flyfishmaster

For Bennett, don't forget San Juan worms, size 16 or 18 scud hook in Ultra tan, brown, olive, red and pink. Cut them about 1" long and burn the ends to give them a roundish end. Quick, easy and cheap to make. FFM

Mark, There have been a few forum posting for the Rocky in the past, so there is some good info there as well. Otherwise, for GREAT camping and fishing (fly or spinning)I recommend 11 Mile Canyon by Lake George, CO. 11 Mile is part of the South Platte river. From this location you can travel about 30 minutes and fish another section of the South Platte called Spinney or also know as "The Dream Stream". Also what is different about 11 Mile is that there are no guided fishing trips allowed there. I have been going to 11 Mile Canyon, for 11 years now. Send me a PM if you have any questions. Later, FFM

I think you are right about lumping all the meat and making a bigger batch. Most shops in Illinois do it too. They started this about 5 years ago. They will do the the custom processing.... for an extra cost of course. This is why I process my own deer, plus it gives me another reason to drink a few beers.

Murdoc, For the past 10 years (accept this year) I have gone up to Western New York. I have never been disappointed. You are able to catch salmon 30+ pounds, steelhead and huge brown trout all out of the same pool. You can drive or fly in to Buffalo. I would have to recommend the last week of October or first week of November. This is when the salmon make their run. If you make the Buffalo area your base, there are 3 rivers north with in one hour and 4 rivers south with in one hour. Great location and the hotel cost are not that bad either. The Western New York rivers are called Steelhead Alley, with good reason. And if you want to do a half day of site seeing Niagara Falls is just 30 minutes a way. If you want to see just a few photos of the fish we catch or have any questions about the Western New York area send me a PM. Later, FFM

Take a look at this article recently distributed throughout the St. Louis area Suburban Journal newspaper. Titled: Cold fish: State's stocking program hooks anglers in the frigid months http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/artic...trout_1.ii1.txt The reporter spoke to two fishermen and both of them were fishing illegally with bait. I sent an E-mail to the reporter with a copy of the regulations. Someone should call the local game warden out... Later, FFM

DavidF, Ice storms are devestating to everyone envolved and have such a high impact to the area. Just a little over 1 year ago we in the St. Louis area got hit by a huge ice storm and we were in the same boat as you are today. I had to pack my family up and go to my parents house for 4 days until we got power back. What was great to see as I was going to work one day after the storm were 15 Electric company trucks (in arrow) from OK coming in to help. I know everyone down there is hurting but I'm sure help is already there or in route. I even saw electric company trucks from Mississppi and Alabama too. Hang in there and our prays are with all of you, because we know how you are feel. FFM aka: Kim Ahne

I found this info on Rio web site about the line. Look at their knot recommendations... --- Extreme Tippet is very, very strong and has a slick coating that can result in the failure of standard fishing knots. To get the very best in performance from Extreme Tippet we recommend the use of a triple or quadruple surgeon's knot when joining together two pieces of Extreme Tippet (or if joining it to regular nylon). We also recommend the no-slip knot for attaching flies (an illustration is attached with each spool). Warning: The ultra-thin diameter and very high tensile strength of Extreme Tippet makes it tough to break (and cut). Be careful if hooked to a snag that the fly or line does not fire back into your face when pulling for a break. Also, handle with care when tightening knots to avoid being cut by the material. ---- Later, FFM

MO, Nice pig, what did you catch it on? I see a chuck of something white hanging out of the jaw. FFM

TF, I bet the best part of your trip was finding new water to fish since the weather was not in your favor at the beginning of your trip. Good info. Where there any flyfishermen in the water? If so how were they doing? FFM

The photos were sent to me in an E-mail, so I do not know where they originated from. I just thought it was cool looking.

I'll take her as my "trophy wife" as long as I can carry a roll of duct tape. She is hot!

I just got this and had to look twice. It is a photo of a car (from somewhere outside of the states) that hit a deer and ended up under the hood of the car entwined in the engine. How fast must you be going to get the whole thing in there?? Just think what the guys at the body shop where saying.

Kayser, You said there were not many dead deer in our area, but that is not what I have been told. My friend is a Boy Scout leader and during a camp out weekend he said his troop found 10 dead deer at Camp Vandevender this year, plus the property owners next to the camp found 8 more. One of the conservation officers told the scouts that the deer population south of I-64 may be reduced by 40% this year due to blue tongue. In my area between Waterloo and Hecker, I hunt with my cousins that farm most of the ground in a 2 mile radius and they informed me they found 11 dead deer just in their fields during harvesting of corn and beans. So the disease is in our area, and during my hunting time this year, which only consisted of 3 days, I saw only 5 deer. I am use to seeing many more then that. Again, this is what I have been told. FFM Here is how the Blue tongue disease is spread. Very interesting. ---------------------- How it Spreads Bluetongue viruses are spread from animal to animal by biting gnats. In the United States, the disease is most prevalent in the southern and southwestern States. It is almost non–existent in the upper North Central and northeastern States, where biting flies do not appear able to transmit the viruses. Animals cannot directly contract the disease from other animals. ------------------ Here is the full story: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_...bluetongue.html

A guide and clients got too close to my friend in Colorado one time so he asked the guide for two of his cards. One card he put in his pocket and called the shop he worked out of and the shop's endorsement companies (I believe it was Simms and Orvis) . The other card he spit on and threw it back at the guide. The guide and client proceeded to leave that area of the stream. I just sat back and ate my sandwich, laughing. I agree with Thom. Hold your ground and if possible close the gap to make the person next to you feel uneasy. We all deal with stupid people in different ways. FFM

I think I need to tell my wife I'm going on a weekend business trip. Does the line ever work? Anyway, I'm off work from Dec 22 - Jan 3. I hope I can make it down for at least one day. I need some one to teach me the correct way to fish streamer. I catch the trout all day long on nymph, but the streamer thing just doesn't work for me. Later, FFM

Pat, Here is my 2½ cents worth. I'm not a camera guy at all and I don't have a lot of money but I do know if you want a camera and GREAT service you have to go to Creve Coeur Camera. Their Pre-sales and after sales service is untouchable. Everyone in their stores are experts in the field. I paid about $30 more for a camera in their store, but the service is well worth it. Heck they gave me a loaner camera to try out first before I purchased one. They even have free training classes. I have purchased a camera from the box stores as well, but the over the phote support is not go. What ever you do, she will love it. FYI: Just don't get her a vacuum, I'm still paying for that mistake. Merry Xmas, FFM

Wacky Worm, Did you drive to Tahoe from Reno? Sure is a fun ride, great scenery too. FFM

Hey let me in on some of that action. I should be able to arrange a kitchen pass for a January trip. Saturday or Sunday is best or Monday the 21st. Maybe a few of us can carpool from the St. Louis Area. FFM

Nice photos and it sounds like everyone had a great trip. It is always fun to catch big fish in small water. Matt you mentioned using some salmon flies, I too have used my steelhead/salmon flies on the Current River and it is usually hit or miss. Estas eggs are the big producers. I hate people with BAD fishing etiquette!!! In Colorado once saw a fight break out between these two guys because the one dude walked 30' upstream across the stream from the other. Heck there was blood even. Fishing to the extreme! Hope to see you guys on the water. FFM

the RS2 is a versatel fly, it can be fished both on the and mid water levels. If i had to choose one location it would be close to the bottom about 2" up from the rocks. The best color is gray in size 20. As of egg patterns, I have not purchased one in a store for about 5 years now, I make my own and I don't have them as a lead head. I will add just enough soft lead about 1' up from the fly, just to slow it down in the current. My favorite color is called "cream delight" ( there goes one of my secretes)it is a peachish color, but I do no make my perfectly round, they need to be very loose. That is why I name them my "Sloppy balls". send me a PM and I can tell you more. Later, FFM

As long as you can stand your hands getting cold, you will do great. When I fish in the rain at Bennett I stick to the riffle water and use an idicator and a double rig setup. Keep one fly on the botton and the top fly about foot below the surface, then hang on. If it is really dark out, use an egg pattern as your bottom fly for the first hour or two and the top fly start with a flash back like Pheasent tail or Hares Ear. I start out at size 18 and go down to 22. Black Zebra midges are a great go to fly. Also try RS2 in tan or gray size 20. I wish I could be there. FFM

It is great to see fish like that being caught, especially for Mitchell because now you got him hooked. BTW: I could sure use some of the "special coffee" here at work today... it is dead around this joint. FFM

Well it was opening firearms weekend in Illinois. I hunt in Monroe County, just south east to St. Louis. Prior to the season it sounded like the season would be very questionable. There has been a disease this year in the deer populatution called "blue tounge", this is due to low water level and stagnet water. The three farmers in my area have found 18 dead deer in fields (how knows how many are in the woods) that are with in a 1 1/2 radius of my hunting area. That is a lot of deer! Any way, I was able to go out Saturday and at 7:10 a buck can with in 20 yards so I took it. The 5 pointer did not go a foot before it droped. After looking at it, both horns were broken so I was guessing it should have been a 6 or 8 pointer. On Sunday, I was walking the woods a kicked a monster that my buddy was able to get a few shot at, but missed. That is all the deer I saw. I'm use to seeing atleast 15+ deer per weekend. Our next weekend starts on Thursday Nov 29. Good luck to all the hunters. FFM

TG, Great info. I just got back from Walker Lake a few minutes ago (long lunch hour). I was able to land 2 bows today. But it was very windy, it was hard to cast the fly rod. I did not know the depth of the lake so your info will help me out in my future visits. FFM

TF, Which Erie Tribs are you going too? OH, PA or NY? I have made multiple trips up there as well. My cousin lives in the Buffalo area and I have fished the NY tribs on both Erie and Ontario. I have LOTS of great photos of big steelies, salmons and browns. That is ALWAYS my favorite trip of the year. Good Luck!! FFM