tjm

I know where two fields used to have small mounds that have since been dozed off flat. and sowed in fesque. Back then ('60s) I had no idea that those humps of dirt were full of artifacts, nor even what they were. But, every artifact found in this area seems to get dated 6-12000BP, and that makes me wonder what happened that the primitives abandoned an area where they must have lived a long time to have built mounds like that. And why no other people moved in. I'd like to know what kind of rock that thing I posted is and how it came to be here, it's like no other rock I've seen here.

That's a real trophy there Dave. It'd look better on anyone's mantel or shelf than a nasty stuffed bass skin. If I needed a trophy, I'd go for it. Almost as good as a saucer sized buckle.

No smallmouth bass should ever be a "trophy", if you are gonna kill one of those, you should at least respect it enough to eat the thing. Trophies are for ball players and short bus kids.

I knew a guy in RI that said he'd tied hundreds of Marlboro Butt flies and had never got it quite right. We speculated that either the tobacco taste or the saliva was the final enticement Sometime about 1980 I discovered the Variant dry flies as tied by Flick, these could not land upside down or in a capsized position due to my over-large or unbalanced wings; and around the same time I read an essay on the benefits of tying nymphs "in the round", because the fish only ever sees one side of the fly as it tumbles in the current. These two epiphanies along with the realization that Junglecock was totally unobtainable and impossible to imitate forever changed the way I approach fly tying, A Rangeley streamer catches just as many fish without the JC and neither wets nor dries benefit much from wings. Now when I look at any new pattern, my eye is on what is unnecessary or can be left off, and it is really unusual for me to tie a correct "pattern", rather I tie a resemblance to various patterns, size and silhouette being my main concerns. fwiw, though, a Crackleback without the herl is just a woolly worm.

Well that supports the theory of race, in Mo there were wooden looking amer- injuns and over yonder there was sheepherder hebrews. These rock tool makers in the Ozarks had done passed on when Adam happened. Professors can't wrong and neither can Rabbinites. nice ads you got there

guy at the University claims it is from ~6000 years ago. So maybe the race before the wooden-indians.

I just leave the wings off most of my dry flies. so the EHC becomes a simple palmer fly, and I don't have to shear an elk's foot.

A throwin rock my Dad picked up, said it felt funny so he grabbed another to chunk at the bull. A

I've had nylon mono that was well over ten years old, but kept in dark closed place and it was fine, on the other hand I've bought new new mono that wasn't half the rated strength. My research on line a few years ago suggests that UV and heat are killers for nylon (actually all plastics) and that no line we buy is guaranteed to be new unless it has a date code. Most line I've looked at isn't dated. Left on the shelf for a couple months in a display area exposed to UV could age the line by years as compared to line stored in the dark. Fluorocarbon is a lot more UV resistant than nylon which is why I never use it. I don't store my line in the sun.

I think the stout cardboard tubes weigh more than drain pipe and cost more for shipping.

For dubbing techniques, this is about the best tutorial I've seen- download and save if you can- https://web.archive.org/web/20140404211644/http://thelimpcobra.com/2013/01/08/fly-tying-a-complete-dubbing-techniques-tutorial/

At RR use Tim's suggested flies, buy a couple of each and use his as patterns for your ties. Tim has fished that stream all his life and sold flies for it for over thirty years, he knows those fish. I like Pheasant Tails, Gold Rib Hare's Ear, palmered dry flies like Crackleback, Woolly Worm, Griffiths Gnat and any kind or color of soft hackle in that park. I never use any flies smaller than #16 there and often go #12 in dry flies. Those aren't wild west trout that need a mythical pattern and 80' cast. I don't personally like bead heads, but if you fish under a suspension device they work, I never learned how to use them well. In Shoal Creek I'd go with Tap's Bug, Gartside's Gurgler, Calcasieu Pig Boat, Zonker, Seaducer, Deciever, etc. and 1/32oz white or yellow marabou crappie jig. Your Mentor is doing you fine, your flies are pretty darn good for a beginner, imo. Oh, one thing you might change, I'd never use that 8/0 thread either, unless I was tying all #20 and smaller, it just takes a lot more of it to do the same thing. I use 6/0 a lot, 3/0 some and for the bigger flies like the #4 and up may go to much larger thread. I've been using some upholstery thread from the sewing department.

I have tied flies for about 46 years and still have much more trouble with large flies than with small ones of the same pattern, particularly dries, but I think midsize may be easiest to get materials to match the fly proportions, which is the hardest part for beginners, many materials are too small for #6 and too large for #20. I've sat on my stool in one place at RR and caught fish for two-three hours many times with soft hackles. Although with the dredging and canal building the fishing is getting poorer for flies and better for spin casting. If I'm in a hurry, I will just drive by. There are so many stupid trout in those pools that I can never train them all.

I've never ever caught a fish on an egg fly nor a San Juan Worm. Picked up a hundred or so of each in the park, as new and lost by others, and almost always give them a some casting time, but to me they are useless. (or I don't have a clue how to use them) Midges are useful flies but not much practice for fly tying. Tie you up a hundred #16 & #14 parachute Adams. You have not started to practice until the second dozen of the same pattern in one sitting.

With no false casting, it's easier for me to use a 7/8wt line than a 5wt, unless the flies are very small and the wind is dead still. For situations where I could see any need for lighter than #5, I'd just use mono, like I did back in the '80s when I did the Humphreys nymphing thing. It only takes a couple minutes to extend the leader butt 15'-20'. I can see #3-4 being useful with very long rods (9'6"++), because the length of lever increases the line speed, offsetting the lack of line mass, but as I've gotten older I've hit on 7'6" as my ideal length, longer rods put more stress on my shoulder, so, I have gone back to "vintage" rods to get the short length and the 5-9wt capability. I guess that in landing a fish, the line weight makes no difference, they all break at about the same 25#+/-, but I truly admire anyone that can cast large bulky bugs and streamers with light lines. Far better casters than I am and with lots more energy and ambition too.

I met Mark at RR a year or two ago, stuck in my mind because he said that he was one of only two companies making true zero weight rods. The (3wts) rods he had with him that day sure looked good. I'm not sure/can't recall if said he was rolling his own blanks or if they were his design and custom rolled, still have his card somewhere, but will probably never have a use for ultra light stuff.

U-haul corporate store was the cheapest in my area, I thought the local mechanic would beat them and had him do it, but in the end he cost $40 more than UH quote.

USPS employee recommended PVC pipe as shipping tube. Several vintage rods shipped or received in PVC with no problem. The few packed in paper or cardboard were crushed. As far as online stores, I have no idea, but one would think that if they are in the business that they would know how to pack them. I thought Amazon had free returns and full refunds on everything? I know I've sent back a few things. Printed their label and paid no postage.

so, can you find me a YT link for the Lacey Gee method of spinning deer hair that @Gavin refers to here https://forums.ozarkanglers.com/topic/74756-meat/?page=2#elControls_677090_menu

You sir are fast.

>>>>>> fast >>>>>>>>>>>fast forward is the only way to stay awake and then the CC can't keep up A five line pattern in a book is 27 minutes of hmm, ahhhh, do .... this ahhh on video. I'm gettin old and don't have that kind of time and the mossy fingernails are gross The pictorial that started this thread is good tells the whole story in about 1 1/2 minutes.

I still have about 7-8' of book shelf loaded. And another couple feet of books given or loaned to the middle aged son. But I threw out all those glossy magazines years ago. Personally I can't learn anything from video, so a step by step with text and pics is the only internet resource that comes close to a book for me.

I'll suggest you down load and save this, it's likely the best study of dubbing techniques I've ever seen and the Marc Fauvet website is long gone- the Way Back Machine- https://web.archive.org/web/20140404211644/https://thelimpcobra.com/2013/01/08/fly-tying-a-complete-dubbing-techniques-tutorial/ I saved it as a web page, but there is probably a way to make a pdf or other less cumbersome document for the computer savvy. The same tutorial is still on this site in a different form that might be easier to save/use- https://www.slideshare.net/alfredo1ch/fly-tying-a-complete-dubbing-techniques-tutorial-54482348

Well I can't cast those lead heads as well as you can, and I'd throw the things back any way.

~45-50 minutes to grove or Twin Bridges although not that many miles, the Intersection of I49 and the Ar state line. I know there are whites in the Grand Lake, but, AFAIK they don't cross the state line. If I ever do go for whites it'd most likely be in the Spring with a son or son in law, but it all sounds like a lot of effort when there are google eye 1/4 mile away that haven't been caught yet.