JobyKSU

It used to have a different name, but in 2000 when everybody's computers crashed and robots took over the world, records of that name were lost and it was simply renamed 'Y2K' for simplicity sake. Ok, you got me, I'm not sure how it got its name. I'm sure somebody on here does though. That bit of lore came courtesy of McClellen's. Because of the mutt/hybridized nature and constant stocking practices it's possible that there are some fish attempting to spawn throughout the year. If we had only one strain stocked, then we'd likely see a more defined spawning season. Sounds convincing to me!

I spent some time on the water Thursday and Saturday. Brief: Ruby/Diamond/Emeralds and zebras in Black and red, black and orange, or brown and gold. A few dries produced in the afternoon. Late-morning nymphing has been fantastic. A large number of fat 14-16 inch 'bows are swimming around. Dead drifting nymphs about half to two-thirds the depth of the water seems to be the answer in the morning (when they're biting hard). Once that dies down, raising the indicator until you are ticking the bottom every so often keeps the day going. Without generation, there has been a healthy midge hatch in the afternoon; the fish start slurping and leaping out of the water. At that point, I switched to either: 1) olive parachute midge emerger (size 18) is killer - a few slight twitches of the line give a little bit of action and fish came crashing through the water. At the end of the drift, slow stripping (like a soft hackle) also produced spectacular hits. So exciting! or... 2) drift nymphs 10 to 18 inches deep under a small indicator Thursday I found a great method for fishing cranebreak hole: When the wind picks up fairly stiffly from the east, a nymph suspended about 8 feet below a decent sized foam indicator will drift backwards through the hole. The indicator (and floating line) is wind-resistant enough that it will be blown against what little current exists(read: no current) on top of the pool. It's slow, but it seems to be a pretty consistent method to get interest from some of the larger fish hanging out down there.

Its the first big hole below the start of the artificial only area. The river narrows and dumps out into a long, deep hole. Google it here We were just a bit downstream (north-east). I have since learned that this is relatively normal behavior with our hybridized/mutt stocker trout. Who'da thunk it?

So, for my birthday I'm getting some rod-building materials. Since I've got a decent variety of singe handers (although a nice 2 or 3 wt might be fun at Beaver) I decided to go with a two-handed rod. After doing some research, I called Bob Meiser's company, and ended up talking to the man himself. Huge help! I think I've decided on his new 3/4/5 weight 12'6" series. It should be able to throw the quad-tip 8wt line that I already have spooled up. Two questions: First - Does anyone have any experience with two-handed/spey rods (fishing or building) and if so, any hints or warnings? Second, more specific - Because 'balance' is more important with two-handed rods, I'm looking for a reel seat that has both uplocking and downlocking ability. This should allow me to move the reel at least an inch or so up or down the seat to even out the weight distribution. Does anyone know of any good ones out there? Thanks for looking!

I made it up last night - left Fayetteville while they were running 3 generators 'just in case' As I got closer to the tailwater, I called to check on generation every 5 minutes - started getting ansy as 3 were still turned on. I crossed the dam at Midnight:02, placed the phone call and sure 'nuff, zero generators! When I got on the water, I began throwing #2 white bunny. I had a lot of hard hits, but nothing was taking enough to set a hook. I started picking up lots of fish on a #6 (or 8) olive matuka. Largest fish of the night was a 19" brown. This fish confused me to no end, because after I removed the hook, he tried to swim off but was still caught. I finally figured out it wasn't my streamer he was hooked on when it became firmly implanted in my thumb. It turns out the poor guy had been foul hooked on a small grey fuzzy scud and the broken line had wrapped around my reel seat. Once I figured that out, I clipped about 2 feet of tippet off of his fin and sent him on his merry way. All in all it was a pretty good night. I got to break in my new 8wt (casts like a dream, once I got used to the faster action) and I didn't go swimming.

I'm getting ready to pack up and head out. I'll have a cooler of caffeine/energy beverages in my VW passat that I will gladly trade for pointers, so if you're thirsty feel free to find the 6'4" goofy looking guy (I'll have a yellow longsleeve on as a top layer). Hope to see some of you there.

I was planning on trying it out (I've got a new 8wt thats just begging to throw some streamers). Round-the-clock generation is making me think it wouldn't be worth the trip from Fayetteville, though. So, is anyone's crystal ball saying I should show up about midnight? ::. JobyKSU Tippet Breaker Extraordinaire

I headed out to Beaver tailwater yesterday for a couple of hours in the morning. We got there a bit late in the morning and set up below the Y2K hole. As usual, the fish started hitting various zebras about 9:30 or so. We fished steadily for an hour or so, when something curious occurred. We pulled out a thick rainbow, and she started spilling tons of eggs (honey to pink colored, fyi). Mind you, this was while we were removing the hook and there was very minimal squeezing pressure on the fish. I assumed this was an aberrant happening, but within seconds my line was hit hard by a fighter. After a somewhat spirited battle (considering he was a 13 incher) I got him to hand. As I was holding his head out of the water to remove the hook, I noticed a spreading cloud of milt. With these two fish, we quickly decided to let them be and looked for another spot, where we had no luck. My question... isn't a little early for rainbows? If so... what could be the cause? Is this a product or a cause of our non-replenishing fishery? And, secondly... may be time to start egg patterns!

I've fished Beaver this weekend and this morning. Saturday in the cascading sheets of rain was a blast. I had my hands in the water on fish all day long. Nothing huge, but a couple of 14 inchers that fought like they meant it. This morning was a bit slower, but Baby Browns were on the menu. My first 5 were 8 to 10 inch browns. They hit nymphs drifted deep behind mid-stream structure. Finished off the morning with a few decent 'bows and then headed off to the office. Catch of the weekend was a poor, bewildered 2 inch sculpin. I thought I had caught my nymph on a leaf through the riffles, but the poor little guy had a hold on it and went for a ride. He was none-the-worse for the ride, though, and skittered off quickly. Flies that worked included just about any zebra midge, sizes 18 and 20. Especially effective were white and red R&R's. When fishing slowed, adjusting depth was very effective to draw more hits. ::. Joe

I didn't have a whole lot of luck looking for water seeping out of mine. What finally worked was trapping air in the waders and then submerging them. Squeeze them gently and look for bubbles forming on the waders. Don't squeeze too hard, or you'll squeeze air out of the seams - and create more leaks. Hope this works for you.

Just a heads up for anyone that doesn't know -- Next week is the Tour of Missouri - and it looks like it is going to be a world-class bicycle race. There will be an individual time trial in Branson on Thursday, September 13th. Thats right, 120 cyclists will be riding in circles around Branson. The circus will officially run from about 10:00 until around 3:00. If you are in the area, you should think about spending some time on the route. You sure won't be able to get around anywhere during then, anyway! Some of the world's best riders will be in the race: Contador, Leipheimer, Hincapie, etc. If you need a team to root for, think about Team Slipstream - they're the ones in the uuugly blue and brown argyle jerseys. Yes, argyle. The team isn't spectacular, but they have the most aggressive "illegal substance" testing program in the world. So, show up for early morning fishing, and then head into town at about 10:30 and you can see some people going waaaaay too fast on two wheels. ::. JobyKSU

I spent my hard-earned money on the Nintendo Wii. The graphics aren't nearly as good as the XBox 360 or PS3, but only the hard-core gamers really notice that much difference. I like the controllers - if I want to swing a sword in the game, I swing my controller. To shoot a gun, I point the controller at the screen and squeeze the trigger. Baseball... you swing a bat. Not only is the entire system (not to mention individual games) cheaper than the competition, but I think they're boat-loads more fun. About the only other game I play is FlySim on the computer. Its a fun little fly-fishing game that can get me on the water during those boring meetings... ::. JobyKSU

Glad to hear you had a good time. Let us know if you're going to come back, we'll make sure the fish are hungry

McCloud, I recently broke in a new fishing partner that felt exactly like you did. For a while, even when fly fishing he brought his spinning rod - it was a nice little security blanket for him. Ultimately, the only way you'll get comfortable is to go for it. Spend a little bit of time on the lawn before you go, and it'll come together very quickly. Soon, your daughter will be begging you to teach her to fish with the funny stick!

To be honest, the only thing I find unbelievable is that I haven't made it up there to get me some! ::. JobyKSU

I made it out on the water a couple of times in the last few days. I would best describe the fishing as average with moments of greatness. Zebras and other nymphs continue to pick up fish throughout the day. When they slow, soft hackles remain productive. I've hooked into a couple of fish that really didn't want to be caught and put up a pretty good fight. On the other hand, it seems that there may have been a recent stocking, as I did catch a number 7 or 8 inchers that looked like they were new to the neighborhood and didn't fight much. Sunday was a little bit crowded, but I had some good conversations. A little after noon, midges started coming off of the water. I was able to pick up a couple using size 20 adams. I had just switched to a griffith's gnat and was fishing it downriver when the horn sounded annoyingly earlier than I had expected. All in all, its been a couple of pretty good days on the water. ::. JobyKSU

There are two (main) ways to have a program load on startup. The first, easiest, and safest is (assuming Windows XP) Start... All Programs... Startup. Anything with a shortcut in this section will automatically start after windows is up. The second, and substantially more dangerous, is a few entries in the registry. If you are relatively certain you know what you're doing, you can access this by start, run, and entering "regedit" and clicking ok. Navigate to: HKey Local Machine --> Software --> Microsoft --> Windows --> CurrentVersion --> Run Any entries here start automatically as windows is starting up. If you delete an entry, it will stop loading. If one does not know what they're doing, they can cause real headaches here! Hope this helps... ::. JobyKSU

The launch is a medium-fast action. My 5wt feels a slightly closer to fast than medium, if that helps? The thing I notice most (as do others who cast it) is the smooth "progressive" action. It has a relatively soft tip, which does a great job of protecting tippet. (Consequently, it can take a little bit of effort to break off if you get snagged and can't get to it.) If the launch is a possibility, I strongly recommend it. Have your fly-shop string one up for you and check it out. If they can't/won't, I can meet you at one of the tailwaters and you can spend some time with it. ::. JobyKSU

That would work!

I'll second that. I have a 4 pc 5 wt 9 ft Launch. It has a really nice feel to it, and the power transfer up the shaft is as smooth as anything I've ever cast. The price is at your max (and a touch over for the 4 piece) but IMO this is one of the best catching (and versatile) rods in the price range. Another option, if you are comfortable enough with your manhood, is one of the Wright & Mcgill rods. The 4 pc 9 ft 5wt cast ridiculously well, and the medium flex is amazing. I bought one for my wife, and I find myself 'borrowing' it occaisionally when we're on the water. It's just a blast to cast. It may be hard to choose this rod, though, because it is actually the 'Fly Girls' line. I know, I know... but see if you can find one to cast and if you like it you could look for that feel in another rod? Good luck in finding your next fishing partner... I hope you do well! ::. JobyKSU

Would you accept totals which include both hunting and fishing? The DOC is supported by 1/8 of one percent state sales tax, which is nearly identical to the income from state sales tax on the economic activity associated with hunting and fishing. Thats approximately $57 million the department receives from sales tax. When you consider the income tax that is collected on the associated spending, that amount jumps to $77 million. Alternatively, the same document identifies fisheries management spending as $11.6 million. During the year, the state sold more than 1.2 million fishing licenses. Even at the lowest daily rate of $7 each, that nearly pays for itself. Fishing (and hunting) is big business, and Missouri in particular seems to have figured out how to cash in on it. Sorry I couldn't find the trout-only numbers. ::. JobyKSU

The economic impact of stocked trout adds up quickly. You have to remember that you spend (at the minimum) small amounts of money simply to be able to fish - gas money to get there, flies or fly-tying goods, leaders, etc. This money adds up quickly. Sure, it doesn't all go directly to the state, but it does increase the income of anyone who supplies any of the things you need to support your trip. I don't have the numbers for Missouri, but here are a few examples of economic impact of trout anglers: Minnesota Angers generate over $27 million annually The investment in hatcheries and management pays off. Based on averages for the southeaster US, a $1 investment leads to $102 to $141 in economic activity A little closer to home, in 2002, the Beaver Lake tailwater reportedly produced over $12 million in economic impact, with the average angler spending over $185 per trip. On a larger scale, the Missouri Division of State Parks had a total budget of just over $36 million, and led to $538 million in economic impact. Additionally, that $36 million investment provides both a service to citizens, but also leads directly to $162 million in income for Missouri citizens. You are right that it is relatively easy to find an inexpensive weekend, but once you start adding up all of the ancillary money that you spend (how many trips does it take to pay for some of those $500 rod and reels?) it does add up quickly. ::. JobyKSU

The meat can be fantastic. Trivia fact for the day: much of the imitation crab meat that you can buy is actually gar flavored with crab juice. Mmmmm, gar.

I needed a break, so I headed up to Beaver Tailwater this morning. I got there really early and found that, surprisingly, there were at least two other groups already on the water. So much for my solitary experience. As it turns out, quite a few anglers had the same idea for the day that I did, and a large number of float-trippers decided to hide from the heat on the tailwater as well. I entered from the walk-in access by Crane Roost and headed downstream to the big pools. The water was nice and low, and there was decent flow. Add to that the numerous jumps, slurps and whorls in the water, and I was excited. After some experimentation, I resorted to my fallback - a Partridge and Orange soft hackle. Ah, old friend, it's good to see you again. I was not disappointed, and quickly landed a few feisty, Beaver-average rainbows. About this time the flow simply stopped, as did any hope of getting a drift. Fishing was pretty slow until about 10:30 when I vacated the lower end of the C&R and headed upstream. About this time, the flow started back up again. After additional nymph-experimentation, I tied on a black and silver zebra beadhead nymph under a foam ball indicator. Wow. Fished downstream towards structure I felt like a superhero. I worked my way upstream and caught fish after fish. In one case, I caught the same beautiful fish twice in a span of about 5 minutes. The flow was definitely variable. When the wind was down, it was easy to spot pods holding with flow or cruising when the water was more still. Casting 10 to 15 feet in front of the pods led to strikes more often than not. I'm not a cast-to-strike ratio guy, but for a long while it was easily approaching a strike nearly 50% of the time. A number of the takes were soft and subtle. In contrast, I may be somewhat soft in places, but subtle is not regularly used to describe me. As such, I failed to convert a large number of those strikes. C'est la vie. On the bright side, most of the fish that I landed fought hard and enjoyable battles. The majority were in the 10 to 12 inch range, but it was not unusual to catch 13 or 14 inchers, and I even landed one thick-bodied, pale-pink 15 inch football that actually forced me to use my drag. Is it just me, or are these fish getting bigger? After taking more than my share of fish, I decided that you can only ask a fly to do so much. In a short, personal ceremony, the zebra midge was honored by being retired to my Hat-of-Fame. On my way back downriver, I found that a black copper john produced quite acceptable results also. I finished the day off with a remarkably long struggle with an 8 inch rainbow that didn't want to give my red-butt soft hackle back. As the warning horn sounded (anyone else notice that it is the key tone for the Mickey Mouse song? M I C, see you later. K E Y, Why? Because we love you...) I began my trudge back to the car, satisfied with the thought that I like having Beaver Tailwater as my "home waters." Life is good. Tight Lines, Joe

Rocky Mountain National Park was fishing fantastically about 2 weeks ago. We day-tripped to Wild Basin and hiked/fished the St. Vrain. Once we made it above the falls, we found ourselves in a feeding frenzy of greenback cuts. Sure they were all about 6 inches, but they were fun! Alternatively, my father-in-law tells me the blue river is turning out a large number of "photo-wall" fish this year. Specifically, anglers are having great luck in the first two miles below Dillon Dam in Silverthorne. So, what's the best part about this section of the river? It runs through town and literally right past the outlet malls. If your wife is anything like mine, you could drop her off, and then find some way to amuse yourself for a couple of hours. Tight lines!