Greg

Pictures? I guess you mean of the flies? I don't think I've ever tried to post pics on this site. I'll may give it a try although my digital camera is only middling quality. The shooting and skinning or plucking seems like a hassle to me too. I'm not a hunter either. I think I'll continue to buy. Greg

I'd never thought of shooting my own. That would be a good thing as they are a real nuisance bird. But for those of you that don't hunt - I bought mine from feathercraft. $5 I think it was. I tied up a few more soft hackles last night and they continue to look great. The starling feathers just seem ideally suited for that purpose. Greg

I just thought I might pass on this tip. I really like fishing soft hackles particularly in the smaller #18 sizes. But in the past when I've tried to tie them they would just never look right - the hackle portion in particular. Partly because I've found it really hard to find feathers in these smaller sizes without buying an expensive ($30 - 40)cape. But I just recently discovered starling capes/feathers. They are only a few bucks for a cape with a ton of feathers including a lot in those smaller sizes. I tied some up yesterday and they look really good - almost as good as the ones you can buy at BCO or RR outfitters. Hopefully they'll fish well too. Greg

MrDucky You might not be able to shut off the clicking. A lot of reels have a click on both the retrieve and the line out. Others don't. But there are only a few that have the option of turning the click on or off. Someone else may know for sure about that particular reel? If you can't turn it off - I think you'll get used to it. All of my reels but one have a click on both and that's what I prefer. Greg

I think you made a great choice. I don't own one - but I've cast several of the Scott rods. They are second to none from everything I've heard. Good choice with going to BCO too. Michael treats everyone right and always gives good advice. Greg

CC thanks for the tip regarding the medalists. I'll watch for that. Yes I've also caught the glass rod bug. I recently acquired one old Fenwick glass rod. And I want more. Greg

Over the years I've accumulated more reels than is reasonable - at least according to my wife. Here's my opinions for whatever they are worth: My favorite modern reel is a large arbor Teton Tioga. I've had it several years with no problems at all. The drag is silky smooth. The clicker does sound a little tinny on the retrieve but I've gotten used to it. And it has a sweet sound going out when a trout makes a long run. I've dropped this reel twice - once on a big rock and once on the concrete - it was barely scratched. I have a couple of Ross reels, a fly logic, a cabelas and they are all OK. But not my favorites I've been having a blast recently with a couple of old "made in the USA" 1960's to 70's vintage pflueger medalists. I bought both off of ebay - a 1494 and a 1495. I switched both from right to left hand retrieve and replaced a couple of worn parts. They are basically good as new now. I agree with CC that the medalist just looks right. I especially like the well used looks of these 30 to 40 year old reels of mine. And the drag on these reels is suprisingly smooth and effective. Last Sunday I took a rainbow over 20" that made some fairly long runs (on 7X) and the old reel performed fine. They are obviously durable and if something wears out - almost all the parts are easily replaceable. I also have a newer medalist and it's a pretty good reel too. But I do prefer the older USA made ones. To answer your other questions I don't like plastic reels. Large arbor is OK but overkill for freshwater in my opinion. I do like a click on both the line in and line out. Good topic Terry. Greg

The Sage Launch is a fine rod in my opinion. I think an 8.5 foot rod for 6 wt line is a really nice all around size especially if you're going after bass and trout. The reel - I agree with Terry that for trout and bass in MO most reels are overkill. But you do need a functional drag. If you're shopping at BPS do yourself a favor and look at their house brand line. The bass pro CV2 line is only $20 and in my opinion is close to as good as the $60 lines. It's all I use. Good luck, Greg

Anybody else from the forum out today? I went out today with a buddy and the fishing was fantastic. My friend who only fly fishes occasionally really had a blast. He had never really caught trout at Taneycomo when the bite was on like it was today. We were on the upper lake near the rocking chair area. It didn't really seem to matter what we threw - they were hitting it all - zebra midges, scuds, etc. My friend caught his first brown too. I caught one of the bigger rainbows I've ever taken - 22". He hit a #20 rust zebra. We almost went to Montauk because I was afraid they would be running water again. I'm glad I took the chance and headed to Taney today. Greg

John - do you mind sharing what the "green butt" is? If not I understand. thanks for the report either way, Greg

I used several zebcos. I had a 404 I think it was. Then moved up to a "33". My first spinning rod and reel was an eagle claw featherlight combo. All nice workable reels. Greg

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow afternoon if the weather cooperates. Greg

I was there yesterday too. Nice day even if it was pretty cold. No crowds. I was down at the rocking chair and fished down to the old boat ramp and back. I got there at about 2 PM and by 5 PM I pretty much had the place to myself. The fishing was really good for me. No monsters but several nice fish in the 16 to 17" range. The last several trips I haven't caught any browns. This trip I took one beautifully colored brown around 14" right at the old boat ramp. Caught them on the usual - scuds, zebras and leeches. Greg

A lot of great replies - thanks. Old fly gear could almost be a continual category all by itself. Terry I think I'll pass on the high-waisted khaki pants and gum rubber waders LOL. I'm not THAT into retro. CC - I think you are right in that those old medalists are just as good as any of the high dollar reels out there. And certainly tougher than a lot of them. I used to think that I needed a high dollar fly reel with an ultra smooth disc drag (I've got a couple) to land some of the better trout at Taney. But I think yesterday proved the lie to that. Even with 7X tippet the old medalist paired with the softer fiberglass rod handled several pretty fair sized bows just fine. I have no doubt it would do just as well on a 20+ inch fish. And it's no wonder glass rods are regaining such a loyal following. The better ones have a unique feel kind of between bamboo and graphite. Greg

This winter I purchased (separately on ebay) and old Fenwick glass fly rod and an old pflueger medalist fly reel. The fenwick is 7.5 ft and a 6 wt. The medalist is the 1495. Both had obviously been used but well taken care of. I had to do a minor repair on the medalist. Both are somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 years old. I got to use them both today for the first time on Taneycomo. Both work wonderfully even considering their age. The Fenwick is exceedingly smooth and casts and mends well even given its short length. It's just a neat old rod. When I was in my teens I always wanted one of these rods but couldn't afford one at the time - I think they were $75 or $100. The medalist worked great too. One of the things I like best about the medalist is it's simplicity and ease of repair. Once you understand how the parts work - they are very easy to fix in the rare instance something breaks. The fishing was good with several decent 16 - 18" fish taken and both the old rod and the old reel handled them like a champ. It's no wonder the Fenwick was the top selling fly rod through the 70's and the pflueger medalist was the best selling fly reel for years and years. Anyone else use or own either of these oldies but goodies?? Greg

This Tues I'm taking a short trip to St. Louis from Springfield up I44. I've never fished the Meramec at all. Can someone please direct me to the cardiac and/or suicide accesses that I've heard about? Meaning from I44. I'd like to stop there on my way back for a few hours. thanks, Greg

Regarding the high end rods being more durable or break resistant - sorry but I just don't think that's true. It may be true in certain lines or certain instances but certainly not true across the board. High end rods use higher modulus graphite that is in general more brittle and they use less of it (thinner walls). Yes I'm sure a lot of engineering goes into making the high $$ rods in most cases very durable. But several years ago I was speaking to a rep from a company that confirmed to me that this particular company actually has more broken rods returned from their high end lines than their low end ones. And my experience has certainly been different. The biggest trout of my life was taken from Taney several years ago on a cabela's 3 forks cheapie. The trout was a 9 lb rainbow and it certainly stressed the rod to the max and handled the fish like a champ. Consequently the only rod I've ever broken while fishing was a $500 + model. If we are wanting to talk durable - then rather than high end graphite - we need to talk about glass rods. Like the aforementioned eagle claw featherlight. Has anyone ever heard of one breaking other than in a car door? I haven't. I've got a 40 year old fenwick glass rod that is the epitome of durability. It fishes pretty darned well too. I'm certainly not saying high end rods are not worth the price. To many they certainly are. But I don't think durability factors into that. I think it is more about less weight, nicer reel seats and guides, etc. To me in graphite rods the sweet spot is the mid priced rods. I think the TFO professionals, St. Croix Avids, etc - are plenty nice enough and still have most of the "feel" of the higher end rods. At least for me. Just MHO's Greg

Are your scuds tied with dubbing? Do you use a ribbing and/or a shell back? I'm just really curious because although I don't usually have trouble catching fish at Bennett - I haven't had a lot of success with scud patterns. thanks, Gre

I think the more info you pack into it - the more likely it would be to to appeal to a broader audience (beginner to expert). I would certainly talk about: recommended tackle (line weights, etc), fly selection, the different areas/holes, different fishing methods (dry fly, streamer, nymph, etc), fishing in the different seasons, etc. If you have any particular secrets like a go-to never fail fly I would certainly write about that. For myself even though I'm a fairly experienced fly fisherman - I'm not that familiar with all the different areas/holes of Montauk. I'd be interested in that as well as any "killer" flies. Have you thought about an e-book? I don't know everything about it but an e-book could probably be produced pretty cheaply especially if you know your way around a computer. You might even be able to get Phil to let you advertise it on this site? But I'd certainly check with him first. With an ebook I think production costs would be cheap. When someone buys they could just download it from a site or maybe you could even email it as an attachment. Greg

Rolan Thanks for the advice. I'll keep checking. I've often wondered why even the high end production rods usually come with plain old hard chromed guides? My favorite rod is custom built (not by me) and even though I haven't had any problems I wish now that I had specified tich (titanium) coated guides. Greg

Nice report John. My wife and I hope to get back to the White this year. We made our first trip there last spring and had a blast at both the Norfork and at Rim Shoals. I was sad to see your post that the McClellans access is not available anymore. Greg

Rolan your comment about wearing out chrome guides surprises me. I use one rod 90% of the time and fly fish at least once a week - sometimes more. Yet I've never worn out a set of guides. I've been using my current favorite rod for about 2 years now. It's probably seen at least 100 days of action as a conservative estimate. It has plain old hard chromed snakes. I don't see that the guides are worn at all. Not doubting you. Just surprised. I was always told the hard chromed guides held up pretty well. Maybe they make them better than they used to? Greg

SilverMallard your comment about your wife beating you was friggin hilarious. And I can relate. I've bought fairly high dollar gear a few times over the last 5 years and I thought my wife was going to scalp me. But she's a kind forgiving woman and always forgives me. Greg

That site has been saying the book is to be updated and expanded for the last 3 or 4 years. Greg

I agree with Randall in that a book on fishing all of the parks would probably be more successful than one on just Montauk. The book I was meaning was not Chuck Tryon's but a book titled "Trout Fishing the Missouri Trout Parks". It only covered the 4 parks. Chuck Tryon's book is a different animal altogether in that is covers pretty much all the trout fishing in MO. It's a good book but being so broad it doesn't really get into the parks in depth. Greg