Bill Anderson

I've fished and camped Albert Pike a number of times over the past 40 years, and have always been very leery of rain in those mountains. I have seen that river rise several feet in just minutes, and always double check the weather forcasts and conditions when I'm there. This tragic happening just confirms what I have always feared most about camping along Ozark streams in narrow canyons or valleys. A flash flood can be on you so fast that yout have little time to move to higher ground, and it might not even have rained where you are, but further upstream, so you might not even be aware of the danger until it's too late.

Solos are hard to come by for rentals. Do what I do: rent a standard double canoe, but sit in the front seat, facing backwards and paddle that way. The canoe is well balanced since your weight is closer to the middle, and it handles as easily as a true solo. I have paddled plastic, glass and old aluminum Grummans solo this way for many years, and it does just fine.

Thanks....I do know where that lower bridge is and I will give it a try upstream from there. Thanks for the help.

I'm new to the area, and hope you can give me some info on Capps Creek. How far is it to the "big bend and deep pool" from the old metal bridge at Jolly Mill? I have spent some time on the creek, but so far have not been able to really find any trout. I live in Monett and sure would like to get some good info on Capps. I usually fish a 4 or 5 weight and always practice catch and release, so I'm no threat the trout population, but I sure would like to learn where to go on Capps to find some trout.

I spent 30 years in the news media and ten years as a sheriff's deputy, and I can't tell you how many dozens of drownings I have covered. But all of them had one thing in common: NONE of the victims were wearing PFDs/life jackets. It's so simple and easy to put on one, but it just amazes me how foolish or stupid people can be when it comes to basic boating safety. I can't imagine a father not at least making sure his eight year old son had one on. These two deaths are so needless and so tragic. It seems people will never learn.

In my opinion, 10 foot kayaks track little better than an innertube. I would not consider anything less than 12 feet for fishing or general paddling, and a 14 is even better. Running heavy whitewater calls for a different animal, but for general fishing on streams or lakes, I think a 12 footer is a good compromise. It also handles wind a lot better than the 10. If you fish mostly on bigger water, a 16 footer is even faster and tracks like a dream. I used one while living in Florida from time to time, and it handled the wind in Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay very well. Here in the Ozarks, I would love to have a 12 footer with a rudder or a solo canoe.

Looks to me me like you could use a bit bigger net. Beautiful fish!

My Hodgman Lites have had a tiny leak from the day I bought them several years ago, and finally, I decided it was time to get some decent waders. So I bit the bullet and bought some Simms Headwaters and matching Headwaters wading boots with the new Vibram soles. It was a bit expensive, but I was tired of leaky, low quality, lousy waders. Good waders are probably your most important investment in flyfishing, so it pays to just go ahead and get a really good pair, in my opinion. I don't think you could go wrong with Simms, even with their less expensive models. I think they are the best made, period. I wore neoprenes years ago, and was always wet with condensation when I took them off after a day of fishing. If you ever try a good pair of breathable waders, you will never go back to neoprenes. They are stone age technology compared with the new breathables.

I just moved to SW Missouri from Sarasota and have been in touch with friends down there. Recent record cold has caused havoc with the fish populations in Tampa and Sarasota Bay. There have been some huge snook kills in the area because of the abnormally cold water, expecially in Tampa Bay. One source I read said as many as half the snook population of Tampa Bay has been killed. Sarasota Bay has been hard hit also. Manasota Key is south of Venice, but that is still close enough to have suffered some damage from the recent record cold they had a couple of weeks ago. I would check with some of the local guides in the area to see exactly what you can expect. Good Luck.

Bill Anderson here....I've been amember for a while, but living in south Florida made me more of a bystander. But now, I have moved my family to Monett, Mo., and I intend to get back to trout fishing! Dano and I are old friends and I have been chating with Zack on the phone, so I am really looking forward to wetting a fly here. But the first order of business is upacking....I'm surounded by more packing boxes than a busy day at FedEX. So maybe in the next few weeks, when I locate all my flyfishing gear among all these look-alike boxes, I will have something to report. Right now, I'm getting over climate shock....it was 90 degrees when we left Sarasota last week....no more shorts and sandals this year, that's for sure....

I call it "hackle harvesting". When I lived on that lake, I also had a very bad beaver problem. I managed to kill 14 adult beavers too, and I had more beaver fur than Wapsi. Beavers and squirrels are both rodents, both edible, and both produce fine fly tying materials. Both species are also very prolific. So I never had any "guilt" about putting the crosshairs on them and pulling the trigger. My neighbors and I lost thousands of dollars worth of valuable trees to those furry chainsaws.

Before I moved to Florida, I had two story house on a lake. Squirrels chewed thru my eaves and got into my attic and made a mess of the unsulation. So I went to war. I used to buy .22 CB caps by the carton, and with my trusty Browning Lever Action .22, I made it rain squirrels out of the oaks and hickories in my back yard. But it's like shooting rats at the dump...you can hardly put a dent into the population. Here is south Florida, we are also overrun with squirrels, but fortunately, my house is all concrete block and has no exposed wood, and the squirrels can't gnaw thru metal flashing. So at least, here, it's live and let live. But I still have my trusty Browning .22, and plenty of ammo left over. It's still a novelty to me to see a squirrel scamper up a palm tree...just seems out of place. The critters don't seem to be as fat here as they are in Tennessee, but there are plenty of them and they are healthy, as long as they don't try to eat my house like they did in Tennessee. I can still dot a squirrel's eye at 40 yards with my Browning. But it sure kept me in squirrel tails for fly tying....

..........I guess you're right about the "prize". Fly fishing fulfills the longing I have always had deep in my soul for wild places and wild creatures. The farther I can get from people and civilization when I fish, the better I like it. I don't mind walking the extra 30 minutes or hour to push beyond the areas that most impatient people seem to go to.

The Filson jacket is a fine one for colder, miserable weather, but is too hot for just moderate weather and rain. It's also not very packable. If you are going out in really cold, severe weather, it's great. But for all around use, I would choose a jacket that can be carried compactly and will be there when you need it. If you get to the river and it's bright and sunny, but suddenly the weather goes sour, it's great to have something light and packable that you can whip out and put on. The Filson is just to heavy and bulky to pack all day if there's only a chance you might need it. It would be my first choice if the weather is really bad when you first get to the river and put it on before setting out for the day. But for those iffy days, where it's not raining right now, but may later when I'm a mile walk down the river, I would prefer something light, compact and easy to stow away. That's just my 2 cents worth. But for all around cold and windy, rainy, sleeting weather fishing, I really like the Filson.

You're right about big trout hanging around those docks...in the past I've taken some 4 and 5 pound rainbows right out from under Rose's docks during low water. I was wading past and just let a wooly bugger drift under the dock and stripped it out. The water wasn't 2 1/2 feet deep and people on the dock could not believe it when I took those big trout right at their feet while they were standing there. There are some Moby Dick size trout living under the railroad bridge near there too.

There's also public access at the town of Norfork, where the Norfork empties into the White River. I have caught some big trout by wading upstream from that area at low water. But it's very treacherous when they are generating.

I got started flyfishing when I was about 12 because it seemed like the most challenging way to fish. Now I'm 61, and still at it. I think the attraction is that it's the one fishing style that has so much more tradition associated with it than any other. Flyfishing as we know it is maybe 700 or 800 years old. It's sort of like golf or bow hunting. Both are ancient sports steeped in centuries of tradition and techniques. I will still dunk bait once in a while or throw hardware on a spinning rod, but for me flyfishing is the most challenging and fun way to fish. I guess it's just that simple...to me, it's more fun. I don't have to go down to the store and plunk down tons of money on the latest $5 lures to catch fish. I can tie my own flies and have the satisfaction of catching fish with them. I spend most of my money on fine rods, and reels that don't go obsolete next year or even in 50 years. Flyfishing is the quiet, comtemplative way to fish, totally the opposite of the noisy pro bass tournament where everyone has huge boats with 200 hp motors and dresses like Nascar drivers. Fly fishing is more a way of life and reflects the inner person, rather than just a sport, I think. I am not a competetive person when I fish. I don't care who catches more than I do or what with. There's no prize money or trophy at the end of my day. I would just rather spend my day wading or floating a beautiful wild river or stream, or wading along the mangroves near my home, watching the porpoises, looking out for sting rays and throwing a fly to a tailing redfish. To me, it's just more fun with the long rod.

I have a drastic, very practical, but totally unrealistic suggestion as how to handle the drunks and druggies....shoot 'em. Then turn the carcasses into fish pellets for the hatcheries. There's nothing on this earth I hate worse than a low class, drunken slob. Oh well. Like I said, not a very realistic solution, but one can dream, can't one?

Years ago I got lost in the the City of Memphis Hospital, wandering the halls for at least a half hour. A nurse noticed me and asked me if I needed some help. She asked me how long I had been lost and I told her I was 20 years old when I first came in...(I was in my mid 40s at the time).I thought the woman was going to faint....talk about the wild-eyed look I got... I can get pretty darned lost in a bulding like that, but at least I didn't lose my sense of humor. When the nurse stopped laughing, she pointed me in the right direction. But back to the above story...I bet that guy caught "both barrels" when his wife got him home. That's a hoot.

Crappie can sure be leader shy, and I would suspect that the lighter line had something to do with it. I think the lighter line might also allow the lure to act more natural. But it's amazing how a pea brained fish can be so darned picky, huh?

I sure agree on one point....welded aluminum. I will NEVER own another fiberglass boat. Glass is too heavy, takes a big and expensive motor to get any speed, is too easily damaged, fades in the sun, and not up to bumping stumps, rocks, and docks like aluminum. The only thing better would be an all titanium boat, but the cost of something like that would be astronomical. My tastes run pretty much low budget, actually. A 14 or 15 foot, semi-V, welded aluminum boat with a 20 or 25 horse on the back is plenty for the non-tournament kind of fishing I like to do. It would be cheap to own and operate and easy to launch and recover and lightweight to tow.

I guess the best advice is to keep up with the latest "nut" news so you know what they are up to, and watch your backside. The day I have to treat as an equal a finny critter with a pea-sized brain is the day I have MY head examined. But these nut-extremists are capable of violence, and have burned down some research labs and businesses around the country over the years. I knew years ago from my news media contact with some PETA members that eventually they would get around to anti-flyfishing. These whacko vegens that dominate PETA and other groups today are really a far-left bunch and are capable of hurting people in the name of "animal rights". So while we might find them laughable, we really need to keep ourselves informed and to be on our guard.

When I'm fishing the flats here in South Florida, I wear the amber lensed Cacoons fitovers and they are superb. Yeah, I would like to have some prescription polarized glasses, but they can get pretty expensive. With the Cacoons fitovers, I have the best of both worlds. They are comfortable, even in the hot summer, and they give me total eye protection. If you don't want to spend a bundle on prescription polaroids, give them a try.

I had extensive dealing with the PETA people beginning 25 or so years ago while I was a television news reporter. They began as a well meaning group dedicated to eliminating cruelty to dogs, cats, and other pets. But they quickly were taken over by the extremist nut element, vegen interests who want to eliminate ALL uses of animals by humans. Now that nut extremist element totally controls all the animal rights groups these days. If they feel ignored, they get upset and are capable of extreme vandalism and violence to force their views on other people. These whacko groups have to be watched closely because of their extremists views on ALL animal subjects. One of their latest campaigns is that "fish have feelings" and they consider even flyfishing catch and release as "cruel" to the fish. Just be aware of these nuts and watch your back. I had a run in once with a group in a shopping mall that was protesting against wearing fur and leather by people. They had been throwing red paint on old ladies wearing fur coats. I happened to have on a brown leather jacket that day, and when I got near, I heard one punk say he was going to throw paint on me. I stopped, and asked him if I might have a word with him....he walked over to me and I whispered in his ear,"You throw that paint on me, and I'll blow your 'blanking' brains out, understand?". The guy got wild eyed, and backed away from me. I just calmly turned around and walked away. I guess he got my message. I whispered it to him so I could not be arrested for threatening him, since there was no one else who could hear me besides him. Like I said, they are a nut group that is capable of anything...be careful.

Actually, the one I tried was a WF5. It's a good line for long distance casting, seems to float a little higher in the water, not very good for close in fishing, buzzes thru the guides and picks up dirt more easily. Is it worth $100?...not to me. If you have a hundred dollar bill burning a hole in your pocket, I would consider the Hook and Hackle lines. They are made by Cortland, cast and float very well, have gotten good write ups, and you can get THREE of them for that hundred bucks. That's just my 2 cents worth. I suspect that the Sharkskin lines will undergo a big price markdown before it's over. I just can't see a synthetic, machine made line being worth that much cash. In my opinion, there's just not that much improvement over other lines to justify that kind of price tag. The ultimate proof is in whether something lets you catch more fish...I don't see enough performance improvement in them to really do that, at least not a hundred bucks worth. For 50 or 60 bucks like other premium lines, they would be worth considering.