eric1978

I did a pretty significant repair on my Guide with G-Flex, and it's holding up perfectly...probably tougher than the poly itself. Just be sure to heat the plastic first.

All I've seen dropping leaves so far are the walnuts...the rest have several weeks to go. Didn't have any leaf problems on the river over the weekend. Should be pretty colors this year with the heavy spring rains and drought conditions over the summer...at least that's what they say. We shall see.

I can see both sides. I'm sure the organization wants the parents to be able to coach if they want to...you know, for bonding and all that. But a lot of times you end up with parents who coach because they think it will be fun, but don't know anything about the mechanics of the sport, and end up making it less fun because they can't win a game. All the worst coaches I had were parents, and the two best, aside from my dad, were old guys with no kids on the team.

Look for a used Old Town Discovery 169 on craigslist and ebay. There are tons of them and you should be able to find one in the $325 price range. That's gonna be your best bet for what you're looking to pay. They're easily repairable, too, if it's a little beat up. Also, Spencer recently said he's got a few beat up Buffalo canoes that he was selling for insanely cheap...like $75 or $100 or something. You can't go wrong with anything at that price. Grab some G-Flex and fix 'er up and she'll float just fine. Aluminum bad, plastic good.

Supposedly MDC shocked up a couple 24 inchers on the Gasconade recently, so apparently they're in there...but I've never seen anything close to that size. If people would leave them in the river and leave their habitat unmolested...ready for the news flash?...they'll get bigger!

Pic is blurry for me, too. But if it's not D-rib but it's in the family, how about regular ol' midge tubing then? Looks like something vinyl.

Uh, that's not mine. But these are...

Amen to that. If we never ever had July and August again I wouldn't miss it for a second. Let's eliminate January and February while we're at it. Gotta love fall.

You're a lucky woodworker...a drum sander is a luxury tool. I'm getting a "real" shop together right now, but no space for a DS. Maybe when I retire.

Is that a downdraft table in the background of the last pic, with the blue on it?

Bet it was a stiper.

cyber five!

If money is no object then you want a Royalex canoe. They're considerably lighter and about as durable as the other plastics. Cricket's Disco 169 is probably the most common canoe you'll find on our streams. Stable, capable of carrying tons of gear, affordable, decent to paddle...but quite a bit heavier than a similar model made of Royalex. I bought a Penobscot 16RX a few weeks back and it's great...light as a feather and fast, but it has a little less initial stability than the Disco and they're more expensive. You have to decide what's important to you in a canoe, because there are so many models that will do the job. Some excel at certain aspects more than others, but there is no single "perfect" canoe for everyone. You can't really go too wrong in terms of quality with most models from Old Town, Wenonah, Buffalo, Mohawk, Two Brothers...but which model is right for you depends on your priorities...manueverability or tracking? stability or speed? light and expensive or a little heavier and cheaper? Start looking on craigslist and ebay. There are some great deals to be had out there.

There really isn't a fall break at all, except for a couple days around Thanksgiving. A week at Chrismas, then spring break. That's about it, at least in my wife's district.

D-rib?

Okay, sure Wise. You're certain you've never slipped on a pair after raiding the wife's panty drawer on a long, dull January day?

Check out REI backpacking tents, mic. They have some decent quality stuff for reasonable prices...way lighter than what you'll probably get for trade. And the old backpacking cliche is so true...every ounce counts. Besides, you may wish you still had that Coleman living room one day.

I have the exact same rod with a Ross CLA on it...balances nicely, but a little out of the $100 price range. Think I got mine on sale for $125 or so.

Does anyone have any experience with those soles? I have some Vibrams...they might as well be buttered marbles on the tips of stilettos.

I'm sure it's a very useful boat out there in the west, but I still have to see it as a specialty craft around here in MO, since a canoe is going to be a more practical option in most situations in the Ozarks, save for the ones you mentioned. I'd love to try it on a river like NFoW, where there's more flow and faster water, and that's where you need to be fishing. I can't see it being a better choice for most Ozarks streams with the typical riffle-pool complexes and long stretches of frog water...I couldn't imagine having to paddle that thing through a mile of slack. Definitely a sweet ride, though. Looks like a fun boat, too.

Very cool. Definitely a specialty craft, though. Just one question...when you stand up to wade with the boat around you, does it tend to push you around due to the current grabbing the boat, or is there not much added resistance?

I think everyone should have to wear these.

Kinda hard to understand, but it sounds like you are trying to shoot line on the backcast? You only want to be shooting on the forward stroke. Haul your line at the beginning of the backcast, and haul it again at the beginning of your forward cast, then shoot. I think that's what you're asking?

How many thousands of dollars worth of fishing gear do you have, JD? Yeah, me too. One more pair of boots isn't gonna break either one of us. I saw you mentioned earlier that more research needs to be done before this decision is made. Well guess what? Research costs money...tax dollars. And you'd be screaming bloody murder that the government is wasting your hard earned tax dollars researching some stupid scum on the bottom of rivers if they did. So they really can't win with you either way. Am I wrong?

I love my Guide 119 for day trips, but if you plan to do any overnighters on the river, I would recommend a solo at least 14 feet long and made of Royalex. You can get all your crap in the 119, but it leaves very little space to store your rods properly to fish efficiently from the boat. If you're a stop and fish kind of guy, it might work for you, but I like to fish while I float, and I put down and pick up different rods often, and that's nearly impossible if you have enough gear to spend the night on the river. I've still yet to paddle one, but the Vagabond seems like it's just about the perfect size and weight for an Ozarks solo, but prepare for sticker shock. If I were loaded and ready to buy another solo, that's what I'd get.