Kyle

Greasy B, I too am a fan of bluegill fishing with my 3wt, but I have never caught a 15+ inch bluegill and sometimes the size is what I'm looking for. (hence my interest in Muskies and Hybrids) Kyle

siusaluki, Again, thanks for the information. I will probably moving there sometime in January, so maybe we could try something in the spring (unless your crazy enough to go out in the cold (like me), then maybe some time in Feb or March). Kyle

Siusaluki, Thanks for the info. Have you ever tried to catch some of those Musky below shelbyville on fly? Maybe we could get together in the spring sometime and you could show me a few places. I am eager to learn the new waters and especially tailwaters and streams. Also, are the access/trespasing laws the same in Illinois and they are in Missouri? Kyle

Hello All, Well to start I am taking a job at Campbell Cameras in southeastern Illinois. I am from the STL area and like having streams (especially trout) with in a couple of hours of home. After looking through the Illinois DNR it seems there are no cold water streams in the state. All that being said: I am a fly-fisherman and I am now looking for other options satisfy my cravings that will be closer to my new home. Cold Water 1. Is there good trout fishing in Indiana? I have found some streams there, but have not found a lot of information on the fishing. 2. I know there is good to excellent trout fishing in Kentucky (Cumberland River). What are the western most trout streams that would be good for fishing? (I'm ok with small streams. I am a big fan of Blue Spring Creek and the Little Piney in MO) Warm Water I am also interested in catching hybrids or musky on the fly. 1. Is there good hybrid fishing behind any of the lakes in Illinois or Kentucky or Indiana? (Rend, Shelbyville, Carlisle, Kentucky Lake, Patoka Lake, Broad Pond (looks like a power plant cooling lake)) 2. Is there any good musky fishing in southern Illinois? 3. Are the lakes clean (like Table Rock) or do they tend to be murky (like LOZ)? Thinking about sight fishing for carp. I am not all that into black bass. They just don't do it for me, but I am aware they are in every pond and lake basically everywhere. If you can answer any part of these questions I would greatly appreciate you knowledge. I love to fly-fish and want like to be able to continue without having to drive 6 hours to Missouri. Thanks for reading and Thanks for your help. Kyle

Nice work, I'm trying to get out this weekend. I have been too busy to scout lately. Kyle

Nortrad, I was the guy you talked to right after you caught the small bow in the picture just below Baptist. Turned out to be a beautiful weekend on the river and the bugs hatching were unreal. Kyle Here is a fish story for everybody: Fished below Baptist on Saturday. I was throwing streamers with my 8wt looking for the big browns, but to no avail. There were massive amounts of tricos coming off the water and some actively feeding fish in a pool. I knew I shouldn't do it, but I put on a 7x tippit and a small mayfly I had. About 2 casts later a fish hit it and I preceded to set the hook too hard (because there is very little give to an 8wt) and snapped the tippit. I wanted to be prepared to for this hatch again today so I went to Reeds Cabin and got some 24 black and white tricos. Fast forward to today. Same hole and fish feeding the same way. I have my 3 wt and put on the trico dry and target a fish that was feeding in exactly the same spot as the one the day before (because it was an easy presentation, not because I planned what happens next). The fish takes on the 2nd or 3rd cast. Once he tires I go to remove the hook and what do I see? My trico and the mayfly from yesterday! I remove both hooks, thank him and send him on his way. Crazy that I hooked the exact same fish in the exact same spot 2 days in a row. (P.S. pulled a 15 1/2 inch rainbow out of the same whole on the trico as well. Wish we had more dry fly action in Missouri. It is great.)

Well, wish I had something good to report, but that is not the case. I fished on my own a couple of mornings and had a barracuda give chase to a clouser minnow, but no hit. Went out with a guide one morning and it rained the whole time. I had never hired a guide before and maybe I was expecting too much, but I was not impressed. I thought guides were supposed to be flexible and have a bag of tricks in case plan A doesn't work. He just kept telling me we needed the rain to clear and sun to come out so we could see, because he knew the fish were there. (we never saw a bonefish all day) Plan B was to blind cast a 9 wt for baby tarpon. (i did manage to hook one in the mangroves, but there was no way to be able to play it.) BTW, I book early and talked to the guide several times about picking the best fishing day because I was flexible on the day. (the day before and after the trip were both sunny days with no rain, apparently we wanted sun) He said we should be fine because it would probably clear up. (shouldn't the guide check the weather forecast?) Anyway, the vacation was great, but the fishing was lacking. Thanks for listening. Kyle

Leaving tomorrow morning. Fishing with Arthur form Arawak Expeditions on Tuesday. They way it sounds the tarpon should be good around the islands right now. I will report back (with pictures) upon our return Friday or maybe over the weekend. I'm also taking the 8 wt and a bunch flies I tied (clousers, baitfish, shrimp, crabs) Kyle

No, they are saying 5or6x tippet CAN land big fish. Catching is a whole other story and there are many factors that go into it. I would say the best way to learn to catch big fish is to fish. Hiring a guide or going with someone who is experienced can also lead to a lot of helpful information.

Al, Do they give you any trouble about having large flies that contain large hooks? They freak out about pliers, wasn't sure about hooks. Kyle

Prove it. We can always use some more fish porn!! Kyle

Hey guys, looking for some advice. I am going to St. John in September and taking my 8wt TFO since we are staying right on the beach. Obviously we are flying. It is a 4 piece rod. Should I check it as luggage or use it as one of my carry on bags? Have never flown with one before and wanted to hear thoughts on the best way. Also, I'm booking a guide to fish for tarpon and bonefish for a day. I have never hired a guide before. If anyone has any general advice on guides please advise. Thanks Kyle

sure thing guys, thanks.

Planning to book the guide next week. If anyone has any input about booking guides, before I send payment please feel free to put in your .02. Kyle

What does not easy entail? Do we have to cary the canoe a mile down hill to the river? or is it just a long drive back there? Also, can you fish the greer spring branch? Are there trout up the branch? Thanks again Kyle

What about Boom Hole access to Turner to get above where the spring comes in at Greer? Is it worth putting 2 miles up from the Greer access to be able to hit Greer Spring? or miss any crowds? Or could you paddle up to the spring from Greer Access? Thanks Kyle

A buddy and I are planning to float the 11point this weekend and we are looking for suggestions for lodging (preferably a hotel or cabin on a budget) and for a long float on saturday and a short float on sunday. We will be shuttling our own canoe and are looking for trout. Thanks Kyle

TFO, hard to go wrong with any of their rods.

How long can LaRussa keep throwing Franklin out there? He just doesn't have it anymore. He was talking about retiring last year, wish he would have. There is no such thing as a pitch to contact closer. Closers are supposed to be shut-down. I understand his defense is not helping him out, but you can't let every batter smack the ball as hard as they can and hope your defense takes care of it. (Remember we knew we were giving up defense for offense.) I'm not going to get into Miller right now but jeeze, get stop taking pitching advice from Franklin. I feel better now. Kyle

I have recently started tying some flies for a trip to St. John. After doing some reading I realized I could save a bunch of money on high priced stainless steel hooks by tying tube flies. I can still experiment with various things and not worry about wasting hooks. It was just this morning that I realized they won't just fit in a standard fly box. I did a search for boxes and found many options. Pins, Swinging pins, open compartment, and wallets. Does anyone have any experience with any of these boxes? Or how do you like to carry your tube flies? Kyle

I think I heard that same rant in there last Sunday. He is a very passionate man. He really enjoys the sport and has a lot of insight on various aspects. Kyle

I am heading to St. John in September of this year. I have done some research and know there is fair bone-fishing there, but was curious if anyone else has been there or fished it. We are staying in a house on the beach in Chocolate Bay (Southeast Corner of the island) . I also have read most of the bone-fishing flats are on the northern side of the island. I figured I would get more evenings or mornings to fish and would like to do it right behind the house. All of that being said, what can I reasonably expect to catch and as always any patterns would be greatly appreciated. Also, I am planning to hire a guide 1 day. Was looking at Arawak Expeditions, Inc. If anyone has any experience or other recommendations please share. Kyle

I fished most of the creek. Parked at the bridge and went up and down from there. Then parked at BSC Road and fished down from there. Kyle

Didn't have anything going on today so I figured I would give BSC a try. I had never been before so I didn't know what exactly to expect. Well I it is pretty small and like trying to cast your fly rod in the middle of the woods, but a very pretty little creek. However, I wish it wasn't so close to a pretty busy highway, or maybe I should say I wish the highway wasn't so close to it considering it is probably easier to move a highway than a river. Anyway, I got there around 9 and fished until 6 or so. Wound up catching 8 and having 2 break me off. Nothing over 6 inches to hand, but I know one of the break offs would have gone 16+. Oh well maybe next time. Kyle

TFO Can't go wrong with anything they have. I have a finesse, it has a slower action, but works well. Plus they are tough, I caught about an 8 pound carp on mine. Kyle