tjm

Yeah, mat is much more comfortable for bank fishing or napping while waiting for the carp bell, but the tub will keep your gear drier on an over night float.

Best done with a mh casting rod.

The question about putting the canoe inside the SUV and closing the hatch is bugging me; so, can you put a 300# cap. kayak in the SUV and close the hatch?

I have never seen an opening day there, maybe I'll run over there this year... The Park Ranger was telling a man last week that all he needed was a black & yellow marabou jig and he'd catch lots of trout. he suggested 1/8 oz. Not being very smart I was using a little grey dry fly, BWO maybe, there were a few fish that didn't know much either and we played together. I can usually find a fish or two with an olive woolly bugger.

Glycerine will soften the leather, but the leather in a fly is extra weight to cast while not acting as extra weight to sink. I think the under fur would inhibit the hairs action also. I'd rather weight the shank in the rear third with lead to swim it or use a cone to make it jig. It all works part of the time though. Eggs can be used as a brain tan and some use ordinary soap to soften the leather. I'm not a tanner but will not use salt, even though Grandpa told me to, it can attract water from the atmosphere and cause rot, as I found out. For pure fast drying of raw skin and bug prevention 20 Mule Team Borax seems to work. Alum is a pickling agent, and according to what I've read (when I thought of tanning my own furs) a precursor to the "real tanning" using a chrome or vegetable tanning process. I think fully tanned leather would have tendency to repel water, so might not be desirable in a fly. I did read on a feather producers site that he used no tan at all nor any chemicals on his capes on saddles, said he was concerned that tyers would lick their fingers after touching the skins or hold feathers in their mouths- two things I have never been tempted to do. And sand paper on the dry leather side will thin it.

It's good for cleaning the scum off fly rods and as a general disinfectant. Be careful around open flames.

I think BSpgs gets a lot more traffic than RR and so gets more undesirable types. Most RR customers I talk to have come from Tx. Ar. Ok., & Ks. and do the trip a few times each year.

The stream bank shimmering in the sun light.

I've never bought an indicator, but I have 3-4 of every kind sold I think. I don't believe the spinners are the ones using and scattering them at RR, there is a class of fly rod folks that tell me a bobber is almost a necessity to trout fish and at that third hole up from the old dam there are about a thousand spinning flies in one tree, my kids used to call it the Christmas tree hole.

Nice job. Pictures aren't that bad, I can say I've seen a lot worse posted. Thanks for the sbs. I may have to take up hunting again.

That looks like an invention. I'd have found a chip bag clip easier to locate and would have used masking tape to add grip and soften the bite. Someone on a forum suggested plastic freezer bag clips, but I've never seen those, he had one with ~8" jaws. The slotted foam block was to hold the feather or hair in position for clamping, foam block made from a flipflop, the cdc was inserted with a credit card. Lexan would be good I think, plexiglass is in my shop.

Finely found another thing in the endless bookmarks; a method of using hair in split thread with out clips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=199&v=A5hjYvj9AMw

Not the video that I remembered but a sbs http://www.pechetruite.com/Mouches/cdc-dubbing1.htm http://www.pechetruite.com/Mouches/cdc-dubbing2.htm

That is too complicated for my small skill level, but I saw a video some where, that used a blue foam block with a slot in it and a bulldog clamp that looked just about as effective at folding feathers and removing the stems. If you have tried the foam block, and it didn't work, I guess that just leaves the Petitjean tool. I used to just touch hair to waxed thread and make a loop to twist.

Initially I wanted a kayak for lighter weight, but as I learned more, I found canoes beat kayaks just about every time if carry weight and load capacity are figured in. Granted all I know about the yaks is what I read on the net, but most of it is from makers sites. If I were to buy another boat at this time, it would probably be a Sportspal/Raddison canoe - 11'6" -34# cap 500# - but that's a two seater; or their 13'6" 41# cap 800# another two seater. If I found the kayak most suited to me it would be ~15' & 90#. Size for size the cost of either canoe or kayak in comparable quality seemed close when I was researching them, and not a lot to gained over the old barge for my uses. What ever I ride has to let me stand up occasionally, that eliminates a ton of kayaks. Another canoe I'd consider is the Nova Craft boats, particularly the Prospector 16" ~56# cap. 1000# bigger than I need but reportedly a very stable craft. But they have some that are perhaps better for solo. If I was living in Ok. I'd have my canoe rigged for sailing, but in Mo. I'd have title and registration stuff that kills that notion.

Pescador 12? (12') 64# cap 375# $689 -good choice as far as I could determine and about the smallest I would go. Discovery 119 (11'9") 49# cap 500# $699 For an old fat man the solo canoe is 15# lighter, so easier to load and carry ~30% more at a ~$10 difference. After quite a bit of research and considerable self argument; I decided to stay with my 17' tandem aluminum canoe, which has never been as hard to paddle as it is to carry. Not many of the kayaks carry enough weight, and as I found the better ones weigh in with tandem canoes ~80# .

Not a trout park but a State Park in the very edge of a 300,000 pop city with a ~30 acre lake that kept trout year round, so, almost the same, RI closed trout for the month of Feb and opened the first Saturday in Mar. every year; so there was always the thousands of one day anglers out on that Saturday, the few of us that fly fished year round would all gather at a cove on that "pond" and eat doughnuts and laugh at the "circus". One year about a dozen of us were standing around swapping fish stories and watching when two car loads of "rich kids" drove up and 10-14 of them pile out and open the trunk of one car and start rigging up with salt water spinning gear and lures 6"-8" long- of course we all had a ball making fun of these college boys (only two of which seemed to know anything about fishing at all, they were helping the others rig up) but with great enthusiasm and a bit of noise these kids all got limits of 6 trout each in less than an hour. A couple hooked decent bass too. Those stocker trout were used to eating young bullheads, I guess, after a month or more in the pond.

Bentonville store has Fiskars in both the school supply and craft/fabric areas, happened in there last night and thought of this, they ain't on sale though.

You done good for first pic with new camera. Too bad you didn't get the picture of your big one, but, I think of all the really nice fish I've unhooked over the years with nary a picture and wonder how anyone can manage camera, rod,fish and net with just two hands. Throw in a new camera and that unfamiliarity makes it more difficult for the diy pics. It doesn't look as cold as I know it was.

When I say something like that, it is not because I love people, it is because I really don't care what stupid people do, as long as they don't walk into the back cast. That bugs me.

I've never seen a white bass in or or near water, I ate some once and have to say they aren't worth spending much effort on. Like all fish, just something to put in your mouth. One fish, eh? Long Ear - not my favorite fish, I don't think I have a favorite; but Long Ear are beautiful colors, easy to find, easy to catch, easy to release and as good to eat as any fish. I could also say I'm fishing for Long Ear and the same flies would catch so many other fish large and small.

Not ever having used braid, don't nail clippers work it?

I like to roll the bacon in corn meal sometimes, I wonder how it'd be in batter.

Of course the breading might taste better than the fish. A really thick batter with the right spices can taste good without the fish.

I'm not much of a fish eater, but most people over cook trout, it's best cooked with the skin on over high heat for a very short time. If it's filleted and breaded it will almost always be over cooked.