ness

I guess this fellow didn't make it? Smokey seems pretty sure of himself there taking pictures...

Big question, but I'll take a stab: 1) Flies -- small (#18) nymphs. Folks will likely jump in with their latest and greatest, but a good ol' pheasant tail, hare's ear or copper John will catch fish, if you do it right; 2) Tippet/leader -- get a 10 foot 6x leader and some 4 and 6x tippet to replace the tip as you lose it; 3) Strike indicators -- foam footballs are fine. I tend to go as small as I can get away with. Adjust the depth often so the fly is ticking along the bottom; 4) Split shot -- leetle tiny ones about 12 inches up from the fly. You want to sink the fly as quick as you can, but still leave a little life in it; 5) Presentation -- it's imperative to get a natural drift. Flip your fly in well above your target area so the fly can sink down and you can get setup for the drift. Lay the line on the water if you must, or if you're close enough raise the tip to keep line off the water. Using your rod tip, flip or 'mend' the line so that it allows the fly and indicator to float along naturally with the current; 6) Location -- target the seam between fast and slow water. That can occur at the head or tail of a pool, inside a bend, or around any obstacle. These types of locations naturally present problems, because of the conflicting currents, so the mends (#5) are critical; It's 90 percent presentation and 10 percent tackle. Get a fly that's approximately the size and color of other stuff he's seen float by recently, and you're in. Now all you've got to do is put a fly in the right place, drift it along naturally, and don't do anything to make the trout go: 'What the hell was that?'. Anything between the fly and your feet can mess it up: a crummy drift, splashing the line, flashing rod tip, shadows, clumsy footing. Good luck.

Go to the park, grab your stuff, give them the keys and turn 'em loose. Everybody's happy.

The Smokies are gorgeous, and if you do get over there and have time to fish there are tons of opportunities -- from lower elevation stockers (rainbows & browns) to higher elevation native brook trout. If I was three hours away I would definitely make the time. If you love beautiful scenery and fishing for trout in medium-sized to tiny streams, give it a serious look.

I liked it pretty well, but....somehow it just didn't hit the spot. I like the western stuff, and want to read more. Any suggestions? I started down through the Sacketts, but the plots just got so contrived I gave up. I like some of L'Amour's other stuff though. I've also read a couple by Ivan Doig -- not westerns, but 1800s. Dancing at the Rascal Fair and The Whistling Season are both excellent.

The white trout was considered sacred by many Native American tribes. If a white trout was caught on the first moon after the Fall equinox, it was said to bring good fortune to the tribe, and many beautiful wives bearing wise and strong braves, to the dude that caught it. Congratulations.

Coincidentally, at the last meeting of the Benevolent Order of ness, of which I'm Grand Wizard and Seer, we voted to never go fishing with eric1978. The meeting was adjourned early because the bonfire got rained out, so we didn't get to vote on you. So technically I guess the answer is yes, until it hits the agenda at our Summer Solstice meeting. Congratulations.

I've read Robert Travers' fishing books, and had seen the movie 'Anatomy of a Murder', so I decided to get the book. Pretty good read so far: his easy-to-read style and wry humor from the fishing books is evident here too. I've also been reminded lately just how crummy my Bible knowledge is, especially with two boys going through confirmation (it's like a Lutheran Bar Mitzvah). So I Googled a little, and I'll be darned -- there's a "The Bible for Dummies" out there. So I picked one up. They've got the whole Old Testament covered in about 4 pages at the front of the book. Of course, they go into a lot more detail in the body of the book, but those four pages offer a great outline with names, places and events that we've all heard but probably couldn't put into context.

A seemingly innocuous thread titled "More Smallie Action in River" goes to five pages.... Last post eric1978.... I smells a fight.... Maybe it's something good.... Nope, it's a rerun. I guess I'll go see what else is on.

I grew up Catholic, and went to Catholic schools. All that kneeling ruined my knees.

Do what Al said. But it you're tempted by the thought of catching a big brown -- throw a big streamer into the deep/slow water and strip it back quickly.

Oh, and here's a coupla quotes from some dude in Nebraska that seems to know what he's doing: "Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise." "Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market." "Lethargy, bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style." I've never felt the average Joe with a computer had very good odds of winning though trading stocks. But, not everybody looses, right? And, I'm not saying you're just average, Phil.

Kinda depends on the stock. If it's actively traded, you'll be able to execute immediately. If you're dabbling in lightly traded stock -- and I mean really lightly traded -- you may have to wait. There's a couple ways to do a trade: a 'market order' means you just buy or sell it at the best price the dealer can get you at that time. Or, you can request a 'limit order', and set the price you're willing to pay or receive. Then, depending on how the price moves, you may, or may not, get your trade done.

No personal experience on the back country camping. I'm sure a call to NPS out there would yield some good information for you, including permits and availability.

The bears ate them.

Those accusations are a bit strong. I haven't seen any evidence of what you're talking about here on OAF, and even if I had, I've been around long enough to know that sometimes that's just how things work. It's always best to make up your own mind, and not put too much stock in what you hear other folks saying. Not sure what your beef with Allen equipment is. I don't see a lot of talk about the quality of the stuff, just gripes about their business plan, where it's from, how it can be had for less $, etc. I'd be more interested in knowing how well it works; I can filter out the rest pretty easily. BTW, claiming a $100 list price and a special $50 discounted price isn't exactly a new idea, and it's not dishonest either. It tugs at that part of us that wants to get a deal. Some folks are more susceptible to that than others are.

Gaspergoo? ness learned something today.

I got the first row: Ted Kazinski, Roger Penske, Laffit Pincay Jr., Reggie Jackson, Chi Chi Rodriguez.

Ain't nothing in that picture looks real to me...

Bill -- maybe change your voice mail to say don't leave a message, call the lodge (and work in a dig on Verizon too)? And turn off the phone? Phil's right -- texting is a great way to communicate. Better than e-mail in a lot of ways. I find myself doing it more and more. But, if I was out with a guide and he was texting all the time (or anything else but catering to my every whim ), I'd wouldn't really care for it. To me it's not just bad guiding, it's bad manners.

I've only fished with trout guides, and none of them ever fished though I have suggested it on a few occasions. The guide's job is to get you into fish, help you catch them and take care of you. If his fishing in any way helps you -- through demonstrating a technique, or clarifying something he's trying to show you, I think that's within the parameters of the job. If he's fishing because he wants to catch fish, he's fishing, not guiding. I think a top guide would sorta 'rise above' the temptation to fish, and reinforce with the client that it's HIS day on the water. I suspect that would be universally appreciated by clients, translate into bigger tips at the end of the day, and make for better word-of-mouth advertising for future business. Snagged -- that guy wasn't a guide. He was a guy charging people for boat rides.

Cool shot and video, Brian. I still need to get my boys down there and have you show them how to fish the NFOW, but the calendar this spring has been brutal. And it sucks. Keep 'em coming!

Tobacco Hills up near Platte City might be a possibility. I've never fished it -- it's on the 'sometime I gotta try that' list. Smallish lake, managed for bluegill by MDC. There's always golf course night fishing too.

Wall Street Journal article this morning

Licks taken, lesson learned, gear replaced. I'm movin' on.