JamiePatterson

No worries

Oh yeah, the Cooper creek ramp laid claim to my truck tires lol. Headed to the ramp immediately after the weigh-in. Took a Cummins about 5 minutes of constant wheel spinning @35-40mph on the speedo to climb out! We went down to the landing to take out our other boat. Hope the crazy zig zagging tracks and the burnt rubber smell convinced others to not use the ramp. Downtown was a much better choice!

Great tournament as usual Phil! Fun day of fishing that lasted a lot longer than it would have if money and pride weren't on the line Can't believe the number of rainbows loaded in the area we fished. Had caught some nicer fish the two days preceding the tournament, but guess we educated 'em lol. Major fun though -see ya next year!

We caught several above the state park around the time Ham spoke of. We ate 'em, they were delicious

Ha, yeah! This guy gets it! Loomis sr720 -they quit making the cheaper version, it was detrimental to trout populations!

Whew, it was windy today! Jig fished out of Lilley's today. Fishing areas where the wind was slacked off = easy catching. Where the wind was whipping was another story completely!

Awesome. Simply awesome!

Lol. I think I've figured out why loomis discontinued the rod -it was so detrimental to trout populations that they were forced by the AGFC to cease production. Yeah, that's gotta be it...

Guys, guys, come on... There is no finer jig rod than the loomis sr720 To try another rod would almost be as bad as cheating on my wife. Ok, maybe that's a stretch, but you get the point lol

Awww yeah! That "farmer buddy" sounds like one all right dude lol Great fish man!!! But seriously, there aren't any good fish on the norfork, that one really came from Montana. Yeah, definitely Montana lol. It's a wonder any fish were hitting, what with that wierdo we saw chumming corn like he was lol.

Yes, congrats on the baby! So your going from man to man defence and heading into zone -that's for JD.

Yeah, I'll never forget THAT Turpin lol!!! His bro is a trout carchin' sucka though! Talking abou those cats makes me think we need to get Tracy up from Tejas for our "not really FATIGUE" weekend. Sorry for totally hijacking this thread... And potentially causing folks to waste time listening to drivel about pinkie tuscaderos, FATIUGE weekends, and some new age-ish "have faith and catch fish" mumbo-jumbo. But seriously, just say no to pink jigs lol...

I dunno, some pal of Dudley's... Lol.

Can the reel by used without this part or is a replacement needed?

I once new a guy who threw a "pinkie tuscadero", but I'm pretty sure he had some sort of mental deficiency -you ever here of a guy like that Clay it JD? Seriously though, what Ham and Clay have said sounds good. Get a few white jigs for the winter or I'd you want to chase browns exclusively. I can't get away from 2lb test. I think the lighter line casts better and doesn't affect the jig in the water as much. It can be tougher to fight the fish, but you gotta hook 'em first lol. See what works for you and what you develope faith in. A fisherman who trusts his gear/method will be more successful than someone who doubts it.

Yes, yes, yes! An almost "FATIGUE" weekend would be a blast! How long has it been? -seems like forever since the last one. Good day on the water for you it sounds like! Glad you didn't get shot! Any idea what was up? Had two friends have that happen to them in a spot we duck hunt a few years ago. Some deer hunters decided they didn't like us hunting "their" spot. Spooky!

10/4. Congrats on the house!

Neat vid guys!

JD, Lol, yeah, how could I ever forget that experience! Anyhoo... I wondered how your trip went. You guys really socked em! Awesome ! Also, be careful, sounds like you've created a monster with your buddy -I've got three cats from Oklahoma who have had their entire perception of reality (or maybe just trout fishing) changed on one trip where they tried out a few "little crappie jigs". They are all worthless now, dreaming of fishing at work, during family gatherings, etc lol! -maybe a bu of an exaduration, but you get the idea Let's get brother Matt lined out and make a run before school gets back in full swing. Call me and we can figure out when. I've got about here weeks 'til I'm hooked up with corn harvest.

Oops, rainbow, not brown... Yes, first (larger) fish pic came from norfork. Saw several good fish within 100 yards of this one. This fish tried to catch my jig three or four times. Had to stop and swim the jig for it to finally catch it. It was to fat to be very agile lol. Sorry, didn't measure any fish -guess I should have pulled out the ruler. I always feel like measuring or netting fish removes slime and I try to touch em as little as possible. Caught a lot of flack at lunch today for not measuring... Ham, I tries out that sjr720 again with a jig -way to stuff and heavy for me. If you don't like your sr720 we should trade . I just like the feel, light weight, and the ability to really "load up" on cast. Just found loomis doesn't make the one piece sr720 anymore

Headed to Marion county for a little needed down time with the gentleman who works for me on the farm. He's a great friend and I try to take him to the river every now and then. That "all work and no play" thing... Any way, lol... It's been years since I fished norfork at low water. Had a bad encounter there once, so its been hard to get past the bad taste left in my mouth from that trip. This experience was so much better. Everyone, waders and boaters, we're friendly and we all exchanged small talk as we passed. A nice exchange of conversation was had with most everyone in the river -all of us there to have fun and enjoy the beautiful setting. We put in at norfork to low water. Threw a 1/32 jig and worked our way down river. Conditions were tough, but managed to catch nice, football fat, female brown. Pic to follow. Didn't measure her, in fact I hardly ever measure or net a fish -would rather get em back in the water fast. I'm guessing her in the 7lb range but who knows, doesn't really matter because she made my day lol. Water started working up to 2 full units after about 45 min of min flow. Caught a few fish on the rise, but not a lot after. Decided to pull out around 1pm and head to the white. The flow was a bit much for a niche jig fisherman and the white had 3 on. Total at norfork, 20 fish. Put in on the private ramp at wildcat and had a great drift. The flippin side of the river was holding lots of fish and they were loving any 1/16oz jig. First drift netted me 20fish. Our second run down wildcat was't as productive -2additional units hit (4-5 is my favorite water) and the bite slowed a bit. We changed back and forth from 1/16 to 1/8 jigs as the conditions dictated. Working banks, we managed to catch several fish, but never had the hot bite our first pass produced. I wanted to see more river so we ran up to the dam in the early afternoon. As we arrived at the dam the flow started to diminish to 3 units. The fish loved this slower flow and we proceeded to catch 60 or so in a shirt time. Followed this water down stream and found it to. E super productive. Ended up catching 2 more dandy browns -great river fish with way more color than the first female I hooked at norfork. We had several browns in the 17 range too. The river seems to be getting so much better since the min flow change. It's always been good, but after one year I swear I can see a change. My friend said the same. He sees the river every six months or so and said there seems to be a marked improvement in the health of the fish. Total for the day, 129 trout, 2 largemouth- go figure lol. My friend caught 25 of our fish... 1/16 oz jigs far out caught heavier tackle and 2lb test was the rule -actually all I ever fish anymore. When I get to a computer I'll post big fish pics -unless someone can help a low tech farmer do it over a phone

Lol will do! I'm sure we'll eventually run in to each other on the river! Gonna try to make a couple 2 or 3 day trips over there next month. Got a Taney trip soon, but can't get super excited about it after my last norfork trip... Maybe my old loomis rods are different than the new ones??? Haven't ought one in 10 or 12 years. Who knows

Lol Ham. I've got an sjr720 but it's taper is a little to fast for my tasts when it comes to jigs. I really Like the sr720's -am down to just six of em now after breaking a couple, which reminds me that loomis used to have a much better warranty... Anyhoo, I also use a 6'6" loomis 781 IMX I believe, but can't get away from the 720 due to its light weight. I consider it to be a sensitive rod, but to each his own. Ps: Been fishing these rods since '99 when the Dudley's showed me this odd little crappie jig lookin' thing

Hey guys, I need to hear this. I've owned other brands in the past, but have been loyal to Shimano for the last decade. I simply figured they all got "stickey" after being dunked or in a heavy rain. Seems like after being exposed to rain they never fish the same agin, developing a tightness after a little use. I've seen this in economy rigs up to the stradic line. Are you guys telling me this is a shimano problem exclusively? Does lews make something comparable to a front drag 1000 size? I'm looking for retrieval rate and the casting distance you get from a large diameter spool. Don't want it to hold any more line than a 1000 - they almost take to much 2lb test as it is. Thanks for teaching me. Ps: Now you're gonna try to tell me there is an improvement over my chosen jig rod lol...