Terry Beeson

Just use the insanity plea.... I'll vouch for ya....

But the ends are really hard to keep lit.... Nice fish, Duane. Sometimes all you can do is still not enough. Then you have to eat it.... Such a waste... Now excuse me... I have to go sell one of my Orvis caps on eBay so I can buy a $500 smoker... Hate to let it go so cheap... but it is kind of worn...

Several spots on the White... Just below the dam is a favorite. So is Rim Shoals. Wildcat is usually good. The accesses around Cotter are said to be good, but I have not fished them that much. As with Taney, a lot depends on generation. So any of those according to generation will be good spots. If you want to fish Norfork, yes... the handicap access C&R area (upstream) is a good spot. I like to fish downstream from the parking lot as well, but not as productive... just "purty" down that way. I'm assuming you're looking to wade.

John, How was the sediment situation at that point on the river? Do you think Overlook has affected the fishing there? I just wondered with what is going on with the sediment and DO of the Norfork why you chose it instead of the White. Just curious...

Got mine today... Great job, everyone! Can't wait to try 'em out. Thanks for your time and effort MTB....

"Government subsidized trout fishing"

Phil, If you do get one, we could put together the data and chart it for different parts of the lake at different times of the year.... Good statistical analysis I've wanted to do for Norfork and BSD myself in the past... but Taney would by closer to home now, of course..

Wise choice, young Skywalker.... Still be there later the fish will... Keep your wife happy you must. Grown up the kids will be before you know it. Old and grey you will become. Stay wise you must. Yoda

Of COURSE there is "insignificant change" in the DO at the DAM with increases of flow. There is no change because there is no significant change in the turbulance from the dam to the DO monitor. How far downstream from the outlet are we talking? Now... Go DOWNSTREAM a half mile or so, do the same comparison. In fact, go downstream a mile or so and note the difference in DO there and at the dam. Oxygen gets into water by diffusion from the surrounding air, by aeration (rapid movement), and as a waste product of photosynthesis. So, in effect, the more "flow" you have, the more aeration which will increase the DO levels. Now, does that mean we don't need aereators at the dam? Quite the contrary when it comes to Norfork. The DO content of the water coming out of the dam at this time is very low. The quicker you get the DO level up, the better. The Norfork is not a very long fishery, so the DO needs to be added AT THE DAM to ensure sufficient DO for the fish in the Norfork. As for BS, TR, GF, and Beaver tailwaters - they need quick DO too. They just have more help by being longer and having various other sources the Norfork lacks (confluences, length, etc.)

You thought I wanted pictures of the trout? NAW!!! I want pictures of that GRAVY!!!

OK... here I am at my desk, eating a cereal bar and getting organized for work... and thinkin' 'bout BISCUITS AND GRAVY I could be having right before CASTING FLIES TO WAITING TROUT!!! LIFE IS NOT FAIR!!!! Hope you guys are "slayin' 'em!" PICTURES! DETAILS! I'm JONESIN' here!

Sure, they appreciated it, Phil. They moved to the channel to get a better view of the fireworks! Didn't you hear them saying... "OOOOooooo.... AAAAaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Then, Leonard shows up, blows his "magic trout callin' whistle" and you're into them again... Sounds like a pretty good night. Good report.

Dang, Leonard... It's about time you found that rock I moved two weeks ago three inches to the left so you'd find it.... (You sure it wasn't the squid?)

I would second that motion, however, not sure they can use tiny midges for carp fishing in Iraq. Although, it would still be a nice gift for some of the guys to look forward to using when they get back to the states and try their new addiction on some trout...

Count me in, since I probably am the one that prompted this... NO... count me in because this is a GREAT PROJECT!!... regardless of what that ignorant transplanted Arkie hillbilly posted in the other thread.... (that would be ME for those that might think I'm bashing someone else...) I'll probably tie some buggers as well. And I'll rifle through my "stuff" and send some supplies as well.... OH... and thanks, John, for hosting this...

Great Value brand or Pillsbury brand frozen biscuits... more expensive than canned, but dang near as good or better than homemade... for real... But then again... beggers can't be choosy.... Just like Momma use to make.... Dang... Now you're gonna make me cry...

Dang, Steve... what a bribe! If I didn't have to work... Do you deliver? To Springfield? (I know now what I'm havin' for breakfast Saturday mornin'...) Hope you have a great time!!

Gavin, You've been watchin' "Country Fried Videos" with Bill Engvall, haven't you.... ("Here's yer sign...")

This is great! I heard a couple of years ago about the son of a member of the fly fishing club I belonged to fishing in Saddam's big lake behind his palace and asking his dad to send some fly fishing gear. Looks like that has really blossomed! Makes me want to go home, go through my stuff, and put together a "care package" of fly fishing "stuff" to send over there...

Yeah... brain surgery is much easier... Phil, I think the "people" have spoken... and by a VAST MAJORITY LANDSLIDE it appears "OAF Ammendment 1" has been struck down... and you should keep on keepin' on... Again, thank you, kind sir, for a great forum...

Had surgery five years ago for the same thing. I'm waiting on my medical records from Jonesboro on that before the Orthopedic Surgeon here will look at it. And now I find out the request is there, but the medical records person doesn't come in until FRIDAY!!!.... AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Good post, Rich. I would like to comment on the last statement, though. You may want to assess the situation before you turn them in. Give them the benefit of the doubt. At least in some situations... For example, in another thread on a different forum, there was a fisherman who came upon a couple fishing from the bank with a stringer of fish in a catch and release area. The fellow politely asked them if they realized this was a C&R area and they said that the fellow fishing there when they got there told them it was OK because the C&R rule only applied if you were wading.... When he explained differently, they happily released the fish on their stringer that would survive and moved to another spot... thanking the guy for letting them know the truth. I know ignorance of the law is no excuse... but then again, I'm not an enforcement officer either... If it's a blatant violation that is pretty obvious, then, yes... get on the phone and turn them in.

The future of my fishing was certainly dependant on the results of an MRI on my knee which I received last Thursday afternoon. The results – I have a “meniscus tear” which means the cartilage in my knee where the upper bones rest is torn causing a great deal of pain. I interpreted this to mean I should go fishing, so I began to plan my next trip. But, Friday evening, my wife insisted that I needed to rest my knee by sitting on the couch most of the weekend and that she had a long list of things I could do to occupy my time. The first on the list was folding the laundry as she got it out of the dryer. I let her know that under no circumstances was I going to spend my weekend folding laundry. So, a few minutes later I’m on the couch folding laundry, when she comes in and inquires why my fly fishing stuff was sitting by the door. I told her that I was going fishing whether she liked it or not and to get over it. She informed me that I was going to stay right there in the house and rest my knee while she set up an ironing board in front of the couch which almost blocked the TV if she hadn’t lowered it to a level equal to my position on the couch. I asked her just what that was for and while she plugged in the iron, she informed me that I was to rest my knee while doing the ironing in between folding the clothes. I let her know right then and there that there was no way that was going to happen. That was woman’s work and I refused to do it! So, I’m sitting there ironing her jeans, with just the right amount of starch, when she brings me my medicine. I gladly took the two pain killers as my pain was moving from my knee to a couple of feet north. After taking the pills, I continued ironing her nursing scrubs when she came in the room to let me know she was going to the store and asked if I needed anything. After giving her a list of basic necessities from the four basic food groups – coffee, Crown Royal, Cheetos, and cookie dough ice cream – she left me on the couch assuming I would continue ironing and folding. Much the contrary, I saw this as my ticket to freedom so I sat back to watch an episode of Andy Griffith and begin plotting my escape to Taney. I arrived at the parking lot above chute 2 just after Leonard had headed home and a couple of hours before the snaggers started to line up below the outlet. The cover of darkness was perfect for my situation as my wife would probably come home from the store, fall asleep and never notice I was gone. I rigged up my 16 foot 1 wt before stumbling down the steps to the edge of the water. I was alone there, standing in my knee-high swim trunks and fleece sweat shirt. I stepped in the water to get my bare legs out of the cold wind that was blowing. Cold water feels good on my knee. Man, some guys are wimps…. I had rigged my line with a “Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak” 4X tapered leader tied with a double-triple-bloody-surgeons-davy knot to a tippet I made myself from a 16 inch strand from a zipper spider’s web found in my back yard. To this I had tied my world famous super top secret “Trout Meth” fly constructed of Ivory-Billed Woodpecker biots, a dubbing blend of pig footed bandicoot hair, ground up moth wings, and my beard hair dyed with a mixture of polk berry juice and royal fucia craft paint. The size 34 hook was difficult to tie under the lights of my shoulder mounted dilithium crystal LED light. But with my 2-20 power zoom backlit jewelers visor, I managed to get a super-improved clinch-in-a-cinch knot to hold my fly on the tippet and began high sticking the seam just in front of me. The current was a bit swift, the cloud cover dense, and the visibility was null and void. So I reached in my bag and brought out my Bolle Polarized Superman Xray Underwater Night Vision sunglasses, which lit up the bed of Taneycomo like the inside of the Grand Casino – Tunica. Not to be unsportsmanlike, I flipped the shades to the top of my cap when I reached the area I wished to fish. The seam looked to be sweet and the anticipation of a big huge brown possessed me body and soul. A bit later, just after the spine-numbing squawk of a Heron upstream and a deafening splash from the tail of one of the local beavers downstream, I felt something on the back of my left leg. I quickly turned, but found nothing there. But as soon as I turned back to my fishing, there it was again… tapping on the back of my thigh… as if to say… “I’m here to get you…” In the darkness, all alone on the river, blackness of the inner-most sanctions of a five mile deep cavern…. Visions of the Taneycomo Giant Man Eating Squid began to take over my emotions as I felt the tap…. Tap… tap…. Again and again. At this point, it began to wrap itself around the calf of my leg just below the knee… My heart pounding, I mustered up all my courage and, in an attempt at death-defying self-defense, began to thrash the creature at my feet with every fiber in my body hammering away over the back of my shoulder with my 1 wt Winston rod… did I mention it was an antique Winston handmade bamboo rod? After a sever thrashing of about 78 licks with my rod, which was now in 79 individual pieces, I discovered the “Taneycomo Giant Man Eating Squid” was actually my landing net, which was bungeed to my belt…. Of course, that was after I did manage to catch and release unharmed 137 fish (by the count on my rod mounted handy-dandy clicker counter) all of which were 24 inches or better, the largest being a 46 pound brown that escaped my net while I struggled to call MDC to verify my catch. I would have photo proof of all this, however, I dropped my camera phone with the pictures of the mammoth brown while trying to tackle him before he got away. Well, that and the fact that the memory in my digital camera was full of pictures of our last trip to Graceland, which we have yet to download on the computer at home… It was at this point that my wife returned from the store and woke me from my short, but eventful nap. She handed me a big bowl of potatoes and a potato peeler, but I told her you would never catch me peeling any potatoes anytime, anywhere..….. So, while I’m peeling those potatoes, I thought I’d write this down for you guys to enjoy…

Yeah, and the pictures are not even worth the free charge they put on my credit card.... Oh... uh... did I say that outloud? Those are pretty easy to spot, and like you said... just don't click on them....

Lightening, I agree.... Snow and ice?.... WUSS!.... (Of course, I will be saying that from the comforts of my office chair in front of the fireplace while the real fishermen are all battling snowflakes and big browns....)