fly2fish

After all of the high water last year I spent 75% of my time jig fishing at night. Since the fish were hanging close to the bottom, Leonard turned me on to tying the same fly patterns that are used at night streamers, PMS, and pine squirrel sculpin on an 1/8 jig head was the ticket. I still don't come to Taney without my spinning rod in tow and an assortment of jigs just in case they are running 2 units or more. Last year and just recently the jigs caught smallmouth, kentuckies, white bass, crappie, googleeye, walleye, largemouth, and both rainbows and browns. I have found that jig fishing is best with at least 2 units running to get a good bounce or slow roll going, any less and the jig just sits and gets hung up more often. On a side note weekend before last I had some guys try and steal my spinning rod while I was at outlet 1. I had taken both my fly rod that I had just bought from another OAF member that day and spinning rod down to the access just below outlet 1 parking lot. I knew there was at least 3 people at the outlet, I usually leave the rod I am not using leaning against a tree or brush close to the waters edge. When I see someone coming I turn and put the light on the rod so they can see it, in this case I had waded out a ways to get to the current and had to wade back in. There were 2 young foreign guys (not south of the border) late teens that had start down, I met them and talked with them for a while and they said they had been at outlet 1 with 2 others with them and they were going back down there. After a while I thought they were leaving and went down to outlet 1 and all 4 were still there and I tried to get through the brush and above the point , no dice. I went back to the stairs and they told me to wade out on the steps if I wanted and I told them I would show them how to drift with a lighted indicator. I leaned my spinning rod against a tree while I was showing them a lighted indicator, after about 5 minutes of drifting 3 of the younger guys left and only an older man with them stayed. When the older man started to leave I noticed my rod was gone. I followed him back to the parking lot and asked them if they had mistakenly picked up an extra rod. At first they acted like they didn't know what I was talking about then one of them reached in the back of their car and pulled it out and said one of the other guys said get his rod and he thought it was theirs. I don't know how they could have mistaken my rod for theirs because they had their reels DUCT TAPED to their rods! Anyway I got my rod back and went back down and had a productive night. F2F

I am here but I will be there the weekend after this.

Sent you a PM, I will be coming through Joplin this weekend. Henry

After you find which one is best, I will be up Saturday night F2F

You could also make a night trip to Taney and catch more and bigger fish than Crane.... F2F

Hey Thom, I will be there Friday night if my mother is out of the hospital and back to the nursing home. I will be staying through Monday. If you are leaving Sat. morning you probably don't want to fish late Friday night, but if you do let me know, I am going to try and drag Leonard out. F2F

Seems like it is one thing after another, since my mother suffered a stroke last month and was moved from the hospital to a nursing home near us, my father entered the hospital the day before he was supposed to move into the assisted living center next door to the nursing home. We had already moved his furniture in and while he was in the hospital for a touch of pnumonia in his right lung, they got that cleared up, found a small blood clot and took care of that. But on a CT scan they found that he had pancreatic cancer and it was fairly advanced even though he has never had any pain or other symptoms other than weight loss. We had to move him from the hospital yesterday to the same nursing home and move the furniture again. Even though the prognosis on both isn't very good, my mom continues to improve some and continues with therapy. Thanks for your prayers they have made a definite difference. Henry

Thats what I would be afraid off, bringing in a 10 in. rainbow , having it eaten by a 20+ in. brown then swallowed by a 40 lb+ striper all on a 4wt. F2F

Great pics but one question How much did you charge the bears for the guide trip? And it looks like they don't catch and release either. F2F

I can get some nighttime flies to you via Mike P. if you would like before you go and I get some time to tie them. I had to bypass Branson on the way back a couple of weeks ago because of my mothers stroke but I am going this Saturday but not to fish. Give me a PM of when you are going and if you need flies. F2F

I am unable to reply to any topic, I can post new topics but when I select reply it says I do not have that capability. Thanks, F2F

My mother had a stroke back here in Oklahoma Tuesday while we were on a trip to St. Louis and planned on stopping in Branson for a couple nights fishing and stocking my wifes booth. We canceled the Branson part and headed straight back home. Right now it is day to day she is in an out of consciousness, Thursday the doctor said it was hour to hour but today he said it looks more like day to day they are still trying to establish the trend she is taking. The bleeding stopped on its own for now but they feel the damage is done and what ever happens will determine her outcome. Thanks, Henry Crouch F2F

Click on "Benson's gone" in the original post for the article. F2F

All the strippers I catch at night are on PMS but I don't think they would allow the pictures on here. F2F

I wonder if we can get some of Leonards "special coffee" beans.

I think the intent of the rules need to be defined more clearly. I don't think the rule about plastic, live bait and scent was meant to prevent anglers from catching more fish with these baits but to prevent the fish from taking the bait deeply, after all this is the intent of the trophy area, to release fish unharmed that do not meet the length limits. I think an officer would have and should have the judgement if a bait or lure is fished in a way that would prevent a fish from being hooked deeply. I know that there are times that a fish will inhale a legal fly so deep that you need hemos or needle nose to reach it no matter how fast you were stripping it. The rules were established with the thinking that natural bait or scented plastics would be swallowed more deeply, but I don't see that bouncing an unscented plastic grub vs. a maribou jig would result in a higher mortality rate. To me the treble hooks on the (legal) hard plastic lures do more damage to the fish than any single hook artificial. F2F

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If Danna's is closed try Chesters on the east end of 76 next to Hillbilly motel. Great burgers.

Them walleyes have sharp teeth.

I don't mind the bass or bluegills doing that but the walleyes are a different story.

Does Leonard give a guarantee with his flies? I have a Hibenator I got from him one night that I have caught over 100 fish on, I think I should have got more, can I get my money back? Oh wait... he gave it to me for getting it unstuck out of his back one night. F2F

I got my Browning Sterling 8' 3wt ($40) and Browning Citori reel ($20) from a guy that had gotten them from a employee sale a few years ago. Also bought 8 8' 5wt 6 pieces rods from him for less than $10 a piece gave them away to each of our company flyfishing club members that attended the Christmas dinner. The Browning rod and reel was the main door prize that I won, I kept the rod but put the reel back in the drawing because I had bought one for myself anyway. I knew an engineer there a few years ago that took some of the reels that failed quality inspection home and rebuilt them himself and sold or gave them away, he was not even a fisherman himself. F2F

Once in a while I still have something hit my lighted indicator at night, I think it is smaller fish just making a pass at it thinking it was a lightening bug. It could be larger fish but none have engulfed it enough to take it down. I don't think incorporating a glo stick into a fly would still make a legal fly because of the plastic but then most lures rapalas, rat-L-traps and other floaters are hard plastic. But if I did tie one I guess you would have to tie the hopper and leave a couple of copper loops on the bottom along the hook shank so you could break the light sticks and insert one in the loops and tighten them up. Now someone will try it and start a debate over whether their "strike indicator" is legal or not. F2F

That is a year round thing, you can have it in winter also, warm air cool water, or cold air warm water. I fished in January this year with the temp right around freezing and there was fog. Usually if it is raining there is no fog. Another reason to know your way around at night so when you start out across the water or gravel bar and can not see 10 ft. in front of you much less the bank on either side. F2F