Thom

Dano and troutchaser I have sent a PM to each of you so the ball in in your court. Dano my phone is at the end of the message to Paul copied into your PM. Thom

Dan: you have the right idea. I heard that investing in Folgers or Maxwell house coffee was a safe investment. Buy the coffee, drink it and put your money in the can and bury it in the back yard. I wish I would have done that last july or at least roll over into cash funds or interest bearing funds no matter how low the yeild. Too late now. Even though I was well diversified and conservatively invested I lost approx 25% of my retirement savings to the wall street and banking thieves that we later bailed out. Thom

Thanks Dano for the flybox thread. Very interesting. I didn't want to hijack the topic so I will start another one based on one of the comments. What no dry flies. I have my "go to" flies but seldom fish dry flys. I have two questions for comments. What flies would you recommend for fishing Taneycomo or the parks in Missouri? Who would you recommend as the best dry fly guide to teach how and where to fly fish Taneycomo?

Quote: "We use a lot of slang and "short fors", which some people are not as familiar with." Just curious. Have they changed the writing rules so that now it is correct in using a preposition to end a sentence with? See I proved it can be done. No writing police are rushing in to slap the cuffs on me. Not picking on you Mrs Ducky. You are one of my favorite posters here and I always read the inciteful posts that you contribute. You usually bring class to the forum with your great style. Just making a point. Even though I graduated cumma sum laude from two of my degrees, when I am on a fishing fourum or the web I couldn't care less. At 68 my eyesight and typing skills are not the same as they were and this forum page doesn't have a spell check so I just leave most go. If I am writing a paper for grades or a dissertation to comlete a term of study, I do it all according to the rules. Other than that "who cares" Not the folks that I hang with. If someone does ... fine ... I just don't. One of my sons counseller's in high school advised him to go to trade school based on his writing skills and english grades. He worked hard in college and ended up graduating with honors. He was also on the faculitiy of the University of Indiana before being recruited to head the department in his present job based on what he could do not on how he wrote. I have an friend from England and he always remarks how even educated folks in America murder the English language. The standards there are much higher. I usually can't understand a word thay are saying. I am nearly deaf and the last time I was in London I thought I would need an interpreter. I am sure that someone will grade my post and let me know my mistakes. It's a fishing forum! Tell me what to tie on to catch a fish with. I know I did it twice. prep ending sentence. So shoot me. Rusty encourage you children to learn the correct and acceptable way to write and pat them on the back when they do, but also encourage them not to be snobs about it to others who don't. The other children may not have a great dad like they have. Merry Christma all Thom

Jeff: I sent you an message. I will try to get in touch when I get back next Monday. Have a merry Christmas. Thom

I will be at Taney from Friday thru Monday. Staying at Lilley's Cabin 20 with Son, grandson, fishing day or night below dam.

When will you be going down. I will be there Friday sat, sun , mon staying at Lilleys. Debating weather I will take my boat. Long haul for three days of cold weather. I may just rent one of Phil's.

I have bought two Vizio's . One a 37" LCD 720 P and one 46" 1080 p LCD. I am very pleased with both in terms of price and quality. Both have excellent picture quality and very user friendly. In my opinion the price were the best value on the market. I did a web search for user comments and found only one bad review. I have had the 37 " for a year and no problems at all. It is approx $700 ant wallie world and the 46 is around 1200, for just a nominal amount you can also get a two year extended waranttee. I was told they were assembled in America but am not sure of that. From their web site: VIZIO, Inc. "Where Vision Meets Value," headquartered in Irvine, California, is America’s fastest-growing HDTV and consumer electronics company. In only a few short years, VIZIO quickly skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 selling brand of flat panel HDTV’s in North America and became the first American brand in over a decade to lead major categories in 2007 U.S. TV sales. VIZIO has sold more than 5-Million flat panel televisions in the U.S. alone. By listening intently to our customers and reacting to the ever-growing needs of flat panel television enthusiasts, VIZIO continues to offer feature-rich flat panel televisions and consumer electronics solutions to market at a value through practical innovation.

Here is the recipe (pretty standard) with a pic of fly. Recipe Bead Head Hare’s Ear Natural Popular sizes 12,14,16,18 2487 tiemco scud hook Thread: 6/0 tan Tail : Hare’s Ear guard hairs Body: Natural hare’s ear fur Thorax: Tungsten Bead (gold or copper)

You guys have got me thinking that I may need to tye more white jigs to take down next week when I get there or at the very least have plenty of maribou with me just in case. I will be at Lilley's friday through monday .. send those shad trough then. I was there last year at the end of the kill ... still lots of fun. Ther really nail it hard when there is a kill. I guess they are trying to beat the herd from beating them to the food. Have you ever made a trip and got there to find that the very thing that you needed is at home in another lly box or still on the tying bench? Empty feeling. Lots of good shop near by though ... just don't want to waste time while I am at Taney tying instead of fishing.

Duckydoty: I am in and will tie my version of a hare's ear that I have great success with year around. Thom

Phil: We already are scheduled to spend three days Christmas week and are looking forward to it. we got a confirmation call today this AM. It is always a pleasure and great outing to stay at the Lilley's. Among the best managed resorts and fly shops in Branson area and right on the Lake. The Harvengt's and Sanders

Bredman: I live in O'fallon and would be happy to meet with you sometime and share some patterns that I have found to be great on Taney. I have all of the suggestions given here in my fly boxes and will share what I have learned . I agree with Dano that the midge patterns are great on Taney and almost always work at some time during the day. The scuds, egg flys, san jauns, cracklebacks, jigs of all kinds, wolly buggers all are great there and easy to fish with a little practice. either PM me or go to my website Thomharv.com to get contact info and give me a call. We can do a Hardees or Mcdonalds breakfast and I will give you a little Taney 101 mini course on what has worked for me. Thom

Capt. Butch: Interesting report. A little variety would be nice. You will find a treasure of knowledge on this forum. In the past before my wife became ill I fished Port Aransas Texasin the colder months. You are correct the fish always are eating and finding what is on the menu and how to present it is the key. The redfish and sceckled trout there can be awesome fun and from the jetty's and piers there is almost always some bite for lunch if you find out from the locals what and how to extract it from the intercostal or bay. The sand trout, whiting, sheepshead later in marchalso provide an interesting challenge and are just great fresh from the ocean or intercostal. Sitting on the deck of my condo I could see one of the piers and when I spotted my favorite spot vacant I could drive to it in 5 minutes and then be back to the condo in a couple of hours with fresh fish fileted and ready for lunch. Keep the reports coming you might be surprised to find that one of us may call you for a trip sometime.

Kevin: no need to go to the lakes just rent one of Phils boats or Scotty's downstream and you have miles of lake to fish. Some of it all to yourself. a 1/2 day is very reasonabe and well worth the price. check at the office for what to use and where to fish and with a little practice you can catch fish and have lots of fun. Tight lines Thom

11. Little known fact: Ben Franklin invented the light bulb and in order to try it out had the government to let him test it on a remote indian village set aside in remote florida so if it failed there would be no embarassment for such a folish idea. He traveled to the village and the only place the chief would let him try it out was iln the wooden community bathroom that everyone spent little time in anyway. He hooked up the batterties and strung the cords and put the bulbs in the sockets and walla history was made: IT WAS THE FIRST TIME ANYONE HAD WIRED A HEAD FOR A RESERVATION. wheh what a smell ... the pun of course.

Today I have rebuilt the rope attachment and went to remount the motor base. 2 of the screw bases were broken off. Another 10 bucks for a mounting kit. 4 rubber gromments that insert in a 1/2 hole. Can't just buy one. Their is no way to get your hand under the motor base inside the boat so you have to use their mounting grommets. I am not a happy camper but I guess it is just the cost of OEM equipment.

The greatest country in the world let the process work. Two good men ran for the highest office in the land. One of them won. I believe either could have done the job well. Let's all pray that God will lead us all to work together to show the world that Democracy works in the USA. No blood shed, rioting in the streets, or army take overs. America the beautiful, land of the free, God bless America

thanks Skeeter: My trolling motor rope routes around the pin that the motor stem is attached to. I couldn't see any place that lube would help but will check again. I was wondering if any lubrication on the foot pedal would help in gettin it to work better. It seems that the switch that turns the motor off and on seems hard tp energize and cllicks off and on when pushing the lever to change directon. Maybe there is an adjustment or some alignment problem. It is the hardest trolling motor to control that I have ever had. Thom

I purchased a pro crappie 175 new in 2006. It comes with a motor guide 46 # thrust trolling motor foot operated. I have had two trip robbing issues with the trolling motor. 1.This summer while docked on Taney at Lilleys I started out fishing one morning ready to hit the first few hours and get in a few good floats or behind the Islands stripping crakle backs or buggers. When I got set and tried to manuver the current or place outside of the seam ..... the trolling motor would not move the boat. The prop had fell off. That pretty well ruined the morning and nearly day. Went to Bass pro .... they didn't seem surprised ... it happens all of the time ... the holding screw comes off. Had to buy and install new one with boat sitting in the stall. Not an impossible task but challenging. CHECK YOUR PROP HOLDING SCREW OFTEN. 2. This week end I went to fish a local lake at Whiteside Mo. Trolling motor only. Put in raised my trolling motor and the rope that you pull to drop the motor down broke off. Unfortunally the motor was down and locked in before I could catch it. Now you would think it would be simple to repair. Wrong. if the motor is down you cant get to the latcH spring WHERE THE ROPE TIES ON. Here is what you have to do. remove the four mounting screws and lift the motor off the boat. I actually took the motor off with the pins first. Then you can remove the black cover for the mechanism by removing two loctited screws under the motor mount and retie the cord to get by for the day. I am actually going to replace the entire cord with plastic covered 1/8 Inch steel wire clevised onto the spring latch. CHECK YOUR ROPE FOR WEAR. EASY TO CHANGE IF PROP IS UP INTO THE BOAT .... IMPOSSIBLE IF DOWN IN THE WATER WITHOUT REMOVING MOTOR. Other notes on the motor trolling motor in my opinion: 1. too small for an 18 ft boat. 2. foot pedal hard to use and difficult to manuver. (as compared to others i have used. 3. Poorly mounted .... lots of wobble and slack in ofF / on cycles. Have any of you had other experiences or things that I should expect in the future.

Anytime I see service men in a resturant I try to inconspicously stop the server to their table and pick up the tab. You would be surprised how many times the server has told me that someone else already taken care of it. At Cracker Barrel in Ofallon where I live 4 army personnel sat at the table next to me and I thanked them for their service to their country. I picked up their tab. One of the Sargents smiled and said you better get out of here fast we just are the forward vehicle for an army group of about 50 heading for Indiana. They relally got a kick out of it. they shared with me as we talked that almost all of the people they meet are very supportive of them.

John: Great. Regardless of where anyone stands on politics these guys deserve all of the support we can give them. It is great to hear of efforts such as these for any of our brave soldiers that make our freedom ring and defend our American freedom. It is still the greatest country in the world and all of our veterans have made that possible. Thom

SIO I was at Busch today also and the people at the vending station said that the water was still too warm and they hadn't stocked any fish yet. I wouldn't be surprised that they wait a week or so. Kind of interesting that there was a guy at 21 with a wire mesh basket coming out. The lake is catch and release for all species in that lake until early March. His car was parked directly in front of the sign that said exactly that in bold letters. What time were you there. I left around 2pm. Thom

I repeat .... I do not hate you Jeremy. You did say on your forum that on Ozarkanglers.com there were these haters. Ozarkanglers.com is a website that includes a forum. Really .... is the key word as much as I disagree with you I DON'T HATE YOU. I just disagree and dislike the implication that people are liars without being specific. It sort of lumps people like Lilley, Babler, Leonard, Mike, etc in with others who still give reports of catching fish but BTW have said recently about the same as you concerning the fishing being bad. They just didn't call out others as being dishonest. That is called CLASS.. I don't hate you. In fact I kinda like you and certainly respect your talent for fly tying and fishing. I probally will still recommend you in the list of guides I could recommend if asked. hang in there with your opinion and give me the respect of having mine without calling me a hater. Thom

Now folks judge for yourselves and read the last line of this paragraph posted and then deleted by Mr. Hunt: reposted on his own forum later and shown below. Jerymy I don't hate you I am just questioning??? who are the liars posting here? Quote: You know, I have to be real honest with the readers because that’s what I do. I read all these websites that are about Taneycomo‘s fishing conditions. I mean don’t get me wrong, this is my home water and this is where it all started for me so I love it here, but when I read all these sites that say fishing is great and we’re catching lot’s of fish, I just shake my head. To be simply honest with you, it’s not fishing good at all. In the past years it was nothing for you to catch a hundred fish every time you went out and right now you can’t do that for a few reasons. I’m not out there everyday anymore since I moved to Arkansas, but I fish it once or twice a month and can say at this moment….fishing is fair. Let’s be real here, with water temps in the 60’s and the d.o. being bad for a long period of time, these fish have suffered. I spent from 12-6pm fishing with the water off and caught several fish, but most of everything I caught was skinny in the body and not big by any means. Big heads and small bodies and that is the first I‘ve seen it like that in all my years fishing it. And for the most part the browns have moved out too. I counted about six browns in the neighborhood between 3-6 pounds. Nothing like you should see this time of year. The high water pushed them up sooner this year, they did their business and are already back downstream. I hate to be the one giving you this information, but who else will. It seems like nobody is really being honest and saying the real truth, and maybe that has to do with generating trips. Unquote Jeremy Hunt Read the last line....... Nobody is being honest??????? I take offense to that because I know these folks and they are not dishonest men. Like Jack Webb said on drag net ..... Just the facts sir ... just the facts I don't hate you .... just asking who are the liars. I read this forum every day and I am not sure who because I have fished with lot of these guys and they haven't ever lied to me.