Thom

I just purchased a cabelas 3/4 prestige. I love it. For the money it can't be beat. It is on sale from 49 to 39 dollars in the new store opening in bridgeton. I have two orvis Batenkills and they are fine but I like the prestige better. 49 vs 129 not a real hard choice for me. I may be just dumb and happy, but the latter is the most important attribute. Just as with flyrods. I own some very expensive ones but I have often stood near an expert who could throw 40feet out and just throw to where the fish were near me (25 feet) and caught as many or more fish. I have also been on the other end of that equasion.

Mark: Cannon dam also has a site with reports and a guide that works out of Cannon posts pictures. Click here >>> http://www.cannondam.com/fishingreport/ I look at it with a grain of salt but pictures don't lie.

Timsfly is correct. I also own that reel. In the literature that came with the reel it tells you how to make this adjustment. Info for each of the reels that are sold by orvis is available on the net. I am left handed and need to change reels when I purchase them. The better reels allow you to do this. It does not void the warrantee. Just follow the instructions. Again if you buy from a customer friendly vendor (mostly the local guy near you) he will help you with these issues. With reels like the Battenkill series there are no cheaper prices unless as in some cased the reel is being discontinued. BTW the clicking runs me crazy too. It can be minimized on the orvis but not completely eliminated in at least one direction.

I guess it is more important to collect fees at the boat ramps and generate power than safegard the multimillion structures we have. It may be that there is some scrutiny in place but the COE did not respond to my inquiries because they didn't want to reveal it. I was just appalled that anyone with the money to buy scuba gear can...as one previous poster said...go down an place their on the wall of the dam from the lake side. I believe we need to protect the rights of everyone to pursue their passion but we also need to protect everyone right to preserve that facility for the generations to come. No one will ever see the real twin towers again. Foolish mistakes were made to allow that to happen and we all could not believe our eyes when we saw it happen.

Unfortunately If you would review all of the candidates from the other side as of the aisle (as fairly as you did the dems) you could make a pretty good case why not to vote for most of them. Notice I said most. The conservative base is unhappy with the way they were treated after their support and the only one with a pretty clean past has the war hanging over his head fairly or not. Most of the candidites have real bad skeletons in their closets that are going to be hard to hide. Most have done a "I was for abortion before but I now see the light" and am opposed to it. Once we get past all of the talking points of both sides and see how they voted and were previously elected there is a skeleton left. Both sides are in the pocket of lobbist of the petro lobby and need their money to run a campaign. It will be another election of who do we vote against not for.

To answer your question Yes I do think that some better regulation should be placed on accessing the face of a dam on the lake side. I also think that you should have the right to dive and enjoy your right to public property. We just need to monitor who is there, when and for what purpose. According to what I have been told by the CORP this is not done or even attempted. Without going into detail I will assure that a small team of three could place enough of the new generation explosives in a short time to dump Table rock into the valley below from a remote location with much less planning than was done for 9/11. It would be simple to have some plan to monitor who dives at dam areas such as the ones we have at Bull shoals, table rock and lOZ to name a few that have vulnable valleys below.

kneedeep: I was at the grocery store just yesterday and observed a car with the windows rolled down. Inside were two children both A Baby and another that appeared to be younger that 7. No adult anywhere in sight. Don't young parent read the papers? It would been very easy to take the baby and been far away before anyone would know. There are literly thousands of missing children in this country. Children raising children!

I think the problem is us old people. We want to travel, vacation, drive SUV's etc. A lot of nerve thinking we can enjoy all that we have worked and saved for all of our lives. Seriously, There are a lot of people in this country and around the world making lots of money on petrolem products. Making money is not really bad but manipulating the market to do it is. Cartels do it and I strongly think that refiners do it also. I know this will solicit lots of comments on a free market but there is little or no oversight on profits, graft, political contributions to both dems and reps, and multiple other issues. When oversight occurs it is manipulated by the party in power to advance their cause. Government is one of the worst offenders. Their procedes from tax revenue on gasoline is outrageous. Phil: I feel your pain but I don't let it stop me. Thankfully God has blessed our family with a great retirement. Gas prices go down here 1 cent at a time and raise always at least 12 cents and this time 20 cents. There is only a law preventing goughing and it is hard to prove. Only one sucessful case in the ST. Louis and that was right after the hurricanes.

SM I knew your wrath would come down on me and others here for their opinion. You have a neat box to put everyone in don't you? I personally know many teachers who are very competent, I have a best friend who is a dedicated administrator and BTW was offered a much higher paying job as a lobbist in Jeff city with the reigning party. He loves education. It is his calling and passion. He was an excellent teacher. I seldom sit down in Hardee's with him that a parent or former student doesn't come up to him and have a friendly conversation. I sometimes wonder what perfect box you fit in. Your statements are personally insulting to many of my friends who work hard and long as teachers and are totally committed to their profession. I know at least one teacher who personally tutors some of the underpriviledge childeren in here class on her own nickel and others who go the extra mile to buy supplies from their own income in order to bring a higher level of learning to their classroom. I will agrue until the cows come in on this one. Yes there is a lot of incompetence out there as there is in any profession. Just don't lump all of them into one neat box.

I was on the other side of the darn two summers ago and a group of scuba divers entered the water and proceded to dive up next to the darn just off of the steps by the highway. I really was concerned so I went into the office and the lady there told me there that anyone can get permission to enter the water there and scuba dive. I asked the group and an apparent instrutor came up and began to make fun of me saying do you think we are going to blow up the dam? They were all laughing that I was concerned. I later discovered that there is no background check made and no one really knows if all of the divers that are seen there are really with that group. I was also told that no one has ever checked if they had a permit which the lady at the CORP office told me they probally had. So much for security. Yes a well organized group could just wait until one of these classes with permission entered and systematically place plastic explosives in strategic places near the shore anchors and breach the dam from miles away anytime they wanted later. Remind you of anything that happened in our recent history. I wonder how many dollars and lives could be lost?

If I didn't have a trip to LOZ planned I would probally head on down. I am looking forward to a week at Lilly's with my grandson later in the summer but I think I am going to wedge another trip in between that one. Thanks for the reports. Sounds good. I know I am not supposed to envy but I am really jealous of you guys so close to the action.

One of the stations in O Fallon Mo today raised it price 20 cents to $2.98 a gallon. I've searched the net and can find no explanation or reason for the recent surge except refinerys are retooling. Not true! T I wonder if the industry has decided that they are not even give us a plausable reason. What can you do? I know lots of people who are not planning the same driving vacations this summer. Will it affect the tourism industry? I am interested in the price of gas in your area. I know that Springfield and south toward Branson is usually the least expensive on my trip down from Ofallon. Usually about 10 cents less somewhat due to the lack of formulated gas required here.

I like hearing good things about teachers and schools. I believe that a large number of the teachers do a great job. My youngest daughter just graduated after quiting a well paying job and returning to college in order to get a teaching degree. When she began submiting resumes and they contacted her teacher advisors she immediately began to receive offfers. She is really excited about teaching and has taken leading edge courses in education graduating with honors while manageing with her husband a family. She will be in the classroom because she loves the profession not just to make a living. I am hoping that politicians will leave the teaching to professionals and not ruin that enthusiam. I hear good competent teachers that have been in the classroom with happy parents and students complain about meddling in education by polotics. We are past the days of the three R's. It is gone forever. Not that the three R's are not necessary but we must go beyond that and rely on those who have been trained to make decisions not poloticians The school system that my daughter will probally be in has an password protected online link for the parents as well as ongoing opportunities for the parents to interface with student progress and teachers as do most schools in the Kearny system. Comments, interactions and suggestions from parents are welcomed and utilized.

If you think standardized testing the answer let me give you two examples of two young men I know very well. Both took standardized testing and were evaluated by two different counselors in a highly rated school district graduating from classes of 600 students. The oldest of the two decided he wanted to go to University of Illinois and his counselor tried to discourage him from it. I told him go for it. He graduated with a BS in math and computer science and is now earning nearly a six figure income. The other boy did poorly in his standarized testing and another counselor who admimistered the testing advised him not to go to college but seek out a trade he enjoyed. He enrolled in SIU Edwardsville and graduated with honors. He was accepted with only 9 of over 100 appliciants to the University of Indiana's masters program and later taught there. He now works as lead designer for a very successful company in St. Louis. I said I knew the two boys well...they are my sons. Standardised testing sucks and so do most counselers. Most teachers agree.

Most flyrods warrantees are backed by their manufacters. I have broken two orvis rods over time and they have a number to call. They give you a repair order number and then you ship it to them. They repair or replace the rod and return it for a $30 dollar S&H charge. My sons orvix got caught in the door on a trip and they actually upgraded him to the next better rod ($450 valued) when they returned his. My friend has a scott and they did much the same for him. My loomis was repaired and returned for S&H fee. Most retail stores don't do it for you.

The timeshare sales folks revive this rumor yearly. They have news articles and all. It has somewhat died down and now the landing landing is the big pitch. I don't want to open up a can of worms but the landing is not much more than a bunch of over priced upscale outlets. I had to chuckle last summer when I found a pair of Nikes on sale...Same style shoe number etc for 35 dollars more than in my small hometown outlet store. The landing is nice for an afternoon walk but has a long way to go to be a great attraction for most of Branson oriented folks. It will probally bring in some conventions etc but for folks like me who have been coming to Branson yearly for the last 35 years it isn't much more than a diversion from what is really the attraction in Branson: Down to earth folks that value God, family, and America. Good clean fun and recreation for all ages.

Even though Big Cedar Lodge shows Dogwood Canyon as an amenity of theirs in their video presentations what they don't tell you (unless you ask) is that you still must pay the fee's to fish there. The same as anyone just walking in of the street. Just a few of the smoke and mirrors BS that you get if you tour their property.

Great stories! Great picture! Great forum!

Hooked 79: Welcome to the OAF forum. Great place to learn about fly fishing and tying. I do both and everyone here is more than willing to share their knowledge even though sometimes it is accompanied with a little fun poking back and forth. I also live in Ofallon MO. Love to fish Taneycomo and have two trips scheduled this summer. Will probally go other times. I usually pull my boat down. PM me if you are interested in hooking up at Taney sometime. By looking at your bio it appears that you work at Scheafers auto body.

I just got my orvis newsletter today and they are featuring Dogwood Canyon trips this summer. Around $400 for two day fly fishing school at the two streams there. Anyone attended Orvis schools or have any other info. I wonder if River Run outfitters is involved in the school. They are always recommended in the Orvis Newsletter as the local Taneycomo Orvis reps.

I started tying small bodies on larger hooks especially with midges because I have little feeling in one hand and poor eyesight (Oldsheizmers). I thought I was compromising my chances of catching fish but discover that I was actually getting as many takes and far more to the net. I was a little hesitant to say anything because I thought it was "like" maybe a dumb thing to do but as they say in the movies "it works for me". Refreshing to learn that maybe it is not such a bad idea. WHAT A GREAT FORUM

Thanks Phil: I really appreciate the effort that you make in getting the forum back on track. I is one of my links to the outside world since I am the primary caretaker of a wife in the late stages of Alheimzers. Thanks for all of your efforts to keep us informed and for the obvious Christian influence of a Godly man to guide the integrety of the site. Thanks Brother Thom

Gone fishing: I had a simular experience at BSP when I was recovering from my knee surgury. I was trying to fly fish at the handicap access on zone because I was shakey about wading with my bum knee. People (not handicapped) would crowd into the handicap spot and try to squeeze me out. I had a cane with me for balance and asked if they minded giving me some space if they weren't handicaped. a couple of them were spin fishing with jigs and insisted throwing over my line on the float. I seldom go to BSP execpt for kids day with my grandchildren. There are some real idiots there. When they crowd up to me I usually ask them if I am in their way and then move if they don't take the hint. I don't let them ruin my day but I usually calmly tell them my thoughts on stream ettiquette before I move on. If they have kids with them I suggest that they are giving their children a poor example.

Great pictures. Looks like I missed the good weather for my last trip so I scheduled a trip for the week of July 28 at Lilly's. Looking forward to being there. My grandson will be with me so it should be fun. I get almost as big of a thrill seeing the grandchildren catch fish as catching them myself. Notice I said almost as much!

Thanks for your feedback Bill. I really do like the St. Croix but got a little edgy when I read the disclaimers on the warrantee. It makes me feel better about my purchase. The times I fished the San Jaun in NM all the guide that I used fish with were St. Croix rods. I agree about checking out the local flyshops first. Their isn't much difference in the prices and the ones in Branson area are all a pleasure to do business with. Never got much good fishing advice from the clerk at walmart.