Rolan Duffield

If you send me a set I'll be glad to photograph them for posting on this site. Rolan

Many thanks for the very interresting videos and educating us. I've always wondered how cashiews grew. Rolan

Phil: don't you already have a Nikon SLR camera? All you need is to buy a long focal length lens for it. When using these long lenses you will need to support them using a tripod else you'll have bluring problems resulting from movement in the long distance pics.

You might go to DPreview.com and check their reports and recommendations. Cannon and Nikkon are my favorites though I'm leaning towards Cannon quality. Rolan

I've always been a Mustad fan. Perhaps the older hooks wern't as sharp, though I never had a problem with quality.I haven't used their new style hooks yet. In my opinion, TMC hooks are not consistent in their quality. Some bend very easily and have experienced some breaking. Diachi's quality has been very good and they are sharp. Rolan

Nope. I haven't run out of "Peppy" fir. This fly imitates a scud which is gray in color. I use it in sizes 18 to 10's with a weighted size 12 being my favorite on Taneycomo. It was originally posted in the original flies section of Ozark Anglers though appears to have been lost in the transition to the new format. I don't know if Phil has the pics to redisplay the tying of this fly. Many years ago my wife used to shear our dog, a cockapoo, in the spring to make him more comfortable in the warm weather. His name was "Peppy". I started saving that fir and developed the Peppy scud which is still one of the best flies I have ever used on Taneycomo. Peppy died in 1988. He was a great friend to our family. The gray cockapoo fir is blended with gray antron which provides some sparkle to the fly. I will check my old picture files and see if I still have the pictures. If so, I will post it. Rolan

Just to set the picture for last weeks fishing trip, my brothers and I fished from my boat primarily in the Trophy area with fly rods. Conversations we heard were that there were a lot of very small trout being caught. Thats true, as we did catch many as small as 6" in length. I don't remember seeing trout that small in Taney in the past, however, we also caught a high percentage of Rainbows 14"and larger. We caught more large trout than I have caught in many years. Except for the windy day, I caught at least one trout over 15" long every time we went out with my largest being 17.5" and most of them were hard fighters. I did have two larger trout on, one pulled out and the other snagged me under the boat. One of my brothers landed a 21" Rainbow. The weather was fantastic ranging from about 50 degrees in the mornings and mostly in the 70 to 80 degree range in the afternoon. We had one day with winds up to 20 mph which did affect seeing a strike. Most all of the trout were caught on "Peppy", my grey scud pattern. It is necessary to use a long leader to get the lure on the bottom. If it's not near the bottom you will not catch many trout. You also had to pay close attention to your float as the strikes were very very light. We couldn't predict the water release pattern as it changed throughout the days fishing. We just had to adapt to the conditions at the time. I will say that there are currently more good sized Trout in the upper areas of Taney than I have seen in many years.

Is your fly line and leader bunching up on the water when you make a forward cast rather than laying out straight? If so, I would expect that you're not completing your back cast before shooting the line forward. Thats because there's not enough line energy to complete the cast.You should feel a slight pull from the line in the back cast before starting the line forward. Sometimes beginners try to pick up too much line from the water to make a cast. You can never recover the cast in this condition. Shorten the line up before attempting to make the cast. Using an untapered long leader can also contribute to this type problem. The line size should not contribute to the problem. Rolan

Phil: Best wishes for many more good years and great trips added to your resimae. Thourghly enjoyed seeing the pics of your and Bills Alaska adventure. Rolan

I should have reported the gap as .350 not .0350 Thanks for the correction. Rolan

Randy: I have experienced some jig bodies that taper towards the hook area. To solve this problem of the maribou sliding off the body --- take a 3 corner file and cut a nick in the body perpindicular to the hook. The thread will catch in the cut and prevent the maribou from sliding off. Rolan

1/4 of an inch is .250 and .350 is approxximately 5/16 of an inch. Not much of a gap. Rolan

The problem with the small jigs is the width of the hook gap. It's too small in the smaller jigs and that hampers getting a clean hook set. The problem relates to the height of the jig hook eye which is about the same height as the barb height. The best hook i've found is the Mustad #32750 in gold, size 10. Any hook smaller than that is questionable for a satisfactory hook gap because of the eye height in relation to the barb height. The gap width of this hook is .0350. Most of the smaller hook gap sizes ranges from .195 to .270 The Mustad #32751 bronze is a similar hook to the #32750 though this is a very soft hook that bends easily. This is the hook I believe many of the current micro jigs use. Does anyone know of a size 12 or smaller jig hook with a satisfactory hook gap? Rolan

Depending on the size of the jig, use 8/0 thread for the small jigs up to about 1/64 and 6/0 thread size on the larger jigs. This helps to minimize the fat heads. Rolan

Daniarks original mesage has a lot of very good info. I enjoy this part of Trout fishing and yet it need not be an expensive hobby, though it can be if your addicted. I've been using my Thompson Model A vise for about 50 years. You don't need all of those bells and wistles of the expensive vises to tie flies. Fly tying is about learning to use different materials. Once you understand the principles you should be able to tie at least 90 percent of the flies you see. I would recommend anyone to take lessons. The Missouri Trout Fishermens Association is one group that sponsors fly tying classes and the fall is generally when classes start. Buy only the materials and hooks you need for the flies you want to tie. You will add materials as your expertise and enjoyment progresses. This will help keep you from buying unwanted items. I'm sure anyone who has tied for years has accumulated a lot of materials and hooks. I'll never use all of my materials or all of the flies in my poession. Learn to properly fish the flies you tie. Catching fish with the flies you tie is an extra special enjoyment of this hobby. If I can help any of you starting out, just email me. Rolan

Great report, Phil. Glad to see the scud population thriving. Keeping the rocky areas covered with water is a major factor in maintaining the shrimp and scud population alive for the Trout and that can only help improves their growth rate. Your report is a good testament and reason to maintain a low flow condition when not generating the turbines. Rolan

vanven: I see you are from Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City chapter of the Missouri Trout Fishermens Association will start a fly tying class on September 13, 2010. This is a very enjoyable hobby you can enjoy throughout your life. This is the only practicable way to get those flies you desire and more importantly the fun of catching Trout on flies that you tie. Contact: Kent Inman at 816-682-4924

Great Video Phil. One of the best video's i've seen to illustrate the wealth of underwater insects that is making this great lake even better.Hope we don't have any dry stream conditions that would ruin this. Rolan

I really enjoyed this report Bill. Wish I was there. The fishing should be very good now that the water depth is returning to a normal Lake level.-- Rolan

Enjoyed these video's, Phil. Good job. Yes, he's very good with that Spinning rod. He sees and senses a lot more strikes than I do with the spinning rod. He watches the jig and also any changes to line movement. My old eyes just don't seem to work that well for suttle strikes. Rolan

John: If your fishing moving water, fishing without an indicator is easy, assuming your using a wet fly such as a scud. Cast upstream at about a 45 degree angle. Let the fly sink for a few seconds, then raise the rod tip to a 45 degree angle to the water. Now watch the belly in the line for any unusual change in direction or movement as the fly moves downstream. Be sure you let the rod tip travel with the speed of the current as the fly travels downstream. This is a very effective technique. Many of us learned to fly fish in this way years ago as we didn't have or know about strike indicators then. Watching the bow in the fly line is the key to this type fishing. If fishing still water, this method still applies though it's slightly harder to see a strike until you become accustomed to watching for changes in the bow of the line. Any strike is easier to see if your stripping in the fly line. Rolan

A couple of years ago I was having problems with my 115 Yamaha ideling roughly and hesitating when power was applied. I took it to Sports Boats. The electrical system and cylinders checked O.K. though they did find a lot of orange sediment in both carburetors. I had them clean the system and install a 10 micron water separiting filter on the gas line to prevent the residue from getting into the carbureters. So far this has prevented any recurrence of those problems though I'm always concerned with using Ethanol in my boat and the unknown effects it causes.It's not unusual for four to six months to lapse between use of the boat. I have discussed this Ethanol issue with my son several times. (He is actively involved as a training specialist in automotive diagnostics.) I sent him the above report a couple of weeks ago and just received his reply. He adds some new information to the issue which was very interresting to me. Perhaps this opens up another can of worms though any input we receive may help prevent problems. It's a long report. Dad, Sorry for late reply regarding the ethanol content in the boat. I read the article that was posted on OzarkAnglers.com and I have a few comments on it. For the most part, the statements about ethanol's attraction to moisture and corrosive nature are correct. It is a solvent, possibly dislodging dirt in the fuel system, causing problems. It can attack older rubber lines and seals, causing fuel leaks. Most of the statements about phase separation and water absorption are worst case problems, but would most likely not be an issue during normal operation of boats, unless stored for an excessively long period of time. Most seals, hoses and the plastics used in tanks for the last 20 years or more should be compatible with such a low percentage of ethanol. Best recommendation is to make sure that the fuel stays fresh. When you are done using the boat, try to store it with a low fuel level (not 7/8 full) or empty. Therefore, next time the boat is used the tank will be full of fresh fuel and there is no need to be concerned about these fuel moisture problems. The small amount of fuel that was still remaining in the tank will be diluted so much with the fresh fuel that it should not cause any problems. I still think that fuel stabilizers are a bad idea. If your fuel is fresh, why do you need to stabilize it? Plus, aftermarket fuel additives seem to cause varnish (typically a reddish color) in the fuel system, causing flow restictions and float problems. Stick with good quality fuel (Chevron, Quicktrip, Texaco), they have detergents in them to combat the inherently dirty burning characteristics of unleaded gasoline. Avoid the Costco and Sams Club, discount type fuels. They are cheaper for a reason. They do not have any of the detergents that prevent the formation of carbon build-up in the combustion chambers and fuel systems. These higher quality fuels with detergents will also prevent the build-up of varnish on fuel pumps and fuel level senders. Statement #4 needs some correction. Ethanol does not burn faster, hotter, and make approximately 18% less power than gasoline. Ethanol burns slower and more completely over the length of the power stroke. Ethanol burns cooler than gasoline. It also burns much cleaner than gasoline, reducing emissions output. The statement that E10 fuel makes 18% less power is not accurate. Ethanol will make more power than gasoline because it has a higher octane rating, burns slower and more completely, and cooler. It has better anti-knock properties because of the higher octane. I can only guess that the statement was trying to say that E10 fuel is 18% less efficient (mpg) than gasoline. And yes, the energy content (BTU's) of ethanol (76,000 BTU's) is less than gasoline (116,000 BTU's), and the stichometric mixture is richer because of that. It takes about 1.5 gallons of 100% ethanol to equal the energy of one gallon of gasoline. So, the engine will need to burn a larger quantity of ethanol than straight gasoline to maintain the perfect burn rate. However, with 10% ethanol mixed into the unleaded, this should only effect economy 5-10%. In a modern car there is an oxygen sensor that measure the content of oxygen in the exhaust gases to determine if the air/fuel ratio is correct. The less oxygen there is, the richer the mixture. The more oxygen there is, the leaner the mixture. So, if a modern car switches from straight unleaded gasoline to an E10 fuel, the oxygen sensor will pick on a leaner mixture (5-10%), and then the Engine Control Module (ECM) will increase the duty cycle (open time) of the fuel injectors to provide more fuel for the next cycle. So, we have increased the volume of fuel used, but maintained the air/fuel ratios at the proper mixture. This engine will run properly without damage, while meeting all emissions standards. Now, most boats use a carburetor. A carburetor uses a metered restriction (jet) to tune the air/fuel ratio. The size of this jet was probably determined using straight unleaded gasoline, without any ethanol. Since a carbureted engine does not use a oxygen sensor, the carburetor does not receive any feedback about the accuracy of the air/fuel mixture. Therefore, the typical boat engine will run lean when using an E10 fuel. This can be easily corrected by increasing the jet size in the carb to compensate for the difference in the fuel energy level. I am sure that there is a growing number of marine engines that use fuel injection. However, I would be surprised if they had an oxygen sensor. The ECM just would then use a base calculation of rpm and throttle position (maybe manifold pressure to measure load) to calculate the duty cycle of the fuel injector, but would never know how accurate the mixture was. Until the government tightens the emissions standards on the marine industry, the monitoring of air/fuel ratios will just add more cost to the engines. One concern that is not discussed in the article is ethanol's corrosive nature to aluminum. Modern boat engines are made from aluminum, as are their carburetor's. In time, even the small percentage of ethanol in E10 could destroy a carburetor, eating it from the inside out. Special nickel coatings are used on aluminum parts in automotive fuel system that will come in contact with the ethanol, but I can not comment on what boat manufactures do to combat this issue. This should be main concern of E10 fuels in boats. There are not (fortunatly) any additives that can be added to reduce this characteristic. Ideally, one should close off the fuel line and run the engine out of gas before storing the boat. Or, drain the fuel from the bottom of the float bowls in the carb. Ethanol is the way of the future. It's a renewable resource. It burns much cleaner, reducing emission output and the necessity of some emission control devices needed when burning gasoline. If an engine is built with a higher compression ratio to take advantage of the anti-knock properties, efficiency can get close to that of gasoline. In time, there will be more effective ways to produce ethanol as an energy source. It does not need to come from corn. Since the availability of crude oil is limited, we need to have another source of fuel for the future. Ethanol is more expensive to buy and use than unleaded, but it is better than depleting the oil reserves and polluting the environment even more. Hope this helps.

Why take a chance with any of these general finishing products. Your work and efforts are important and you don't want to see problems appear later. You can apply a good rod finish by holding the rod between your thump and first finger (which have some rod finish on them). This can be applied very thin and will cover easily. It only takes a couple of minutes to apply the coating to the rod. A good rod varnish only costs a few dollars and can be used for many rods. Rolan

The first thing that causes this is that the lead is cooling too fast. Here's some things you might try. 1. Take an old (narrow) putty knife and occassionally stir the lead. Then scrape off the slag that forms on top of the melted lead. Any slag in the lead will hamper pouring results. Be very careful as the lead is probably 700 to 800 degrees. 2. Make sure the mold is hot before you pour the lead. Set the mold over the lead pot to heat it up. Lead will pour much better when the mold is hot. This is especially needed when pouring very small jigs. 3. Keep the pot very close to the mold when pouring the lead. Lead will actually set in a second or two thats why you need to be as close as possible to the mold. I prefer to use the electric "Lee Production Pot" which allows you to set and control the temp of the lead. It also has a small tip below the pot that allows you to place the mold almost directly in contact with the bottom of the pot. It also prevents most slag problems because the lead is coming from the bottom of the pot. 4. Make certain the throat of the mold is polished. Any roughness will hamper your efforts. 5. Take an old candle, light it and hold the sides of the mold over it to coat the mold surfaces with the candle black. This seems to help transfer the lead easier and helps hold the heat while pouring the lead. 6. Does the mold fit together too tightly? This isn't a normal problem though if it is, you may need to provide an air excape vent in the lower part of the mold. 6. Last resort-- check the size of the mold throat. Perhaps its rough or too small for your needs. Hope this helps. Let us know about your results. Rolan

WOW. Great photographs, congratulations. Very sharp and on a clean neutral background that accents the flies. What type camera were you using? Rolan