eric1978

I'll echo Gavin's thoughts. Smallies right now can be very unpredictable and frustrating. As he said I'd focus on slow current 3-6 feet deep, near deeper pools, but not necessarily in the deepest parts of the pools. The fish that are somewhat active and feeding will be in some light current, and make sure you're getting deep into the cover, because they're gonna be under it. I wouldn't bother much around faster riffles, although you can be surprised every now and then. Don't waste your time fishing deep in slack areas...if that's where they are you're probably not gonna catch them. If the water temps are still moderate when you're there, hanging around 50 or so, I'd also start with a spinnerbait and a Wart, just to see. But if you get no takers on those pretty quick, slow down a little with a hair jig, tube or Senko. And make sure you don't leave home without a Pointer 78 SP. I'd try one of those right off the bat, too. If I was floating on Sunday, my four canoe rods would have: spinnerbait, Wart, Pointer, hair jig. If none of those work, I'd just drink beer and play with the fly rod.

Generally I agree, but on the rivers with the spot problem (here we go), it might be a better option than doing nothing... Stocking them in the Bourbeuse would fit your "wiped out of an area" scenario.

It all boils down to the difference between fishermen and sportsmen. A fisherman is someone who has a rod, reel, hook line and sinker, and casts it into the water. They may or may not catch something. They may or may not keep it. A sportsman is someone who spends every waking moment of his life thinking of how to improve his knowledge of angling. He may keep some dinks to treat his family with if he knows positively the fishery can handle creels, but it's the last thing on his mind most times. It's all about what you value. I personally couldn't care less how well my local golf course is maintained. I don't golf. And if I did for some reason, you wouldn't catch me combing out a sand trap (unless it was against the rules-caveat). But I like driving balls at the range just for fun. I'll go there a few times a year to swing out some frustration, and as long as they have a basket of balls for me, I'm a happy guy. I could be driving them into a landfill for all I care. People who love golf would look at me as a clueless moron. Sportsmen want tighter regs because they love their hobby. Fishermen really don't care.

Geoff, I was there yesterday and they don't have any of the 10 cent flies...in fact not too much of anything is marked on sale, although some stuff is. Like PC said, the Rio lines are a good deal, but the Gold isn't on sale, and the rest is getting pretty picked over...just don't get your hopes up too much...not sure why they did it in KC but not STL??? They do have Sage Launch rods for $150, which is a great deal...of course they're not marked, but they are listed on sale on their website.

LOL, you got it friend. No need to go there indeed...I'm over it. I just don't fish there anymore.

We got some rivers that could use some help. The Bourbeuse could use a few thousand, for example.

Yep I've seen that. But that's a poor little monkey...that was horrible. You do have to kinda feel sorry for that carp, though, even if you think it doesn't feel pain (which I personally don't believe but I know a lot of you do). The Japanese never fail to gross me out with their cuisine.

How about keeping the 12"-20" slot limit, but you can only keep, say, 3 fish over 20" per year, and you have to have a tag for it, like a deer. It would be harder to enforce than deer tags, but it might help.

And nary a smallmouth.

That is a gorgeous pic. Looks like there should have been a fish or two in that spot, too.

They are better, but I didn't see the Gold in his store. I just kind of like the idea of a different color head if it might help me with loading at all. Supposedly it does, but I of course don't know. Maybe another gimmick?

Holy cow, I didn't hear anything about that. Craziness. Nothing but rain here. And lots of it.

It sounds like Rio is pretty universally accepted as quality line. I've narrowed it down to: Rio Grand WF5F 100 ft, pale green or Rio Gold WF5F 90 ft, gold line, moss head Think I'm leaning toward the Gold. I also saw "XS" on one of the boxes at BPS yesterday, but it's not on all of the boxes...anyone know what that means?

That is a good deal on the Rio lines. I was gonna buy a spool yesterday but of course they had every size except the one I needed. Didn't see the 10 cent flies, maybe I should go look closer, but I was at the St. Louis store, maybe they don't have any.

That wouldn't bother me, that's just character. You could rub a little Tung oil on it and it would refresh the wood and make the grain pop.

Nice rods Gavin. I love the burl reel seat on the one third from the top. Or is that bird's eye maple? They're all beautiful.

Thanks Gavin, and don't say that...I'm supposed to be happy.

I was gonna make this a poll about brands, colors and tapers, but since I'm such a newbie, I figure I'd leave out too many options and it would just be a mess. I know I need floating 5wt, and I know it should be WF since I'm a beginner. I also know that when I ask this question I'll get a thousand different opinions, but I want to hear them all so I'll ask it anyway: What is your favorite brand? What about colors? (Species and locale: trout, Ozarks) Any other variables I should be considering? Thanks all!

Holy cow, that's a gargantuan retriever! You sure he's not part bear? Thanks buddy! I'm buying up all the equipment I can in the meantime because I have a feeling the "toy fund" is gonna be history pretty soon. You're in good company, Ronnie. Nothing like a good body slam to shut up a mouthy skinny kid.

LOL Cricket! Since I've never dreamed of keeping a trophy fish, I've come to accept photos as very sufficient souvenirs of your best catches. A perfect example is the photos Bman posted of his son Matt holding that awesome male rainbow he caught on Saturday. To me, that's a much more moving image than a dried up dead fish or a hunk of painted plastic hanging on the wall. Not only do you see what the fish looked like in reality, you get to see the look of satisfaction on the angler's face and also the beautiful setting in which he caught the fish. A photo will evoke more memories for the angler, and admirers of your trophy will have a better understanding of your experience. Not only that, but the fish gets to live. The big fellas get that way for a reason, and we should keep all the good genes in a river we can...you know, with natural selection and all. For the cost of a single taxidermist bill, you can get yourself a very adequate digital camera. Buy a Pelican case to keep it dry and protected, and you've got yourself a lifetime of documentation of all your favorite moments on the water, not just the big fish of the trip. With the incredible quality photos you can achieve with a very modestly priced camera these days, you can get some really nice images blown up and still be very clear. Have it matted and framed by a professional, and invite your friends over and start bragging.

Well you've had three very generous offers, and I would definitely recommend going to see Chief, or spending a weekend at Lilley's, or meeting Brian at Montauk in May. One day with any of those guys is going to be worth a year of trying to learn stuff on the internet.

Note that none of those businesses are 10 minutes from both BPS and Cabela's. I'm not saying he wasn't a poor businessman as you claim, I have no idea...you may be absolutely right about that. Dunn's may have sold for the reasons you stated, but I still think the box stores had something to do with it...And at that point, it was only BPS. When Cabela's popped up right next door, too, they didn't have a chance. You could put Hargrove's shop right next door to BPS or Cabela's and he'd still thrive, because he sells expertise and services they don't offer. But Gateway was just another retailer.

I don't know...to me it looks like that spot may have some smallie in it.

Guess that explains why I've never caught one. I would have thought I hooked a can of Busch.

Yeah, I put on a 4/5 and a 5/6 and the 5/6 felt a lot better, or maybe it just looked better, because I don't think I could really feel the difference between a quarter ounce...maybe I could or maybe it was in my head.