hfdhoosier

I guess if its a competition thing..... Then the best fisherman is the ones with the State record fish..... Anyone on here have the record?????????? I'll just catch my dinks and be happy! Dennis

Trav, I don't doubt that you catch huge fish, and are probably better than anyone at fishing lower Taney. I will state this forum has helped my fishing abilities by giving me tips and tricks to make me a better trout fisherman. Telling me about all the big fish you catch does nothing for my fishing abilities. Many guys on this forum have given their secrets, met up with other forum members and fished with them, put recipes/techniques on here to help other forum members. I haven't noticed you doing that. Maybe I missed some of your helpful posts. I'm not saying you have to be helpful, just dont slam those members that are helpful. Alot of guys on here have ego's but some stoop down and help us beginners start the climb up to their level. I can overlook ego when the person is willing to help me become a better fisherman. You are who you are, not asking you to change, this is just my observation. Dennis

I usually don't respond to posts when there is mud slinging involved but will this time. I don't know Leonard or Trav personally, but I assume each is a good fisherman in his own right. I don't look at trout fishing as a competition between anglers. From reading this forum, it seems like Leonard has went out of his way to help other anglers catch fish. He has guided people on this forum, fished as a non-guide with people on this forum, and given his secret fly to people on this forum and gave them the info on how to fish it. Trav is a legend in his own mind, he is probably a great fisherman but hasn't helped many people on this forum catch fish. I'm not saying he has to help me or any other person on this forum, thats his choice. But when you get down to it, this forum was designed so people could post reports and helpful tips to help each other. If I was to go to Taney, I think I would fish with Leonard anyday. Trav might be a better fisherman, who knows, but his boat is not big enough for him, his ego, and me. JMHO Dennis

I would have loved to see SD and GB also. The Patriots showed that they could struggle, if SD would have been healthy the Pats might have went down. History is nice but I don't want to see the Pats win. Go Giants! Dennis

I have to second that, Phil you put on a great class. Its nice to put faces to the names on here. Nice to meet you Phil. Have fun in Florida. Nice to socialize with Flyfshn again and your friend (sorry forgot his name already). We have got to get together and do some fishin. Dennis

Flyfshn: I could take GB vs SD for the Super Bowl. I think Green Bay is doable but San Diego is gonna have to pull out all the frills to get by NE. I hope it happens but not too optimistic. SD has the ability to beat NE but it would have to be a flawless game on their part with some bad NE luck. I will be huntin the antlerless late deer season this weekend but might get time to watch the game on Sun. Dennis

How about Philip Rivers and the bolts. 2nd year and he looked good till he got hurt. Kept right up with Manning. Go San Diego. Might take a miracle to beat the Patriots tho. Dennis

I think Missouri needs to have deputized wardens (us), or allow citizen arrest. Every trout park has illegal stuff going on and not enough enforcement of the laws. The only way they are going to stop it is to regularly issue tickets at all the parks. Need a better response to phone in complaints. Must be able to respond in a timely fashion before the offenders leave. JMHO Dennis

Strangercreek: Im in no hurry to get my flies, do what you think is best. I agree that the extra flies you have can be split up or you can keep them for your efforts. Either way is OK with me. As flyfshn stated, some may be held up in the holiday mail, might have been rerouted to the North Pole.haha I appreciate the good communication, Good job hosting this swap. JMHO Dennis

If you guys come up with a date, let me know, I would be interested in hooking up and doin some fishin. Remember the Current River outside Montauk is open for fishing year around. Dennis

Sounds like a great time, I plan on being there. Will be nice to put a face with this forum. I couldn't make Taney on New Years Day, I have never fished at Taney so Im looking forward to the presentation. Hope to see some of the rest of you there. Dennis

Mine too!!! Dennis

JJ: So thats the reason you wanted to host the swap, more interaction with the postlady, I should've known.haha On a serious note are you going to Phils class at Queeny this next Wed. night? Dennis

we;re still getting heavy rain here in Highland Illinois but all is OK. The news just stated some areas got hit hard, hope everyone is OK. Dennis

Got my flies today. They look great. Can't wait to try them out. A special thanks to JJ for hosting this swap. I love you man.haha Dennis

Hey, its OK to talk to yourself, its only bad if you start doing what the voices coming back are telling you to do.Hahaha People do look at you strangely when they overhear you talking to yourself. Usually if I'm talking to myself it's not an uplifting pep talk. Dennis

Flyfshn: I'll second that one. Jeremy: Thanks for posting those fly recipes, sure make it easy for a beginner to learn some nice productive patterns to tie. Thanks again. Dennis

I wont be aable to make them since I'm 5 hours away from there, any chance of posting a tutorial, video, etc???? cant hurt to ask, right. Dennis

Ive been looking at the Boga knockoffs at Bass Pro and Cabelas but most of the reviews state they can be off by more than a pound. I was looking for an easier way to release the fish during catch and release, so the scale is not worth the extra money to me for the Boga. I lose alot of small flies by breaking them off while trying to get the hook out. will be interested in following this post to see what others suggest. Dennis

I bought some neoprene gloves in the fishing dept. at walmart. they are full finger but have holes in the thumb and index finger so you can stick your fingers out to tie. I usually take the gloves off to tie and put them back on. Does keep your hands dry unless you stick those fingers in the water and let water in them. I carry fleece or wool gloves as a spare back-up. Worked for me down to 11 degrees with no wind chill. I dont know if anything would work in the low wind chills we are having now. Pray for warmer weather. The hand dryer idea is one Ill have to remember, great tip Snow Fly. Dennis

I have always had the most luck at Montauk on #18-22 zebra midge both in black and red with a gold bead heag and gold wire rib. Would work perfect as a dropper. The last time I was down there (Dec 7-9) the zebra midge was my best fly. A guy showed me how to drop a zebra midge off of the bend of the hook of a egg pattern or glo-ball. Very effective, the fish would swim up quickly to the glo ball, then decide not to take it, see the midge and then it was "fish on". Worked great. A olive mohair leech works well as a streamer, Also a wet crackleback stripped always works well. Ive had good luck on pheasant tail nymphs and red copper-johns in the deeper pools. Good luck and tell us how you did. Hope this helped. Dennis

Can anyone post a pattern for the McClellan's Woven Scud? Sounds like a fun tie. Dennis

My wife bought me the banjo minnow kit. I caught quite a few fish with the system. The weedless system did not work for me the way they said it would, I got hung up a lot. The video on different ways to fish them helped me out alot, i now use tube jigs and flukes and using the same techniques catch as many fish as I did with the banjo minnows. I think they are worth the $20, but they aren't the "superbait" the infomercial makes them out to be. Give them a try, you will catch fish with them. If you haven't fished flukes or tube baits, the video will give you successful techniques on how to fish them. i enjoy that slow jigging style of fishing but some of my fishing buddies are not patient enough and have to pull out their crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Hope this helped. Dennis

I still have my first shotgun, a H&R single shot 12 gauge with full choke. It does kick my shoulder pretty hard but it has held up for 24 years. I now shoot a winchester 1400 semi auto but they dont make that model anymore. great gun tho, I prefer the semi autos but are pricey. Dennis

Mine mailed out today. Strangercreek: few extra goodies for you. Thanks for hosting the swap. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Dennis