cnr

Sounds like we had about the same day, I fished the same area on Sunday from Baptist to Ashley (started at 10) with Rapala f11s and f9s. Had 11 fish (5 were rainbows) and one brown 22.5" long (skinny though). I also had the bonus Smallmouth down by the Ashley creek confluence. I didn't find any pattern to the fish I just caught them in about every kind of water. Did you find any pattern to where the fish were holding? How do you like those LC baits? Seems like every other cast with the Rapala f11s they were getting tangled up on the hooks and line. They just don't cast very straight!

I have broken quite a few (6 or 7) in a variety of ways and I have never had an issue with the Xpeditor replacement. I call them on the phone (or you can do it online) and they charge $50 to my credit card, they send me a rod and I send them back the damaged rod in the same shipping tube. If you don't return a broken rod they will charge your account full price. I have broken two this year and both have been replaced fine. The broken rod on one float with JoeD was my fault. We were cruising through a fast shoot when I cast into a tree and when I tried to flip it loose the braided line looped over the second guide and cinched down like a vise. Before I could even react (or we could stop the canoe) I had a two piece rod. Bad cast at the wrong time, there's nothing like the distinctive sound of breaking graphite. I gotta say the rest of the day was kind of a bummer, it sure does take the wind out of your sails. Of course JoeD was an unrelentless fishing machine like usual and piled up the numbers while I sulked, not one of my finer moments!

Loomis has a pretty good warranty on their rods, if you use their Xpeditor service you can get a replacement for $50. Not too bad for a rod that can cost $400 or more in the GLX line. I know some companies are less (or free) but I have had no issues with the G Loomis replacement service. Of course I am kind of a Loomis fanatic. Are they any better? Maybe not, but they give me confidence and it is the one thing I spoil myself with. Gotta have some vices!!

Al You are a very lucky man! I seem to get a little grumbling like the other guys, but my wife does like to canoe, if only she would let me fish a little! I will have to work on that. cnrMark

Al Do you pour your own jig heads with this so you have the correct wire to then bend and attach to the cross piece? cnrMark

I mostly lurk, but view the site daily!!!

Whoa...hang on there eric1978. First you poach Joe's favorite stretch and then you wanna poach my fishing partner! He's mine and you can't have him!!!! Just kidding. Joe is a great guy and a tremendous Smallmouth fisherman, be prepared to be seriously outfished if you hang with him. His fishing style is straightforward and simple, but man can that guy put a hurt on the Smallies.

The problem looks like filamentous algae wich cannot be controlled with grass carp (they eat plants not algae). Here is a link to an MDC information sheet that may help. http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/13.pdf

1966 Corvette convertible, 327/350HP, all original except for the paint. I bought this car the first year I was out of college in 1983, wish I would of bought a few more (or at least a 427). The car has been sitting the last few years waiting for an engine rebuild (still runs, but it is tired) but there always seems to be something else to spend the money on. Someday!

Steelhead are the hardest fighting cold water fish hands down, they're acrobatic, fast, and never give up.

I fished the stretch from Ashley up to Baptist on February 10th and caught a ton of stocker Browns. At least I am assuming they were stockers, the size ranged from 12"-15" and most had very faint markings on them with rubbed down fins. I lost count of how many I caught (maybe 40+) in 4.5 hours fishing. Instead of the usual flyrod that day I was throwing a floating #9 Rapala (color didn't seem to matter). Not all spots held fish but when you found them they were stacked in there. It was a lot of fun but sadly no big fish came to hand which is why I went to the Rapala that day.

I did really well last week on caddis also, the fish were hitting them like crazy. The warm weather was the deciding factor and I could not resist a quick trip to the Current. I wish I could say it was my skill but I know deep down I was just in the right place at the right time. I did fish for about an hour right below the cable outside the park in addition to below Baptist camp.

Good thought JD, I should of known that. I usually stay as far away from the park as possible to avoid the crowds and I fish primarily in the winter. Maybe next time I will fish the cable down to TanVat and see if I can turn up a brown or two. Thanks for the insight.

I was out on Friday. Fished from below Ashley creek to Parker Hollow for the first time. I have always stopped a little below Ashley creek and wanted to see the water all the way to Parker hollow. I have to say it wasn't exactly my type of water, the first part of the stretch below Ashley wasn't too bad, but the closer you get to Parker hollow the bigger and slower the water gets. I did manage to pickup two rainbows around 15", one on an olive woolly bugger and the other on a BWO. There was some sporadic hatches going on but nothing to keep the fish looking up with any regularity. Funny thing is that every time I fish this trophy water I only seem to catch rainbows, I haven't caught a brown in my last three trips. I didn't have the best of luck this trip but it sure was a nice day to be on the river (aren't they all!). Someday I may figure this trophy section out and actually land a trophy size fish. Until then it sure is fun to try!

I manage a web design group in St Louis and work on both the MAC and PC platform, but mostly MAC. Have you gone into the system preferences to align the two monitors yet? For changing applications have you used the dock, or are you going to the hard drive icon in the upper right corner? You should be using the dock for accessing applications and you can position it wherever you want on the edge of the screen (left, bottom, or right). Give me a call and I can walk you through these things if you want. Mark Stineman 314-640-5843

Thanks. It now is stored in my cell phone. This is a great service you provide!

Here's the Char close-up pic from above cleaned up a little in Photoshop. It really is a beautiful fish. I hope someday to have the chance to catch a few.

Here's the topic author joeD at work on the Meramec. No matter what the size, all Smallmouth are a treat to catch and the locations are beautiful! How about posting some Smallmouth pics from you folks out there. I would add one of mine but it always seems like joeD is doing the catching when we go out on the river!

The last time I fished the Current (below baptist camp access) about a month ago I had my greatest success with beadhead woolly buggers size 10 in white or olive. The water was slightly off color and made for great fishing that day. If the water is really clear you may want to go to nymph fishing in smaller sizes. I did a search of recommended flies for the Current river on this and other websites and came up with the list of flies attached. The list is unedited and will have repeats in each grouping of peoples favorite flies for the Current river. Hope this helps, CNR (catch n release) current_flies.doc

The water kind of makes you wish you were out fishing it though! It beats doing home repair!