Brian K. Shaffer

Dano - its nice to see Chuck Davidsons name.. he is afterall.. the old man of the North Forth River. I have heard / read plenty of stories about him.. but like Lee Wulff... I never met him either. 'tis a shame we lived in different era's in fly fishing - Brian

Yes.. very good news. I didnt even know what it was.. but I know we didnt want it! best fishes - Brian

I tie droppers on 2 or 3 ways. First, the way I do it 99% of the time - off the bend : Then I will occasionally try the dropper loop off the leader : Sometimes I try tying off the eye of my point fly.. but I dont do that often. best fishes - Brian

I would strongly advise a 3 day 2 night TUE WED THUR fishing stay. Also, don't forget to bring your rain gear. best fishes - Brian

Your online photo had me already cracked up.. but that story was funny, and I am glad to hear that 'sowpig' tradition has been carried on. These are great guys.. keep them coming. No doubt Phil has 3-4 stories to share. best fishes - Brian

Was there any other modification to the river that took place ? Or just more hatchery construction ? Thanks guys.. can't wait to see / fish this once the 'opening day' factor is gone for the season. best fishes - Brian

Saw a MDC agent there today ( Tuesday ) watching with binoculars. motrout - scuds/sowbugs are not necessarily native - they were introduced from Rock Bridge, MO. Saw one guy kicking up above 2.. so I moved to the boat ramp and got skunked best fishes - Brian

You just don't see them JS.. but believe me - they see a lot of what goes on down there. I have called on and gotten prompt responses to numerous issues. True - this enforcement is not infalliable - but at least its something and it works. Brian

dang - that didnt take long nice score somebody brian

WE have truly lost a legend in Curt Gowdy. I enjoyed his talents on many levels.. and he will be dearly missed. However, now he is on that neverending trout stream in the sky - with great big mayfly and caddis hatches and no one fishing the river but himself. ( and a servant to net and release all his fish ) Brian

As an ex-shuffler - I was shown by someone else very early on in my developing year or two in fly fishing that I was making an impact on the population / growth on the scuds / sowbugs with each dredging of my foot. So, therefore, I quit doing it. It makes perfectly logical sense too - if you dislodge an entire colony of scuds that takes approx. 60 days to reach a level of maturity for your personal gain ... to catch a trout only to release it seconds later ... something is just not right with that picture. Now I am a happier fisherman for it. Why do you think it is illegal on the San Juan River in NM ? ( by the way - I saw a guy doing it today.. with fish rising around like crazy! ) my .02 - Brian

ILLEGAL Brian Shaffer

My bad on the date guys.. I had no idea it was from 2001 - whoops! Lilley - that's too cool! Fox - how does calculate the accelerated drop of any said "rock" ? I know it picks up speed with each second.. I think I read that once. But what is the formula used to calculate ? neat stuff - Brian

Something from my ISP caught my eye about California caves, then I found this : Links back to the ice age, with a short nosed roaming Ozarks bear ? Riverbluff Cave - New Missouri Cave Found just fyi - Brian

I was thinking along the same lines.. kind of a - where to begin ? Just a little more information will help us a great deal on getting you the information you need. best fishes - Brian

Is that really true that the Dorber guys ran one over with a van and it didnt break ? I understand what you mean about the round fly rod going from round to oval - then collapsing, as one day I stood in the Dorber shop taking throw outs out of the trash and trying to wiggle them until breakage, which I didnt succed doing.. as I just couldnt push that far.. I knew I could if I wanted to - just didnt want to endure the result / shattering graphite in my skin perhaps. That's where this Ultra Weave intrigues me. screaming reels - Brian

I will say that ostrich makes a really good addition to midge larva patterns. Say just below a tungsten bead. mizzou - I agree with you... in size 18 I use a glass bead and olive ostrich and it fishes very well! Havent tried the Tunsgten idea on ostrich yet.. no doubt it will work the same or better. happy tying - Brian

I am not having any luck with e-mails thru the board system. I first tried to e-mail myself.. that didnt work. I tried to e-mail you.. Phil.. that didnt work either. Can I turn in a ticket too ? Just kidding. Brian

Let's say that a one weight works best when using 8X tippet, then a two weight would use 7X, three weight 6X, four weight 5X, five weight 4X, six weight works the rod best when using 3X, and so on. So by matching the rod to the tippet, using this method, lets us use a tippet that best matches the flex of the rod when fighting a fish. Smarter words havent been read by this angler yet.. thanks Fox! best fishes - Brian

Quite a milestone to reach 500 members in such a short time! This is such a mellow place to get fly fishing news and advice or to ask a question on just about anything. I just wanted to say thanks to Phil for having this board and a special thanks to all the guys and gals who make it all possible. screaming reels - Brian

I have dealt with Madison River Fishing Company on buying high end components and supplies. They sometimes have excellent sales on blanks and seats and the like. Check them out! MRFC Rod Building happy building - Brian

I am curious about these rods.. but I am not a fish killer. Do these 00 line weight rods have the ability to really be fished with ? I cast the 0 years ago when it came out.. but then this new 00 size threw me for a loop. Are we sacrificing a trout because we want to fish a 'wispy' fly rod ? screaming reels - Brian

GSP stands for Gel Spun Polyethelene. Great for deer hair work! It is super strong stuff, and a little more pliable than mono as used in tying threads. Check out Wapsi's GSP thread.. its my personal favorite happy tying - Brian

Just seeing those carps pics reminded me of something funny... One day I was fishing the White River for trout down in Arkansas.. I was in a personal pontoon boat - rowing upstream at high water smack in the middle of the Rim Shoals section. I happen onto a group of Arkansas Game and Fish guys shocking out fish from the bank above Donny Wallace's old place... all carp. They filled 2 boats full.. and I saw the boats full of fish. Almost all of them were out of the water for some time.. but you could see them clearly still alive.. gasping for air with those big beautiful lips. Sometimes one of them would look you right in the eye.. and some of them were easily over 30lbs too.. screaming reels - Brian

John - check dorber.com I havent seen this Ultra Weave rod yet either.. so I am one lining up to cast it at the SowBug. best fishes - Brian