laker67

I got to witness the same thing here on loz one winter. The lake was froze over except for a small area that the ducks were keeping open. One eagle would fly directly over the ducks while a second one followed a short distance behind. If one flared the second eagle had a good shot at him. The ducks sat tight. Eventually the pair of eagles landed on the ice a short distance from the ducks. It was a pretty amazing sight .

It has been a while, but Harv and I stayed in Licking. There is a motel at Hwy 63 and 19 jct, on the hwy 19 side. You would be half way between both places. There was a homestyle resturant just across the the hwy that always had a full parking lot. Like I said it has been maybe 6 or 7 years ago.

I remember that day well. Seems as if that was the second pair that leaked in short order out of the box. I quit buying Hodgman for the same reason. 3 pair of leakers in one month.

Do you recall the older gentleman's name? I can recall when you used to show up at the parking lot by #2 outlet. It would be around 11 pm or so. You would talk to me and the others and then head out towards the boat ramp, I think.

Scientific Anglers system two 67L. I have never had one fail while fighting a big fish. Used them exclusively since the 80's. Now they are hard to find unless you want to pay big bucks and get a used one from England. I never switched over to large arbor because my fingers are too short.

When I sold my 7 wt 2 piece XP, fw inquired about it. I was sure hoping that he would buy it. He will be sad to know that a guy bought it for his son. The son broke 3 inches off the tip before they got to fish it. I later sold a Z axis. It was a little on the wimpy side. I still have my favorite of all, a 5 wt 8 foot XP. I bought that one in 2000 and it still looks good and fishes great like it always did. XP is fast and strong a perfect rod for sight fishing.

I have an RP from around 85 to 86. Bought it from Larry's at bssp. All the markings are wore slick and it will not come apart without fear of breaking. Larry's son, Kelly was able to get it apart several years back. I put it back together and just like glue it stuck. It is an 8 foot 5 wt. XP is my all time favorite.

Congrats Phil. That is one healthy fish and great job on 7x.

I heard that they even tagged them this year for a chance to win cash and prizes.

I agree totally, The hatchery guys got to be there anyway. Concessions could do what ever they liked.

Well I hope that it does not come to that. I said prior to this that the manufacturer should supply a helpful hint page on the proper use of one. You can still weight a fish using one. Just leave the fish in the net and hook the boga on the net. Sub tract the weight of the net and there you go. I use a digital scale on the net, but only by choice. Here is my formula for boga use and I know that Marty and others use it also. Fish in net, leave net in good water, attach boga to fish's mouth and let go, get camera ready, when fish has settled grip boga, slide open hand under fish's belly and go up all in one motion. Take picture and return fish back to net using same motion. Unhook boga and let fish stay, in the net, in good water until he is ready to swim off. No stress and no foul . I have handled hundreds of big trout in the same manner. I could not tell you when the last time I stressed any fish. It works for me and I have confidence in it. Use it as a controlling tool and I guarantee you will have less teeth marks in a sore thumb at the end of the day.

Those do not look like the typical boga injury. I am not questioning you , just making an observation. Almost genetic or something.

no doubt about that. they will add some 18 inch fish to the creek and call it a wrap.

That boga is only for holding not lifting.

Thanks John. My favorite photo of the whole trip is the one of Sandy in the clear poncho with the colored up rainbow. That smile says it all.

We considered staying the first two weeks in November until I looked at the long range forecast. Brrr! I has been a good vacation so far and I think we will leave it at that. We got to fish several days in September and most of this October. If I am able come next season, I will probably do it again. Time will tell. Good luck to everyone out there. The fish are in good shape this year and tremendous fighters. The colors of both fish are splendid. I complain about the crowds each season but crowds are bad everywhere. Thanks Phil, look forward to your fishing reports and the pictures of big fish.

Thank you Marty. Fishing has been tuff this fall, and we look forward to every good fish we catch. Sandy is still ahead of me on the lunker count this fall.

One night this week I got terribly out fished by the wife and the bil. Didn't happen yesterday. We got to the creek around 2:30 pm. It was cold, windy, and starting to get wet. Water was on a slow rise. I was admiring two guys fishing white sculpins, they were catching fish at a consistent rate. Bil had to go back to Texas, so it was just Sandy and I, which frees me up to fish more. She started catching some decent size rainbows on a gray scud. I followed suit. After the water stabilized some, I looked down the bank to my left and two nice browns are on the move in my direction. They were so close to me that my arm movement scared the heck out of them. I moved back in hopes they would do it again. Here they came. Same as always, if you are lucky you get two maybe three good drifts before they circle out and repeat the pattern. In addition now, I had three more good browns on the move. I look over at Sandy, she is trying to change a leader in the wind. I said, you are on your own for a few minutes. I caught the 4lb brown, then the 3.5, and about 5 minutes later I catch one of the heavy sixes running together. I thought the other was gone for good, but here he came back. He was nervous. Got the bite one time and missed the hook set. All over now, but how can you complain about catching 3 good browns. Sandy is rigged again and catching fish. After about 2 hours we decided that we were cold and wet enough. Plus the wind was really starting to howl. Another great day on the creek. Pictures coming in November.

Thanks but I only know one way to fish, and when that is not working, it gets pretty boring. Guides like Phil and Duane and Bill know lots of ways to catch fish. That is what makes a good guide.

It seems as if they change colors overnight. We have fished all month and it just happened about a week ago. Lots of fish breaching and cruising. We have struggled to get into anything consistent as far as flies go. Rain and wind for the next two days, so fishing looks doubtful until Friday.

Fished a light crowd this afternoon with water on the rise. Brother in law is up from Texas so I set him up with an egg pattern. He is catching fish and some really nice ones. One rainbow was 3lb or better and he caught several over 2lb. I am not paying any attention to the wife when all of a sudden the water explodes out front. She fights and lands a real colored up male brown about 4lb. I hardly turn my back and she has another one about the same size. I still have my rod leaning against my chair. Over the course of the next hour I am releasing fish for them, re-tie all their leaders and change flies. It was good to see them catching fish. Got some photos but I think I will wait till we get home to try and post anymore. I can tell you that she has reached her goal of 14 lunkers so far for the year. Her brother caught his first ever. We have 5 more days of vacation, so we are hopeful to catch another one or two. Had a great time today.

It has become Missouri's largest trout park from September thru November. Sandy and I have been fishing Sunday evenings but bailed yesterday because of the storm threat and the wind. We have one more week of our vacation, but the prospects of light crowds are slim.

That video is nuts. I have to admit I have never seen anything like that in the 45 years I have fished Taneycomo. Like most, I only fished the outlets at night over the years. And I caught some pretty big fish with lighted indicators and scuds. Nine years ago when I became partially handicap that changed. And this last go round of cancer has cost me a lung. So now if you see an old looking guy sitting in a lawn chair, that would probably be me. I am going to fish through this cancer until I can no longer get to the creek and back. Right now I spend a lot of time watching my lovely wife catch fish. I try to keep a rod ready to go for her when she breaks off. And I love every minute of it.

Once again the creeper invasion has begun at lake Taneycomo. I first noticed it on Monday, and now by Thursday it is getting into full swing. They appear out of nowhere . They can show up either on the upstream or downstream side and sometimes even directly across the creek from you. Their common goal is to fish the exact same water that you are already fishing, at the exact same time. They make a cast and take a step towards you, remain there for a few minutes, and then repeat. Before you know it you are accidentally smacking them in the forehead with a seven foot rod. And finally you have to call them out. Most mumble a few cuss words and continue to do what they are doing . At that point I usually get tangled in their line or hook their boot on a drift or two. Have you ever got to watch a grown man try to remove a hook from his boot while standing in waist deep water? So it goes at Missouri's newest trout park.