mizzouflyfisher

Had my week in Texas, overall quality of fish was great. Spent one day on Sam Rayburn and that was really tough. I fished all day to land 1 12 inch bass. On top of that, I broke off 3 decent fish. I was fairly frustrated. We ditched Rayburn after 1 day and drove up to Lake Fork. Caught several fish in the 5-6 pound range and 1 that might have pushed 10 pounds. Most of my fish came on a white chatterbait either fished as a jig or on a straight retrieve. After fishing Fork for several days we packed up and headed out to escape the heavy storms. We drove up to Kentucky and fished Lake Barkley for two days. On the first day we caught several decent fish with 5 keepers that probably would have gone 15 pounds or so (biggest was around 6), all on carolina rigs. Second day was slower, so we spent the last couple hours fishing roadrunners for crappie. I caught one striper, and probably 8 crappie. Smallest crappie was 9.5" and two biggest were 13 and 15". My dad also caught about a 13" crappie and big fat white bass. All of the crappie came off one channel marker. All in all it was a great trip. Mizzouflyfisher

What is this Shimano reel bashing? Are you talking about the cheaper shimano reels (under $40) or the good stuff? I have nothing but good things to say about shimano and will probably never fish anything but Shimano and Abu for the rest of my life. Anyway, back to the topic: I've got a cabela's fish eagle that is fairly light and I really like it. It was a good buy for the money. Mizzouflyfisher

I asked down there a couple of years ago, don't remember if it was an agent or somebody in the store, but I was assured that droppers were legal. So, about 99% of the time I use a dropper. Mizzouflyfisher

It's perfectly legal to have the plastics in your boat. Just be aware of where the boundaries are. Mizzouflyfisher

Sorry guys...kind of forgot, but all the flies are done and will be in the mail first thing tomorrow. But, I think you'll be happy with the results. I tried out one of the flies 2 weeks ago and it worked pretty well (caught a 24 inch rainbow at Bennett Springs on it). I'm shipping a #22 D-Rib Midge and a #18 JuJuBee midge. I'll post instructions tomorrow. Leonard-I'm shipping both my dad and my flies together, so just ship both sets of flies to me in the envelope I include. Mizzouflyfisher

If she's not real interested, get her a pair of the old style rubber waders until she decides she really does like fishing. My girlfriend used a pair of the rubber waders for several trips and stuck with it, so now she has a nice pair of cabela's breathables. The rubber waders are only $30 or so and they aren't that uncomfortable when it's nice out. Mizzouflyfisher

I don't particularly like Dr. Slicks. I had a couple of pair that didn't stay very sharp, and I wasn't using them on wire. I use the anvil's because they fit in my hand very nicely. By keeping the scissors in your hand, you really cut down on tying time. I don't see myself going away from the Anvils. Mizzouflyfisher

I'll be down there hopefully all day friday & saturday. So long as I can skip out of class and work. Mizzouflyfisher

I'm probably going to fish 3 lakes, 2 days on 2 lakes and 3 days on one lake. I like Rayburn & Fork, but Toledo Bend looks like it has been having water issues, at least last year. Just trying to make the best use of my limited time. Mizzouflyfisher

I'm going to Texas the last week of March. I'm definitely fishing Lake Fork for a couple of days, but haven't decided where else to fish. I've previously fished Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, but wanted to see if anybody had any input/recommendations on places to go. Thanks for the help guys.

I'm looking for some info on Spring Tournaments at LOZ. I try and fish at least 1 tourney per year, but I haven't registered for one yet. I'm looking for a reasonable, open, buddy tournament, Preferrably in april or may. Thanks for the help. Mizzouflyfisher

Fishing for the most part was pretty good. The water was up a bit and had a little color, but I still didn't use a fly bigger than an 18 all day. Caught a bunch of smaller fish and an 18 & 23 inch rainbow. Both of the larger fish I had hooked early in the day, but lost, then came back and hooked them again around 3:15. Great way to end the day. Used a Ginger g-bug, white d-rib midge and size 20/22 cream dry. There are still a lot of fish in the stream, so when they stock for opening day, it will be absolutely loaded. Mizzouflyfisher

Many of the same principles apply. Just as you shouldn't fish for muskie in MO/IL in July/August, you should be more careful w/ trout during vulnerable periods (when they are spawning, low dissolved oxygen, etc). I prefer not to use a net and grab the trout with a bare, wet hand. I don't use a rubber net for muskie, I've use one of the gigantic stowmasters (I think it's 4 feet deep) that will let you leave the muskie in the water while you unhook. You should also revive a large trout just like a musky. Trout are somewhat easier to release because the water is typically colder and trout are much easier to handle (especially when you're fishing by yourself). Just cause I'm curious, where do you musky fish? I try to get to Lake Kincaid a couple of times a year and spend a week on Lake of the Woods every year. Mizzouflyfisher

Yes and no. I tie a few with flashback, but most of them I tie without. A lot of times I fish a scud with a midge that has flash on it, so I think both of my flies don't need flash. It also depends on the water. If you're fishing in low light, low water clarity or high water conditions, I'd go for the flash. Mizzouflyfisher

I just the tip is sinking, you can cut off a couple of feet. 14 years is rather old and I imagine a large portion of the line is cracked from being dried out. At that point, there's not much you can do. Mizzouflyfisher