Terry Beeson

I'm coming to Conclave Saturday - can't get off work before. I'm going to be helping Allen Crise with the youth conclave, so may not get to see a lot of folks, but will try to slip in a quick tour of the booths and tiers. Yep, Greg, you should make the Conclave. After attending a few of the SOCFFF ones, I can't imagine what the big FFF one is like... Hey, Steve... Is my "power bait" fly banned in the one-fly? I'd really like to make that one, but probably won't be able to. But I AM going to make a trip to Beaver sometime and pull some of those bigguns you show on your website out for a photo-op... Hope to see you Saturday!

I suppose I could purchase a few of those "ducks" and pick up fishermen and have a "fishing cruise." Then buy one of those paddle wheel types and have the "Bryant Creek Belle" showboat... Hey, Brian... Can you dance and play the banjo at the same time?

GPS coordinates?

Yeah... and the credit card wouldn't work on the Britney Spears site anyway.... oops... did I say that out loud?

I'm thinking of putting my 40 foot cabin cruiser on that river...

Greg, TOMORROW!! Starts tomorrow - Thursday October 5 - through Saturday. Actually, I hope nobody takes offense to MY posts. Like you, I have to at least TRY to spend my money wisely... I'll tell you a story about my cousin (a true blue "tightwad") He bought a new "off brand" riding lawn mower and was putting it together (came cheaper unassembled...) one Saturday when his neighbor pulled out of his garage on a new "green" riding mower. They began comparing notes and found that my cousin had given $800 for his mower, and his neighbor gave $2,400 for his. After more discussion, they figured out the mowers were, basically, "exactly" the same... but the neighbor discovered that his mower was rated by Consumer's Digest to last 5 years. My cousin's mower would only last 2... (can anyone do simple math here?) My cousin looked at him and said, "Well, I can buy 3 of these mowers for what you gave for that one and get SIX years out of them...." Case closed...

leo.... sssshhhhhh.....

Dag nab it... it was hard enough to train a good coon to pop that latch, but then he took leftover chicken and hot dogs in lieu of fresh crappie fillets... Looks like I need to work on that part of their training... C'mon, Ricky... let's go play "fetch the fillet"....

My family owned a small grocery store when I was growing up. One older gentleman would come in every afternoon and buy 2 or 3 cans of sardines. I thought he was taking them with him for lunch the next day until my dad explained it to me. He was a trapper and used the sardines in the traps. That man raised 6 kids on trapping and sawmill earnings. Always had plenty of coon and mink hides hanging in his "smoke house"....

Now Wayne, do you really expect me to have my picture taken with a huge fish before I get my hairdo to match that of the infamous Mr Wilson? And besides... I have to make sure you can clearly read the "Backcountry Outfitters" or "Beaver Dam Store" on my cap or Michael or Steve won't pay me the $50.... Actually, my pet peeve is watching them clean a limit of fish on the bank, then 30 minutes later, come back and start working on another limit... I've even witnessed a THIRD trip in one day on the Spring River in Arkansas... And that's with the wife and 3 kids supposedly "fishing"...

darn alcoholic coons.... Now they're goin' for the BEER!!! My last camping trip, I actually caught a SQUIRREL at least TRYING to raise the lid on my cooler (eggs, butter, bacon, but no beer... in THAT cooler anyway...) That night, a coon lifted that lid with about 5-6 pounds of kitchen untensils trying to hold it closed. He got to the loaf of bread and had a fine meal... Hey, Wayne... Notice how I picked up on Catman's crappie honey hole location? (sound of smacking lips and drool hitting floor....)

Bad knees force me to "shuffle" or you would have to carry me out of the river after a couple hours fishing. I sometimes feel guilty about it, but then I don't stand there doing a routine from the Rocketts either.... As for fishing the spawn/redds, etc. Yep... that can of worms has been opened and was second only to the use of gloves as an active thread. Gentlemen, before we discuss fishing redds or using gloves, we should decide whether the duel will be with guns or knives.... :ph34r:

Greg, to your point and others, I have to say two words... "casting style"... Not to disagree with any of you, but again, there is a lot to be said for casting style. I remember the first time I met Zach Matthews. He was entering the water at Rim Shoals on the BS tailwaters. The thing that stood out about him was the fact that he was the only person in Rim (probably in the entire White River system for that matter) with a stripping basket strapped to his hip. And the rod he was carrying looked as if you could stand on the ramp at Rim and touch the island with the tip... Come to find out, Zach was working on his Spey fishing and had a (if I remember correctly) 15 foot spey rod. He wanted to be able to get the line WAY out for his fishing style. One of the next times I ran into Zach, he was outside the Sowbug venue in Mt Home getting a distance casting lesson from John Wilson. Both of them were reaching out around 90-100 feet. Contrast that with someone like me. I have a below average cast, still consider myself a novice at best. Yes, at times I'd like to reach out there and touch a seam where I just noticed a 24 incher rising, but I'm comfortable with my short reach nymphing and medium reach streamer fishing. I guess I compare it to golf. I can have the finest (insert favorite brand) golf clubs, the latest in "distance" golf balls, and watch countless hours of the Golf Channel. But that don't mean I'm going to bash one down the fairway like John Daly or score a 12 under par like Tiger Woods. I guess what I'm trying to say is what I said before. It's not so much about what the "best" fly line is... It's what fly line is best for YOU....

Dang... where did I put that crank telephone...

Arkansas has debated the "minimum flow" issue for a few years... Anything in Missouri on "minimum flow" to help that situation?

Welcome to the nut house, Dave... I think you'll fit right in...

Yep, that was it... Swear I heard "Duelin' Banjos" playin' in the background as I drove down there... Buy, hey... I'm an Arkie hillbilly... those are my kin....

Don't worry, Phil... the secret is safe with me and the first 3-400 people I run into...

Just be careful when you post your honey hole for Crappie or Bream... I practice catch and release on them, just that I tend to release them into a vat of hot Crisco... You guys both have a point. We all should be careful sharing information or our favorite spot to get away and have a theraputic fishing session will wind up looking like Bennett Springs on a Saturday... But I agree that someone who sits back, lurks, and never posts is like a person who won't vote but is always griping about the way elected officials are doing their job.

Michael, How do they compare weight wise? And... how late are you guys open?

FB, I "discovered" Hootentown on an excursion last weekend. I wondered if there was any wadable water in that area. I also went to another MDC access (can't remember the name) quite a ways upstream and looked like there could be some action there... but nobody was fishing there. Were you floating, boating, wading?

Michael, Good point... very true... And that's why I'm still searching...

Oh my gawd! The GLOVE issue has bled over to this forum... Phil, take cover, Bud!.... This may get ugly! For those not "savy" to my above comment, there is a "controversy" over the use of "gloves" to handle trout during picture taking or releasing. Much like the "hit the carpet in my boat" comment, some people think the use of gloves has the same effect. Until substantiated scientific proof is available, I, personally, don't think it is any more harmful than the use of bare hands. The "best" way to release a fish is to use something like a "Ketchum Release" where the fish never touches a net, glove, hand, boat, carpet, or anything. You get him "to hand" and slide the "ketchum release" down the line to release the hook (best to use barbless for this, but will remove barbed ones as well...) Of course, it's hard to take a picture this way. Otherwise, John's use of a C&R net is a good way... and yes, they do sell a longer handled version for boats. If you need to handle one, the two methods are to turn them over on their backs and cradle them in you hands. This supposedly relaxes the fish, but they will still squirm a bit. The other is what you see in many trout magazine pics... hold one hand under the belly just behind the gills and one hand gripping the tail section. This seems a good way to hold them long enough to snap a quick picture.... Phil, should we get the "Great Gloved One" to come over and chime in on this thread?

OK everyone... all together..... "Hi Jim...."

Side note for any golfers out there.... Did you know there are only three places in the world where golf club heads are made? The very same set of clubs you pay $1,000 for can be custom built and fitted by a good club builder using "off-brand" for under $300... Hmmmm... wonder where all that extra money goes?... Oh... wait.. how much money did Tiger Woods earn last year?