Brian K. Shaffer

Nice fish... would love to see it in full bloom during the fall spawn.

Hey Gavin - I wonder sometimes to the validity of the clipped fin... whether it grows back. But after seeing some (lets say ten of thousands) of small fish brought to hand beneath Shepard of the Hills Hatchery... kinda makes me wonder..... could they have been Neosho Hatchery fish ? Many fish I caught before and after the New Regs had one pectoral fin missing. Phil might weigh in on that too.... if he finds the post. I'll mention it to him.

So this is not a new state record.. but WOW .. what a fish !!

laker - check some of the the bows you catch... see if they have clipped fins. Larger /older fish do. White fins are common on the tailwaters in Arkansas... but you see a few in Taney. Whether they are " wild " trout or not in Taney only applies to is it a strain from the McCloud bows in Crane. A mix at the hatchery.

I think it is because it is just featureless in the upper end above of the Big Hole. The bottom is just small rock... except for the few big rocks MDC put in. Trout do not feel safe.... they do not feel comfortable in their new surroundings. The rocks haven't done much of you ask me.... except push me further downstream.

If you never heard of abebooks.com - give it a shot. Stands for American Book Exchange. They have been around for a long while. I find more books there than Amazon... at way better prices. Give them a try.

You'll have to let us know how they do after getting wet. (as in wading / versus felt) I treated mine with the 3 part MDC method... but I don't like them as much now. They are just slippery.

You might check abebooks.com American Book Exchange... always the lowest price.

Orvis was out of the sale priced DT5's so they decided to send me 2 of the new Hydro's lines. Awfully nice of them. Those lines are like $80 a piece.

this little guy does wonders as your dropper, and the barbless hook doesn't get caught up in your net

I use figure 8 wraps to bind the legs down. Trial and error.... the fish like them either way. this pattern is easy peasy... do not over complicate it. thread - foam - legs.. voila!

another variation

I conquer.....but back to my point - would any of you guys like to see jet ski banned from the 65 bridge up ?

I just ran out of black 8/0 so I used red in a pinch... people seem to like it.. the fish.. they like it. Me being color blind.. I just grabbed any size 8/0 thread.

Quill -- ha ha ... I did laugh out loud. " Yeah guys like the pair you saw have to compensate for their tiny wieners. " as true as it is....

That jet ski thing really bothers me. I believe we should enact a ' No Jet Ski's Above Hwy 65 bridge ' petition and get like a gazillion signatures via the internet. Obviously it is dangerous to go weaving in and out of boats... then add kids being kids on to that and it becomes a little recipe for disaster at some point. Worse yet.. I have seen kids on jet ski's once... only once.. all the way up to the cable.. with 4 units running. Plain stupidity.

I started tying this pattern some time ago. To me it is all about the legs. Bill Skilton makes the legs. Ant / Beetle legs. I use the Reg size in black, brown, or green. Just yesterday I added the little yellow dot. Make sure to glue the top and bottom to hold the legs. I use Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails. Recipe : Hook - sz 16 TMC 100SPBL Thread - black or brown or red 8/0 Body - cylinder foam in black or brown to match size of ants Legs - Skilton's Ant / Beetle legs, Reg size in black, brown or green Optional yellow dot - yellow foam sliced thin and glued to top This post has been promoted to an article

I just checked out the Orvis sale listings.. and in addition to some of the WF and DT lines being on sale for $29 they also just started a 20% off sale on those too. So instead of $29 - they are $23.20.... they are Gen 3 Wonderlines .. but they are running out fast. Check the link below for what sizes are in stock. If you need a new line.. you might give them a call. 1-800-548-9548 Here is a link : http://www.orvis.com...subcat_id=13351 If you dislike lines Orvis has made for them thru private labeling - disregard this post. Tight lines and screaming reels - Brian

I agree with Phil. Turkey is gonna be pretty much empty of anything but suckers and chub. Having just looked at it the other day... It was disappointing to not see any action of any kind.

If a tip comes thru for a guide - its just icing on the cake. Any amount... whether actual money or dinner or equipment, etc.. etc. Again - it all depends on the guide. If he itemized lunch and every fly and leader used... perhaps his guide price absorbs the tip. If he or she is well prepared, works well with others, is cordial and shares useful experience... its up to you if you wish to compensate them a little extra for their efforts.

It depends on so many factors.... but for me, it really comes down to how pleasant a guy (or gal) the guide was and did he (or she) teach you new techniques that you can and will put into practice in the future... either on the guided waters or others. just my .02 - Brian

So far as I can tell.. from fishing the last 5 days straight... they are running 1 unit or thereabouts.. sometimes they are pulling the yo-yo trick.. up and down.. up and down.. but yesterday and today they started into some more generation, perhaps as much as a full 2 units. This is all just my opinion.. over the last few days... Fishing has been kinda off for most up there... I had a great Monday.. a decent Tuesday but Wednesday was awful.. but today was really good. I caught like 40 or more fish in 2 hours below outlet three in the flats fishing the dark water to the other bank. Even opened a few hooks up on a few fish... too light of tippet and hook... given the current, which is very fast and still somthing new.....this one unit thing is kinda fun... Saw some big spawning fish on beds Tue and Wed -- but they seem to be chasing around a bunch of suckers off thier own spawning beds... the upper end is chock full of suckers right now. Still.. decent fishing if you fish where the fish are... but dry fly fishing has been absent the last week for me altogether.... just havent found the right spot yet I guess. (did manage a few fish on beetles at #1) Warmer air temps might mean higher water to come.. but a cool weekend might put that all on hold. No telling. Fridays schedule looks very strange to me... when did they ever pinpoint 92 as a MW load ?

They are on as of today ... during the day... so I imagine they are set up to be on both day and night. So yes -- the lights are on at the pavillion... not sure about the parking lot lights.

You could luanch in low water at the upper and maybe see no flow at all...or if they do turn one unit on.. it'll help push you downstream. threy are running 1 unit right now.. flows about 3500cfs... about 3 feet higher than if it were off...

You're talking The Ross Reel.... the original first ones.. like this :