troutchaser

Good to know I'm not the only one who has pulled this sort of stunt. At least YOU didn't lose your rod & reel.

Mmmmmm . . .purty. I tie a bucktail/deer hair streamer in the same colors as your clouser and it works really well.

Yeah, memories. I remember the day my dad passed my old 33 to my younger sister. That was the day I started using my first spinning reel. The Shimano Quickfire with No Fail Bail. I still use it, too.

I prefer the Scooby-Doo combo. The natural colors prevent spooking the fish. Do you think my "Sponge Bobber" float collection is considered vintage yet?

I've tried to tie #24 pmds, but I can't get my my 3/0 thread to start on the hook. Seriously, I have tried to match that hatch and it's hard. I finally figured out my problem, I was using too much hackle. One turn and that's it. The other thing is just what motroutbum said - watch the drag. Even a few inches of tippet downstream will make a wake. I finally stopped trying to drift it and started skating it. It's easy. just cast it slightly upstream, then use your index finger to tap the line back toward you - but be gentle. I use a one tap per second pattern to trigger strikes.

I hate it when they strike short. It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong.

So far, we all need to tie two flies for each participant (14), plus an extra for the swapmeister ('cause we're nice guys), and one for Rolan to photograph for us. By my count, that's 16 flies, but only the one we mark for Rolan needs to look good - right? (kidding, of course).

I grew up fishing from flat bottom boats. One of the most basic rules to follow is to face them into the wind/current. Once they get sideways, all bets are off. By the way, what sort of floatation device was this poor soul using?

But DON'T use black and white, like motroutbum described. You might catch something. The secret is the hot pink color. I say that jokingly, but I talked to a certain someone who caught fish on an all-orange woolly bugger on Taneycomo the other day.

Exactly! OK, it really does exist, but you HAVE to tie it in hot pink. The bigger the better. Throw it out there and make it splash, then strip it back like a man possessed. This is the fly I recommend at Taneycomo to the fisherpeople who walk in front of me, make a lot of noise, and splash around as they wade. They will usually get WAY too close to me and invariably ask what I'm using. I tell them it's a #8 girdle bug in hot pink. Eventually, they go up to River Run and ask for some. It gets them outta the water for a little while. (I hear it made Carolyn a little miffed at me for doing this the day I sent three different people up there, so I better stop it.) You can look at one here.

Oh-ho! Ancient Chinese secret! I will be using a Girdle bug - Yes, that's it - a #8 Girdle bug in Hot Pink. Actually, I have quite an arsenal. I've tied soft hackles in yellow, orange and green; Woollies in black, brown and olive; gray, tan and olive scuds; red black, dun and rust midges; some caddis; super-thick San Juan worms; pine cone squirrels; bead head bunny leaches; pheasant tail nymphs; and Patrick Lanford's infamous Sowpigs. I think that's it.

Cuantos cuentas? (How much?) I am genuinely interested.

Caught 8 in half an hour on Fellows Lake Tuesday evening. Used a 1/64 oz. white jig with a 3" silver curly tail. It was cold and it started raining, so I gave up.

(Bump) Here's my attempt at peer pressure to join the swap: All the cool people are doin' it. You want friends, don't ya? Once won't hurt. None of us are gonna tell. You know you want to. You might like it. Are ya chicken? C'mon guys, swap caddis patterns with us. It'll be fun!

Thanks CC.

I've got a real problem with one of my old fiberglass fly rods. It belonged to my grandfather, who doesn't even remember owning it. It's a silver/gray color with black wraps and a black foam grip. The label describing it is long gone (peeled off). I don't even know what weight it is. Any ideas how to go about putting it into use? I'd like to use it, but I'm afraid of breaking it because my dad would kill me. It's fairly thick at the base, but with fiberglass, who knows. Any suggestions?

Do you fish them differently in the rain? Seems to me you might need to skate them to attract attention in all the surface "noise".

I've noticed spinners on the water in the past, but it was always near the bank within feet of some sort of brush. I've never seen anything that I would call a full-on hatch. Why this change? You mentioned water quality. Is that all it takes? Whatever the change, it must have started about a year ago to get a hatch like this now, right? As you can tell, entymology is not in my skill set - yet. Consider me eager to learn, though.

Thanks, Jeremy. I've been to your site, but I haven't looked at the videos until now. I get what you're saying. Keep the midge small, just use a larger gapped hook. I've got to tie some up for the tourney in Arkansas for next weekend, so I'll post a testimonial for you after I win.

What size midge do you find most productive, Jeremy?

What about Fin & Feather?

Is this a portent of things to come? Is it really possible to have mayfly hatches on Taneycomo?

Sad. Just sad. It's amazing what people will take. I use an old carpet remnant on the ground behind my SUV when I pull on my waders. (Asphalt is not kind to neoprene stockingfeet) It's easy to forget about it and leave it out when I fish. I've had to replace it four times now. And it's just a chunk of raggedy old carpet.

I'm tying my arsenal for the April 21 benefit tourney on the Beaver Tailwater April 21. I could be finished tying by May 12 for sure.

Yeah, but it sure made the tobacco smoke a little "whangy".