Bill Butts

Hi Folks~ Seeing the post about the A.K. Best seminar reminded me that I have intended to post a note to encourage everyone to provide a heads up to the Forum folks regarding seminars and special events in your area. Tackle shops and clubs have a variety of events, seminars, classes and programs that can be tremendously beneficial to fishermen wanting to learn. This is a great avenue to get the word out. There are lots of clubs, shops and sports shows around the region, so let's help each other with a heads-up at the appropriate times. Thanks in advance for your contribution(s) to this effort.

Wow, that is ugly!!! That's worse than watching an autopsy on CSI. Years ago, I was tube fishing the Damsel fly hatch at Staley Springs on Henry's Lake ID when a fisherman in a boat buried a damsel nymph in his eye. If he hadn't had a buddy in the boat with him I think he might have gone overboard in his hysteria. Fortunately for him, we heard later it didn't hit the center area of the eye, only the white (like that's not bad enough). I wholeheartedly agree that IS a great case for barbless hooks and for wearing glasses while fishing. That is, polarized sunglasses during the day of course, but particularly glasess at night when your eyes don't have quite as quick instinctive reaction time in the dark. Yes, it's a hassle if you don't usually wear prescription glasses, but certainly an advisable safety precaution. And, it's also great practice for you young guys for future years when you don't have a choice whether to wear them. That's a joke, but I resemble that remark.

stuart, thanks very much for the link you provided. it should be very beneficial to those seeking info on opps to catch Hybrids in the state of KS. your state has done a very commendable job of providing statewide opportunities for catching these great fish, and does a pretty good job with providing information via their website for each of the lakes and reservoirs. you may notice i've posted the link in the "where....." topic of the Striper Family category, too. your contribution to the Forum is appreciated.

Greetings All! Below is a post made my Forum member "stuart" on another topic. Wanted to include it in this section for anyone looking for info on Kansas. As you will see, they have many great opportunities for Wiper (their term, not mine) fishing, even many small lakes. Please note the data is from May 2005, and will surely be updated in the near future. Thanks for the link, Stuart....... Here is a link to some lakes in Kansas with good wiper fishing, based on the fish and game statistics. http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/fishing/f..._forecast/wiper I have not fished Webster but I hear it is good. Webster is about a 5 hour drive from my house, however I have good fishing closer so I have not made that trip. We also have good striper fishing in Wilson Lake as well. The spillway below Perry produced a new state record 22# fish this last summer so that may be a place to try as well. I mainly fish Marion Resevoir which has good numbers of good size fish. Hope this helps. Stuart

DD, That IS a great V Day experience. Congratulations on creating another female flyfisher. Now, are you sure you weren't dreaming??? Slap yourself a couple times before answering this post, just to be sure.

Phil, Do you subscribe to the jig and float rig for catching suspended crappie and/or smallmouth this time of year? It seems there is more and more being written about the simple technique.

Greetings. Well, another Valentines Day has come and gone. I was browsing another Forum (different region) this morning and found some hilarious discussion about Valentines Day stories. So, I thought it would be fun to share some on this site, too. Here's mine to start things off: Sitting in the sauna with a bunch of naked sweaty guys on Monday, I listened to discussion about the expectations of the opposite sex for V Day. One guy said he'd read the average gift expenditure for guys, in some survey, was $160 and that women averaged less than $100 on guys. Interesting, I thought. Then, another guy said there is a woman in his office that said her husband told her for V Day he was going to buy her a Chicken!! That way they could divide in half and they'd both the same, useful gifts. Laughter errupts in the 100+ degree sauna air. I tell my wife of 28 years the story and she laughs, too. So on VDay I take her to our favorite restaurant, an awesome Asian Fusion place here is town, and we're sitting there thoroughly enjoying our favorite dish we almost always order and I starting thinking about what we were eating; some sushi, some rice and.......yes.......Chicken!!! How was your V Day with your sweetheart?

Phil~ I have a couple of contacts down there I'll try to reach that will have the answers you're looking for. It may take a day or two to reach them. You might also call the owners at D&B Fly Shop in Tulsa. Butch Mankins (fly fisher) and Rex Dunn (paddler) should know. They open at 10 am and their # is (918) 492-1866. Rex told me he does quite a lot of paddling on the AR. Another approach I'd like to try sometime when the water is high, but not too high, is to put in a canoe or some SOT kayaks or PWC pontoon boats. The main issue would be arranging a shuttle back to the vehicle, unless we took 2 vehicles.

Kelly, There was an increase in the flow reading at Miami on the Neosho up to about 1000 cfs, from around 850 cfs, but now it is back to about 800 cfs. Not a huge fluctuation. Please let us know if you hear any report, good or not good, whether the fish are hanging in the area below the dam. Would be interested to know what the water temp is, too. Thanks in advance for your follow up. PS..... Folks, early season fishing for about any specie of spring-run fish fluctuates to a high degree upon water temps. It is very important to know and track those changes, since cold weather snaps can alter the scenario quickly, so please invest in a quality thermometer the most expensive of which is a $25 digital version for quick readings. That is very inexpensive for the value it can provide in checking current temps. If you do get one, please be sure to include the temp readings when you post your reports. It will help everyone else, and you'll be able to compare others data with your own experience. It isn't always the spot or area you're fishing, but the dynamics of the conditions and weather/water data that can make the difference between success and a lousy trip. Sometimes most importantly, whether or not to even make a trip vs. waiting for more favorable conditions. I also suggest you keep a fishing log book with as much data as you can remember and record. From year to year it is a great tool for increasing your odds of success, too.

jdavis~ What I was primarily referring to about loops being "stepping stones of frustration" is that many novice fly fishers are shown and told that the loop to loop connection is THE way to make line-to-leader connections. What loop connections are, for the most part, is convenient. Convenient for novices to change a fouled up and wind knot-laden leader, and convenient for experienced fly fishers to change out types of leaders on the same line for different fishing conditions, as both you and Brian referred. For Novices learning to cast properly (assuming trout fishing in this e.g.) a line/leader set-up with a more conventional smoother transition connection is better. The loop-to-loop connection in that scenario adds weight that changes the technical dynamics of the cast (slightly) and introduces a greater possibility for an interruption in the cast if the line comes in contact with the looped connection while casting. I've seen this countless times at fly shops that have demo lines/leaders for casting demo rods. I realize not all fly fishers have multiple rods/reels in different sizes, but about every fisher I know that fishes at Taney uses a size or two heavier rod/line outfit for night fishing. Personally, I usually use a medium action 4 wt rod for most daytime fishing, at Taney, but a fast action 5 or 6 for night fishing with much bigger flies and shorter, stronger leaders. When you fish with long leaders on light rods, generally you want to cast a very tight loop especially if there is any wind. Loops tend to interfere more often when casting tighter loops than open loops. If you are fishing shorter leaders, bigger flies, and heavier lines, generally you should open up your casting loop which reduces the odds of loops interfering with your cast. I've not heard any testimonies from folks who have used the new Rio line with a built-in coated loop (I think available on their Grand and Nymph lines). That coating seems to make more sense if you really NEED to utilize a loop system.

Stuart, Could you post some info on fishing for Hybrids (wipers, as you call them) in Kansas? If you would, please make the post in the "Where do you fish......" in the Striper Family category. I've been doing quite a lot of research on the many many Kansas lakes that have them and it appears one of the very best lakes in KS for large Hybrids is Webster. Do you or any of your buddies have any experience with that lake? Any one out there have experience on Webster in north central KS? Thanks in advance for posting some KS info.

chief, there is something about the knotless spices that causes me to draw a line on when and where I'll use them. honestly, i've never had one fail but never used one with larger than 3 or 4X tippet or very large fish. if you decide to go over to Lilley's and drift a gut imitation under his dock I would suggest a knot-type connection just to be sure. the best known super glue for fly fishermen and fly tyers is Zap and Zap a Gap. Zap is very thin and absorbs well, and Zap-a-Gap is slightly thicker, more like head cement. both are waterproof, so that may be a different characteristic than other super glues, but i'm not familiar with other brands. I keep fresh bottles of both types of the above and they do everything I need. I also bought some QuikTite by LocTite at Backcountry that has a brush applicator instead of squeeze and look forward to seeing how that performs at the bench.

Knotless splices are great especially for fishing in very weedy/mossy waters. The key is to eliminate as many knots as possible, usually allowing only a tippet knot. I've always thought they're fine for size 5 lines or lighter and have used them going back almost 30 years when we were making them with epoxy. The advent of waterproof super glue revoutionized knotless connection construction. While I'm sure they are plenty strong for heavier lines, too, I've always used the needle-nail knot for larger lines where there is more overall pressure and impact shock to the leader system. If I was going to spend considerable time fishing trout streams for extremely selective fish with light lines (the Henry's Fork, classic Spring Creeks, San Juan, Hebgen Lake, Hat and Hot Creeks all come to mind) there is no doubt I would go back to the knotless splices. They do have their niche' applications. Umpqua markets the Dave Whitlock Knotless Splice Kit for about $24 with a nice instruction book, tools and zap glue to do a variety of splices. If you cut off the front 2- 4 feet of a standard floating fly line, you are cutting the level tip section off (most are 6") and part of the front taper (most are from 4-8 feet). Certainly you get a more bouyant tip after removing a few feet due to the greater diameter, but it is still wise to seal it with super glue if you're using a knot connection. Cutting that far into the taper will also change the way the line casts, which could be good or bad depending on how well the line matched the rod and fishing situation to start with. So, to say it would be either a good idea or a mistake would be a risky statement. I would, however, caution folks from arbitrarily chopping very much off the line all at once. You can always cut off a little more, but you can't add it back if you chop too much.

Brian, The biggest factor of bulk in the finished knot (when it is tied properly) is the diameter of the butt section of the tapered leader you select. Trout leaders generally have .017 to .022 butts. You will find some saltwater leaders as large as .029. I quickly checked several websites and better-known catalogs and it is amazing to me the butt diameters are rarely stated. If you're fishing Taney, especially with a lot of small stuff, with 3 to 5 wt. lines I would suggest staying in the range of .017 to .020. Perhaps some time I could come down to Phil's on a flytying night and share how I do the needle-nail knot, adding flyline indicators to leaders, needle-nail knot for backing to flyline, etc. for anyone interested. I've seen only a handful of shops in the country that offer that nice smooth connection to backing. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Drew, Welcome to the Forum. Lots of great folks you'll enjoy. I must admit I too was a student there about 30 years ago. But, I am sorry to say I DIDN'T let school get in the way of my fishing. You know what I mean.

Brian~ I kinda wondered why you hadn't replied. Thought maybe you solved the issued. First of all, I agree with your "Yeck" to loop to loops, they are horrible though many have had shops rig their lines this way. I've never understood that, but that's another discussion. My suggestion for trout and smallmouth is to connect a knotless tapered leader to your fly line with a five-wrap needle-nail knot. Then, apply a couple of drops of Zap or Zap-a-Gap to the knot and around the tip of the line where the leader protrudes. Zap is water-proof therefore sealing from moisture, as well as slightly enhancing the strength of the knot. The needle-nail knot is also smoother passing thru your guides than a standard nail knot. This has worked wonderfully for me for many years. Hope you find it helpful.

Phil, Did you miss the commercial with Kurt Warner? Great! Best trivia/humor line of the whole game was Mick Jagger saying something like "this next song is one we could have performed at Super Bowl #1"

If you notice the flow during the 4 days previous to Sat/Sun, it was pretty high. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=07164500 This of course gets fish moving up and around the area below the Dam. Then, when it does settle down to a very low level the fish do get concentrated at times.

Phil, I talked with Michael while they were on their way back. They were really pumped to have great fishing on their first trip there. Michael has registered on the Forum and will be posting a report, soon. They apparently tooks quite a few pics Stay tuned.

Steve and Fox~ Much of what you have both addressed has dealt with nymph fishing. I suppose that would mostly be trout, smallmouth and some panfish. Related to nymph fishing, I don't disagree with most of what you are saying. Fox, you mentioned tippets up to 20' long. I haven't heard anyone talk about super-long tippets for maybe 20 years, when my old friend Hal Janssen, a very well known and knowledgeable trout fisherman from nothern CA used to promote very long leaders and tippets mostly for nymph fishing. Let's get away from nymph fishing at short to medium distances for a minute. If you had a client streamer fishing on a good size river for trout or smallmouth, or fishing for Stripers/Hybrids/Whites on a river or lake (or other saltwater environment scenarios) and casts of 50 to 60 feet or longer were consistently necessary, what do you do if your client/friend/uncle can't cast more than 35 to 40 feet and you can't do anything to get them any closer? Is there a substitute for making the proper cast, now? I've fished with friends in many situations like this, and the reality almost always is that they just don't catch as many fish. Sometimes, very few if any. There are thousands of fly fishermen that fish in similar scenarios in both fresh and saltwater. It would seem these folks would either have to get some help to learn to make the casts or give up in frustration and go back to a spinning/casting rod.

Jason, If you are building a Striper/Hybrid/White rod of 6 to 9 wt., let me know and I'll let you know what we've found to be preferable/essential.

Yo Jason, Did you intentionally ignore my post (#4) or just forget to reply? Let me know if you'd like the input I have in mind. Givin you a hard time

bs28, That friend I talked with said he and a buddy put in at Red Bank Access (I think that's right) and found masses of fish around points 8 and 9 on their graph. His opinion was that there would have been wide variety of species including lots of staging walleye and whites/hybrids. They spent lots of time looking but didn't fish that trip. It's tough when you can fish every single day and don't have to wet a line every time you're near the water.

Gavin, I talked with a fishing friend that lives near Ava and fishes daily during the spring runs from Walleye to Hybrids and Whites. He said the river channel way down below Tecumseh is tiny is some places. He thinks we must have lots of rain and rising lake level to have a chance for significant numbers of fish to reach Tecumseh or above. Norfork Lake is almost 13 feet below normal pool, so like BS, TR and Beaver they are all in dire need of water and lots of it. Pray for rain.

Brian, Written casting advice is just something I don't even like to discuss because it is so confusing. Let's talk about in-person coaching: Lefty and only a few others I seen have the ability to duplicate the incorrect stroke/loop of a student and then show them the correct technique and help them duplicate it properly. Of course, with Lefty you get a dose of humor in the process. A great caster doesn't necessarily make a great coach, either, but I have seen some just above average casters do very well at coaching. Communication. Fox, Your statement about casting ability being overrated surprises me especially since you've done so much guiding and have seen many horrible casters. I respectfully disagree when you say it is the least important aspect of flyfishing. It doesn't matter how much knowledge about catching the fish you have, how great your perfectly tied minnow or hatch matching flies are, or the quality and price of the tackle and gear you have, if you can't make the appropriate cast needed for a specific condition, whether 30 feet or 80 feet, how in the world would you expect to consistently catch fish? I would agree that great distance casting is overrated since few fishing situations actually demand it. Better to be able to cast accurately in short to medium distances, including roll casts, in very windy conditions as well as ideal conditions. I do believe very strongly that a very significant % of manufacturers under-rate their rods with too light a line ratings. This has been a disservice to the flyfishing consumer for many years. Of course, within a single line size there are intentionally created different characteristics that cause the rod to perform differently. This complicates the issue, and really makes an individual more dependent on a reputable dealer that knows the differences, or a trusted friend that does. Like you said, that's my opinion. Like noses, we all have one.