Terry Beeson

I heard the wind was a big factor in the distance, but it had settled down to a dead calm when Eric was out there... Is that right Eric? Of course I also heard he had to close his eyes and pretend it was night time on Taney in order to even get a decent loop...

I think you hit the nail on the head Scheetz... You might start out with 5X and if you are targeting the bigguns, you might stick with that. But if you are not catching fish, I would keep a spool of 6-7X in my vest to change out to... At night... you can pretty much toss glow-in-the-dark anchor chain from an aircraft carrier and still get hit. And like Ducky said, in a few weeks you'll wish that's what you had out there.

Recognize anyone here? Casting Games Accuracy Youth - Girl Gracie Pendergrass Emily Robinson Accuracy Youth - Boy Robert Boyd Zach Beardon Accuracy Women MaryAnn Townsend Ginger Koziatek Accuracy Men Max Maxwell Les Jackson Distance Youth - Girl Gracie Pendergrass (31'-6") Nikki Tudor (25'-11") Distance Youth - Boy Zach Beardon (67'-7") Robert Boyd (61'-0") Distance Women Sheryl Knight (60'-0") Mary Ann Townsend (59'-10") Distance Men Eric Strader (74'-7") John Devas (71'-1") Nice to see that Sheryl Knight (The president of SOC-FFF) is a good caster...

Yeah the banquet on Friday this year got my schedule all out of whack. But then again, I'm glad I went ahead and got my Fred's fix since I had to come back home that night. I'm assuming the Friday night banquet is a permanent change? I guess that gives Johnny more time to auction off all that stuff on Saturday night. How did the auction go by the way? I'm sure I missed a BUNCH of great stuff at bargain basement prices...

I heard a vicious rumor that Backcountry Outfitters is moving to a new location. Is it true Michael? I know I know!!! You're moving to Nixa so I won't spend quite so much on gas and the money I save on gas I can spend on fly tying and fly fishing equipment!!! Smart move there Michael.... Such a marketing scheme!!

Maverick, Nowdays I only fly fish and since moving here have not fished much outside of Taneycomo. I use to bass fish, but it has been a long long time since fishing Table Rock, Bull Shoals, or Norfork. I pretty much stay in the tail waters anymore. I'd probably hit myself in the back of the head with a Carolina rig or spinnerbait anymore. And my bass rigs are all rusty and dusty with 10 year old line on them... I can tell you that reading this forum, there seems to be no clear cut abosolute guaranteed method on Table Rock anymore. Of course, that's the way it is with every fishing hole anymore. But I'll let Bill and the other regulars on TR give you some insight on what has worked lately.

I agree totally. Even if it is not foggy, I usually flash my high beams at anyone coming in my direction. It's just something the slow night strippers do...

Phil, My pastor back in Jonesboro was a big fan of this book. I haven't read the book but have read the online daily devotionals off and on. Very good stuff. Words like that have kept me from going under and getting swept away by the current many times in the past few months... especially with all that has gone on with me and my family lately.

Phil, Don't delete it. It may not be Robin Williams, but it's still a good quote. Web, I do the same thing... Now I know why I don't have any friends...

Brian, When you get them figured out, could you share? None of us that fish around here have it figured out either... Welcome to the forum and good luck in your fishing... Yes, you will enjoy all the water around here for sure...

I'll bet there are several of the Stipper Club members who will be more than willing to help you. You must have really twisted Duckydoty's arm to talk him into going night fishing... But watch out... He knows where the Squid hangs out... Just be sure you can outrun him... Ducky... not the squid.... Also... be prepared... you WILL be hooked on slow stripping at night...

Uh... Hey Michael... Who caught the biggest fish? Hey... I know how proud you are of Kristina... And you know we are all just as proud. And after telling me how you got her to go to Alaska to fish with you... I'm even moe proud for her... Great report.... When I win the lottery next year, I'm going to go. Now if I can just convince Cindy that Alaska is in the Carribbean.... And Naknek River Camp is a five-star all inclusive resort... and the Naknek beach is just like the ones in Jamaica... Maybe if they will just have a bar down by the river...

I've said it before and I'll say it again... and again... and again... If you don't get involved in the Youth Conclave, you miss the best part of Conclave. Ain't nuthin' like the pictures of kids with big ol' pheesh and big ol' silly grins.... THAT'S what it's all about...

More bears = less stress? I think I'd rather be hammering and sawing... Won't you miss the bears, Phil? Glad you made it back safe and had a good trip... WHO CAUGHT THE BIGGEST FISH THIS YEAR?

Way to go Zach!!! 96 feet? I can reach that distance.... in three casts.... if I'm lucky.... and the wind is at my back... and I've had a lesson... maybe.... Sorry we didn't meet up, Zach. I did meet your mother. Looked for you after that, but didn't see you... Next time...

Sooooo.... when you come to the fork in the road... take it.... Right Dano?

Nice to meet you and talk with you DD... Yep... that's the only problem with Conclave... If the fishing is good, you can't spend enough time at either the river or the fairgrounds... One of these days, I'm going to spend a week down there and fish before and after... Did anyone go to the auction and buy a bunch of stuff?

John, It was a pleasure visiting with you and meeting "Mr. Berry." Thanks for the fly. I haven't gotten to use it, but I'm glad there is a "double your money back" guarantee just in case... Now if I can just get down there and fish with you some time...

Yeah yeah yeah... rub it in why doncha... Let us know when you'll be down. The James is not far from my backyard and I'll come down and harrass you and the fish...

As most of you know, my step-daughter was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at age ten. She is now 12 and this has been a huge strain on our family. It doesn't help matters that I am out of work but that's not the big issue. Bills have piled up for medical costs - doctors, tests, hospitals, etc. We have insurance, but still the costs of the deductible, meds, etc. Her dad is suppose to pay half, but he is not keeping up his end of the court order very well. Being 12 is hard enough. She is sensetive and has issues with some of her friends at school who honestly are just being kids (and we know that kids can be very cruel - even when they don't really mean to be.) So there is that added stress. Then pile on the diabetes. She wants to be "normal" and she does not want to be diabetic anymore. She has become rebellious and has lashed out a few times. She is in counselling for that and doing a bit better, but still has issues. Now add the fact that she has been having a lot of problems with high and low blood sugars at school. Her glucose levels are rarely normal and rarely just high or low. They go from one extreme to the other with no reason for that to happen. She has had low sugar, eaten a house full of food, and gone down even more... She has spent as much time in the nurse's office and home as she has in the classroom. Of course, her grades are suffering because of that. That just adds more stress which affects blood sugar levels. It's a vicious cycle.... So NOW add one more to the mix. While I was at Conclave, Cindy called and said that the Doctor (her endocrinologist - diabetes doctor) had called and they want her blood to do some tests. There is a suspicion she has some sort of auto-immune system disease (Lupus, MS, or other.) This could explain the glucose level problems. They are running the blood tests now and we should see the results in a few days. She has not been told anything about this because she has enough on her plate. Her mom just told her the doctor wanted some blood and because she has had that done so many times over the past 18 months, she didn't question it. It is bad enough and certainly more important that she is OK. But this has also had a negative affect on my and Cindy's relationship. I won't go into detail, but it is just a big strain that has made its way into that part of our lives. OK... I'll stop venting and get to the point... I would appreciate your prayers for the three of us. I especially pray that this is NOT any kind of disease as mentioned but simply a phase complicated by puberty or something like that. Also, pray that Cindy and I can get our relationship back on track. We need a lot of prayer right now. The Bible says that God will never put any more on us than we can bear, but I feel like I'm at my limit... and I don't want to feel that way...

Well, I'll start... I only got to attend Friday as I had something come up and had to come back home Friday night. But I enjoyed that one day for sure. I got to see a lot of guys I haven't seen in a while, meet some new people, and learned a few things. I didn't get to fish, but I did get to hunt Friday morning - saw five deer and 18 turkeys but all too far to lob an arrow at... But what a great hunt! That's what I'M talkin' 'bout!!! Saw some of the new TFO and Sage rods and got to cast a sweet TFO 1 wt Finesse. Went to Davy Wotton's session on soft hackles which every guy who wants to tie and fish them should be required to go through - either with Davy, Dave Whitlock, or someone similar. It's funny to realize just how much time, thought, and effort guys like Davy and Dave put into developing flies. When they demonstrate tying, it seems each step has a specific idea, purpose, and little techniques that most of us don't think about. Speaking of soft hackles, thanks to John Berry for the dozen... uh... I mean the one green butt. I had hoped to use it today, but I will get it wet soon. There's another guy who you should sit down and get some pointers on tying. By the way... for those of you who saw my and John's conversation about "Mr. Berry" and "Mr. Beeson" being too formal for us - that was our dads' names... Well.... I got to meet Mr. Berry!!! John's dad was there with him and Dan. I did get around and make it to Fred's Fish House for dinner (Where were you Don?) Great meal! Not long after leaving Fred's, I got a phone call and ran back to the farm, packed, and headed back to Nixa. Anyway.... Good to see those I got to see and meet those I got to meet. I thought this would be a year I could spend a lot of time at Conclave, but didn't pan out... The good news? SOWBUG IS ONLY SIX MONTHS AWAY!!!!

"To dream the impossible dream.... To catch the uncatchable 'Bow... To land the unlandable Brown... To catch fish in the uncatchfishable Taneycomo.... This is my quest... To follow that star... No matter how hopeless... No matter how far..." Right now I'd settle for being able to find time to fish Taney... sheesh...

Yeah... Nobody goes there anymore... it's too crowded... Thought you'd like that one, Wayne... Looking at your signature... One other drawback is that it gets late very early out there... I was going there one time and my wife said "we're lost"... and I replied "yeah... but we're makin' good time..." (Nobody like Yogi.... Well... Casey Stengall, but nobody like those two... ) Where ya been hidin', Wayne? Haven't seen you on here in a while?

Well, that does it... Just go ahead and drop your credit cards all off at your local fly shop. They will now take over your bank account... Once you start tying, you will really see their name on your bank account transactions a lot... Now you HAVE to get into tying for yourself.... Yep... ain't nothin' like the feelin' of catchin' a fish on a fly you tied yourself...

That's what I mean. Branson's Shorty Smalls location defies all logic. The first time I went there, my cousin was living in Branson and I thought she was crazy going down that road to find a Shorty Smalls...