Brian Wise

I tend to have a few knotted leaders on me all the time. I really, really like having the ability to taper a super long leader and then turn around and have a super short leader that balances real well. I went for probably a year tying all of my own leaders and used Maxima in 20, 18, 15, 12, 8, 6 and 4 lb (added 10 to it later for those short streamer leaders) If you do it right it is an investment as it is pretty expensive getting all of those spools and if you don't taper right no matter what you are casting it will hinge and act really funny. I used LeaderCalc to start with and it gave a ton of different types of leaders and the exact length you need for each piece which is very nice, after that I just kind of eyeballed it. Looking back, I very seriously doubt I would have spent the money on the seperate spools if I weren't going through dozens per year with guiding. But on the plus side.....I can tie a blood knot behind my back while whistling dixie. Brian

Agreed, 500+ cfs is not too bad at all....wouldn't mind seeing it higher but like Justin said, it's a LOT better than it was this winter.

Hold up....did I see you at the island?

By the way...I wasn't going to point it out, it is super hard to see, but I am pretty sure the Discovery Channel will be asking for the footage at the 3:47 mark -- I like to call that piece "If an Eagle poos into the river, do you hear it?"

Thanks guys!! Justin, the slim chance of Kyle falling off the dam was the reason I was filming right then. :-)

Hey guys, just thought I would let you know the winter video is up. We had a ball this winter, (even though it seemed like the longest winter of my LIFE)the water was low and clear on the North Fork of the White but we still caught a ton of fish and a few really nice fish. Also, there are soem clips in it from the Eleven Point. Brian Sloss and I were able to throw together a day to fish on his home water and we have some nice smallmouth and trout to show for it in the video. Enjoy..... Brian

I guess in tradition of doing a video per season here is the Winter, 2010 video. Most of the winter we had low, clear water. This was the longest extended period of low water we had seen in a few years so in some ways it was cool to see...others not so cool. Either way we had a great winter on the North Fork of the White and are already rolling in the spring fishing. Enjoy. Brian

Wow..... Had the pleasure of guiding some seriously awesome people over the weekend. Friday (18th) floated Kelly to Blair (why float different water when it is fishing REALLY well) and, well, caught fish out of every run, riffle, and hole that morning. We had to bounce around a little with fly selection to keep up with the bite but it was there. After lunch a cold front moved through and dropped the temp 10+ degrees....we went from almost sweating to throwing the fleece back on, gotta love early spring. Fishing slowed down noticeably that afternoon but we still got takes in every run and absolutely hammered them on a couple of different flats. Wiggle Dub Stone (Hare's Ear, Brown, and Black) Psycho Prince (Orange, Green, Purple) Caddis Pupa's Sunday took the same float with a true character from Mississippi. He was fairly new to the sport and wanted to learn a little more and hopefully catch some fish. Floated from Kelly to Blair (see a pattern here) and didn't hook one fish per riffle but more like 3-5 per riffle along with a take or fish in every tailout, hole, and anything else that resembled WATER. In one word, fishing was "stupid." It was one of those time you just start laughing at every hook set. To really get the point across on how good that area is fishing.....didn't change flies---NOT ONCE. Crazy numbers. Wiggle Dub Stone (Brown) Psycho Prince (Purple) Brian

Feather-Craft is also doing a special before the Film Tour stop. Spend $65 and you get a free ticket. Like Laing said, for sure need to sell this out so they keep bringing the show back to Missouri! Brian

NICE! Let us know how it goes. (Pretty sure they are going to kill by the way)

He was pretty excited....SUPER nice guy too.

22" on the nose. The GIRTH was what really suprised me....I mean our big fish are generally fat but this thing was a filthy pig. The doesn't quite do the fatness justice.

Hey guys, Had a father/son trip this weekend and it was a funny one...the 16 year old son was the more experienced of the father/son duo, which isn't typical. The father got into this really nice brown above McKee Bridge. Seriously solid fish! Floated from Kelly to Blair and simply killed the fish on looong drifts...all fish except 1 were caught from the drift boat. Mostly fished Wiggle Dub Stones and Caddis Pupas and Emergers with fish being 50-50 on each (the big fish took a Wiggle Dub Stone) TONS of Caddis coming off so bring your emergers and pupa, that bite it on. Brian

ARE YOU KIDDING? Ok, I am making it official....my next boat is going to be a skiff. Chris is exactly right, 650 is the breaking point for a low-pro and that is hanging off the bow unless you are loaded. I am still pulling for MDC to build a ramp on the up-stream side of Patrick, or at least a boat slide. I would happily put a 100' winch on my trailer to be able to take out right there on 1000cfs. Brian

Hahaha....well played sir! The fishing is cool, a 2wt is slightly overkill but that is one insanely beautiful place....and with the rain that has moved through the waterfalls should be pretty stellar.

I am so sorry.....you do know Branson is just an hour away from you already right?

Fished these all summer on the Bryant....tore 'em up! Bottom Bouncing: Hogan's Bass Cracker Baitfish Imitation: Garrett's Belly Dancer Topwater: Warm Water Whammy They are "fishy."

I really hate even commenting here..... Kyle runs a seriously cool jon boat and I have guided with him for a long time now, not to mention he is a great friend of mine (we fished together Monday) Justin and Amy are probably cooler than Kyle and I put together. But what 'I' would recommend is use your guide (whomever it may be) fully. If you want to learn more about fly fishing THIS is a great chance and use your guide as an instructor, a good guide can take years off of your learning curve and send you on your way after the day is over feeling more confident in your abilities. Have fun! With this rain the water levels are looking better and better. Brian

I still like the old spreadsheet reports better.

3 words Justin....Stir....CRAZY....KIDS!! Sure, they look like 2 cool little guys while they are fly fishing but get them cooped up in the house for a couple of hours and it's all over. Little brother is the silent "I'll kill you in your sleep" kind of dude while big brother is the loud "I'm really not that tough" kind of guy---little brother typically wins the arguments/fights.

Exactly what we are looking for Gary....honestly, at this point we don't even care if they grow up to be amazing fly fisherman--just outdoorsman of some kind (although I'm pretty sure they are going to like fly fishing.) It's kind of funny, the eldest is already talking about white bass on the fly and can't wait until spring. I guess that double haul will be coming in handy when that rolls around. Brian

It's true....trust me. Had a great time on the 11 Point and caught the crap out of the fish!

Thanks so much guys. The double hauling is something I honestly worked with him for maybe 10 minutes several months ago....we were at Dry Run last week and he wanted to go cast in the grass and while he was casting I yelled over to him "Hey, Double Haul!!" and HE DID!! So after a little freaking out I grabbed the video camera.

Thanks guys. The GoPro's are fun and bulletproof...which is nice.

Hey guys, I thought I would throw together a little video of my boys fly fishing. The little guys are pretty good (obviously I am partial here though) and entertaining. :-) Brian