jdmidwest

I was under the impression that the MDC was going to put more restrictions on the smallmouth waters. They started the surveys and imposed them on rivers like 11PT and 10 Mile then it seems like they just dropped the ball. There could be a statewide limit of 1 fish 15" or higher to help. I have notice fishing improving on these streams somewhat.

Phil, I think the time is off on the forum, but it loads quicker.

I lost all the leaves on some tulip poplars, some damage to bradford pears, redbuds look sick. Had not planted much except for lettuce and peas. Local orchards are calling it a total loss across the river in IL. 20 degrees Sat. morning.

I have always supported the idea that a man should only buy the best equipment he can afford based his skills. The right tool for the job is the most important. A new flyfisher will not cast any better with a $700 rod than he will with a $18.95 one without training. The benefits of the higher end rods are of most importantly the warranty. You might get a Wally World employee to give you the money back on a rod that you smashed in a car door, if you don't you won't feel too bad. If you crack a $400 rod with a bad cast, you will need a warranty. Almost all of my rods carry a 25 year no questions asked warranty. The downside to that is that if you have to use that warranty, they normally replace the rod with a equal or greater value rod instead of fixing it. I have grown fond of a few of my rods and the sentimental value of the rods can't be replaced and are not made any longer. I returned a 9' 8wt one time and it was replaced with a 10' 7 wt of the next higher quality, where they come up with that one I'll never figure out. Turned out to be an advantage on an Alaska trip, that extra foot helped on a big stream. I broke the tip off my favorite 4 wt and fixed it myself knowing if I sent it in for repair it would be gone forever. If you are serious about your sport, quality equipment will make things more enjoyable. It will be a wise investment and may be something that can be passed down to a future generation to enjoy. This goes for anything, rods, boats, guns, boots, lines, waders, knives, etc.

Maybe you can use it to pull the rebar out of the rebar hole. If it were not for this great thing called the internet we would not have see it, and really, we did not miss anything if we didn't.... Did you notice the flyfishing cats?

Without the extra distraction of OAF, I bought too much stuff on EBAY, went to bed early and remembered that I can read books too......

Drew A 7 wt will do, but if you are buying a new rod you might want to go with an 8 wt rod in at least 9'. It all depends on how far you will cast and how big of flies you will use. Make sure you get a weight forward or bass taper line to help you cast the bigger flies. As far as flies go, poppers, streamers, and big nymphs will be what you will us for the most part. Bigger food for bigger fish. Fishing from at boat into the bank or cover will be most productive.

I wonder why there are not many people recommending a handheld GPS unit. I think they are an excellent solution, something portable that can be used in more than one application. I have always steered clear of an "all in one" device. They are usually limited in their functionality. A little sonar, a little thermometer, a little GPS, so on. Not usually ever the best of each. Magellan makes a Explorist 210 series that has a USB connection to a PC that can be uploaded/download to a software program like National Geographic TOPO. You can make custom maps and keep track of your places in the software.

Bill, I assume you are using a camera with the capability of various settings, ie a professional digital slr of some sort. You did not go into detail on it. If so, have you tried shooting in natural light only without the flash on a nice sunny day? Open up the aperature setting so you will get the best exposure and the most depth of field so everything is in focus. You may have to use a tripod and even a bulb type release to prevent shake. A wide angle lens will work too. Try adjusting the white balance or turning it off. To get a true blue lake the polarizer filter or maybe a colored filter could give you the effect. What looks blue to us may not look blue to the camera due to a reflection or a white balance correction. Try metering the exposure with a gray card or different colored cards for an effect too. If all else fails, shoot the room and then shoot the lake in the blue color, crop the lake and put it in the window with Photoshop! The trouble with the new professional series digital slr's out today is the learning curve on figuring out all of the features and settings. Auto setting just does not give you what you want to see. It interprets the data given to it and arranges it how it wants it based on the camera settings. I turn off alot of the features and make manual adjustments to get things to turn out right sometimes. I even turn autofocus off and go to manual focus for most of my shots because you never know really what it is going to focus on.

Lem passed away? He came and helped out on a flycasting course we offered 15 years ago at our Orvis shop. Great guy. I remember the renegade fly he tyed and fished. He worked out of Springview Fly Shop at Bennett. What happened to him, old age or something else?

I see, I read a little closer. Cheap rods with chrome guides do wear out fast. Same goes with spinning rods, chrome sucks, just a thin coat of metal on softer metal. Just another way to cut corners. Not many rod makers use chrome any more.

In order to make a more durable fly, you could add some wire in the pattern. Or you could use wire for the dubbing loop itself which would be really tough. There is a company that mass produces it in the form of a dubbing brush if memory serves me correct. I tend to fish the fly till it does not resemble the original fly at all. Repeated catches tend to pick out dubbing and give it a buggier look. When it looks like crap, retire it to the scrap pile and tie another on. Then you get more practice retying a new fly. If you tye your own, it should not be a big deal.

What kind of rod did you wear the guides out on? I assume you are talking about the tip guide, not the snake guides.

Wally world has a Leatherman Blast/C301 knife combo on clearance for $19. What a deal, the knife alone is worth that, the combo originally sold for $49 which was a good deal. I have used and carried a Leatherman tool since they first came out and would not be without one. I presently own about 10 of them in different configurations. Great warranty and great product. Needless to say their knives are of the same quality. This is a new one with the locking blades and the rounded grips and it has replaced my wave as my everyday carry tool. The knife is half serrated and will shave hair with a few strokes on a stone. It also has an assist opening feature and pocket clip. I have other tools but none have been as good as the leatherman. Gerber is a finger masher when you use the pliers due to the handle design. SOG takes to long to open and the plier head tends to rotate when you use it. Some of the others are not even made anymore. I recently picked up a Remington Bird Hunters tool with snips, gut hook and choke wrench that will be good for the duck box.

The book about MO trout parks is here on the website missouritrout.com. http://www.missouritrout.com/book.html It says it is being expanded into a full length book, yeha. I picked it up one time while waiting to pay for lunch at Montauk. It is more of a short guide than a book. Maybe you could get together with MDC for publicity.

Chuck Tryon's book "Fly Fishing for Trout in Missouri" is still in print I think. It mentions trout parks but includes all of the trout water in the state.

I use dubbing wax and dubbing loops also. It depends on the type of body you want. I use wax and Uni thread for tight bodies on drys and tapered nymph bodies. I use the loop to spin a buggy nymph or scud body, leaves longer pieces of material to look like legs.

What part did you go on? Did you take a boat or fish the bank. I crossed it yesterday at Patterson Black Bridge and it was up about a foot and murky. Pretty good rain Tues night.

I thought maybe the chips were to soak up the beer while grilling a steak or a burger. Yuk, nasty trout, let them go to grow!

Troutfearme, have you read the book that is already out there on fishing the trout parks? You could be beating a dead horse. But if you have extra cash around burning a hole in your pocket, why not buy a new rod?

I finally got to show my dad something today. While we were down at the creek that runs through our land today, Dad found something he had never saw before. He had been there a while before I arrived and had to show me what he had found attached to a log in the creek. He reached down and picked one up and thought he had found a alien creature. I explained to him the life cycle of the caddis and this was one form. It is a little worm like critter that attaches rocks to itself for a home till it transforms into an insect like a moth. 70 years old and I tought him something today. He was never much for fishing but was a great hunter. I have learned alot from him and it felt good to give some back....

The Water Wisp is basically a parachute fly tied at the bend of a hook instead of at the eye. As far as the special hook, a straight eye should work as long as the bend is open enough. It never hurts to experiment with a pattern.

The Orvis Zero G is a sweet dam rod, but money is not everything. I traded services for one last summer, I would not have shelled out the dough for it. Orvis has several other rods that are cheaper and cast perfectly. A few years back, I decided to buy a beater 4wt travel rod. Something to carry around in the truck. I could not touch a Orvis rod for less than $300, so I bought a 5 pc combo from Cabela's and loved it. It was the first rod I had fished other than Orvis in 15 years. I spent $120 for a 5 pc rod, disc reel, line, backing, leader and travel case. It is a slower action rod and I tossed the free fly line, it was junk, but the rest was a good deal and I use it alot. I own 7 Orvis rods also, all the upper end quality. I agree with the others, try before you buy..............

So is there going to be a revised second edition?

I carry a hand held GPS with me in any boat. I use it to mark access points, boat ramps, hot spots, and to trace routes back on lakes. When I float a stream for the first time, I mark the takeout and take readings along the way to gauge my progress. That way I am not paddling by flashlight. I also mark points of interest and download into my National Geographic TOPO software for future reference. I have also scouted out caves and such on the topo program and uploaded them into the GPS for the daily float to check out along the way. I use a older Magellan 315, but it still performs well.