Terry Beeson

NOW he tells me.... Correct-a-mundo, Mr Hunt... Ducky... You do superglue the ends back together when the thread breaks... Right? What? Nobody told you that? It's the ONLY proper way to recover from a broken thread...

If Shakespeare (or insert any writer pre-19th century) had transported in time to 1920, he would have said the same thing about the language of that time. Read the Declaration of Independance, Constitution, Gettysburg address even... Then read JFK's inaugaral (dang... can't believe I had to go to dictionary.com for THAT one... sheesh...) speech... THEN read Clinton's or Bush's.... Notice any differences? Ignore the fact that "professional speech writers" wrote the last two. Notice the differences in dialect and use of words by Jefferson et al, Lincoln, and the pros. Look in archives for letters written in the 18th and 19th centuries. Now sit down and try to write a very similar one. I would be willing to wager that our dear Mr. Cripple Caddis may be the only one that could come close. (Dang, Tom... are you THAT old?... ) Why is it the Brits speak a "different" language than we do? What about those from Oz? (Hey Steve! G'day Mate!)... With a very eclectic mix of people in our melting pot, the language and dialect has evolved and with mass media and our present mobility, I venture to guess it will evolve even faster and even at such a pace that one day there may well be only one "Earth" language with some smatterings of dialect. Our language has evolved and IS evolving. Is it going backwards? Alas, verily I say to thou, thou mayest well be correct in thy assumptions... But we've never been able to preserve "the king's English" over the centuries. (By the way... Just FYI... Don't give Steve - aka BDS - the "thumbs up." Right Steve?)

Any dropper rig... tie a piece of tippet the length you wish to the dropper fly. Then tie the other end and tie it to the bend of the upper hook. The knot you use is up to you, but I use a cinch or improved cinch. WB as a dropper? Might look like a fry chasing a bug... Might work, but remember the hook on the upper fly will have to take the pressure.

John Berry... or as we like to call him... "Mr Norfork".... Several others come to mind as well.... Davy Wotton, John Wilson... Dang... did I forget anyone? But I bet JB will chime in here on this one...

Saw them a "hunnert" years ago, Dano. They were purty good then... Then again, since I use to work close by and your wife is from that area, what about Black Oak Arkansas? C'mon, Dano... we know you listen to "E" all the time. Besides, your wife says you're a "Hunk-a Hunk-a Burnin' Love!"

Dang there's a joke in there if it were about anyone else on this forum (including me) but Phil... So how have the walleye been otherwise, Bill? Good on cloudy days?

And you never miss a take either...

Jeez, I listen to everything from Bethoveen to Flatt and Skruggs.... Some Skynard, Molly Hatchet, Travis Tritt, Stones, STP, Hank Jr., Willie, Waylon, Johnny Cash, ZZ Top, Nine Inch Nails, RHCP, Diamond Rio, Mozart, Bach, Mark Knopfler (before and after Dire Straits), Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, Robert Johnson, B B King, Keb Mo, Buddy Guy... And my all-time favorite - "Blind Melon Chittlin'" "Goin' downtown Gonna see my gal" (You fill in the rest...)

I had the same thing happen one time, so I had always heard about ice fishin' and decided to give it a try. Did purty good! But dang near drowned when I tried to cook all that ice I caught... (OK... old joke, I know...)

Now it's "one size fits most" which I dare say is statistically incorrect... "Most" just squeeze their big heads (mine included) into those itty bitty caps out of pure vanity... (It's all this brain that keeps my head so big... )

Learning, hell... I STILL snap thread now and then... occasionally... OK... A LOT! I know guys that have been tying for years and that still happens to them. Sometimes it's the thread, sometimes the hook, sometimes the bobbin, sometimes it's the Wapsi Gremlins. Just the nature of the beast, I suppose.

Very well stated, CC and WebFreeman. My mom was a teacher for 30 years in the Arkansas public school system. I'm apalled when I speak to some so-called educated people nowadays, including teachers. I wonder how some of them ever got through English 101 or even junior high English. Colloqualisms have, and should be, allowed in everyday conversation and even with some degree of "author's license" in writing. However, as stated, how would it look on a resume? Depending on what the assignment was, I would hope that we still put some emphasis at some point on the difference in "creative" writing and "formal" writing. Which type was this and does your daughter know the difference or has this ever been explained? My eleven year old (6th grade) daughter wrote a story recently about her horse for an assignment. It was a creative writing assignment, so proper grammer was not the BIG issue. The teacher did point out mistakes, but the students were given more points for their creativity and articulation than proper grammer. Of course, the English and other languages have evolved over the centuries and Webster still adds new "words" every year. We have allowed conjunctions, acronyms, and other "improper" use of the language into our writings. The English language is still evolving and will continue to evolve. Is it "wrong" that words such as "prolly" may someday be acceptable? Maybe we think so now, but since my youth, I have heard the word "probably" pronounced "prolly" by many individuals. If you look at many words in the current dictionary and study their history, you would find the same thing. I, myself, strive to articulate my thoughts and feelings when writing in such a manner that preserves the acceptable grammer of the day. I use www.dictionary.com when I'm unsure of the spelling of a word. I re-read some postings before sending just to make sure I haven't erred. It goes back to my college days when you had to articulate to the instructors with proper language or you would be lowered by a grade or two. We need to get back to the "ruler to the back of the hand" approach to keeping language just a bit more pure. But, I am not so convinced we are doomed to a failed society because of the evolution of the English language. One story of note: (Disclaimer: Some of you use this, I'm sure. I do not fault you for this, but it will make the hair stand up on the back of my neck none the less...) My English instructor in college was a novelist. He had published a couple of successful novels and was a writer for a couple of television shows and, if memory serves me, even co-wrote some screenplays. Our class routine was to receive instruction followed by a writing assignment on Monday, due on Wednesday, and review on Friday. One of his pet peeves would drive him to a dramatic behavior at the beginning of class on Friday. If any student had used "alot" in their assigned writing, Mr. Gawtney would walk into the classroom, pick up a piece of chalk (pre-markerboard days), write "A" about two feet high on the left end of the 30 foot long chalk board, and then storm to the other end and write in letters just as big "LOT." If you look in the dictionary, or check dictionary.com, you will find there is no such word as "alot." The proper use is "a lot" as in "We caught a lot of fish today." The closest word is "allot" as in "My dad would only allot me two worms to bait my hook." The proper use of "a lot" and "allot" have stuck with me for the 30 years or so after completing that class. As has his zeal for keeping "creative" and "formal" writing in their place. Hopefully, I have maintained some degree of that difference...

Mikey, Go to (click here) Zach Matthews' website. He has a pretty good video on how to tie trout crack. Yours looks purty good and will catch fish. Also, Dale Fulton's Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in Mt Home, AR use to have a "trout crack" kit you could buy with all the correct dubbing, v-rib, and mono. Jimmy T at Wishes and Fishes Fly Shop ties crack and may have a kit as well. www.flyfisharkansas.com According to Jimmy (and John) this is what the fly should look like...

HUKT OWN FONIX PROLLY WERKT FOWER ME!

Welcome to the nuthouse, Skip... Look forward to hearing about your fishing trips.

Good to see you back, Ducky X 3...

Kenny G... Nope... actually I have to agree with CC as well. I have no reason to plug something in my ear to replace the sound of the river and the outdoors - especially the beavers, herons, Dano cursing the 28 inch brown trout leaping over his rod, and, of course, the Giant Man-Eating Taneycomo Squid... As for cell phones, I keep mine with me in case of emergencies and have taken a text message or two from my wife, but other than that, I refuse to talk on the darn thing... I'm trying to get AWAY from such things... As a side note, I did put together a PowerPoint slideshow tauting the diversity of fly fishing as a recruitment video for NEAFF... That had a kewl track by Joe Satriani for the soundtrack...

Short answer.... YES... I will use different styles in different situations. If I want the bugger to get down fast and stay down, I tie it with a conehead and lead wrapped around the hook. If I want it to get down low, but "ride" the bottom, a beadhead with some lead. A small beadhead with no lead and even no beadhead no lead in some cases... Now if I can just remember which one is which...

Glad to have you aboard. I'm one of the more mature ones on the forum... (shuddup, Dano... )

Hmmmm... Hairball fly... I tie those up all the time...

Welcome to the forum. Glad you decided to join... Click here for the very best baloney in the world.... BAR NONE!!! Made in my "home town"... Now you know why I'm so full of baloney...

Man THIS storm wussed out big time compared to the one last weekend... As for Nixa: Spitting snow at noonish Saturday Bigger snow around 3pm Rain at 5ish Sleet at 6ish (Followed by sushi at Tokyo grill...) Back to freezing rain at 7pm. Woke up this morning to some patches of white on the grass and a bit of sleet/ice on the pavement... But we still have power and internet!!!!

RR, The Texarkana ice storm was worse than this one. But this one is a pretty close second. Basically, Christmas day and two days afterwards, there was absolutely NO TRAFFIC in Texarkana. My ex was manager of a C store at I-30 and Hwy 71. The guy that got caught working Christmas Day slept in the store for two nights because he could not get home - three blocks away. He saw zero vehicles that day and the next until a fire truck came by late that afternoon. I-30 was a truck parking lot. The damage is similar here now, but still not as extensive as Texarkana. It was just unbelievable... But from a personal standpoint, I did not enjoy either storm.

I resemble that remark... Welcome tinner...

Finding the "perfect" vest/pack is probably slightly easier than the pursuit of the perfect fly box. But I've been through the vest - fannypack - necklace - chest vest - chest pack - man purse phases with my last being the chest pack converted to man-purse. All have their advantages and disadvantages, but the converted man-purse seems to suit me for several reasons: Everything in one place (about the size of a large print bible.) Holds a lot of stuff. Can be moved from the front to the back. Great when you go from changing flies to casting. Can be converted to the chest pack or even a fanny pack (if you are one of them skinny boys...) PLUS I feel as if I'm helping set a new fashion trend... (Now on OLN... Pimp my Fly Fisherman!!)