Brian K. Shaffer

8ft long and 245 pounds.

Everything if presented correctly will work to Norfork fish, wets or dries. You will find the brooks and cutts are eager to eat dries if anything is hatching. Basically it is similar to the White and Taney. It moreso depends on where you fish.. not what you fish with. Phil mentioned a couple of my favorite spots. Good Luck - Brian

That's creepy! The eyes.. and those glasses.. odd. Brian

The last pair of waders I patched was the Simms Leightweights. I made a deal from a buddy who wore them 4 times, tore a hole in them and didnt want them anymore. I used a patch kit : Duraflex - which I strongly recommened. The patch goes on the inside as intructed and the glue is both strong and flexible when dried. This is by far the best stuff I have found so far for repairs. Although not anyways near as fast as the Loon product, which I have also used - this stuff works really well. best fishes - Brian

The Prime Seats Club option from stlcardinals.com looks to be the best bet for getting seats this year.. without paying too much (or too little) off eBay. I was shocked when Izzy got rocked for the granny Sunday, lets just say I also want to bring in whats his name instead of relying on a guy with honest talent but a lack of ball control. So we win the home opener.. great! The park is the question. Is it a hitters park or a pitchers park ? ( I lean towards pitchers ) We'll see how tomorrow with Marquis goes. holy cow - Brian

I agree with Wayne. Buy some new herl and it'll treat ya better! Your flies will thank you for it.. but the fish won't! happy tying - Brian

It is very sad, but true. The KRZK station was told that Sheriffs Dept officials confirmed a white male jumped over the railing sometime this afternoon (3:30pm or so) and has been pronounced dead at the scene. They are leaning towards suicide as a motive. what a shame - Brian

There is so much quality water out there.. I am sure the crowds will stay upstream moreso and you can find some good big water downstream. If you havent walked thru the woods towards the bluff bank across from where you park to get to the braids.. you need to. That is some big fish holding water that it seemed like locals keep very quiet. I found lots of fish in very unsuspecting places that were eagers feeders on the SJ.. it really was a dream come true to get to even fish that water. Kepp your bugs small.. 22's and under. Do not forget to fish your really dumb big stuff that most people arent throwing. Use heavy tippet.. check your notes really good. Carry a big net enjoy your summer - Brian

Local radio news agencies have reports that someone jumped off Table Rock Dam on the Lake Taneycomo side. No other reports have come forward at this time. You gotta wonder why anyone would try to jump the dam. more to follow - Brian

The home opener against Milwaukee aint gonna be easy.. they are on fire! I believe they are undefeated as of Saturday.. I know thats not saying much right now, but still - our first 3 with Milwaukee is gonna be tough! Let's hope the Cards can at least win won against the Cubs Sunday! I predict another 100 win season for us - winning the Central again. I'll even go out on a limb and say its going to be us and the Yankees battling it out for rings at the end. Brian

The link is there Dano.. it's the very first line. Thanks F/F78 for also putting it up there. Brian

Well heck, kick up your heels!~ Glad to have you here Brian

Dano - how'd that game finish up for the Springfield Cards against the Ark Travelers.. I didnt catch a wrap up on Jock Talk the next day. Kicknbass - Sweet pics.. your wife is one luckly lady to see the stadium AND the clubhouse! Brian, beadhead and Kicknbass - I think Izzy does make a game of it.. to keep things intersting as you said.. why else would Tony keep him around ?? ha ha MoTex - my 2 brothers live in Houston.. and I lived there 20 years.. but I was born in STL, so shine the idea while you can.. but it aint gonna last long! Why we lost this game today ? Well.. we couldnt hit for poop against 319 game winner Maddux.. and .. well.. thats it - I fell asleep watching this game - bored from lack of bat on ball. 'til tomorrow - Brian

I believe this abomination of idea holds no truth in the long run, though I am glad you are involved.. and that you posted the idea here. So prove me wrong, never ever - best fishes - Brian

Does anyone else watch this page like I do ? (except brumat) Stuff moves faster here than you would ever, ever believe ~ Give it a look - Brian

FishinBanjo's Slice of - vintage - fly fishing stuff page Banjo is a great guy from the Clarks Classic Fly Rod page.. and he has extensive knowledge on vintage rods, reels, flies.. all old stuff it seems. Enjoy a minute or twelve on his page.. it will be a fun old timey experience! best fishes - Brian

I caught three in Roark Creek yesterday.. they were all real small. I was throwing from the bank only using a 9ft 4X leader / no tippet / small purple clouser. Someone else will surely chime in with more info... Brian

This is just gonna be a fun thread anyone can post on referring to day to day STL Cardinals games. I am not sports writer.. just a fan who will probably catch 90% of the games this season on TV or radio and share my opinion here. The Cards opened the season with long balls Monday.. winning the first game handily over the Phillies, but it took Izzy to pull out the win for tonights game. Bases loaded in the ninth with the Phillies threatening and Izzy shuts 'em down. Let's hope he can stay healthy all year along with the rest of our big guns (especially Rolen!) Daygame tomorrow - 1:30 with Marquis pitching to sweep. Next set of 3 is with the Chi-Cubs / 2 day games in a row ( ugh!) followed by a 7:05pm night game, then the home opener is the 10th I believe in the *NEW* Busch against MIL. GO Cards! Brian

If you need a guy to drive around a few of those classic 1957's during shows and what not.. ok.. twist my arm, I'll do it. ha ha - Brian

So if that a male.. its still a nice fish, but if thats a spawned-out female.. could it have tipped 3.5 or more full ? I really dont know how to tell the larger males from females. Brian

JBerry - do you know of this spot ? ( one of the schmuecker boys showed me ) Brian

If anyone is fishing this weekend - take along a camera and share a story or two here on the O/A Forum. ( is this just a ploy to see what is hatching off at R/R ?? ) I might be down heading there.. not sure what my plans are leaning towards yet. KEEP US POSTED - Brian

Skeeter's got it nailed down right - it is the golden rule as far as I am concerned. I do the similar with fly line.. I learned it from a 1970's book and have stuck to it since.' I will stand and let the leader go first with the current - then strip off all the flyline back to the leader knot on the spool. When you proceed to wind it back up - make sure not to allow any backing twisting and go slow and steady and really help the line lay flat as you reel. This is the best way I have to found working with FLY LINE. I am sure someone will step in with a so-called better way.. but hogwash! screaming reels - Brian

You could repatch and repatch the problem area (as I havew done) but I would just send them in for repair, Orvis should take good care of you. If they happen to give you the run-around.. ask them to replace just both feet for one price, and ask them to disclose this price. Simms does this at a very nominal fee.. but Orvis still regulates that "pro-rated" deal.. so I am not sure what they will tell you. Hold strong.. tell them you need only both feet done.. and see what they say. It might mean Orvis could lose your business.. but you could decide to jump into some higher quality duds too! let ME know how you make out - Brian

I'm glad to see this thread pretty quite until we get more rain.. as we will see how this years summer hatches work off of the water we do have. Keep it simple.. keep it mental.. watch your runs tough... But watch out this Spring for the darn snakes! Low water / high water.. ugh! Brian