Fox Statler

Greg, you would love the ultra-weave Dorber. It is what I call "progressively stiffening". Because the woven material keeps the circle of the rod from collapsing to an oval shape, the rod answers the call of more strenght as you bend it further. You can not break them down but they aren't stiff.

I love a ten foot two weight for trout, sunfish, and crappie; and a nine foot nine weight for bass, musky, gar and the big stuff. I don't care for the middle weight rods because they are too big for the small stuff and too small for the big stuff. I love the longer rods but my hands aren't as strong as they used to be, so now I use longer handles. This lets me move my grip forward the handle during the fight and use my forearm on the butt of the handle or reel seat for leverage.

March 16, 17, and 18.

I am rebuilding my 11 foot 6 inch zero weight, I am changing the quides on it. I like to fish 8X for the bigger trout using very small bugs with it. I also have a 10 foot one, two, and four weights rods. Here is the way I see using the lighter rods. The terminal tackle (the tippet) determines the weight of the rod to use. Let's say that a one weight works best when using 8X tippet, then a two weight would use 7X, three weight 6X, four weight 5X, five weight 4X, six weight works the rod best when using 3X, and so on. So by matching the rod to the tippet, using this method, lets us use a tippet that best matches the flex of the rod when fighting a fish. This allows the angler to fight the fish at the break strength of the line, and that makes it fun, sharpens the angler's skills and gives the fish the option of breaking off. Believe it or not, using a small tippet (7x) on a big weight rod (6 weight) is a mismatch and the angler actually takes longer to land the fish than if he/she were using a two weight. Why? Because the angler has to compensate for his unforgiving rod and fight the fish with less vigor. Also think about this, most line weight records are between 10 to 13 times the line strength. I am not saying that ultra-light fly fishing is for everyone, just those that want to test and improve their fighting abilities.

Dorber Group's new Ultra-Weave is probably the lightest blank on the market today and the new weave wrap makes them almost unbreakable. They ran over one with a van and it didn't break. From the 6 weight up I asked them to stiffen them. They cast so well that they do not throw a sine wave. I am building a new 9 foot, 9 weight, Ultra-Weave blank with oversized T1 guides, 18 inch Tennesse Sensor handle without a reel seat for the Sowbug Round Up. It should cast in the 120-130 foot range.

I have used it for the running line behind a sinking shooting head. It made casting the shooting head easy by shooting the line for extremely long distances. Because it is of a smaller diameter than the head, it lets the head sink deeper because of lower resistance on the running line in the current.

If you are nymph or streamer fishing you can also tie in a #12 Crane Swivel about 2-3 feet above the fly. The crane swivel will add more weight getting the fly down quicker.

Why don't you super-glue the leader in the fly line and not have a knot at all?? I have been doing it for nearly 20 years and it works fine. I would also suggest cutting off the first 2 to 4 foot of the fly line. It holds the leader higher.

There are some baitfish patterns on my site. http://www.willowford.net/Fox's%20Minnow%20Recipes.htmlFox's Minnow Recipes Click on the one you want and you get the recipe and a picture of the pattern. I have about 300 more of these but haven't had the time to get them up.

Not bad. Make sure you leave plenty of room up at the hookeye to let the spinner rotate. I usually start my thread about one-third of the hookshank back. If you are looking for some different materials, go to Walmart and buy a $1.50 duster and in the craft department they have a lot of tinsel thread.

If you are going from Mammoth to Tecumsah, go north of Mammoth to West Plains, then take 160 across. It should take about an hour and 45 minutes at the max.

Dano, I fish the worm scud usually as a dropper (in the catch-n-release areas I breakoff the hook of the weighted bug to get by the rule of one hook point) about 14-18 inches below the weighted fly. If I am fishing a fast run, like around the islands at Charlie Cook's place on the North Fork, I set the indicator the same depth as the deepest part of the run in that area measuring from the weighted fly to the indicator. I don't worry with the unweighted worm scud pattern. I don't ever fish one-n-half times the depth of the water. I want the fly to bounce off of the high points of the bottom, not to ride the bottom. If your indicator is dead-drifting slightly slower than the bubbles on the surface, you are correct in your depth and drift. Iwould think with all of the algae problems we are having that fishing the fly too deep would become a cast-n-clean situation.

I think that there is a trend in the automotive business from the general public of buying better quality and more efficient vehicles, especially now with the higher gas prices, more expensive insurance, and higher initial cost. This has been a common problem in foreign countries. Why Ford, Chevy, Oldsmobile, and others hasn't seen it or changed to me the demand is puzzling. I am driving my third Nissan truck but I am considering buying a Saturn Vue instead of a Xterra because the Vue used a more efficient Honda V6.

Lewis and Clark documented that their canoes were attacked three times by monsters of the river, either large catfish or alligator gar. The largest alligator gar found in my library of fish books is from Moon Lake, Mississippi just below Memphis. There is a picture of an alligator gar over 10 feet long on some boards that are on a couple of sawhorses. A black man is sitting behind the fish is longer for the back of its gills to its snout than the man is from his waist to the top of his head. There are no alligator gar in the White River above the confluence of the Black River supposedly, none in the lakes. Gar eggs are poisonous to humans. The loin (down its back) is very good eating, best when hot, all other parts are boney. The range of the Alligator Gar is the lowland rivers and major rivers of the Ohio River, the Mississippi River below the confluence of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, the lowland waters of Arkansas River and lowland coastal rivers of Louisana, Alabama, Georgia, and eastern Texas Longnose Gar are most common species in our area and during the spring spawn they migrate to the gravel shoals of our small streams to scatter their eggs (they don't build a nest or reed). Groups of a few to a hundred are common during this time. They often choose shoaly areas so small that their backs and half of their bodies are out of the water during the spawn. They position themselves in the shoal facing upstream and as many as twenty or more as close together as possible. Hooks are not needed to catch gar (their jaw has a very thin layer of skin over the bone, no meat). A frayed nylon rope tail with a red, hot pink, and chartruese rabbit strip head tied on a piece of wire(piano wire) is all that is need at this time. Gar are air breathers when the oxygen level is not adequate and are often easy to catch in the shade during the hottest days in the summer. Sight fishing is your best bet. Gar also favor the shallow water at the mouth opening of a small stream that empties into a larger river. They often lay in these area scavenging and picking off minnows that frequent these silted areas. The oxbow lakes of lowland rivers are often full of large gar. When snagged (their teeth entangle in the frayed nylon), they barrow roll or roll like a log wrapping their mouth shut on the fly. Because their small, extremely sharp, teeth protrude out of their mouths in all directions, getting untangled is nearly impossible. In shallow water gar, become quite aerial with lots of tail-walking, leaps, and jumps. They are extremely stout, strong fish requiring steel leader to hold them because even their scale have sharp points. When tail-walking, because of their long strong bodies, it is not uncommon to have them snap your rod or yank it out of your hand. I used to fish for them quite often with fly and spin fishing equipment. I have landed several over 5 feet long in Bull Shoals in the creek arms, and the Spring and Black Rivers. However, because mounting a fish is charged by the inch, a 6 footer would cost well over $300. I don't think I want to spend that much money on a gar or carp or any other fish mount. Always take a heavy leather gloves when gar fishing and I mean heavy like a pair of welder's glove. You can't handle a gar bare handed without bleeding.

I think the scuds moves more naturally when fished under and indicator. The scud swims backwards blindly bumping into the debris on the bottom. After running into something he swims up or around the object then continues to follow the bottom until striking another object. Scuds are your best wind bug, fishing a scud under an indicator when the water has a little chop on the surface is the most productive scud fishing situation because it imitates their mode of swimming best. When fishing without an indicator with any small fly, you have to keep tension on the fly that pulls the fly from the bottom or across the bottom and away from the fish. How about the situation when the trout sees a food item, stops swimming, and drifts with the current when taking the fly? If there is any slack in your line, you will not detect the strike without an indicator. In current this senario is even more evident. If your leader is sinking between the indicator and the fly line (this makes slower sets) then grease it with a Fly Floatant like Fly Dap. The bend in the leader created by the floating indicator does not slow your set any more than a bow or sag in a leader when not using an indicator. There is nothing lost when fishing a small indicator, instead something is added - a visual indication when something happens to your fly. I have a problem with mending the line, letting the fly drift naturally drag free with the current, and trying to maintain enough tension on the line to feel the strike. In math we call that a paradox. Drag Free and Tension are opposites. There are three basic ways the fly and an indicator lands on the water. Believe it or not one way is better than the other two. First senario - the fly lands upstream of the indicator. In this situation, the fly is being pulled imediately downstream by the indicator. This senario is best used when the distance between the indicator and fly is of much greater distance than the depth of the water (2 foot or more) or when fishing over a debris filled bottom. Second senario - the fly lands across stream of the indicator. This is the most common senario and it quickly turns in to the first senario because of the movement of the current. Third senario and best senario - the fly lands downstream of the indicator. This senario produces more fish per cast than either the first or second senario and can't be done without an indicator. I am not going to explain why the third senario catches more fish yet, but I am living proof that it catches several times more fish than the first or second senario. I will explain it later but I want you to imagine in 3-D what is happening in the third senario.

Butts, Now you have described a situation that makes casting important because of the limitations you choose to fish. I think that the spinning rod would be the more successful rig in this case. The line is less visible, it cast longer distances with less effort, and the flies used are borderline fly-spin fishing equipment. So I believe the spinning rig has a definite advantage. Because the flies that I create are often borderline fly-spin patterns (Anatomically Correct Minnows, Sculpins, Mudbugs, Willow Cats, Whiskered Worms, William's Hades Wiggler, Spinner'd Minners and others) and I recognize that there are limitations to fly fishing, I am not ashamed of suggesting using a spin rig. I receive lots of emails and questions from ultra-ultralight spin fishermen and there are lots of them that share the same ethics, concerns, and such as the flyfishing community does. I am not a flyfishing snob (and I am not suggesting that you are at all) but flyfishing equipment is not the most productive rig in some situations. My statement, "The cast is not the most important part of flyfishing", was talking in general terms about the entire flyfishing sport. I have advocated long leaders for over 20 years because it gives the angler the option of how the leader turns over, it moves the fly line away from the fish and allows the angler to successfully use a lighter tippet . I often use 5 - 7 feet of 8X tippet when nymph fishing with my 1 and 2 weight rods, and 7X with my 3 weight wind rod.

This is a new high income welfare system. Other examples are stadiums for NFL, NHL, NBA and other sports groups. My question is where is the welfare system for fishing? I guess that will come also as soon as we fence in the water and charge admission to enter.

http://www.willowford.net/Marryat%20Reels.html

I build extremely long distance casting rods with Fuji T1 single foot spinning guides. It is not uncommon for me to put over $250 worth of guides on a rod. I do this not for the long distance cast but because the rods cast the moderate and short distances so much easier. I don't fish drys other than the occassional popping bug. If the river is covered up with Light Cahills, I would rather and do fish the nymph instead. As I said I don't consider accuracy as being important. In dead-drifting you make the cast PAST where you want to fish, then while mending the line you drag the nymph into the position you want to fish. Getting the position and the right mend is much more important than where the fly landed. I often power cast the fly much too hard for the cast because I want the line to straighten then pop back before landing on the water. This will put nice "S" curves in your line letting the nymph drift drag free as it travels downstream away from you. I also do air mends before the line lands on the water. I also force the tippet over when using 20 foot plus tippets. All of these tactics destroy your accuracy, but catch lots of fish. As I also said, if a fish only ate bugs that landed by only one object they would starve to death. That is why we wait after casting a popping bug, we give the bass or sunfish time to find it. Many important things happen before we raise the fly from the water, but even more important things happen after the fly hits the water. I am a firm believer that the fly landing downstream of the indicator is the most important thing that you can do when dead-drifting. I also believe that this simple tactic is just as important when fishing a dry or a popping bug. I also believe that casting right on top of a fish more often scares them than catches them. I guided a boy once that cast his line with his hand like a lasso, then picked up the rod and out fished everyone from that point on. I have caught more big fish using a walking mend technique than any other method (make a cast, mend, and walk with it as it travels downstream). These are my observations after guiding as long as I have, but its still just my opinon.

Always weight the bug, because the fish do not have to move the fly then move the weight before they move the indicator. In the weighted bug the weight is the fly. If you are having trouble catching fish on nymphs try these tips. Tie all you patterns on small wire dry fly hooks. These hook penetrate the flesh of the trouts mouth deeper and easier with less force, thus making better sets. Use a size smaller fly. If you are catching some fish on a #14, you usually catch more on a #16. If a smaller fly doesn't produce more, use a smaller tippet. The smaller tippet lets the fly fall faster, causes less drag, hugs the bottom better, and is less visible. With a smaller fly and tippet, use a smaller more sensitive indicator. I prefer closed-cell foam picture mounting tape for my indicators because I can make my indicators as sensitive as I want. Use a softer tip rod, after setting it will hold the fish better and be more in tune with using smaller tippets. Use a small simple dropper about 14 inches below the weighted bug or use two weighted bugs in fast water. Two bugs are better than one bug and a split shot even if the top bug is hookless to comply with a one hook law.

Black also contrast very well with any background color or any water color. A trout can swallow a fish 1/3 of its length. So a 30 inch trout (no matter what species) can swallow a 10 inch minnow shaped fish. In the White River below Bull Shoals, 30 pound plus browns always live in the same type of environment. They occupy the bottom of a teacup hole below a well fished bait fishermen's shoal. A teacup hole falls in on all sides. Small trout injured by the bait fishermen die and roll along the bottom with the current and end up in the teacup hole. There, at the big brown's leisure, they are eaten. If the shoal is turned into a catch-n-release area, the big brown will leave because its food supply goes away. The hole below Rose Bud Shoals on the White river below Cotter is an example of this. While big browns often eat scuds, after reaching 3 to 5 pounds they become primarily meat eaters. A white rabbit hair strip from 4 to 10 inches long is a good imitation of an intestine and catches browns quite well, so do large trout and minnow imitations tied in the Floating Dead position (belly up). The most common minnow in the White River System, the Duskystripe Shiner, reaches 5 inches in length. The second most common minnow, the Golden Redhorse, grows to 8 inches in the first year. Because the average lifespan of baitfish is less than 3 years there are plenty of dead ones, they are just eaten quickly by scavanging predator fish before they clutter the bottom. Nothing is wasted in a healthy aquatic environment.

Solo Hands Free Fishing Canoe http://www.willowford.net/WF%20Signature%2...HF%20Canoe.html

Personally, I think that casting is the least important part of fly fishing. Rod manufactures and casting buffs want us to think other wise though. Making long cast lose you more fish and scares more fish than you catch. Accuracy is of little importance because fish predators are territorial and hunt a large area not just one stickup or lilly pad or rock. Most poor cast produce slack line and slack produces a better drag free drift. I think the best cast is of moderate length followed by good line handling techniques. Like I said its what I personally think.

Small black/gold/white countdown rapalas

The shad kill in Bull Shoals Lake was poor this year because of the mild winter. Y2K Bugs, small 1/120 ounce pink and fire orange jigs are working, Copper scuds and bright San Juan worms also. Black Sculpins will be working now because they are spawning and the males are black because the excavate a hole under something. Generation has increased with the rain that we have received this week and last. They are still having low water part of the day. The catch-n-release area at Bull Shoals is swamped with people, so Rim Shoals and the North Fork are all yours. Olive back and light grey sowbugs are working also. Good Luck