ness

GOt the flies today. Ronnie -- thanks for putting all this together. Man, seeing all these really gives me the itch for spring fishing. Won't belong, I suppose. Good looking stuff. That crawdad is amazing looking, and love it on the bent hook.

Got the pack yesterday, Tim -- thanks for the quick turn-around. That's an awful nice pack. I have been looking for something kinda scaled down; something that I can throw a couple fly boxes in when I'm fishing warmwater locally, in the parks, whatever; when I don't need a full-sized pack. I hate to think what happened to the poor dude that sewed those patches on wrong.

Wow -- what a day! I need to rethink how I spend my winter days.

pssst. Brian. You think you could score me some waders?

Neoprene is far too hot for me. In winter, I just put on some heavier fleece under my breathables. I think if you go with neoprene, you'll have a big gap between wet-wading temperatures and very cold, where those neoprenes are gonna be uncomfortable -- especially if you're walking a lot. Sweat + airtight + crotch = ouch.

I got yer syllabus right there in post #174.

Nicely done gentlemen. I'd like to thank everybody for their participation in this. I hereby declare this thread closed. That includes closed to people who want to know how I can close a thread. Violators will be persecuted.

Cricket -- you out there??? I think somebody here needs to borrow your Carnegie book.

I've got the mid-range breathable stocking-foot LLBeans, and really like them. I don't know what they cost off the top of my head -- but I think around $150. Everything they sell is no-questions-asked guaranteed, like Orvis. They're paired with Simms Freestone boots that cost about $80. The boots are awfully durable, and can be resoled if needed. Concerning boot-foot v. stocking-foot: If you can swing it cost-wise, I'd suggest stocking-foot -- especially if you're out covering a lot of ground. The separate boot can be fitted better and laced properly, and a good-fitting boot means good-feeling feet at the end of the day. Cabela's probably has something that will fit within your budget, but you might be sacrificing quality. Boot-foot would be fine if you're fishing the parks, or staying pretty close to the accesses.

Put me down for one, Tim. I've got a PayPal verification in process, and will send $49 that way. I've had some glitches with their verification process before, but hopefully they'll get it right this time. If not, I'll call you at the shop Friday and settle up.

Tim -- I think I'll take one of those then. I'll PM you to get instructions on how to proceed.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss education. I'd agree you're not going to educate the bad guys into being good. But, educating people about the problem is surely a good thing. I, for one, had never given it much thought. Sure, I was aware that gigging was going on, and since I'm more a trout fisherman, I knew of the limitations in Blue Ribbon areas and assumed the reasons for that. But, I had never heard of the type of situation you described in your first post. So, we're educating folks just by discussing it right here. As for solving the problem -- if the measure of success is immediately stopping all illegal gigging, we're gonna fail. But, lets chop that elephant into little pieces before we cook it. The flow of ideas here has lead to some things we can do: - be more diligent in reporting illegally-gigged fish; document with pictures of the fish, cars, license plates, dates/times, etc; don't let lack of cell coverage or other impediments prevent you from filing a report -- just do it as soon as you can and have solid facts when you do it; - consider joining the MSA or getting involved with organizing a SW Missouri chapter; work with them to educate people through their website, signage, or whatever else they cook up; - attend MDC public meetings, or figure out other ways to steer the existing MDC resources toward this issue. We know it's tough to police, but it's not impossible; - a couple people mentioned policing the accesses. I think that could have some merit, if handled properly, but it could also lead to (big) problems if it was not. Letting people know, politely, what the rules are and that big brother is watching could be both educational and a deterrent; - I think it could make sense to contact landowners near the hot-spotted areas to (i) make them aware of the problem, and (ii) inform them that people are about, and that illegal giggers are being watched. This could lead to their help (like, naming names), or could put them on alert (and serve as a deterrent) if they're one of the bad guys; - someone suggested posting reports and/or pictures here, and I think that's a great idea. This place has a very large number of visitors, and there's power in those numbers. Also, collecting information, pictures, etc. all in one easily-accessible place could assist in building a case for the MDC. Anyhoo -- just some thoughts. I'm not as pessimistic about the situation as some folks seem to be. There are things we can do to improve it, the framework is in place, and there are people right here reading this that could get the ball rolling.

Can you describe what's wrong with the label? I'm assuming it's crooked or something -- and doesn't effect the functioning of the pockets or anything.

Has the Swapmeister received my flies yet?

peegee12, Nice to have you in the discussion -- both for your unique perspective as a former CA and your reasonable approach to effecting change. Everyone wants to blame and complain, and we seem to overlook the paths that exist for taking action. Increasing awareness, a little at a time if need be, seems to me to be the best and most realistic course of action to start with. There are open meetings, Game Thief hotline, forums like this, the Conservationist (Ask the Ombudsman), SMAs, our Post Dispatch friend, MSA and a precedent for limiting gigging in certain trout waters. We're not starting from scratch -- it's just a matter of actually doing something. Newton's first law, and all that.

I used Sally Hansen's on my last batch of hard foam poppers. It was sure easy to use and just the right consistency -- thin enough that it spreads out nicely, but not so thin that it wants to sag. It's easy to find too, but I feel like I need to do some explaining when I buy the stuff. Time will tell how durable it is.

Good thoughts there Forsythian. You know, it'd be one thing if Brian made a habit of selling questionably obtained stuff, undercutting the local fly shops at every turn, and flooding the forum with advertisements. But, as far as I can tell, this is a onesy. Frankly, I'm kinda surprised anyone really gives a rat's arse. Hey Brian -- do you still have those Winston WTs on sale for $75?

I think it was a Pisces maximus

No worries, man. I just didn't want to get another 'trophy' or 'fly/spin/bait' argument going. Seems like we've covered that plenty.

You're sure reading a lot into what I said. Records don't matter to me, neither does the fact it was caught on live bait. That's not an endorsement of fly fishing or a dig on bait. I just don't give a rip what others are using, and I'm not out looking to catch trophies. Make sense now?

It doesn't matter one leetle bit to me. Records? Tackle? Who cares? It really doesn't even enter my thinking until someone else brings it up.

OK -- the slacker has completed his flies, and he (I) will mail them tomorrow. Sorry for the hold up.

Chief, you make very valid points about getting off our arses and actually doing something about it. Fact is, though, most people just don't have the time or inclination to tackle something like this. Count me among them. We've got an ally in the SMA though. These guys have started the process, have meetings, inform through their web site, etc. Unless anyone feels like starting something from scratch, that just may be a good place to start, no? But the tone of previous threads was to complain about them -- not jump in and help. From an earlier post, I took it that SMA is aware of the problem, but doesn't consider it a major problem. Which, really, is in keeping with the initial premise -- that this is maybe a localized thing. Al was referring to a pretty specific problem and place, if I remember correctly. All the other nonsense about carrying guns, confronting poachers, banning gigging is just that -- nonsense.

Usually? You wanna play tough guy, feel free. Me -- I'll let the guys who get paid to confront law breakers do the confronting. Let's not let this spin off into a politics or gun rights debate either. The original premise of the discussion, and the opinion of the overwhelming majority of people who have posted, is that gigging is legal and gonna stay that way. The problem lies with the bad apples that don't give a rat's arse what the law says, or can't see past the end of the day, THEIR day, when they're out having a good time.

Doh! Thanks for the link.