Clay Goforth

Peacock Bass rods are sold.

I have three rods for sale. Here are the two links to CL for the items. http://fayar.craigslist.org/spo/5532193032.html http://fayar.craigslist.org/spo/5532199709.html let me know if interested thanks

Thanks, Phil. I hope others think so as well. I hope people use it as a tool to help strengthen bonds and make memories. And to keep people fishing.

Mic, I just bought an Olympus TOUGH TG-4. It is a little less than a GoPro (of which I have two) but takes much better pictures, is waterproof up to 15 meters, shockproof, dustproof, etc. It is the body style of a standard point and shoot but is much beefier. It takes great pictures and 1080HD video above OR below the water. I can't recommend it enough.

Out of respect for the members of this site and the really good content, I try to refrain from promoting or spamming about the Trophy Anglers Guild on a regular basis. However, if I think there is something interesting that other fishermen might be interested in, I like to share it. Please forgive me if anyone is annoyed by my posting this here but we have launched a new program within TAG called TAG Jr. It is a program to help parents make their kid's first catch special and even more memorable by providing an official Certificate of Recognition along with decals to the child commemorating their first catch. We will also promote their catch through social media channels and maybe even an article on the website but won't give full names. We want to promote fishing, conservation, camaraderie, and making memories with your children and grandchildren and this is the best way we know how to do that. There are no length requirements on the fish, just that the kid is 12 or under and that it is their first fish. A child's first catch is a trophy, regardless of size. If you would like to read more, there is full article on it here: http://www.trophyanglersguild.com/blog/tag-jr/ I encourage you to take a look. It could be something that you would like to do with your kids or grandkids.

The most boats I have ever seen in this tournament and I have fished it for 15-16 years. There were nearly 100 boats. We finished 18th this year after two solid years in 3rd. Some close family friends finished second this year with this monster brown as the backbone of their bag. 30" male at 8.9lbs. Believe it or not, this wasn't big fish. Big fish and the tournament winners went to a father/son guide team. They had a 10.5lb brown. Total winning weight was 13lbs 13oz, I believe. Second place was 12lbs and third place was 7lbs. It was a fun tournament, competitive but polite for the most part. It was a great day for some big fish.

Here is a little write-up I did about this catch after talking some with Donny. His fish qualified for the National Trophy Catch and Release Program with the Trophy Anglers Guild. http://www.trophyanglersguild.com/blog/new-member-feature-donny-fishing-with-lilleys-landing-a-tag-certified-outfitter/ I think it is moderately entertaining to read.

Slow year for me thus far... I have only been out a handful of times but I have Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, White Bass, Largemouth, Kentucky, Bream and Walleye.

It is that time of year again! This is just a friendly reminder about the upcoming Shawnee/Supreme Cotter Trout Tournament on Saturday, March 26th. The tournament requires a Shawnee or Supreme boat to be able to fish it. They will accept applications up to the day before the tournament so there is still time to get in on the action. This is one of the most fun and competitive trout tournaments I have fished in. I think this makes the 16th year I have made this tourney. The best part, you have a chance to win decked out Supreme boat and trailer! If you are interested, get in touch with Paula Flippin at the Cotter Chamber of Commerce.

I just laughed. Out loud. In my office. A very quiet office. Thanks for that.

Thank you, Phil! The event went as well as we could have hoped I think. It would be awesome to get together with your TU chapter for a joint event. You guys should come over when we do the egg planting this summer! I had to slip out early from the meeting. My wife handling all three kids under 6 on her "day off" necessitated me getting home. I'm glad you caught some fish after lunch on Friday too. Beaver usually fishes better than it did so you should come over a few more times. And i I think you must be joking about the boat ride after the rough start The "joys" of working the kinks out of a new boat... I loved when Mark turned around and asked if we needed flotation devices.

The Mid-South Regional Trout Unlimited Meeting was this past weekend in Fayetteville, hosted by the Northwest Arkansas 514 Chapter. We had a great meeting that was kicked off on Friday by a fishing retreat and shore lunch fish fry on the Beaver Tailwater. The water was relatively high with 2 units of flow and a bit stained from the recent rain. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and then getting to fish with forum member, Daddy-O, from Oklahoma. First off, class act and great guy. Second off, the guy knows his way around a fly rod. We fished from the restricted area below the dam down to Bertrand access and had a heck of time. Fishing wasn't outstanding but and we were only able to fish a couple of hours but boated 7 fish in that time. Mostly pretty rainbows but the last fish of the day was a fat and beautiful 20" brown trout. The bait of choice, for me, was a white jig (surprise!) and Daddy-O fished an egg pattern, a PMS, and a couple other flies I believe. I think had we had more time and a little better water clarity, we could have boated a lot more fish. The Beaver tailwater has surprised me with the quantity and quality of fish the last few times I have been out on it. It is good to see that some of the work my home TU Chapter of 514 is paying off in fishing.

I have had one personal experience with a mountain lion on our farm in Northwest Arkansas. I was out camping with some friends from high school on the back of our farm in 2000. I was calling to an owl that was responding and moving closer to our camp. We heard some dogs barking and they were getting closer and closer to camp also. All of the sudden we heard yipping and squealing, like an injured dog and then everything went quiet. We, jokingly, said, "Hey, wouldn't it be creepy if we shined this spotlight down the trail and saw something?" So, we did and there were two eyes on the trail that immediately hit the ground when the light hit them. I got on the four wheeler and went to inspect and drove down the trail. When I got about 20 yards from the eyes, they popped back up and a big cat turned sideways and jumped off the trail. This too, was no bobcat. I grew up through high school with a pet bobcat and no bobcat is 6 ft long from head to tail. I turned around and high-tailed it back to camp and was telling the guys what it was. They thought I was just trying to scare them and run them in when the thing screamed from what I am sure was 80 yards away, although it felt like it was sitting by the fire next to us. You have never seen the likes of rough and tough boys scrambling into the cabs and beds of pickups and on four-wheelers heading for cover. I don't think a tire touched the ground… Tents, food, coolers, chairs…everything was left there. We crashed in the living room of the house. My dad thought we were lying or crazy or both until about a month later, our neighbor down the road reported losing a couple of calves to a mountain lion. We called AGFC and they said it wasn't one or that someone's pet had gotten out. What they really mean is that, they don't want them to be around because they have to look into protecting them and invest time and effort into managing the population. We know they are still around the area because just last month our neighbor with an adjoining farm saw one as he was leaving his house early in the morning.

Catch of a Lifetime! Congratulations!

I refer to everything jerk bait for trout as a rogue because that was the first type of jerk I threw for them. Its just a habit. I actually haven't thrown a rogue in years. My favorite is the Rapala X-Rap suspending jerk. And I agree with you on every other front as well. I'm going back over a week from today and will hopefully have better luck. I'll post another update then. At least the water should be better.

After a brief conversation with my wife, I came to my senses (her senses) and agree that with our family trying to leave for vacation early Sunday morning, it is not the best idea to spend the Saturday before on the river, no matter how much fun it would be. Being an adult is for the birds. You guys have fun and you better blow up this thread with pictures of monster trout from the trip.

Ham, it was T.O.U.G.H. The variety was the only thing that kept it interesting and the brown smashing the jerk bait, essentially on top of the water and going full airborne, made my day. But all that water was, quite honestly, pretty intimidating. The generation has slowed to a GREAT level but with Hurricane Olaf sending weather our direction, I don't know for how long. Hopefully they were making room for the fall rain and won't run anymore.

I fished the White all day Saturday with a men's retreat from Fellowship Church. There were 5 boats on the water all day. 2 Boats were strictly fly fishing. 1 boat was fishing jigs and power bait, one boat was throwing rogues and other jerk baits, and my boat was fishing jigs and jerk baits. The flow was above 17,000CFS all day, most of the time above 17.5. There was A LOT of water. None of the boats faired very well. One fly boat was fishing hoppers and netted out 1 21" brown and 2 small rainbows and the other fly boat netted out 4 small rainbows. The boat fishing jigs and power bait had three guys in it and they collectively netted around 20 rainbows, all small. The rogue and jerk bait boat netted 7 fish, all rainbows, all small. My boat netted 11 trout in 6 hours of fishing but included a 20" rainbow and 2 18" rainbows. I also caught a really decent brown on a rogue that was the heaviest fish of the day. All in all, very very tough fishing and the other reports I'm hearing from the guides is that the White is fishing really difficult right now. The two things that saved the day for me was the brown trout and a great 18" - 19" walleye that went in the fryer that evening. I did also catch the grand slam with a very small brook and a very small cutthroat in the list of species. If it is any indication to how strange the river is fishing right now, the species that were caught on this trip were rainbow trout, brown trout, brooke trout, cutthroat trout, walleye, largemouth bass, and a BIG yellow perch that weighed just over a pound. All the non-trout species were caught at the dam area.

I would love to join this year, but we are leaving for a big family vacation on the 6th…I wonder what the chances are that I could run over and fish the morning of the 5th with y'all?

Here's my contribution to bad fishing pictures... I mean, pastel green??? Come on, what was I thinking?

proud dad bragging moment in 3...2...1 IMG_1615.MOV she's 5 and casts a spinning reel and works the bait. (Ps) this is the first time I've attempted to upload a video on the new platform so if it doesn't show up I'll have to figure out how to fix it. IMG_1615.MOV

Come on, Phil. Did you have to post our BLANK for all to see? I guess it's what you get when you "go big or go home." We went home. 2 19" fish… 2 inches short… Thanks again for hosting a great tournament.

My goodness, where can I get just the audio from this. I need a cut of heavy mouth breathing to use over top of a Alpine Marathon video I shot.

Just pouring some out for the fish gods. Gotta pay up.

That is a really nice cutthroat for the White! Good to hear the river level is becoming more manageable. I have been waiting to go back over and fish. 3-4 units is just perfect.