going to use super glue, store it in the refigerator. I now have a loop on all my fly lines. A perfection loop, nail knoted to my line using 20# test Sunset ?Amnesia?. I picked that setup from Steve at the Fly shop at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. Robert

Lots of high water today, and the temperature was brisk. I fished the upper end all day. When I got to the lake/river the dam was running 3 generators. About 10:00AM the generation let up a bit. I fished along the north edge between shoot one and two. I saw some reall huge rainbows and they were right along side in and out of the grass. Not much action, but they are near shore. Once the water got down to a level to wade I did have some action above shoot two. My best luck was with dark weighted streamers. I was casting toward the south bank, and letting the current move the fly along the bottom. Some of the fish were short striking the hook. Had to trim the tail a bit. Then the action started. It was a slow day by Taney standards, but I was out of doors, and fishing. It was also very quiet....forgot to put my hearing aid in. I'll probably just have to leave that thing in the truck. Bob Andrews

Today was a grand day on the upper lake, but any day is a grand day when fishing. Taney is special. Nothing like a fly rod in hand and nice rainbows taking your offering. I'm not very good with names but I did meet the moderator of this forum at Taney today. Enjoyable experence. Always nice to meet other fishermen.