Greg

Brian thanks for the kind words. I showed them to Ryker. He still talks about that day he fished with you and Matt Tucker. It was good seeing you. Greg

My wife and I and our 12 year old son made it to our first conclave this year. It was great. Got to meet Dave Whitlock, Davy Wotton, Mark Sodotti, and John Berry. Attended several really good and informative seminars. Saw Michael and Eric from BCO as well as Kim Schultz and Brian Wise. The wife got to visit with Emily Whitlock and Lori Sloas. Lots of cool rods, reels, and other stuff. The highlight of our trip though was the youth conclave. We took our son and also volunteered. We helped transport kids and also assisted a couple of the other kids with fly selection, netting the fish, etc. Dry run creek is a blast!! Our son caught somewhere between 30 and 40 fish - rainbows and browns. No monsters but several really nice ones in the 19 to 20" range. He did hook a monster rainbow but didn't land him. We (Tina and I) were exhausted at the end of the day. The kids hook the fish but if the fish is of any size the grownups jump in and net the fish - sometimes chasing it up and down the river. Great fun but hard on this 47 year old body. I'm attaching a few pics. Lots of great volunteers including Brian Wise (NFOW guide and a friend of ours) and a couple of gentlemen from the Northern Louisiana Fly Fishers. All of the kids I saw (including Ryker) were having a blast. Thanks to everyone that made this conclave so memorable. Greg and Tina Mitchell

John I enjoyed meeting you as well (and thanks for the fly). My wife enjoyed visiting with Lori as well. I wish I could have made your Sat seminar. But we were busy at the youth conclave on Sat. What a blast. Photos and a report to follow on that. Greg

Looks like someone already mentioned it - but for scuds I generally tie the weighted ones with a red head. And the unweighted ones with a thread to match the dubbing color. But here lately I've been tying most of my scuds with a bead head for weight. In that instance they are very easy to distinguish from the unweighted ones. Greg

Troutchaser I was faced with the same dilemma when I finally got a fairly spacious and private office a couple of years ago. And I had a limited budget too. What I did was look on ebay for fairly inexpensive fly fishing prints and posters. I found one print that is of an old fly reel and flies. And a couple of motivational type posters with a fly fishing theme. I framed them myself. They look pretty good. I've gotten a number of compliments on them. It was pretty cheap - way less than $100 for all 3. I've also got a few other assorted fly fishing knick knacks that my wife picked up for me. I think she got all of them off of ebay. Ebay can be a gold mine for such things. Try searching for "fly fishing" or fly fishing poster or print. I also have the mandatory fly fishing calendar on the wall. Greg

I think the good lord knew what he was doing when he gave my wife and I two boys (no girls). The dating thing is hard with boys - I can only imagine how it is with girls. Case in point. Our youngest son (13) last year asked a girl to a middle school dance for the first time. She accepted and all was good. But during the dance when he was trying to play the gentleman - getting her punch, etc she crushed him by saying "Why are you doing all this? We are only together as friends". And it wasn't said in a nice way according to my son. It took him several months to get over that. Greg

I'll second the olive or green mohair leach in size 8, 10, or 12. Very effective and very easy to tie. I'll also second scuds and zebra midges. Both are fairly easy to tie and effective. Greg

Trout fanatic No problems here. I just wanted to make sure you didn't misunderstand me. Thanks for clarifying. Greg

Wishing for them??? Did I or anyone else say that? I don't think so. All I said was that hopefully it won't be as bad as some think. Personally I hope they never gain hold here. My point was that if they do maybe it won't be the Armageddon that some seem to think. But that's me - I've always been of the "glass half full" mentality. Greg

PHW's postings made me curious about this whole zebra mussel issue. So I did a google search and read several articles. One of the best was in wikipedia. It's just amazing the info you can find on the internet these days. Almost all of the articles I read pointed out both detrimental effects of these mussels as well as some positive effects. I had always assumed based on articles in the FF magazines that zebra mussels were a kind of doomsday for lakes and rivers they infected. But from the articles I read - it's not always all bad. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure we would prefer to keep them out if possible. And I think we should do everything possible to prevent their spread. The bad things probably outweigh the good. But maybe it won't be as bad as we think if they do indeed spread and completely infest our beloved Taneycomo as well as other MO and Arkansas lakes and rivers. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel Greg

Oh Great!! I've just recently been able to convince myself that a $60 fly line is really better than the $20 lines out there and worth the extra $$. $100 - incredible. If it really is significantly better though I'm sure at some point I'll be ponying up the bucks for it. Greg

I have a Battenkill bar stock IV and mine is the one made in Korea. I do really like the reel. I've only had it a few months but it's been great in that brief time. I've got a Ross Cimarron too and although I like it also - I do like the Barstock a little better. Reason? The drag on the barstock seems a little smoother and more adjustable. It's a little lighter. And I like the sound (click) better. Both great reels though. The Teton Tioga is a good reel too and right in that price range. Greg

Tim If you want to increase the likelihood of your son getting onto some trout - you might think about a day or morning at Taneycomo before or after you NFOW trip. Taney always fishes well. Greg

I've been hearing rumors that the didymo is getting to really be a problem in Arkansas on the White and Norfork. The Little Red? Is that true? I don't think it has shown up yet in MO - at least not that I am aware of. Greg

Really nice fish John. Greg

I have to ask - what the heck are sea horses???? I've been hearing about Leonard's sea horses off and on for a long time. Thanks, Greg

Troutchaser Speaking from my experiences on Taney - most of my biggest fish have come right at dusk. I've caught a fair # 20" or better in this timeframe over the years. I'm just getting into the night fishing thing but from conversations with Michael (BCO)and one trip with him I've learned that the fish tend to bite well at dusk and then sometimes they "turn off" for several hours. Then it picks back up later in the night. When I'm fishing in the evening I'll sometimes stay over and do a little night fishing and I've occasionally done well - but generally not. I think that's because the best bite is later. Personally though I've had better luck and bigger fish at dusk than early AM/daybreak. Greg

VanVen I'm 6'4" as well but the XXL size of my Simms Lightweights is definitely long enough for me as were the cheaper BPS XXL breathables I had before that. Not doubting you - I'm just surprised that you have difficulty with fit. We could be proportioned differently though. I have a buddy that is 6'5" and he's way longer through the legs than I am. Greg

Great report Michael. Makes me want to schedule that night guide trip with you that my wife purchased for me several months ago. Maybe I'll stop in this week and do that. Greg

I'm definitely a Simms guy. Love the quality of their stuff. It has never let me down yet. I think both the L2 waders or the G3 would do you well. It just depends on what you want. The G3's are fancier with more pockets and features. I have the old Simms lightweights the predecessors to the L2. They have lasted 2 years and still going strong - which is good for me. I'm evidently hard on waders. I also bought mine from Michael at BCO. I finally listened to him and stopped buying cheap $100 waders from BPS. I fish Taney all 4 seasons and I wear medium wt fleece pants under my waders year around (the temp of the water doesn't vary much) and I'm pretty darned comfortable. Fleece made a big difference to me in comfort over the cotton sweats I used to wear - much warmer and more breathable. I also own a Simms Guide vest - I had a Simms Freestone that I liked but saw a Guide vest used on ebay. It was in great shape - almost new. I really like it. Simms even sent me a replacement foam fly patch and retractor clip even though I told them I did not buy it new. Now that's customer service!! Good luck, Greg

There used to be the KOA - it had pretty good fishing right there - but alas it closed last year. Like Phil said the state park is fairly close - but walking distance? It would be a pretty fair walk. Good luck Greg

Even though they are not strictly fly fishing novels - my wife and I both really like the William G Tappley mystery series novels. They feature a fly fishing lawyer (Brady Coyne) that is always getting in some sort of trouble. First and foremost they are mystery type novels. But there is definitely some fly fishing thrown in here and there. Some of the most entertaining books I have read. Greg

Regarding my post even though I am from Spfld - I was not targeting Leonard or anyone in particular. I just don't happen to care for fishing reports where some part of it is kept "secret" on this board or others. Why bother with the report if you do that? If Leonard ties some of his PMS for Lilly's I would certainly buy some too. Greg

Do any of our Roaring River regulars have any thoughts on the huge chicken farming operation that I've been told is coming to the area? It is very controversial. I would sure hate to see the water quality plummet but I don't really know enough to comment one way or the other. Just curious what others think. Greg

CP I think the lack of reports is probably due to a higher percentage of fly fisherman on this board. And while some may disagree I just don't think Meramec Springs is "fly friendly" except during the winter catch and release season. This is due as has been stated to a lack of zones. I have absolutely nothing against spin or bait fishing but I don't think they mix well with fly fishing. I just didn't have a quality experience at MS the times I have fished there. I haven't fished MS in the winter but I've heard it is very enjoyable fly fishing then. Greg