ness

There are more variables in the equation than just water depth: current speed, amount of weight, length of drift, and how choppy the surface is. And how do you know if the water's 5 feet deep anyway? I adjust it until it's ticking along the bottom.

Way to go, Jack! Love the smiles in those pictures -- those are priceless. I don't know about the TFO rods, but a few years back I got setups from Cabela's for my boys. One is called a Traditionalist II (I think) and I use it myself when I can get my hands on it. Nice rod, smooth casting, fairly slow action. Just got the cheapo reels, and they're working fine for what they do.

Funny -- I was just eye-balling the Blue River the other day at lunch (down by Holmes; I work pretty close to there.) But, there are always a few cars in the access parking lot and they don't look like they're there for the fishing. I'd love to get down to Shoal someday. It's just tough getting out at all right now.

You sure know how to pry fishing spots outta folks. I'll get out of the way now so they have room to spill the beans.

Better is in the eye of the beholder. If a feller is looking for size, best head elsewhere. If you can get excited about a parr-marked 6-inch streambred trout, Blue Ribbon might be just what you're looking for.

Just to make it clear, I admire your passion and your ability to keep it civil. Good on you! We oughta get together and fish for them Neodosha smallmouth things sometime

Good points there, Gavin. It was always about habitat, and the ability of trout to reproduce given the habitat. The presumption always was that there was value in the self-sustaining populations of rainbows. Anyone want to argue against protecting Crane? Good luck convincing anybody that Crane or some of the other special places ought to go wild, or the money should be spent elsewhere. That's just reality right there. Did trout crowd out some natives? Who cares -- there's plenty of room for the natives and only a handful of places like Crane for the rainbows. Gotta keep those finicky trout fishermen happy -- they pay a big portion of the freight on all this. I'm lost in the whole spotted bass part of this discussion. It's pretty evident to me what's happening, and there haven't been any solid arguments that make me feel like it's ok to just let it go that way. But I'm gonna stay out of all that. Me, I'm gonna lobby to keep my beloved wild trout happy, well-fed and spawning. And, part of that is keeping the Blue Ribbon stretch length limits high, creel limits low, tackle restricted to low-mortality methods (like flies). If the trade off for all that is low fishing pressure and a lot of forum bitching, I'll take it.

I've got OB at 17 -- he really picked up some momentum with the new avatar. Could have been better if it hadn't been only a head shot. Pretty well thought out arguments; made me go to the dictionary twice. Playing good defense. I docked Chief a couple for the last post -- too many metaphors, and poor usage. Claiming to try to stop beating a dead horse a couple posts ago, in a new post, well you just can't do that. And the paddle thing? Since when do you beat dead horses with paddles? 5 I've got OTF and Andy at 10 each. But I weigh passion and good manners more heavily.

Welcome TFF. I love it out in your neck of the woods!

I didn't miss it, I just cut, pasted and saved it to my (private) collection of good stuff I pick up here and there. But, forgot to say thanks to Al. So, thanks Al!

Those corporate pensions are in far worse shape than is generally realized. They're just kicking that can down the road. We've all heard about the shortfalls in Social Security, but what's not getting a lot of press are the huge state and local budget shortfalls and how that will effect civil servant pensions going forward. Something's got to give, right? ness' plan: 1) live modestly 2) save as much as I can 3) pay all debt off quickly 4) be nice to my kids so they'll take care of me when I'm old

Hey Quillback -- read that a few years back. It is a good one! This is a pretty good read too, and sorta similar: The Last Season Currently reading "An Irish Country Doctor" on a whim. It's about, you guessed it, an Irish country doctor.

Yeah, it all depends on the company. We reported the first quarterly loss in 20 years last quarter. It was pretty small, and probably the only one we'll have. In the meantime, our insurance company actually reduced our premiums (based on loss experience) and the company passed that savings on to us despite our issues. I looked real hard at a high-deductible / health savings account option this year too. It just didn't make sense right now, but I'm keeping my eyes open. One of the problems with HSAs is that, sadly, having assets can be a negative late in life. I have two aunts that recently had to be moved into a nursing home due to dementia. The home is licking their chops because they've both got large savings accounts. So we pay an astronomical amount per month to the home until their money is gone, then they flip the switch and Medicaid pays a discounted rate from then on. The good news is they're taken care of for life. The bad news is look where the money's going.

It is what it is, Cricket. Nobody represented it as anything other than an option with which they have had good experiences. It was your post that introduced religion and politics into the forum. You may think getting a good insurance agent is obvious, (and I do too), but I think it's important enough to point that out here since the guy's looking for advice. Sorry if you think that's not worth a post. It's awfully easy to get screwed, or end up with coverage that leaves you hanging out. Best to go to 2 or 3 agents, or as many as it takes, until you get one that knows his stuff, takes the time to understand your situation and steers you the right way. And, thanks for the promotion to Captain!

So, Cricket -- who are you asking, and what's your point anyway? Do I need to step in and state more of the obvious? I'd have to agree with JD's logic. stlfisher: sure, it's tough to swallow an increase but without knowing all the details it's hard to say whether you ought to be upset or whether you can replace the insurance for less. Chances are you can't. A friend of mine was laid off last year and immediately rehired as a contractor. His company shed the cost of his benefits, and he had to go find insurance to cover his family -- which costs him $700+ a month. He's still got a job, but he nets less.

I'd qualify that a little -- a GOOD insurance agent.

Your increase could be due to the insurance company or your employer or both. Health insurance is one the most difficult thing to analyze and also one of the most important. I would shop it around quite a bit, and try to find someone in the know that will help you understand all the ins-and-outs of your work policy and other options. There are a lot of variables to consider. As others have said, group policies typically offer more bang for the buck than an individual policy. The problem with policies through work is you get what they offer and that's that. It may or may not be a good policy at a good price.

Kinda sorry to hear Travis is gone. I thought he was a great kid, and I'm not surprised he worked out well for you.

I haven't found anything I like better than a horsehair, preferably Percheron, Spring harvested center tail. Seriously, I've got a variety on my spool and in the bag. Can't say I pay too much attention to it. Definitely won't pay up for it. Won't buy the cheapest either. Orvis, Umpqua, Frog Hair, RIO.

Nope. If you're doing what you're doing within the rules, which I assume you are, you're fine in my book. And you're fine in anybody's book whose opinion should matter to you. Tackle doesn't mean squat. It's really a pretty darn good deal we've got here. Pretty much everybody has easy and inexpensive access to the outdoors to fish for a variety of species in a bunch of different ways. If you want to fish dries upstream or sling Powerbait, in a crowd or all by yourself, there's a place for you. There's room for all of us out there.

I'm usually just rigged up with two fly rods. I drip the reel between the two slats on the canoe seat and tuck the tips up under the bow plate. That's enough to keep me from knocking them out, and they're pretty easy to get to. Seeing Eric's setup makes me think a couple little tarp bungees (a loop with a ball on the end) might be handy. Or, not -- if they're not secured somehow.

I've done that too. I've also traded bonds while standing in a stream, but that's been a while back. Why not turn your phone off jd?

I'm not in St. Louis, and I don't know either shop though I've met guys from both of them. I've been in my share of 'snobby' fly shops, and it always just blows my mind when I encounter that feeling in a place of business. Greeting your customers with a smile, and giving them the same attention whether they're spending $2 or $2,000 costs nothing. But it pays dividends in repeat customers and word of mouth. There's a fly shop I used to frequent that had three guys working in it. One was a really nice older guy who'd take as much time as you needed to help you and never made you feel like you were anything but a valued customer, even a friend. The second guy was pretty good too. The third guy acted like he knew it all, and the customer knew nothing. He just had this air of superiority about him. He wouldn't say hi when I came it, often didn't even look up from what he was doing, never remembered my name, nothing. If I got stuck with him, he always acted impatient, but sure seemed to have interest when some newb came in and wanted get geared up fer fly fishing or book a trip. I sorta dreaded having to deal with him. With the web stores out there -- big and small -- and the ability to shop them all for price from your chair, the only way the traditional fly shop can differentiate and survive is with service. And a big part of that is the feel of the shop and the way people treat you when you're there.

Yeah -- Tom went was beyond the call with us. Lisa's great too, and the guy that worked with us on clays and targets was Travis -- I kept all their names because I was impressed with them. That bank won't hold it forever. I'm actually surprised they've had it this long, but it's not like selling a house or even a commercial property. There's only a handful of potential buyers out there for something like that.

I took my boys out there last year, and they had a blast. The folks were great, and Tom worked with them on the fishing as much as a paid guide would have. We shot targets and clays later that day and the guy that did that was great too. Beautiful cabins and lodge. I hope they hang on out there. I haven't heard an update on their situation for some time.