JobyKSU

So, after the latest kerfluffle with Larry Johnson - I find myself hoping that he is suspended and released immediately. Sad to say, it's not completely because of the embarrassment he has become (on the field and off) - but instead it is because he is only 75 yards away from becoming KC's all-time rushing leader. KC fans were spoiled for years with some phenomenal, class-act running backs. It was hard for me to adjust to LJ after Okoye, Marcus Allen, and Priest Holmes. I have a hard time even having LJ mentioned in the same sentence, much less on top of the pack. Yes, it is petty. Yes, he would probably be worth every penny he is being paid if he had an O-line like the Hogs he started with. But I'm just ready for him to be gone.

Get a good snap-T down and work on your underhand. I think you'll find that a few well-placed spey casts will really help with the crowding that can go on at Taney Only the brave or foolhardy would dare to encrouch on your elbow space when that line's flying

Hi all, 10 wt Fenwick Feralite 9'3" 2 pieces. Great fiberglass rod, Free to good home! As I am packing for the move, I realized that I really have not put this rod to much use since I purchased a graphite 8wt. This rod is not pretty, probably not worth much money, but it sure is fun to cast. It is definitely a slow rod - it deflects well into the butt. I matched it with an intermediate 8-weight and it worked just fine throwing some big streamers. This rod has landed some decent browns and a couple of nice stripers. If you can meet me somewhere in Fayetteville today or tomorrow, then it is yours - just send me a PM.

Going up for a little of both (job / sabatical). The opportunity popped up and I snatched it. I should be unpacking two weeks from today. You know, right around the time that temperature and humidity here starts hitting 95.

It looks like I will find myself in north eastern Alberta for at least the next 6 months or so. I'll be living on one of many lakes containing perch, walleye, whitefish, and some amazing pike (with big pointy teeth!) I've spent the last week or so tying *big* flies and building a second 8-wt rod. I should be arriving right after pike spawn, so the first 3 weeks I'm there should be fantastic. After that slows down all of the creeks and tributaries around hold wild Arctic Grayling so I'll be able to give my light gear a workout too. I'll also be within day-trip's distance of the Bow river and some mountain streams holding wild brookies and such. While I was hoping that I would be able to get one more day wading before I left, it looks like that's not going to happen. Never-the-less, if anyone has been in the area, drop me a line and let me know if you have any suggestions.

I'll stick with my Duramax (from, you know, after they stopped melting) and Allison tranny any day.

I love firefox - sure do wish it worked. I've been using Opera now for about 7 or 8 months and it works great. There are still some websites that I have to fireup IE for (like CNN video) but otherwise it works fine. Stoopid browsers.

Ah, trout spey - why yes, yes I do have some experience. About 1 year ago I started out on the same path you appear to be headed down. One thing I quickly found out was that the two-handed rod community is amazingly helpful. Initially I was interested in a switch rod - a few phone calls later (in a couple of cases I ended up talking to to the designers of the rods themselves) they convinced me that switch rods are less-than-desirable unless you are already a competent caster: Their ok at both styles but good at neither. This advice was given by Bob Meiser - the rod designer that actually invented switch rods. I was eventually led to a 12'6" 3/4/5 weight two-handed rod by Bob Meiser which isn't really advertised but exists none-the-less. I purchased the blanks because I wanted to build it myself, but he makes absolutely gorgeous rods that are generally accepted as some of the best performers in the business: Meiser Fly Rods Website This two-hander is soft enough that I can fish 6x tippet, but handles any sportfish up to 10 lbs - and that is based on some of the tail-walking steelhead in Washington. The rod does amazingly well. I actually got it with the intention of throwing streamers through a couple of the longer holes at Beaver, and it does fantastically with that. Also, managing a loooooong drift (even under an indicator) is easier with the two-hander. One of the best reasons, however, is that with spey or skagit-style casting, you only need about 10-20 feet behind you to cast - up to 100 feet if needed. Trout spey is becoming much more popular. There is now a nice, affordable 5wt from TFO, Meiser has down to the 3/4/5 weight, CND has a few selections, and Dec Hogan has a new series coming out that begins with a 4wt. I believe Burkheimer also has a few real quality trout speys. Now is actually a terrific time to get into two-handed rods for trout. I am definitely biased, but Meiser is, hands down, my recommendation. If you are truly interested in a trout spey, I suggest you visit speypages.com and read up a little there (search for trout spey). Also, when you do have a little bit of information, place a phone call to Meiser or Poppy at the Red Shed. They will get you set on the right rod for you (even if it isn't one they don't make/sell). More importantly, they will help you get it matched with the appropriate line for what you will be doing. Once you get started, you may find yourself using the two-hander more and more as you figure out it's advantages. The ability to place your line where you want it without any back cast is great for some of the combat conditions that we experience around here, as well as being able to high stick nymphs 13 feet out. Bottom line - if you are truly interested, read on the internet for a little bit and then pick up the phone. If you are even considering one of Bob Meiser's rods then call him and ask him what he thinks - he's already somewhat familiar with the white river system and you definitely will not get the "hard sell" from him.

Well, it says that there are certain individuals or corporations who will take advantage of a situation for their own gain, and they might have enough power to affect their legal system. Whew! Good thing that doesn't happen here!

After about 1 year of use, I think it's time to tout the performance of the 7-piece travel rod I keep in my car. In that time it has probably seen water 15 times or so. Originally purchased for a backpack trip, this rod breaks down and fits nicely into a solid cordura-covered tube about 18" long with 2 1/2" diameter . The case fits comfortably in my daypack or under the seat of my car. This is, by far, the most convenient rod I have ever been exposed to. Further, this rod shatters any misconceptions about modern ferrules' ability to provide crisp, sensitive fishing with multiple piece rods. The designers from MIT that developed this bit of technology really knew what they were doing. The rod is extremely light in the hand and looks great. High-end components are well matched to the good looking matte black blank. It is pure fun to cast with plenty of backbone and throws a ton of line with gorgeous, tight loops. I would classify the action as fast, but it is probably a step slower compared with the current trend in new rod action. I've arranged my comments into 3 sections: Performance, Components & Construction, Value, and the ever-important "X factor" Ratings are based on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the best, and what I perceive to be an "average" fly rod would receive ratings of 5. Performance: 9/10 This rod is amazing to fish. I was initially worried that a 9 foot rod with 6 ferrules would be stiff and I would not be able to feel the sensitive bumps that go with nymphing. Boy was I wrong. This rod is every bit as sensitive as the 2-piece Sage XP 4 wt that I fished alongside it. Nymphing without an indicator is a whole-new experience when you realize how many little hits you haven't even been noticing. The tip is soft enough to protect light tippet. The butt is nice and solid, however, and provides ample fighting power to allow you to bring the bigger fish in without extending playing time. The rod casts nymph rigs and dry flies equally well. Predictably, I would not expect it to cast large streamers, although it did fantastically with smaller wooly buggers and was entirely acceptable fishing clouser minnows. Components & Construction: 7/10 March Brown has loaded this offering with the quality components that you would expect in a premium rod. This rod has fantastic looking, high-quality cork, a burled Madagascan hardwood reel seat, and nickel-silver hardware. The wraps are black with attractive silver trim bands. To save on weight, single foot chrome guides were used. After more than a season of use, the rod is holding up perfectly. There appears to be no weaknesses in the construction and it feels like a rod that will last for years. Value: 6/10 The Hidden Water comes with a lifetime no-questions-asked warranty. The retail price is $498. That puts the rod in some pretty stiff competition. The performance and quality of the rod definitely allows it to hold its own, however. The added convenience of a 7-piece design bump the rod to "better than average." If you put in a (very) little bit of search effort (as I did), though, you can still find some really good discounts on these rods. At that point the "Value" for these rods skyrockets. X-Factor: 9/10 I can not tell you how nice it is to have a superb fly rod that fits anywhere and accompanies me wherever I go. The fact that I don't have to sacrifice any performance is even better. The rod is amazingly light and just feels like a natural part of my cast. Further, it is versatile, having landed (so far) trout, perch, smallmouth, white bass, and sauger. I even gave a surprised gar a good go before it bit through my leader. In summary: I like this rod. Actually, I think I love this rod. It feels at home fishing high alpine streams or our tailwaters. It goes everywhere with me. I have never had any problems with this rod (includeing ferrules loosening or coming apart). I thought long and hard about the drawbacks of this rod. The first - it takes a bit longer to put together 7 pieces and get them aligned (although alignment dots are provided). It seems like the time increase is exponential when you figure the excitement level I have because I get to go fishing. The second drawback is a technicality: the retail price. If you are looking for a specialty rod for that one backpacking trip, then you might not get much use out of this rod to justify the price tag. Of course, that was my initial intention with the purchase, but it has become a go-to rod that I choose to use rather than a fall-back rod that I use because it's convenient. This argument further falls apart when you consider the going discount price at which you can find these rods. The more I think about it, the more likely I am to recommend a 7 piece 5wt as the perfect first fly rod. This rod embodies the concepts of performance, versatility, and forgiveness that one looks for. If you ever find yourself in the presence of a March Brown fly rod, take a few minutes to test-cast it if possible. It might change your idea of what the ideal fly rod consists of.

Thanks, Dano. I wish I could take credit for making it, but the reel seat and handle are maid by American Tackle and were really well priced. They also have the full wells grip which I'm thinking about for my 8wt and some finished hardwood One of these days I'll turn my own grip and reel seat, but until then, I really like these.

Well, with the high water and lack of wading opportunities, I've been finishing up a few projects. I put the last coat of finish on my 8'6" 4wt Sage XP. This was my first time using the flex coat lite finish. I put two coats on, but I may strip it off and put 3 really lite coats on. The lite is really easy to work with, but easy to get too much on - some of the guide finishes are a bit wavy. I also had to block up my work room and leave lights on to get the temperature up to 75 or so - the finish stayed tacky much longer than I expected (about 18 hours). This was also my first try at a feather inlay. I went with a simple three-feather look. It doesn't show up that well here, but looks fantastic in the sun. I think next time I'll try a couple of really thin accent trim wraps instead of single thicker trim bands. I'm definitely sticking with the metallic thread though. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting on the water with this thing.

So, rather than doing actual work, I was surfing through youtube (as usual). I came across a demonstration of using the new quick-cure gorilla glue for floating flies. I found this quite interesting, and began playing around. The quick cure gorilla glue will actually take the hue if activated by food coloring. Once you get used to it, it is easy to work with, and floats extremely high in the water. Using the gel-type food coloring mixed with water I was able to get some pretty decent coloration. I was using a set of neon-colors, so I think the normal colors will work out pretty well if you're going for realism. Also, the regular liquid food color will likely be a perfect substitute for water in the mixture. Pictures 1 is my finished product (orange head): I started by tying in the tail (flash 'n slinky synthetic) and laid down a green thread undercoat almost to the eye. I then tied in saddle hackle directly in front of the tail (I tied in the quill end), though wrapping it will be the final step. It's useful to put a quick loop around the hackle and tail, then tie it off. This keeps the hackle out of the gorilla glue once you put it on your hook. Prepare the glue mixture - mix it well! Using a toothpick, put a bead of the glue on the hook shank where you would like the head centered. You will likely need to rotate the fly a few times to get the shape and location you want and to give the glue time to set, which it will promptly. Let the head set and dry - 1 hr is a good estimate to make sure that it is nice and solid. Once the head is solid, I wrapped the saddle hackle in relatively thickly all the way to the head. Tie it in and whip finish the thread, then a carefully placed hit of head cement to lock it in. Things I've learned: 1 - The glue will stick to saran wrap, aluminum foil, and just about everything else. Stick with wax paper! 2 - It is important to get an uneven underwrap on the hook before the glue goes on. Your creation will rotate freely around the shaft otherwise 3 - Careful rotation can get you into some nice shapes, but you only have about a minute to get the head to the shape you want it. 4 - Use less prepped glue than you think you'll need. It expands more than I expect and it is easy to surpass the gap in your hook. 5 - Everything doesn't have to be perfect - the expansion covers up a lot of mistakes 6 - Don't get too much water in the mix or things go poorly - you'll know you have too much if the glue doesn't mix evenly My next experiment is to find out if I can build a useful mold for heads. A simply cylinder cut at an angle and lined with wax paper should form popper heads really well. If I can figure it out, nice swimming lip should be possible also. A few more pictures - I have included a poor water/glue mixture ration (green head) - the darker green spots are actually indentations where the glue did not get mixed with the colored water - It could still be effective though, I'm looking forward to finding out. The final picture is a method for making poppers (purple head), though they aren't as smooth on the sides as they could be. That picture also documents my discovery that you must have a thread underlay to keep the head from moving. My attempts at poppers have to set closer to 2 (maybe 3) hours before they're safe to work move around. If there is interest, I'll post some pictures if I get some decent looking ones.

I'd start with a phone call to Schneider's in Mountain Home. I didn't see any size 18 on their website, but they have a pretty good selection in back. Schneider's Rod Shop If you get a no-go from them, then Mudhole.com has at least a couple of options that I saw with a quick glance. I've dealt with both and had great experiences. Schneider's local, fantastic to deal with, and right-on par for price. Mudhole delivers quickly and easily, and they've got a fantastic selection. Hope that helps.

If this is truly your goal, you should spend some time talking to the owner/operators of fishing message boards such as this one. A phone call with our own esteemed Mr. Lilly and John Wilson of Flyfishingarkansas (and Missouri, too!) would probably shed some light on the 'community' of anglers in the area. I'm sure there are a number of other boards that I'm not aware of that would be equally appropriate.