BredMan

I've was looking into buying new wader boots and see that some SIMMS felt sole boot models are reduced. I was told by one dealer that they were clearing out inventory for the newer Vibram tread designed models that SIMMS will only produce now. I ended up with the new tread type but some of the felt sole prices were very attractive on many online shops selling SIMMS products. Cabela's Red Truck Fly Fishing Murry Fly Shop

Congratulations! What a great day for all of you. Enjoy every moment......

Talked to a guy who participated in a "Stream Clean" just a couple weekends ago on the Bourbeuse. Not only did they get plenty of junk but they caught the heck out of everything and it was like that all day. He's a 'catch-n-release' guy so it was some great fishing for him.

Oh my, I thought I was the only guy that fished for drum! I've had some of the best fishing and some of the hardest fights ever with drum. My bass fishing buddy made fun of me for the longest time. He even started calling me "DrumStick" until I took him drum fishing and he hooked into a big one. He just couldn't believe the fight. That changed his tune and he now does some drum fishing too. I fish for drum mostly in the Mississippi and use any type of a large deep diver rattling lure. Seems to work the best for me and I really get into the big ones. Big drum hang out in the channel currents along the rocked banks. I lost many lures until changing to heavy test line. Now I just bend a treble occasionally. I've had rods practically jerked out of my hands many times. I can't imagine what it would be like using a fly rod. Often wanted to try but have never done that yet. As far as eating drum, the secret is getting them on ice. I take a large cooler with ice and toss them in the cooler the second they look like they are struggling in the live-well. I fillet them and cut all rough looking areas out including as much of any red colored meat as possible. Deep fry or even grilled.......believe me, they are good to eat and I have changed plenty attitudes about them over the past years.

I have vivid memories of Virgil Ward demonstrating his jigging techniques in his studio fish tank at the end of each show. That was a few decades ago and always the same week after week but you got the idea how to work a jig or plastic worm. Hank Parker always seem to do a pretty good job with his fishing shows if you liked using spinner baits or heavy jigs. Never cared for high marketed shows that pushed a specific product by showing how wonderful a certain product caught fish. That stuff usually ended up as additional clutter in my tackle box. Shows that capture and edit video over a week of fishing and make it appear as a good afternoon on the fish pond don't do much for me. I don't need a video shot from an underwater camera of a hugh fish taking that flashy bait sold at BPS or Cabela's for $10.95 or that I need to be in a $40K bass boat to catch fish. Show me the 'what to use' and 'how to use it' stuff. We all have plenty of rods and reels. Plain and simple good quality instructional video of the how-to's (techniques, presentation, and hook setting) works for me.

Nice......there are some good sized bass in those lakes although it's always tough to fish when it's crowded. Friend of mine was telling me the smaller catfish lakes have really been very busy lately, even during the weekdays. I

Yepper........after 35 years with mine things are much the same!

I second that! I really enjoy looking at old fishing pictures especially from familiar places or local spots. Makes me mind wonder how they ever caught them using old equipment.....:>))))

What a terrible tragedy! My wife and I were very sadden to hear this on the news as well. Our immediate thoughts were "why - why - why"? We both thought of our 2 year old grand daughter and cannot understand how anyone would possibly think this was a safe adventure. This was beyond plain and simple common sense. What a horrible thing to live with the rest of your life.

Can you give the address where it's located or what it's next to?

Here's a good one on cheating! http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/mostpopular/news-article.aspx?storyid=132255&provider=top

I was at Lake-22 on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon this week. Saw a couple guys still getting limits of trout yet. I thought the trout were long gone by now but there are some left in Lake-22. I would guess there are still a few in the other four lakes that were stocked as well. They were all using PowerBait. I caught a couple small LM bass Tuesday and Wednesday but that was about it. Fished 34 - 21 - 28 on Thursday afternoon and only caught ticks or should I say the ticks caught me! Definitely penty of ticks to go around out there. Lots of small bait fish on the shore lines but nothing hitting. Tried everthing.

MD or Chiro? Definitely a debate for back pain........ Greg......I have heard the pros and cons to both medical sides and used both for different aches and pains in my life. There are needs for both professions but you have to sort it out. I could not criticize one or the other. My guess is that you are getting old like the rest of us and those long days bouncing about in a boat fishing all day has finally caught up with you. I would go with some Extra Strength Tylenol first, Chiro second, and MD last on this one. I actually owe my life to a Chiro who found a cancerous lymph node in my neck in 1989 during a routine "spin-crack-adjust" visit. When my cancer treatments were finished and in full remission, I went back again to personally thank the man for extending my existence on this planet. That's been 20 years ago and I was very fortunate to beat the odds of the Big-C. I always referred to him as "the man with the golden hands".

Welcome! You certainly made a good find here. You will have no problems getting your fishing questions answered and that holds true for most any other questions you may have! Plenty of knowledgeable people with lots of good advice. Enjoy........

I bought two spools of the 7.3lb Tectan at Cabela's and have used both spools without any problems. Have three reels spooled with Tectan. Tossed 1/8 - 3/8 spoons all winter and up to now haven't had a single break off. Haven't really dragged the line across much rock and debris so I can't say how well it resist abrasions. I have read on other fishing forums where a few guys complained about the break offs but also very good reviews as well. The diameter and color of the line really sold me. The color is a weird light yellow/green, very different than other line colors. The 7.3lb test is about the same diameter of most other 4lb test mono lines. I plan to try either the 9.2lb or the 11.9lb on one of my bass reels to see how it does. One thing for sure, you can cast this line a country mile!

Last I was told they rented all, boats - trolling motor - battery. Although it's not cheap if I remember correctly. That's why most people bring their trolling motor and battery. For bass I have done best on 27-33-34-35-37 mostly early in the spring with plastics (4" worms - frogs - craws) in the shallow water weeds and along the banks. If you fish the bullrushes on these lakes from the banks be sure you use lots of tick repellent. Also keep in mind all the lakes at BWA get plenty of fishing pressure but still a good way to waste a day!

I looked at it but didn't become a member. Just another of the many so-called "social/interacting networking"websites. I can't believe the benefits would be any greater than those provided by this simple forum. If you're "driving a PC" it's just going to be more windshield time! My opinion........

Information from the MDC on this years trout stocking.

That's a great tutorial! Years ago I bought a box of 'leftovers' for $15 from an estate sale. The person who passed on was very experienced in making bamboo fly rods and all types of fly tying. By the time I got to the sale it was virtually over. The son who helped with the sale sold me a box of leftovers for $15. That box had tidbits of fly materials that I had no idea what or how to use. Now 25 years later I have gotten into fly fishing and tying and realize what all that stuff is and how it's used. Unfortunately over the years I kind of tossed a few items out or used them in other ways but being one to keep things forever, I did save most. Popper bodies, popper hooks, fly wings, eyes, etc to mention some of the things. Even three old Ocean City fly reels that I actually cleaned up and used for my first reels. Anyway, the popper bodies, corks, and hooks will get your treatment and I really appreciate the step-by-step picture tutorial. I am a firm believer in "A picture is worth a thousand words". BTW - In this box of stuff was a little metal box with four small drawers. In one of the drawers was four original Rapala floating minnows. Three still in the original boxes. Other drawers had misc fly materials in little packets and small boxes of fly hooks.

Guess the "guerrilla warfare training" is over now........was out to lake-21 and all is well. No automatic gunfire and no incoming on the lake. Just the normal range gunfire. Thank GOD! Trout was kind of "turn-on / turn-off". Weather fronts had something to do with that.

Today I arrived at lake-21 at approx 11:30 to fish during my lunch break. There were only three of us fishing at that time. Two of us were at the far end of the levee bank and the another person was at the other side of the lake close to Hwy-D. The person fishing close to me commented on the sound of automatic gun fire from what we thought was coming from the firing range. We figured it was some police department practicing at the range. About 12:30 we noticed some very distinctive "thuds" hitting the water which definitely were bullets. Needless to say we were very surprised and a bit uneasy. A few minutes later we heard another burst of automatic gun fire and within a few seconds more thuds hitting the water. I immediately called the MDC office to have them contact the firing range and report stray bullets are hitting the lake area. Again another burst of automatic fire and more thuds hitting in the water. That's when we both made a fast exit and warned a few people that had just arrived. On the way out we both stopped off at the office to see what the heck was going on. MDC office personnel had no idea where the firing was coming from since the firing range had no firing going on either. MDC office people told us they were trying to reach an agent to come and investigate. We couldn't believe no one had done anything up to that time. I called my friend who was fishing at lake-21 earlier in the morning and he said he also heard a lot of automatic gun fire the entire time he was there. Hard to believe this could go on without someone knowing something. Needless to say is got to be a little scary hearing bursts of automatic gun fire and a few seconds latter bullets start hitting in the lake. Both of us are Vietnam era vets and both of us know what bullets sound like when they hit. One crazy day!

Just don't go short. I love small jig fishing and I love rods at the 6'- 7' light - medium light range. Prefer one piece rods too. You don't need to spend a fortune but then again don't buy the cheaper ones either. Usually the guides are junk on the cheap ones. I have three favorites in this category and one of them you wouldn't believe. Bass Pro Bionic Blade 6' light , St Croix 6'6"med-light, and behold a Sears Ted Williams 7' fiberglass that kicks butt. My wife bought the Ted Williams years ago at a garage sale for me. Hated it then (didn't tell her that) because graphite was the new thing. Long story short, 30+ years later it's still one of my favorites for jig fishing. Bit heavier than composite rods but what a sweet action and tough as a rocks.

Might suggest getting one of those head cams like they use in NASCAR and other sporting events. Then we could see that jig hit the water and you hog'in the fish all the way back to the boat and out of the water! Just kidding a bit but it would be kind of cool. All kidding aside the video and sound was pretty good especially considering you didn't have someone else operating the camera.

Beginning February 1, you can catch and keep the trout at the winter lakes, and use any bait or lure. Check the local regulations for any other rules that may apply. Don't be in a big hurry since most all if not all lakes in the St Louis area are frozen over solid. Of course you can be a real star on the evening news if you try your hand at ice fishing and go through the ice. Just be sure there are a few others around to call 911 when you do.

Also saw that on the news too. Some of those boneheads that fish there will do most anything and that wasn't too much of a surprise. So far it's been a pretty mild mannered year for normal fishing with the exceptions of a few warm weekends. Then the morons with coolers of beer and BBQ grills show up and leave the cans and bottles behind along with the other trash they produced. One of my pet peeves about BWA is people leaving crap scattered all over and never taking their cans and bottles with them. Worse yet are those that sink them in the water. Ruins it for everyone. People at the office told me last year that they had to quit putting as many trash dumpsters out because they were being filled with trash people would bring from home.