jdmidwest

If you keep it simple, you should have a great time. If you charter a club like FFF or TU amd collect fees, you will have to elect officers and keep books, you will end up with more than you are probably wanting. The last one I was involved in was just a bunch of guys that got together 1 night a month and tied flies at the local MDC office. We had some fishing trips and a One Fly contest at a local lake. Then, after a while, schedules conflicted and the key holder failed to show up one night. As far as I know, the group pretty well disbanded after that. The first group I was a part of was a chartered group led by a local fly shop employee. They spent the majority of each meeting electing officers and trying to solve the business part, minutes, financials, planning the yearly Christmas party, etc. At the end, there was hardly enough showing up to elect the officers. We did have a few MDC presentations and a few pro tyers show up for the meetings, and we did clinics, kids fishing days, etc. I don't recall ever tying much at those meetings. The leader would usually spend more each month on the newsletter than the dues were collected. I don't think anyone ever really enjoyed those meetings. My best sessions have just been a group of guys during the winter showing up at a house or office and tying a few flies. I usually do several of those and have a lot of fun at those. One thing to remember, if you are going to demo a pattern, bring enough extra materials to give to everyone in the group so they can tye along and make a few for themselves if possible.

Wonder if we have these around here.... World Record Spittin Cobra found I have seen a few of these around...

Oops... I remember the day when it was 1-18" bow or better only, 1-15" brown or better 4 bows, and free for all on the bows up to 5.... Or something like that. Or just catch and release anywhere because trout taste like....trout. Catch and release works best anywhere in the state.

CC, Spring River has its share of the cottony mouth variety also. A few years back there was one holed up on a brush pile in the Bayou hole above the waterfall. I saw her(?)several times that summer, assumed her to be nesting. Lowland variety trout stream, cypress trees and trout fishing, different than most trout waters. An old watersnake that is about ready to shed looks alot like a cottonmouth.. Thick body, dull, dark, hard to notice patterns on back.

Getting close enough to any snake in order to make a positive id is usually ok. I usually make it a habit to get snakes off of limbs with the tip of my fly rod while wading creeks. Sometimes they will stay put even with me touching them with the rod tip. Cottonmouths are usually more agressive and will come after you during breeding season. Cottonmouths are barred similar to water snakes when young but tend to turn a solid dark color as they age. Cats eye pupils and a dark pinstrip on the head separating the dark top of the head from the light under side is another tell tale sign. I have noticed they are usually thicker bodied which make the tail look stubby. They have a triangle head but it is sometimes masked by the thicker body. Copperheads have hourglass patterns made up of solid colors, one of which is usually a distinct copper color. Water snakes have stripes and patterns but not the distinct hourglass and the pattern usually continues on the belly side of the snake. Cats eye pupils and the triangle head are good too. I have encountered all three on streams and lakes. All of our poison snakes are good swimmers. As I noted in the earlier post, they always seem to ride higher in the water. Most watersnakes crossing a stream will leave a v trail in the water from the head. Poison snakes seem to crawl on top of the water and most of the snakes body is exposed.

That's exactly what it is, trout management. Streams with naturally reproducing trout or special streams recieve the most protection. Streams that are stocked monthly are the most liberal as they are put and take. MDC assumes most of the trout stocked will be consumed. The Blue Ribbons streams/portions are the ones that are the most protected, some of them should be NO KILL due to the size of the water and the chances of the trout getting to a trophy size. These are usually not stocked by MDC and rely on natural reproduction. The same goes with the Red ribbon streams but they normally recieve an annual stocking of fingerling browns. White Ribbon streams are the put and take fisheries. MDC stocks most of these monthly depending on stream temps. These still produce trophy fish, the size of the water helps a few of them to grow to bigger fish. The winter stocking at certain lakes relys on 100% put and take as most of them reach temps during the summer to kill off any remaining trout. White ribbon streams will have higher numbers of trout each month after each stocking. Red ribbon streams will have a higher number of trout after the annual stocking. Blue ribbon streams will be more of a natural cycle unless they recieve a supplemental stocking if MDC deems it neccessary. Each are a pleasure to fish and are worth a try, if you like to fish for trout.....

I usually encounter a few poison snakes each summer while wading streams. This year I encountered 2 cottonmouths and 1 copperhead on a stretch of Bear Creek. The copperhead was near a bluff and swimming around it. I have always noticed that the poison ones tend to float higher on the water than the watersnakes. And when you get close enough, they have a cat's eye pupil. The highest numbers of cottonmouths I have seen are on 11pt, Little Black, and the cove that Al spoke of on Wappappello. It is the valley where my Grandfather grew up before the lake was built.

Gps is intended as a navigation aid and has its place in the outdoor world, but you will still need a compass and good topo maps for any outdoor adventure. It is electronic and relies on batteries and you could get stuck if it dies or gets damaged. I have a Magellan 210 with the Mapsend Topo program and National Geographic Back Roads Explorer which will both send maps or waypoints to the gps unit. It works great. The downside is that the maps are a few years old so new streets, ponds, etc. will not show up on the gps. It does show contour lines, water features, county roads, and many other features. This time of year, I turn it on every morning before I go out duck hunting to get the sunrise/sunset info for the legal shooting hours. When I float streams for the first time, I will put the takeouts in so I can keep track of time and not get caught out after dark.

The Pro Guide is a good pair of waders, I think they are a little overdesigned. The form fitting boot foot requires a size larger boot than normal. They are heavier in weight, stiff, and are too warm for the summer. I use them for my winter waders and the handwarmer pocket is nice. They worked well in Alaska. I have a pair of Orvis Silver Label boot foots that I have used since 2000 and they are still going strong. I used them duck hunting for a while till I got a pair of Hogeman Breathables for that purpose. The Hogemans started leaking at the seams after 2 seasons. The Silver labels are the ones I use in the spring and fall kayaking when the water is too cool to wet wade. I am currently packing them in to my walk in duck spot because they are so lightweight. And, they still don't have any leaks. They are cooler in the summer, better price, lighter weight, and extremely durable. You hardly notice them when wading.

The consensus was that they were ok, but the reasons were loosely supported. I fished next to a game warden and loaned him a dropper does not make it legal. The link from Tims fly is broken. I have had agents research some of my questions and found they learn something from time to time. I questioned possession of trout from other parts of the state and/or other states in a vehicle in a parking lot of an area that had a more restrictive limit. Come to find out, we had both broke the laws per the letter, unintentionally, and I learned what the freezer at Montauk store is for. If I stopped at 11 pt river with an Arkansas limit of trout on the way home to look at the river, I could have violated the law of MO in the area, both for quantity and size depending on the access. The winter catch and release and winter trout programs are fly only events. Has anyone ever been confronted by an agent and told they are not legal? It has been my experience that they tiptoe around this subject when questioned. Just interested in more thoughts on the matter. Point is, MDC needs to revise the rules to support modern methods and materials. Is a glue stick egg legal in fly only trout areas?

While reading another article on here, they were talking about using multiple fly rigs in trout parks. Is that legal in the Fly only sections? Using a dropper will increase the number of hook points on the terminal end of the rig and could be interpreted as a violation from a local game warden. How does everyone really interpret the MO rule on the definition of a fly? It is a definition that needs to be revised to reflect more modern materials. A fly is a lure constructed on a single-point hook, of feathers, tinsel, chenille, yarn, fur, hair, silk, rayon or nylon thread or floss, with or without a spinner.

The fly lines mentioned above are about the only thing going in the Cortland Line that really stand out. But there are better lines for the same money. I know Walmart was really pushing Cortland in stores near Fly Fishing areas. I thought you have a pretty good selection already in your shop, why are you looking for more? Price point for a low end market?

I always liked the one from Zimbabwee that wanted to turn a $1000 into several thousand, he is just having a hard time converting dollars to whatever they use. I sent the check several times but have never seen a return on my investment. I still think I am going to make a killing on that beach front property, anyone interested?

It looks like you may be right, but at this point, nothing has happened. Let them give a credit card number and have a go at them. Like I said, contact authorities. 8k seems like an allfully round number. But you really need to let them go to the next level and commit the crime. There is no charge till the card is run.

Sounds legit to me, you can always trust the British.... By the way, I have some beach front property for sale. So wheres the catch? If you charge the card and it authorizes, card holder is responsible and money is transfered to your account. At this point there is still nothing out of your pocket and the 3 items they requested are public info, name, address, phone number, they or anyone else on here already has that . You are not releasing any personal info. See what the next email brings. Ask a local detective or FBI and follow thru on this to make sure nothing happens to anyone else. Or, it is a legit transaction.

Depends on how much it drafts and what time of year you go. Spring River does not carry as much water thru riffles as the 11 pt. The ledges from above the Bayou Access on down can hang a canoe up on them in lower water. Sadler Falls has about a 3' ledge to go over or around. If it is flowing good, you will probably be ok, watch river gauge at Hardy or Imboden to see rises in water levels.

Try a few wraps over the mono at the head then fold the mono over that and finish the head out. Or a couple of half hitches over the mono then fold the mono over that and whip finish over that. It should be enough to lock it in unless teeth are cutting the mono.

It was a great weekend around here, heavy frost Sat. morning and t-shirts Sun. afternoon. I hunted the farm we own in Wayne county with my father and great uncle. We sit around drinking coffee while we watched 4 feed in the field behind the house. We went our separate ways and my 85 y/o uncle killed a little doe. Dad killed a 5 pt buck at 3:00 in the field behind the house. I saw 30 does and fawns Sat. Sun., I had the farm to myself and I patterned a nice buck. At 2:30 he fell to a well placed 6mm bullet standing at the same tree where I took my buck last year. Sunday, I saw the same amt of does and fawns, but held out for this one. All deer were feeding in open fields on grass all thru the day, both days. Rough score 123 3/4 8 point. Back to Ducks now!

No brood stock today, fished the park top to bottom and all I saw or caught was small ones, should have been held over till next year!

Was planning on taking a few days off next week to get a little fishing in before duck season starts. I have not seen a report on the upper Current River lately. I was wondering if the low water has affected the fish any. It should be getting close to the fall spawn around there and the big fish should be out.

You could use them as a quill type body on a dry fly or ribbing on any fly. You could shave all of them off on one side and watch him stagger around the room!

I agree with the others, much as I hate Wally World, the photo service is pretty cheap. I edit and put them on a memory stick then take them into the store. I usually wait till I get over 150 to print, they give quantity discounts. I have made 8x10's from there with good quality results.

Ethically speaking, is that really the way to handle a fish that is to be released?

Interesting box, which brand is that one?

I was looking at the pics and was wondering who the big guy, looks like John Candy, that was choking the small rainbow in 2 of the pics with his bare hands, was. I assume this all took place in the Trophy area and everyone was catch and release. Some pics show what may be the culprit for the low survival rates of trout on the 11pt in the trophy area, poor catch and release practices. It makes it hard to recover after handling a fish like that.