rps

Rex Grady, right? I remember his stringers that included trout and bass.

Senior moment here. Who was the guide who fished Tanneycomo and Table Rock and had articles in Fishing Facts about multi species days?

I have had shallow draft jons and a Supreme 2000. The Supreme ran more shallow. Without arguing over the math, think this way -> the surface area of the Supreme is high because of its length. The flat metal jons are wider but shorter. The difference on the rivers is that the "deep" water is frequently only a few feet wide and the skinny boat can navigate it more easily. If you watch a good White River guide on shallow water days you will even see them lean to pull the offset prop slightly higher out of the water to slip down a river cut barely wider than their boat. Btw, when I fished the Supreme I often stood on the front deck. It was very stable.

I like your comments. Unfortunately, some others can't take a joke. Right by the tracks, yes. If you have to have a Purple Tiger Sponge Bob Wake Bait because so and so fishes it, that is the most likely place to find it. Shimano, Falcon, Daiwa, etc. gear. Quality line selections. That kind of place.

Online, I trade with Tackle Warehouse, Janns Netcraft, and LandBigFish as well as Cabelas. When I get an urge for a real fishing store I drop by Hook, Line, and Sinker in Rogers. They are way too tournament oriented for me, but they do try to carry the good stuff.

The strippers are mostly nocturnal. Some typos are too good to pass up.

I was in Springfield yesterday and of course I stopped at Mecca. I had one item I wanted to buy and another I was considering. If I had purchased both, it would have been over $400. They had neither item - no Revo MGX, no rod sleeves worth owning. They also did not have the new Curado or the other fancy new reel by Daiwa. I walked out without spending anything (thus my wife's disbelieving panic). Speculation: I am old enough to remember visiting a sporting goods store in New York in 1960. I loved the place. Abercrombie and Fitch. L.L. Bean was once firmly centered on hunting and fishing. Every visit I make to the anchor store in Springfield, the more I notice the fishing tackle space is shrinking. Do you suppose Johnny is following the Ambercrombie model, but at the WalMart price points? Just sayin'

I had a 20 foot Supreme and found 40 to 55 pound thrust sufficient. Lilley is selling 25 hp Yammies. You might check that out. The boat you have now will be perfect to fish so many places. May I show you the upper river below the Beaver dam?

Mike Worley, guide, posts on this forum. PM him. He shares information.

F and F speaks truth. Fortunately, he did not tell all or even the best. To be fair, what he says is accurate. Within the stretch he describes I have taken more than one bass over 6, two walleye over ten and one over 13, and brown trout to 7. Rainbows are common but most are under 2 pounds. I have not tangled with a striper, but the Arkansas record held by Jeff Fletcher came from an area not far from Spider Creek. In most years at most times, above 62 bridge, a boater should be using a river boat. There will be years and times you can safely operate a shallow draft jon as far up as Parker Bottoms, but that will be a minority of the time. You can easily fish from the dam down to Parker in a canoe or a kayak with getting out to wade as the standard tactic. Pros like Zack can even drift a boat down from the dam but going back up is problematical. Wade access is good at all the designated access points, but a float vehicle (canoe, etc.) more than quadruples the fisherman's options. From Parker to 62 bridge a river boat is both an up and down river vehicle. My ride, a deep V Alumacraft, is only good as far as the 62 bridge, but can be safely put in at Houseman, Beaver town, or Holiday Island. Does that help answer your questions?

Several different striper guides put in at Holiday Island on Table Rock to do their shad netting. They throw in Leatherwood Creek and up river where the cold Beaver discharge stuns the shad. They then pull out and run the few miles to put in at Beaver.

Trade up to something like this and you will be fine.

Where on the East coast? Have you found places to fish yet?

Every once in a while, you get to meet members of this forum in real life. It is always a neat experience. Today I met Hoglaw (Keith) at his place of business...it smelled of money, Despite that, it was a pleasure and I enjoyed talking with him of rods, actions, purpose, and other things. He will be wrapping a couple of rods for which I bought the parts, but now am too feeble to finish before Spring. May I suggest each of you make a point of meeting, face to face, at least one new member before the Spring comes?

Ed, The similarities are even more eerie if you look at the cultural history. My Celtic ancestors - Scotch and Irish - were the poor sort from the rough highlands. When they arrived in the Americas they were uncomfortable in the lush lowlands and moved inland until they found rough hills with rocks and sparse soil. Tennessee and North Alabama and Northwest Georgia. They stayed there until it became too civilized and about the time the Cherokee were removed they headed West until they hit the same rocky sparse soil land in the Missouri Ozarks. They lingered a short time then drifted South into Arkansas because of growing populations in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield. This pattern was true for hundreds then and affects 10's of thousands of us now. My father's people and my mothers people, who lived within 100 miles of each other on both the Irish and Scottish sides, made exactly the same moves within 25 years of each other. They began to blend in the Americas. My mother's side were the Bonners and Cantwells from Jenny Lind and Ft. Smith. Dad's family settled in Waldron, AR, just South of there and ran a peckerwood saw mill. If you took pictures of every area in this migration pattern and mixed them up, you would be hard pressed to tell them apart unless there are rhododendrons present.

Not a fly fisherman, but I think the question is valid for both fly fishing and for us, the barbarians. Over the years I have built somewhere between 15 and 20 rods, mostly for myself, but one for dad and a couple for friends. I have one micro guide partly done (a wiggle wart cranking rod on a St. Croix blank)) and one micro guide waiting to build (a jig rod based on a lamiglass excel blank). In my boat I have a vertical jig/drop shot rod on a St. Croix xfast blank with Recoil guides. I am dinged up right now so the home builds are delayed. I just ordered a top water rod build from Big Nasty Rods (btw do NOT google that with your filter off) The top water rod will be a spiral wrap with Recoil micro guides. I will put a 5.4 ounce Revo MGX on it and have the lightest rig believable. Self mades tend to run as much or more than production because you pay retail for the parts. Have one made by a pro and his labor charge puts them in the production price range or higher. The reason in NOT to save money. You see the theme - the rods I describe are not sold; yet each has desirable features. Custom rods, IMO, are mostly the result of a desire not met by production makers. The other market force is the classic, "I have something that you don't." That is my answer to the question.

SS props are less likely to damage when they strike something, but once they do, the repair cost and time are larger. If you do not need SS for performance issues, think on buying two aluminum. One to run and one for a spare while the first one is repaired, The pair usually cost less than the SS and the repair cost is much lower. In addition, you never run the risk the SS prop will fail to give before the shaft pretzels. Just a thought.

I moved over here in 2002. I had fished Table Rock, where I live, and Beaver several times before moving. Despite that I was nearly three years learning before I started to regularly find fish. Even now, I do not find them every time. Have faith. When you reach the point where you can catch decent fish more often than not, it's fun to think of all those others that never have the chance.

Some comments in another post got me thinking. I want a new rod and I am recovering from surgery and cannot build it myself. Thought I would find out who, among those who read this forum, can build a good one OR who you would recommend that I contact. What I want: high modulus graphite 6' to 6'3" casting rod, medium to medium heavy power, fast action, 8-14 or 17 pound line, 1/4 to 3/8 up to 1/2 lure, exposed blank, straight cork handle (maybe split?) spiral wrapped, with lock wrapped single foot micro guides once the guides are on the underside. Hook keeper. As light as possible but balanced to use with a 5.5 to 6 ounce casting reel (Revo XMG or Zillion?) No feathers, no marbling, no exotic woods, but maybe some burl cork. This rod will be the bass rod I use for my top water and small spinner bait fishing where I target cast. In other words, the rod I fish in the mornings before I spend the day hunting walleyes. What do you have to say?

A second cousin of mine that I never met passed and had no direct heirs. A large number of people received small unexpected inheritances and I was one. The wife suggested I splurge on some fishing gear I would normally never buy. Those of you who read my posts know I love to fish topwaters. My favorite is the Top Dollar, but I fish standard spooks and poppers as well. I thought I would buy an ultimate rod reel set up for throwing my favorites. Right now I am using a Revo SX on a 6' medium power Falcon Cara. The rod is nine or ten years old but has the perfect length and feel for the baits I use. The reel is the 4th one I have fished on the rod, and the best so far. Other reels have included a 2002 era Curado Bantam (too large), a Curado E7 (self destructed), and the new Lew's (a Johnny Morris in disguise). Top end price for both $700. Suggestions?

Right now I am fishing vicariously. Thanks for a report I can "see."

am typing one handed sorry for the curt grammar blade plus wind = good points onto which wind blows = good (pea gravel, bluff ends, channel bends; also try square bill) deep water dock corners (throw past the corner and retrieve under the corner edge if possible; also try soft plastic jerk bait same way) buzz bait over drowned laydowns in back 1/3 of cuts and coves into which the wind blows shaky head and jig for deeper water options (again fish windy areas) have a good time

It is Corvette weekend in Eureka. We attract all of the wonderful Vette owners. As I came home from work today, they were arriving. Do you know the difference between a Corvette and a porcupine? A porcupine has the prick on the outside. Thank you. Thank you. We will be here all week.

I do fish some after school starts, but I generally quit around Thanks giving and resume in March. I jig fish upriver in the Spring and worm fish in the later Spring into summer.

pictures atre included in the blog post now. Lilley: I will forward them by email sometime today.