troutchaser

I'll just add my report to the one above. Fished with my 9 year-old daughter from Phil's dock Saturday morning. It took the help of a kind and generous gentleman to get Abby on the fish (thanks, Phil) and once we figured out how to get to them we started catching fairly regularly. We used Berkeley power nuggets, combining one white with one chartreuse, white with orange, and white with yellow. White and yellow produced most often and white with orange followed that. We limited out and got back to Springfield by about 1:30 pm. I would probably recommend using marshmallows and velveeta cheese. I think it would produce just as well. Now for the most important part of the trip: Abby understands put and take fisheries, possesion limits and sporting ethics. It was truly a joy answering her questions about conservation and fishing. She would ask a question, I'd give her an answer and let her think about it for a while, then she'd come up with something else to ask. Some of her questions were very well thought out, like "What would stop someone from catching four trout, putting them in a cooler and going to a different place and catching four more?" and "Wouldn't you need to completely stop fishing after you catch your four, 'cause what if the next one you caught swallowed the hook and died? Then you killed five fish instead of four." Man, I love being a dad. I had to call my dad later and ask him how many times he pulled the age-old 'here, hold my rod for a second' trick. "Every time I could" was his reply. The best part of the whole trip, though, was when my daughter turns to me on the way home and says, "Dad that was the most fun I've had on a Saturday morning - ever!"

As long as they turn 'em off by tomorrow morning, I'm cool with it. My daughter wants to go fishing with me in the morning and if we don't catch anything it will be a painfully short trip. You know how impatient 9-year-old kids are!

You know, MrsDucky, I met your husband once. We were parked next to each other at Taneycomo and he was with Leonard. He had just caught a nice brown on a spinning reel and he was excited. I mean like shaking and trembling excited. We talked and laughed and joked for a bit and even swapped some fishing information - just like everyone on this forum. Here's my point: I think this forum reflects the personality of your average fisher. There's a lot of good information they will share with you, but you sorta have to wait for it to fall out of their mouth between stories and jokes and lies. Don't believe me? Just go to your local fly fishing shop and ask which fly works best in the morning. Just make sure you have some time to kill.

I really like the Bass Pro Wally Marshall Crappie Combo. It's $29.99 and it holds up really well. I put 4 lb. camo line on it and it fishes like a dream. It's sensitive enough to feel the light strikes and tough enough to put some pressure on a nice sized crappie. I'm going to use it this weekend for trout on Taneycomo, too. I know Eminence isn't exactly close to Springfield, but I would recommend spending the extra $10 and getting something that will hold up.

Thanks, Phil. What are they biting on right now?

I'm taking my 9-year old daughter fishing tomorrow morning. We're going to be using spinning tackle either at Cooper Creek or down by Scotty's. I would go to Phil's, but his dock will probably be full. Anyway, I've heard good things about Powerbait for trout, but I'm from the old school can o' corn & bag o' marshmallows days. I haven't been spin fishing for trout in years, but I want my daughter to have a good time catching fish. What suggestions do you folks have? Do you recommend a place to fish as best? Any good bait ideas? What's working? give it to me straight. I can handle it. P.S. I'll be by to get my hat tomorrow, Phil.

It's about 1/4 - 1/2 a mile downstream from the hatchery. Just follow the road going past the construction.

Could you please hold a black one back for me and I'll get it on Saturday when I come down to fish with the kids. Pretty please? I'll be your best friend.

I really want to be involved in the chapter, but Wednesday nights are already full. Any suggestions?

Sorry for the delay, I just got the flies in the mail today (Feb 3).

Wow, another swapper? That means I have to tie another fly on top of the ones I still haven't tied yet? Man, that's gonna cost me a whole 3 cents! Just kidding. No objections from my corner. I should have power back today, so I'll be able to get some tying done after we clean up. Spending 10 days in one room tends to make it cluttered and dirty.

Gee, I guess I'll get the slacker award for this swap. I realized last night that I don't even have enough hooks!

Bette Midler sings Showtunes. But it's Bruce Springsteen if anyone asks.

I thought no one who ever saw the squid lived to tell about it. How would we get a picture of it? Oh Phil, may we borrow the troutcam?

Any chance it leveled the Breech building? I know we've been trying to find a way to get a new business school, but you can't burn a building that's 90% cinder blocks.

I'd probably just get one. My fishing hat is my dress hat.

Yeah. I know. I don't fault the crews for doing their job correctly and safely. It's just aggravating to listen to Twitty and his rosy, positive "ain't we doin' great" reports. From his tone, I'm guessing his power is on. If I had 20,000 customers without power, I wouldn't be patting myself on the back quite so openly. I'm just frustrated. The high tomorrow is going to raise the temps in my house again, but unless I get power, I'm going to lose everything in my chest freezer. It's not like I can just go out and get more venison. I'm spending a fortune on ice to keep the food from thawing, which seems rather ironic, don't you think?

Just an update on this, I happened to read a blog entry from this same author, dated January 15, 2007: "It’s at this point that I’m supposed to say that it was great just getting out on the water, marveling at the beauty of the river and timelessness of the sport, but I’m enough of a brat to admit that I wanted to catch a few trout." Here's the address, for all us "Show Me State" natives: http://troutunderground.com/index.php/%3fpage_id Maybe it's possible that even the "ignorant snoots" of our recreation pursuit of choice can waffle in their convictions occassionally.

My neighborhood looks kinda like post-war Bosnia right now. I heard John Twitty yesterday telling us how there are only 4 feeder lines out of 155 still down and there are 1000 people working on them. I'm a little confused, though. One of those feeders is one block away from me and they haven't even touched it. I think it has something to do with the power pole that snapped 12 inches below the cross beam. It's just hanging there helplessly. Kinda reminds me of the unfortunate lumps of tippet/leader/indicator left dangling in rebar hole on Taneycomo. I just wish I could see some progress there. It would sure make me feel better. At least it's warming up.

Wow, Phil! You have "people"? Wish I had people. Thanks for lookin' into this for us.

There's been some interest in this, so I did some checking for everyone. Caveat: This is all subject to Phil's approval, of course. I called Embroid Me here in Springfield, and here is what they said: The setup fee is $90.00 to get the logo into the format they need. The hats range in price from $6.50 to $10.00. The unstructured pigment dyed ( not stiff in the front, all floppy) is about $8.00. Adding a name in the back is an extra $2.00. They would also set up an online store to allow all of you "remote" members to order, as well - free of charge. If Phil wanted to run these orders through his business, he could add to the price to cover costs via their website, as well. Whew! This is too much like homework. I'm getting back to work, so I can relax.

I know I speak for a lot of displaced Springfieldians when I say thanks to everyone who will help. The novelty of one room living and cooking over a fireplace has long-since worn off for my family. We're blessed to have a basement with a fireplace and plenty of wood, so I hope to be able to ride this one out. Many are not so fortunate. God watch over them, please.

If you've got room, I'll jump in with my favorite Olive thread midge.

Interesting . . . So there's really no risk in losing value by refinishing and replacing the guides and wraps? After all, that's $125 more than I paid for it.

I sort of figured this was a mass produced rod, so I have no problem refinishing it and replacing the guides. So I should try several lines - just like I would for any other rod?