eric1978

I'm surprised you got any fishing done after running into Jesus Ray. Ol' boy is full of stories...and, uh, "stuff." Did he train that revolver on you and ask for your papers?

I think it's up to the individual artist or photographer to decide for himself. If using enhancement techniques makes you feel cheap or phony then it probably is. If it makes you feel like a cheater, then you probably are. But if you're not into purity, and technology and the modern tools excite you, then that's fine, too. To each his own. I'm into woodworking, and the thought of putting any kind of metal fastener into a piece of fine furniture is a huge turnoff to me, and I'd rather not build something at all if I'm not going to use traditional all wood joinery. Other folks use pocket screws or brad nails in every project they do. On the other hand, some guys use only hand tools, no power...true purists. I think those guys are about as nutty as a squirrel turd given the convenience of modern power tools. I like hand tools to finesse a joint or to smooth a surface, but there's no way I wanna mill down a hundred board feet of lumber with a handsaw and handplane. So the point is, none of us are right...we just have different perspectives on what methods yield the most enjoyment and why. I think that applies to most hobbies, arts and crafts. Obviously photoshopping a picture for purely dishonest purposes is a different story. But tinkering with an image for artistic purposes? I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it's not presented as genuine and unaltered, and the artist doesn't feel all dirty about it afterward.

It's a great book and you can knock it out in a few hours. I love everything Hemingway...that guy was a complete nutjob.

Unless that rod was made of metal, I don't see how it would be any more dangerous carrying it back with you. A human being is a much stronger target for lightning than a little noodle of fiberglass or graphite.

Pretty sure that was us, wasn't it? Only been there once...in October. We were the only group there...and we were going until 1 or 2 AM. It's a campground. Good enough. I like the stretch of river above better than the one below.

Try the Maries. It's a ways south of 70, but you're not gonna find much "clear water" right along 70.

Me too. Me too. Me too. And smallmouth were here "originally."

Went ahead and fixed that for ya. Now if they'd stop allowing the mindless shooting of native predators, the otters might return to the ecological balance they once had in the Ozarks. Otters are a drop in the bucket compared to the damage catch and keep anglers, giggers, and riparian habitat destroyers do to the smallmouth populations. Your anger is misdirected.

I said "in its case" it's a little bulky. Like having a tennis ball in your pocket.

Wayne's Mohawk is a very cool canoe...and it's white...how often do you see that? He's gonna give it to me one day.

You don't have to fill the whole spool with it, silly. I usually fill about 2/3 with the cheapest mono I can find in the bargain bins, then top it off with whatever. You only need a few yards more than your longest cast will be. And you can find PP cheaper online, especially if you buy bulk spools. It doesn't go bad, so as long as you know you'll use it, that's the way to go.

I'm with you, Bamboozle. In the world of celebrities and attention whores, they say any publicity is good publicity. And I think it's the opposite for the little creeks, whether they be inhabited by wild trout or not...any publicity is bad publicity. They don't need any more people fishing them. When it comes to Crane specifically, I don't really have a dog in the race...it's about four hours from here and I've only fished it once. But when I do get down there again, the fewer people and worm containers and indies in the trees I see the better, the less spooky the fish are the better...and advertising doesn't help any of that. No, of course Crane is no secret. Neither is McDonalds, but they continue to saturate the airwaves with ads. Why? Because it reminds people that their nastiness is still there and still available for consumption. Advertising drives traffic. People make the argument that those who are posting here on OAF aren't the ones we need to worry about, and that's probably true. But a lot of the lurkers we SHOULD worry about. And there are LOTS of lurkers on this forum. Look at the number of members who have logged in in the last 24 hours...90% of them are names you don't recognize. And that doesn't take into account all the guest lurkers who've never even signed up. I guarantee you Crane Creek has made at least a few enemies from guys discovering it reading threads just like this one. I, for one, had never heard of Crane Creek until I read about it here on OAF. And I like your reports, Andrew, so please don't take it the wrong way. It's just something to consider, that there are a few places that probably shouldn't be talked about as much as they are.

Me too. Well, all mine are 6 footers, but I've carried as many as five and they all fit fine under the bow cap...so I don't know what your problem is Andy. They do start crowding your leg room a bit when you have that many, and a lot of times I'll just take three or four. Any more than two on each side becomes a headache. The Pack is just a better boat than the Guide. But if I'm gonna pay that much for a canoe, I'd rather just get a Vagabond or some other solo that's in the 14 foot range. The Packs and Guides are just too short IMO. If they were a foot or so longer they'd be way better.

I don't know how long your river rods are, but mine are all 6'...I rest them on the seat thwart and they easily tuck unter the bow cap. You can forget about that though if you're hauling overnight gear, and assembled fly rods are impossible to keep safely stowed. I haven't used my 119 much since I bought my Penobscot.

According to the MDC website, felt is banned in all the ribbon sections as well. And I've seen signs at a couple Blue Ribbon accesses. Basically anywhere there's trout, there's no felt.

Al turned me onto McCoy Mean Green, and I've been using it for a few years now. I like it so I haven't tried any other copoly. A few other guys whose opinions I trust love the P-Line copoly.

Here ya go, Scott... It's really not a complicated project. If you have a circular saw and a drill you can do it. I cut the slots out in the seat just to shave the weight down a little, but it's not necessary. You'll need a jigsaw for that, though. Drilling the holes through the dowel without a drill press will be the tricky part, but it's doable. Having a double blade along with you might be convenient for stretches of frog water, but it's not ideal for when you're trying to fish. I wouldn't want that thing laying on my lap and getting in the way. I just use the single blade...I'm not in any hurry.

I only use PP on my spinning reels for plastics. Baitcasters get copoly.

Well you wear tennies to wade in so the felt ban probably didn't bother you much. But the rest of us have to buy new boots. Aside from that, recent regs don't make much difference to me either. Whatever the biologists say is best for the rivers, I'm fine with it. I just wish they'd go after the dbags that really screw them up instead of nitpicking the anglers with little this and that regs while they ignore the bigtime habitat destroyers...polluters and bulldozers and what-not.

That's a good point. While I support most of the regulations that have been recently implemented (because I'm not a knee-jerk anti-gov type and realize there are REASONS for the regs...they're not put into place just for fun), I do have to say it pisses me off something fierce that the vast majority of the new regs we see are aimed at the lowly angler who has little to no power, even as a collective group. Meanwhile, the major environmental offenders who have a huge impact on the health of riparian ecosystems, i.e. farmers, developers, corporations, etc, are just patted on the head and, to a significant degree, a blind eye is turned to the harm they do because they have big money interests and lobbying power behind them. So while we, the anglers, are being inconvenienced with a million new and confusing regulations (albeit for good reasons) those who do the most real damage to our resources are given a free pass because they have money and power. It's a big load of bullshniz.

Just be warned...Slabtown to Ross on a Saturday in June...you'll be far from alone on the river.

I wish it had zoom and I especially wish you could review your footage on the camera. As it is you can't see what you have until you get home. The worst part is the editing and what-not...if you're computerly stoopid like me. It keeps me from using mine as much as I should. A little bulky in its case. Otherwise it's a cool camera and totally indestructible.

My thoughts, too. Last summer was an absolute inferno, and bone freaking dry. Dollars to donuts we're all in space suits by July this summer. It's gonna be brutal. Why oh why could it not be global cooling instead? I hate St. Louis summers. Yuck.

I bet you could modify one. Bi-metal blade in a recip saw should do it.

Cool vids man!