ness

Lesson 1. Mother Nature can kill you real bad. Lesson 2. Don't pay attention to polls.

That's the cooler I was talking about. I trust your opinion more than a bunch of ticked-off anonymous folks on the web though. The most valid sounding gripes were about the latch and hinges. What's your opinion on that beauty?

...and I've used a Merkur safety razor for years, just because I like it, and I throw a little less plastic into the landfill with it.

Yeah, at 10-times the cost of the alternative it's not going to happen for me. I saw some in a display at Cabelas the other day. The rubber things locking the lid looked pretty tough, and were a bit of a pain to open. The walls were very thick, which made the inside smaller than I'd expect for a cooler that size. The outside was a nice, glossy plastic which I expect will get dinged up pretty easily. Looked very well made though. I do kinda like the looks of the steel Colemans, but the reviews I've read are kind iffy. I'll probably stick with what ever the heck is out in the garage.

Hah! That brought back some memories which led to some Googling which led me to this: The crying Indian was Espara Oscar de Corti, later changed name to Iron Eyes Cody, an American actor born of Sicilian immigrants. Ronnie -- you're on, man. I've got a bunch of bodies finished -- need to get some tails on and then I'll show 'em.

I was self taught too, and managed pretty well for years. About 10 years ago I fished with a guide out in CO who is a FFF certified casting instructor. He's the origin of the hammer analogy. He worked with me on my cast and it helped a lot. Broke some old habits. I don't think we're too far apart in what we're saying. Sounds like your motion is more hammering a nail to the wall, mine is more hammering to something lower. The bigger point is to keep the shoulder out of it. A hammer motion naturally keeps the elbow at your side.

Man, I typed out a pretty long response last night on my phone, only to do something to make it all go bye-bye. So, here we go again: Lawn casting is a good way to get the touch and timing down. By all means do it. Mark off a spot about 40-50 feet away and put a target there. Try to gently lay a fly on the target. I use a thimble -- you may want to start with something bigger That's gonna feel like a short distance, but you ultimately don't need the huge casts -- you need accuracy, and a fly landing on the water without a big mess of line and leader around it. The stroke should be more like a hammer swing, not the old Brad Pitt 10 and 2 thing. Start behind your ear and come down. Don't try to power it out there with a big swing at the shoulder. The line should be in a vertical plane above your arm, in a u-shape turned on its side, and then line, leader and fly should land in a straight line to the target. The trick is to get all the timing and feel down. If your line is snapping, you're not letting it extend behind you long enough to straighten out and load the rod. If it's ticking the ground behind you or whacking you in the back of the head, your starting the forward cast a touch late. Get on moving water as much as you can. You'll want to translate what you did on the lawn to the water, but the water will be pulling on your line. I'd say start with a wooly bugger like Dennis said, and cast it about 45 degrees upstream then let it drift along with the current until it swings below and behind you. You'll get strikes at any time, so watch where the line enters the water for any movement. Let it hang in the current straight behind you for a few moments. A lot of strikes come right then. Pick it up and do it again. You might have fast current close to you, then a slower current farther out where the fly is, or vice versa. The 'mend' Podum mentioned is a quick flip up or downstream with the portion of the fly line closest to you. The idea is to negate the pull of the current on that portion of the fly line so that the fly on down the line floats with the current. You want it to float as evenly with the current as possible. You want it to float as evenly with the current as possible. You want it to float as evenly with the current as possible. You could add a strike indicator to help you detect bites with the wooly bugger. That also helps you judge the speed of the water. You could also tie on your scuds, or really any small nymph, and work on that technique. Nymphs are more naturally presented very near the bottom, so a split shot will help get them down. You could also get some dry flies -- get them to move with the current as naturally as possible, with mends as needed. This right here is important: Presentation trumps fly selection. Do yourself a favor and get a few of the flies recommended here and learn to fish them. They really will all catch fish. Then ignore anything you hear about this fly or that being hot, and work with what you've got. You've fished the parks, so you know the game there. For the non-park experience, find the fish and do the above. Fish need food and protection, so look where there's deeper or broken water, or some kind of cover like a rock or a log. They love to be right at the edges of fast and slow water where they can hang in the slower current and swing out for food when needed.

LOL. I have an announcement to make. ness will be unveiling some of his popper creations soon -- right here. Stay tuned.

Dry here too, and hot. Still getting lots of beans and cherry toms. Regular maters have finally set some fruit. Getting a few chiles. Fall beans and beets are going. Lettuce cabbage started indoors

Not sure how many horses this bad boy has. Seems like it varies from day to day.

That's good to know, Gavin. I kinda had the same thought -- that I should have switched sooner. My boots go a lot of other places besides slippery stream rocks. I've probably busted my arse more times getting in and out of the water than I have in the water. Wet felt doesn't grip at all on wet grass, mud, logs, whatever.

Check your private messages

That's happening more and more. Google 'Innocence Project' and go to their site. There are some amazing stories out there of people cleared by DNA evidence, and others nailed by it when the cases are reopened. Aggressive prosecutors, incompetent defense counsel, screwball witnesses, wrongdoing on any side. It's not a perfect system.

I like my Simms rubber-soled ones. They work in all 50 states. I haven't had them on all types of stream beds, but I think they're much better for a lot of things. I really notice a difference on wet grass or slippery banks when I'm getting in and out of the stream. They've done well on standard gravel with occasional larger rocks. I guess the real test would be the slimy bedrock portions of NFOW.

Looking good. Let us know how it fishes. I'm liking the stipple effect a lot. Gonna give a try myself. Hoping it's not too time consuming.

Very nice! It's amazing to see the detail of nature so close up. So, did you squoosh him?

I was ready to pull out my pole beans a couple weeks ago because they were looking really sickly and diseased. At the very top though, there was some green and there were a lot of blossoms, so I figured I had nothing to lose by seeing what happened. I also gave everything a good feeding. Well, I'm glad I did because the have somehow made a comeback and are covered with green, and beans. Picked about 1-1/2 pounds tonight, and a bunch of chiles and banana peppers. Maters are making a comeback, with tons of blossoms and leetle ones. The Sun Gold cherries have turned back on too -- brought in about 25 of them. Temp outside is 69 degrees! Started some lettuce and cabbage under lights, and planted a bunch of beets, carrots, collards, bush beans and peas for the fall garden.

Yeah -- I've never met a GSP I didn't like. Great hunters and family dogs too.

Aw, she's a beauty. Great markings!

AF is autofocus, yes. Stabilization is a feature that adjusts for slight movement in the lens, like from the natural movement of your hand. If the lens is moving when the picture is taken, the image will be blurry.

I think you're right about nutmeg.

I'm with you on that.

Great story -- thanks for sharing it. That's some pretty interesting stuff. Good think you guys kept your eyes peeled that night.

Haven't been to Rosedale in years just because it's kinda out of the way for us. Definitely good que though. I've had a couple so-so experiences at Jack's Stack over the last few years (with their burnt ends -- I hate biting into a big hunk of fat) so I've moved them down the list. Guy Fieti rolled into town a few years back and hit 3-4 of the small-name places. One of them, Johnny's in Mission, has become a favorite of ours. They do a great job on the meat, and their sauce is pretty interesting with some cinnamon or something going on.

Good point, 3wt. Is the less-expensive D90 is compatible non-AFS lenses too? I think Flysmallie has that one.