Rolan Duffield

Wayne: I can't help you on this as i haven't used a movie mode. Someone did say this was possible. I would be concerned about the quality of the picture because of the rapidly moving frames. Suggest you send an email to the camera manufacturer and ask them. Let us know what you learn.

I told Phil that I would conduct a class. He indicated January as a time frame. Hey, I also want to meet you guys. Good fishing -- Rolan

Terry: I partially agree with your last statement, however, if you set the hook too hard, thats the last time you will see any trout as he's just taken your fly. Develop a technique to set the hook the same way every time. Once you have a fish on, then raise the rod tip high to lessen the pressure on your line. Keeping the rod high lets the flex in the rod help control the unexpected actions of the fish and lessens the chance of the Trout breaking you off. My experience with a large fish strike says he most likely will charge the fly and break you off easily. Try to develop a technique of setting the hook using a simple upward movement with the wrist. Bill: The feeling is mutual. I always enjoy your reports and taking the time to share your knowledge with others. Do you remember when "Peppy" started our fishing relationship? I really enjoyed your reports about the professional Bass Tournament on Table Rock.

My brothers and I had a great time during the week with some very good days and some periods that were quite slow. Yes Bill, I prefer afternoon and early evening fishing. Early evenings always seems to be a better time of day for me. I also prefer to keep moving and do not stay in a given place very long. I agree with Phil and Bill in their reports about weather conditions. No wind with sunshine - expect catching to be much tougher because of the clear water and fish that spook easily. Slight wind chop on the water and cloudy - my choice for more strikes, higher catch rates annd bigger Trout. You'll generally catch the larger fish with some wind on the water. I also caught several 6" trout in the area we normally fish from Lookout to Fall Creek. Don't ever remember seeing Trout this small in Taney. Their appears to be good numbers of trout in this upper area. Seems like we noticed more moving in during the later part of the week. Many of the Trout are fat, bright colored and good fighters. Much of the upper lake bed is covered with a green moss or scum on the rocky bottom area. Phil has reported about that and i'm certain this doesn't help the food base. I'm convinced that most Trout fishermen do not see the average strike which limits their ability to catch fish. Seeing a strike is often difficult as most of the time you will only see a very very slight unnatural movement of the float. Any variance to the natural drift or movement of your float is reason to set the hook. If fishing scuds, make certain the fly is near the bottom of the stream. Also keep all slack out of the fly line and leader. That's very important if their's a breeze or windy conditions you will not see the suttle strikes unless you keep all slack out of your line. Many of us prefer the small Palsa floats for much of this type fishing, however, if their is wind on the water, use a slightly larger styrofoam float. That should help you to see strikes and increase your catch rate. One last suggestion. Learn to set the hook by a simple upward flick of the wrist. Also develop a habit of setting the hook this way when you pick up your line. This will help prevent many of those breakoff's.

motroutbum: We need an address for shipping the flies to you. Recommend we include the following, same as Fly Sway #1. How many flies do we send? A return mailer with our address on it. Include a dollar or two for shipping expenses.

Hey Brian. I miss your great comments and discussions also. Rolan

Dano: Trying to take a picture of lightening using normal picture taking modes won't work. You can't trip the shutter fast enough to catch the speed of the lightening flash. This would be very easy if using an older film camera that readily provides for time exposures. You'll have to review your users manual to understand the capabilities of your camera for this use. What you need to do is find a method that will keep the shutter open for a few seconds. Best method is to use a manual time-exposure. You must use a tripod for this technique and the sky should be fairly dark. Point the camera in the direction wanted and hold down the shutter button for several seconds. (The camera shutter remains open when the shutter button is pressed down.) WebFreeman suggested a fireworks setting and that should work. Don't use the flash setting as it will not help at all. Good luck and let us know about your results. Rolan

I'm game for fly swap #2. Include my green midge. I will also commit to photograph these flies for the web site same as Fly Swap #1. Terry. The best thing you could possibly do for yourself is to -- QUIT SMOKING and start walking at least 4 times a week to rebuild the lungs and your health. You'll feel a lot better and be able to enjoy the fishing for many more years. I know from experience. Rolan

I remember the day very vividly. My wife and I were on a cruise ship at the time near Juno, Alaska. Our trip took us from Kansas City to Vancouver where we boarded the cruise ship on Sept. 8, 2001 for a 11 day trip. Our travel was up the inter costal waterway to Seward. Then a train trip to Denali and finishing in Fairbanks, Alaska. On the morning of 9-11, I got up early as I wanted to see the ship dock when we arrived in Juno. Saw the sun come up that morning as a brilliant orange sunrise. I took pictures of it as it was so brilliant and colorful. Just prior to docking, the captain spoke over the intercom and told us what was happening in New York and Pennsylvania. We were conserned as our oldest son was in Pennsylvania at the time for a conference. We left the ship later in the morning for a shopping spree in Juno. Every store we were in had a TV or radio playing with news about the events. The residents were as conserned as we were. Later in the afternoon we finally were able to contact our son in Pittsburg. He left his cell phone on expecting a call from us. Arriving back at the ship, security changed and was very tight. You needed your ship pass as well as proof of who you were. That evening the Captain invited anyone who wanted to attend to a memorial service on the ship. Arriving in Seward a couple of days later we learned that another cruise ship that was returning to Vancouver had about 350 people returning rather than the 3,000 they expected because no one could get to the ship. Our trip on to Seward, Denali and to Fairbanks, Alaska was normal travel. On Arriving in Fairbanks, we met people who had been there a week since 9-11 and couldn't get a flight back to the states. We left Fairbanks on schedule 9-19-01 at 5:00am. One of the first flights back to the States. We were very glad to be home and in the good old U.S. A.

Phil: Thanks for posting the pictures. Really enjoy seeing how Taney and Branson grew.

MTM: You indicated you live 50 miles north of Yellowstone. This has to be reasonably close to Henry's Lake. I have very fond memories of that lake. I last fished it in the late 60's. Caught many cutthroats and Brookies up to 3.5 pounds. A couple of my old (past) fishing buddies that reguraly fished Henrys Lake in the 50's told fishing stories about Henry's Lake that I believe were true, knowing their skills and sincerity. They indicated in the hayday of Henry's Lake (50's)it wasn't unusual to catch and release over fifty trout a day that were in the 10 pound range. Believe it or not. What is Henry's Lake like now?

jOrOb: Should I have dressed the "Disco" fly to look similar to the appearance of a jig (strands laid back) before taking the pic? Would be glad to redo it. Just let me know how you want it to look. Rolan

Tippet: Here's another suggestion I totally forgot about. Your camera battery may be discharged or simply --- bad. If you have a low battery, you will not get satisfactory results. If you have a voltmeter, check the voltage of the battery to determine if it's O.K. Also check the battery contacts in the camera making certain they are clean. (no corrosion) Rechargeable batteries do not have as much power as an alkaline battery. Replacing the battery may solve your problem. Rolan

It's difficult to answer this question not knowing the camera or its capabilities. You should be able to take night pictures with most cameras, as long as you are within 4 to 6 feet from the subject. Using manual settings is a very good idea if the camera allows this. Auto settings can be a problem at times. Check your camera manual to find the flash capability of the camera. Does the camera have capability to overide the exposure system? If so, increase the exposure by 1 to 2 F/stops. Try these ideas at home. You should then know what works or doesn't work. Rolan

Nice fish Vince. Save one for me. Rolan

John: Recived my flies today (8-15-06). Really a great variety. Thanks for all of your efforts to assemble this great collection. Will take pics for the posting and send to Phil. Rolan

John: I agree with the above comments. It's your decision as to the best solution. We don't have a schedule or the necessity to complete the project anytime soon. I will get going on the pictures as soon as they are received. Regards, Rolan

Enjoyed the pics, Phil. Good reproductions. Those are before my time.

I just received the Sept. 2006 issue of Consumer Reports. You might want to read these reports. Included is the article "10 Simple systems that back up valuable data." Also Best tools to stop Viruses, Spam and Spyware.

Brian: I'm not familiar with "Picasa". I assume this is a photo image editing software program. There are many programs available and new ones being introduced all the time. The elite program is still Photoshop though it's quite expensive. There are simpler versions of Photoshop available, depending on your needs. Here's a source you might visit to learn whats generally available for Photo Software programs. www.digital-photo-print-site.com/articles/DigitalPhotoPrintSite7.html

Gavin: Do you have any specific type of work or specific requirements you want to achieve with the Digital camera? Price range, lens capability, etc.? Good lens quality is one of my first requirements. The better Kodak, Cannon and Nikon cameras generally have very good lens quality. I don't know about other brands. I am using a Kodak DX7590. Quality is very good though I'm from the old school and would prefer manual settings rather than being locked into Auto Focus, Auto Exposure and Auto color systems. A good camera software program is a must with the Digital Cameras. Many of the better Kodak cameras come with the Easy Share software allowing you capability to make simple corrections in your pictures.

Lincoln: Welcome. You've joined a really great team at Lilleys. I envy all of you that can go out and enjoy the Trout fishing on a regular basis. There are many dedicated fishermen that provide us with regular postings and it's reliable info. Phil doesn't let many secrets stay as secrets very long. I know that by experience. Looking forward to meeting you in early October when my brothers and I will be there fishing for a week and getting in a round or two of golf. Rolan Duffield

Adding fly tying into the picture isn't a practible idea. There would be variations in type size and presentation. Phil has done a great job of including that information with flies he has presented.

Correcting Dark Pictures: Are you having problems with your digital camera pictures that are dark and it’s difficult to see detail in the shadows. The lack of shadow detail and/or dark areas in the digital picture is caused by lack of adequate camera exposure. So, how do we correct this? We’ll discuss some basics here. First you need to understand that the basic “auto exposure” of the camera depends on what the central camera viewfinder focus zone sees. The exposure is calculated for an average area that has good mid- tone light levels, not too dark or too light. If the center focus zone is seeing light colors and there are many dark shadows in the picture, expect to see a dark picture unless you make an exposure correction. Once you take the picture, check your results by looking at the picture in the reviewing screen of the camera. It’s also a good idea to compare the displayed camera picture with the printed results to learn how they compare. Does the printed image represent the same contrast, detail and quality as seen in the camera review screen? Study these comparisons as it will help you understand if the image in the review screen represents the final printed results. If you’re using a digital camera, you should be using some type of photo editing software program to correct darkness, contrast and color results, especially if you intend to display pictures on a web site. There are a lot of good software programs available and many of them are very easy to use and reasonably priced. Some camera manufactures include a basic program with their camera components. Kodak includes the “Easy Share” software with some of their cameras. Here’s a source you might visit for general information. There are several other new programs on the market. So shop around. www.digital-photo-print-site.com/articles/DigitalPhotoPrintSite8.html Back to taking pictures. If you are taking pictures of people in bright sunlight, position them so the sunlight is at your back or no more than a 45-degree angle to your back. This will minimize deep, dark shadows that show up as black blobs in your pictures. In addition, use the fill-flash of the camera when taking these type pictures. The fill in flash will generally make a big improvement in picture quality. Just realize it’s likely to be most effective in the range of 4 to 8 feet. Select bright shadow areas for taking “people” pictures, wherever possible. This is a great technique to obtain good detail with good bright colors. If taking pictures in heavy shade, always use the camera’s flash unit when taking the picture. The flash unit will greatly improve picture contrast and make colors brighter. How about reporting back to us after you have tried some of these recommendations. If you have questions and need more information, ask and we’ll try to provide an answer for you.

All of us are guilty at times in breaking off flies, regardless on how well they were tied or the tippet used. Perhaps you have a fast rod tip. A fast rod tip makes it hard to set a hook easily without breaking off light tippets. The top "tip section" of the rod will only bend about 2' whereas a medium action rod will bend approximately 1/3 the length of the rod making it a lot easier to take the shock setting the hook. You might try using a heavier line size (7 weight instead of 6 weight)which will help soften the fast tip action for trout fishing. Also try to develop a technique where you only use a slight wrist motion to set the hook. I normally use this technique just prior to picking up the line at the end of the cast.