ness

I think you're right there, Eric. I personally only use non-fly tackle about 10-20 percent of the time, and when I do it's with a spinning reel because that's what I know. I'm not proficient with a baitcaster, and have never really cared enough about it to get there. I never really knew what the pros of baitcasters over spinning reels are anyway.

Welcome ladies. I hope you'll feel welcome to contribute your perspective to this forum. It gets a little salty at times, but we've all got hearts of gold. You just gotta chip away the stone to get to it sometimes. Ms. McCloud -- how'd you happen upon that nickname?

Since the F5 earthquake the other day, the river is running uphill into the crack, where it goes dry. Dead and dying trout everywhere. I always knew the Newburg Fault was gonna be the first one to go. Spread the word. Thanks buddy.

May I suggest you downgrade back to a spinning reel? I've got no time for hassles, and I don't see any significant pickup from a baitcaster over a spinning rig, so I have given them to my children. I told them they must suffer the backlashes in order to become a real fisherman. It's just part of the deal. Grandpa Clyde got my uncles up at 4 AM, deprived them of their much-needed slumber and made them untangle every ####### birds nest he created, just to toughen them up. So, I have passed this ######### down to them so that they can experience the suffering a real fisherman must endure in order to respect the ####### #######! I mean, #####!

Hey Phil -- I like the new software, but can you turn it up one more notch? It's not filtering out all the bad stuff.

Liberal!

dung!

Looks like a lot of fun. Congrats on giving the fly rod a try. That's a big door you opened up there -- hope you enjoy it.

A big crack opened up, and sucked all the water and trout away. Oh well, there's always Bennett Spring. Please spread the word.

I don't worry too much about knots, but I know a lot of folks do. Nail->surgeon's loop->surgeon's->improved clinch = no worries. Catching fish since 1993.

Glad to hear you had some success. Given the early date, and big snowfalls in the Rockies this winter, it could very well have been a total bust. I'm hoping to get a purely-fishing trip to CO scheduled in July.

I keep my eyes open, and they need to also keep their eyes open too. I'm fine with people trying to get around me, and will do what I can to accomodate them. A time or two folks have camped right behind me chewing the fat, and didn't move when they were aware of what was going on. Then I'll give 'em a little excitement.

Raffle would work better in this case. You can cover a lot of ground selling tickets at various places around Joplin. Sometimes folks will balk if they think too many tickets are out there, but I'd bet you wouldn't run into that too much in this case, especially if the price is pretty reasonable. Auctions are a one time deal and work best when there's that perfect mix of big egos and alcohol driving the price up at an event. I'd buy a ticket if the price is less than my choke point.

You're right -- that rainbow does have that hatchery look about him. Could be a local stocked some in 'his spot'. I've found trout like that before. REgardless, looks like a fun day, especially with that surprise with it.

Tell me what fly to use and where to stand please Mitch -- sure, some local knowledge is good. And you're right -- if you travel, you want to get the odds in your favor. But over the years, I've come to realize that the local knowledge is often worthless. I can think of a bunch of 'hot flies' or 'hot spots' or other tips that never panned out. I'll never forget the tip I got at a fly shop in Colorado: Me: 'What's working?' Kid: 'They're hitting on files.' Me: 'What kind?' Kid: 'Dry flies.' Thanks, putz. It's not always easy to get the long-term relationship you mention, but it's sure a good thing to have, and, worth working toward. Part of the art in all this is being able to cozy up to the guys and draw the info out of them. My approach with that guy was a part of why the info was so worthless. But he was still a putz.

I never read any 'latest fishing report' to make any decisions. If I'm going, I'm going. When I get there I'll try different stuff until I find something that works -- hopefully before I run out of time. Of course those decisions will be based on an accumulation of knowledge over time. I gave up copying the last guys success a long time ago. I suppose there would be somebody who'd complain if they stopped printing them though.

Man, that sounds like tough gardening. Hopefully it'll dry out for you before the summer heat settles in. We've been cool all May, and just about perfect on rain -- 4 inches MTD, kinda spread out. All my stuff's in raised beds now and that allowed me to start things earlier, and they drain a lot faster. Getting lettuce, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard and snap peas at the moment. Hot season stuff is off to a slower start of course, but tomatoes and peppers are throwing blooms at least. No rabbit issues this year but I've got a cat that likes my new asparagus and raspberry beds. Been using a citronella spray to keep it away, which seems to work for a few days. At least it's staying out of the veggies.

I've had far fewer problems since I switched to Firefox from Explorer. The folks at smugmug.com convinced me to try it a few years back when I was having issues. Never went back, and I run it on my Mac instead of Safari now. The IT guys here at work gave me the green light to use it here too.

Hey Charlie, Sorry to hear that. The news reports are saying it's been very difficult to track people down. Google may zero you in on a site or sites that are tracking people. I think I heard there are Red Cross and Facebook sites to help. Good luck.

Nothing's more easily accessible in Breckenridge than the Blue River. It runs right through town, and the road into town (Highway 9) follows it (as they usually do in the mountains). There are several places to access: just outside town is a park; there are pulloffs along the road too. It'll be a little early in the season, and runoff will still be pretty high, but I suspect you could still catch fish in through there. It'll be a nice diversion if you're just trying to squeeze in some fishing time on a family vacation -- which is exactly what I was doing. Never made it into the local fly shops. Good luck. In town it gets a little crowded: In park: This is just outside town, and fished very well. Those are mine tailings along there. There are lots of these: Didn't really want to turn this into my photo album, but wanted to give you the pics of what's there since I have them handy. Feel free to PM me

Nothing here in KC either -- it's been cold and windy. Low last night was 40. I suppose that matters.

2x1.5 = 3

x1.5

Hey plexlove, Coupla things from your legal friends don't sound too solid: 1) Hiding in the bushes isn't entrapment. Setting up a situation that coerces someone into breaking the law is entrapment. 2) 'Attempt to take' doesn't mean take home. 'Take' means take home. It's against the law to try to poach. It's also against the law to try to rob a bank. You don't have to get home with the money to get put in the slammer. 3) Just claiming you weren't trying to snag paddlefish doesn't offer a bullet-proof defense. I'm sure there is legal precedence, because I feel certain somebody along the way has caught or shot something out of season, and didn't get off by saying it was an accident. And, any judge who paints all CA as country boy cops with a desire to harass people is a knucklehead. Sorry if this guy's related, but that's just nonsense. Anyhoo -- good luck.

Like Dano said, they were a mass-produced rod. Kinda the working-mans fly rod. They're good quality as a general rule, but not a real high dollar find, if that's what you were hoping for. Good condition is a help -- look to see that the varnish, wraps, decals, guides, and reel seat are all good -- but not modern as in a refinish. You didn't mention a rod tube -- that would help. I'd guess up to $200, but go search the web (ebay, etc.) and see what you see.