Thom

I found myself in a simular situation a few years back and had to use the only thing I had which was a girl looking rod. Some guy kind of smirked at me and called me a sissy. I got even though. One the way back to my truck I hit him with my purse. Seriously. To somewhat modify an old saying "a bad day fishing is worth more that an good day at work" If your on the stream and the fish are at the feeding trough much else don't matter especially what someone else thinks.

Leonard: Could post a pic of the Pine squirrel streamer that you caught the bow on. Nice fish / nice picture

Mark Twain once said something like this " Keep your mouth closed and let a man wonder if your are ignorant or open it and remove all doubt" It doesn't take much intellegence to call a man a disrepectful name or insult him. Sometimes it comes back to haunt you though. You don't hear the most intellegent man in the world "Rush" calling liberals crack heads anymore. It does take lot of thought and much more work to make a point based on fact and experience. We get lots of that here and I like it . I learn a lot from that even when I might disagree. This forum often gets emotional and heated in opinions but we usually let cooler minds prevail thus very little need for any censure.

I didn't know that guides did that. I always use an extra extender for my arms and actually have a minature fly rod with Scott on it that I use to photograph fish. The one in the picture shown is actually only 6 ounces. OK I have been outed BTW if you look at Jeremy's upper arms... they are compeltely visible. If he was stretching out his arm that much you wouldn't see them. I've seen some of Jeremy's fish caught with a fishing buddy not on a guided trip and he doesn't need to exagerate Nice fish Jeremy!

KCF: Or maybe whack a hacker. Not literally but close so it hurts.

Great story. The bow in my pic had no less than 5 flies on it's body. Most were encrusted by a layer of skin. I was able to remove my zebra midge, small olive jig and eggfly that were not imbeded before releasing the fish. Hope she is still there since I will be at Lilly's at the end of the month to kiss her again if he obliges.

Not a problem and not necessary to use expleteves. This is a quality forum with great guys not wanting to lower it's standards of conduct and respect. Most will respect the admin judgement and abide. One of the few times I remember any intervention by admin was just last week and received 100% positive feedback.

Is this the one? Seen at outlet #1 on taney.

A suggestion for a good money making proposition: I notice that Wallmart and other stores now have baby changing stations. I presume it is for leaving babies that misbehave and exchanging them for more behaved babies. Proposal: Have teen ager changing stations where lazy incosiderant teens can be exchanged for ones that are more behaved like we were when we were there age. The wait for an exchange might be lengthy but surely worth the wait.

Randall: Where are you fishing the Current. I have gone in at Cardiac Hill but that is quite a hike for me with my bad knee in and even worse back up the hill. Is the area behind Marimac park accessable or are you refering to the area at the end of Montauk. I live down the road from you towards St. Louis in Ofallon.

Drew and other gillers: If you want a good read check out or buy the paperback "Bluegill...fly fishing and flies" by Terry and Roxanne Wilson. The foreward by Dave Whitlock will whet your fancy enough to buy the book. It has excellent content with fly recipes and color illustrations. Covers many aspects of gilling from seasons, habitat, flies, and methods. The final chapter is an array of stories to sum up your appetite. Bluegill fishing is what really got me hooked on fishing as a young boy in Illinois mine country. My uncle gave me an old bamboo mail order fly rod which I used on a mine pond catching slab bluegill from the cattails. An occasional 2# bass on the six legged popper teased from the bank to the deeper water was an added plus.

JD: Great story and Priceless picture. Though there are many differences of opinion on this forum it is amazing that the core values of life seem to follow simular pathways. The picture congured thoughts of the days when my two sons and I spent time togheter in a homemade dingy on small lakes fishing for redear and gills in Southern Illinois. PRICELESS TIME SPENT WITH GOD, FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

I think that is what I said if you read my post. Both sides of the aisle are so vote concious that they have continued a policy with Mexico that only makes the fat fatter in Mexico and leave the American workers who foot the bill holding the bag. An empty bag. There is nothing in it for us and more and more corporatins who moved to Mexico hoping to get a fair shake found that the corrupt government bribes and harassment make it impossible to survive. Most have moved to other countries and some are now viewing China as their savior. What most don't understand is that China will entice and encourage them until they no longer need them. Then the steel trap of a communist society will snap shut and take everything they have. It is what wrecked the Russian ecomomy which only began to recover when they adopted some of the capitalist ideas of an American free society. Interesting statistic. In the last three years What nation that was starving and buying wheat from us to survive now ranks in the top three countries of the world for millionaires. The answer: RUSSIA

Terry: I will be praying that the job will be offered to you. I really enjoy your participation in the forum and chuckle often at your comments. Hope to be laughing out loud soon when you announce that you are employed. "all things work toghether for good for those who love the Lord"

I think the most relevent statement in my previous comment about NAFTA is that if we want to assess blame it falls on both sides of the aisle. GW Bush signed it originally and the Clinton adminiatration which started with a dem congress and then switched to Republician obsessed with impeaching the president bought into it 100%. The only opposition was from staunch conservatives who finally gave in to political pressure of electing the current Bush which required the Mexican American vote from key states such as Florida which was the deciding vote to elect a president that lost the popular vote by 500000 votes. Another attempt to bail out Mexico from economic disaster. Unfortunately Mexico was and still is on the take side of the NAFTA agreement. I think it goes without saying who is on the give side of it. The good ole USA. I can speak concerning the automobile business which I was in for 38 years. The vehicles that are made in Mexico at sub standard wages, no benefits and no job security are produced at a mimumum of 40% less than in the US. They are sold for the same price or higher as those produced in the US. Where is the profit going. To the folks who orginallly gave you cheap low quality cars and Pearl Harbor. They stole our technology and Research and developement. Our government workers, civil servants, and school parkng lots are filled with their cars. I wonder who will pay the wages of those above mentioned when there are no jobs left in the USA paying more than $ 8.00 an hour. They lied to our negotiators in Washington while their planes were circleing Hawaii and they continue to perpretrate the quality myth which is one of the biggest lies of the 21st century. It may have been true back in the 60 and early 70's but no more.

That Clinton Guy is real clever. I just looked at a picture on the net of him disguised as George Bush signing the NAFTA agreement in 1992 during George Bush's presidency. I don't understand how China got rights to trade with us under the North American Trade Agreement signed by Mexico, Canada and the USA. Yep Clinton is real clever. Got George to sign an agreement so he could get campaign contributions. Google NAFTA AND LOOK IT UP. I do agree that both parties Democrats and Republician are responsible for the exporting of our jobs under NAFTA. If you check most of the China trade imbalance took place in the last 5 years. We owe a large portion of our national debt to them also.

I spend winters (Jan and Feb) in Port Aransas Texas. There is a shrimping harbor there and in Aransas Pass that is almost out of business due to the shrimp farming in china and thailand. The government in those countries are subsudizing them to raise the shrimp and sell it in the USA labeled wild shrimp which is a brand name not a description of the shrimp. They are raised in pools which are not regulated for chimically polluted water. Lead, mercury etc. Port aransas has only two shrimpers left and they go out for a week at at time and come in and sell their shrimp at the dock. The winter texans like myself and the locals buy them out in just a couple of hours. 5.99 / lb tax free for large shrimp just out of the holds. I usally buy 10 # cleaning most for eating and using others for bait off the jetties and piers. The guys on the boats tell me that with fuel costs they bearly make a living. There used to be 20 to 30 boats between those two harbors and processing plants for the seafood. They do sell the small bait fish to the bay party boats and other fishermen for bait to help supplement their income.

We need to all be proactive in holding our government and its agencies to getting our best bang for the bucks. If we don't questions what we think is wrong it may be interpreted that we agree with the actions or inactions. After all if we don't voice our opinions to those who are in charge we deserve what we get. I make it a practice however to voice my opinion when I see a job well done as well when the ball is dropped. I appreciate and respect your opinions and those of others (even if I disagree) who comment here and find most comments interesting, provocative and helpful. CC: 100% right. I was typing a comment while you posted the last one and as usual your insight is appreciated.

Al: You are so right. Those inept politicains and mismanaging dept heads at the MDC may have some foresight after all. I spent a day in Wisconson a few years back following back roads with a state map that detailed wild trout streams. Most were barely accessable and in very bad shape. Since I had maps with mileage markers I was able to find exact road entrances to open streams. On a few occasions I found small signs that had obviously been taken down by locals and thrown in the weeds. One place a guy told me that I was on private property. I showed him the map and He said "yea you are right" and then explained that most outsiders were usually scared off but I looked like I was alright. It was state owned property but badly maintained. A simular experience in Colorado North west of Pagosa springs on govt land.

The bottom line. I have fished and traveled in most of the USA at one time or another. There are very few States that offer as much as Missouri for free. Most states charge to even go into the state parks and to park on their grounds and cross bridges. The facilities are not as well kept and very seldom upgraded. The license fees are much higher. Go on the net and check it out. There may be some waste and abuse but We have it pretty good here in Missouri. I have been personally involved with a few of the State managers with issues that I have pursued in terms of enforcement. I have nothing but high regard for their professionalism and timely responses that I received. One such case involved a State manager that was on vacation at Bennet fishing and handled a complaint on the spot. He later sent me a letter of the outcome of the action taken against the violater.

Then there's the snakes in the grass and steps down to the dam. I also heard that the fish are full of parasite worms and the contaminates from the Branson Landing developement can cause cancer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. BTW I'll be down next week

New evidence. Pepsi may cause hallucinations. see attachment.

I'll start a new topic with an alternative motive. My grandson and I will be at Lilly's for a week in late July. I am hoping that the fishing conditions are good and the fish are hungry. I will probally start out with Zebra midges and then go to small 1/100 olive or brown mini jigs 1/100, hares ears or egg flys. If the fishing is slow what would be your go to fly. We will be tying our own flies and fishing the restricted water most of the time or at short creek area. Suggestions on your best results of flys, method, area etc. If all else fails what is your go to fly?

I am always excited when I catch a large Brown. Lots of times they stay head down longer and I begin to wonder if I have a sucker on. Really exciting when I get the first flash of the Brown. I would have to agree with the Caddis though, I think Rainbows do offer a special thrill when they jump out of the water. I don't think I have ever had a Brown do that.

I don't think anyone was agrueing, just stateing how we feel while respecting the opinon of others. I learn a lot from folks with a different opinion than mine. Sometimes when I check into something I find that I was dead wrong about my opinion. I just expect some facts not enuendo. I follow the urban legends and snopes thread on the net and it is amazing how many of the charges that are made against different groups are unfounded. The same stories have been circulating for years the names and place just change occasionally. I worked in the automobile industry for 38 years and read articles about certain issues on blogs and in the paper that I knew to be completely false. I was directly involved with some of the technology so I knew why decisions were made. Many of the writers are influenced by sponsers with big money in publishing their stories with a slant toward a certain conclusion. Lots of facts are often omited to reach favorable or unfavorable decisions. Just remember that many folks like you and I make their living from american businesses. I would certainly not want to be privy to spreading a rumor that could hurt someones lively hood or one of the few american business left.. Unfortunately big business is so diverified that it is difficult to harm their profits by anything we do. It does feel good though to think that I have some power by not buying their products.