Thom

You are absolutely right Troutgal. A major battle has been won by the family, but the rehab for those children will go on for years. What a shame for anyone to go through such a trauma.

I have been using the alatoid tin and they are great. I just hot glue high density foam cut with a sharp knife to accomocate the fly to the bottom and in some cases use the magnetic strips with self sticking tape on the back. (found it at Lowes in the hardware drawer section) They don't pop open quickly like some of the purchased fly boxes and fit well in the upper small pockets of my vest. If you do drop the box the foam allows it to float long enough to scoop it up. I print a colored label with picture from my computer and glue it to the front top. A strip of clear 3" package tape over the top and your done. Except filling the box of course.

Pretty good price for a camera with a 10x Leica optical lens and 5 mega pictal resolution. Unless you are interested in making enlargements over 5x7 you might want to set you resolution back to 3.2 meg. I do that so I can take more pics and then delete the ones I don't want later. Saves tons of space in your computer album when you upload them also.

Welcome to the forum. It is a great gouup with lots of knowledge to share. I am also from the St Louis area (ofallon mo) and spend 3 to 4 weeks in Branson a year in my timeshare near fall creek marina. When I am out of time I visit some of the great resorts on the Lake such as Lilly's. Our family has one big get to gather each year. We have been going down for years and still enjoy it even with the overbuilding going on. When we get back to the cabin or at the dock its like "river runs through it" comparing fish, fly rods and fly's that we used. Great clean wholesome fun and you hardly meet a stranger on the lake or at the dock. I know it is a temptation to go to bass pro now but visit the local guys to buy supplies. They have good information to share, quality equipment and most times more reasonable prices.

The so called experts say that the death penalty is no deterent. I am just a down home boy from a small town in southern Illinois but with my limited knowledge of statistics here are the facts: Many of the criminals that have commited fleonious homicide have been released on parole and commmited another felony . No murderer has ever been executed and commited another felony or murder! I think that makes that 100 % effective.

If he is bringing a drift chain you might advise him to bring a good wallet full of cash. I believe it is illegal on the white both in MO and ARK and will be reported quickly.

Balwin and Coffeen are good hot water discharge lakes. Cofeen has a 25 HP limit. Balwin good for whites and other bass species. Cofeen also good for bass as well as crappie. I fished both lots when I lived in Highland and Collinsville before I moved to MO.

It is not necessary to go that small. I fished with size 16 and 18 last time to Taney and caught 20 or 30 every time out. I had the best luck with copper tungsten heads and black or olive thread wrapped with copper or silver wire. Any of these combinations work. I have caught as large as a 22" rainbow on a size 18. The strikes aren't much different with the exception that sometimes the line or indicator just moves away or stops if it is drifting and doesn't necessarly go under. The smallest indicator that still floats above the fly is the way to go. The smaller indicator helps detect the strike better and doesn't disturb the water when it lands to spook the fish if there is no chop on the water. San jaun worms in brown or red are effective especially after a rain or high water flow.

Pretty good summary LMW. It's pretty much different strokes for different folks. I even change my mind from season to season but have used all of the above and found most satisfactory. This is one area where size is important. too large a problem with some presentations and too small a problem with larger presentations. when the fishing gets tough or water still and clear any small element can affect the bite.

If you have or can get cabela's latest 2007 flyfishing catalog page 77 shows the ones described above. I really like the ones that Terry described (football). They come in three sizes and can be easily removed by stretching the rubber tubing inside the float. Good descriptions in the catalog. I am in the market for a new supply of everything including indicators. The last trip to Taney someone stole my soft side tackle box which I had most all of my fly boxes and other accessories in from my boat at the dock. All I had left was a few things which were still in my vest. The bright side..........I will get all new fishing gear. Luckily I had removed my two back up reels and my sinking line reel to make room for more fly boxes. Whoever it was is probally still trying to figure out how to get power bait and earthworms to stay on a size 18 or 20 hook.

Sometimes not only alright but better because it looks like new candy to the trout. I have stumbled on some combinations that were unconventional for that very same reason (out of the right color or fur). My grandson who is 12 started tying flies three years ago. The were very unconventional by the recipe standards. He and his dad were on a trip to Montauk and his flies worked better than what any of the other guys on the trip were using. They were all asking him to tie them up some.

Sounds like a step in the right direction. Hope it is enforced. Most of the times I fished those upper stretches I was very disappointed in the lack of abuse on the even loose regulations there. Down farther in the remote wald in areas the meat fishermen strip the river with little enforcement.

Sorry I got a little more on my paste than I intended however: The info that I posted is from a website owned by Gastons resort 870-431-5202 about 1/4 mi just south of Bull Shoals state park. It is just below the dam and a nice place to stay. You can find further information and a decent archived fishing report on their website http://www.gastons.com/. Another place that I like is Stetson's which is just above white hole and offers good bank wading both up and down stream from the resort and at white hole if they are not running lots of water. If you want to get familiar with the area I recommend a book called HOME WATERS by the mid-south fly fishers. It gives lots of information on lodges, accesses and a description of the river. It also has excellent walk in maps of All of the Northern Arkansas, Tennessee, and southern Missouri trout streams including white river, red river, taneycomo etc stretches. It is available at feather craft in St Louis and well worth the money. If you study the map and chase the stream on the rise you can fish for several hours after the water is released at the dam due to the long winding nature of the White by driving to the next access. The first time I went to Red River I found walk in accesses marked on the map in the book mentioned above that make my trip.

Fishing report for week of Jan 6th: This week we had absolutely no generation at all during the days. There were a couple of times when a little water was let out of the lake in the late evening, and then shut off quickly afterwards. Temperatures were very nice this week, so there was not much demand for electricity in regard to heating homes and businesses. The lake level is still 12 feet below power pool and until we get enough rain to bring the lake level up, we probably won't see periods of high water for very long. The best way to fish for trout on low water for spin fishermen is to use white plastic worms, or the Powerbait artificial wax worms and some yellow Powerbait or corn. Redworms work well also. Artificial lures that seem to work best are the Little Cleo, Buoyant Spoon, and Rooster Tails on 4 or 6 pound green low visibility line. Fly fishermen are bragging about the Y2K bug being the hot fly this past week, as well as your favorite color of wooley buggers... olive, brown, or black. Tan scuds and Rusty nymphs seem to work well also. We sell all of these flies, lures, and bait here in our tackle shop. Happy New Year! Please remember that fishing on the White River is open year round; there is no closed season! Some of our biggest trout are caught in the winter when we offer 40% off of our cottage rates! We also now have free high speed Internet access in all of our accommodations! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WATER RELEASES FROM BULL SHOALS DAM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BULL SHOALS LAKE & WHITE RIVER WATER CONDITIONS Date: 12.30.05, Lake Level: 644.94 msl Last Week: 644.88 msl (Power Pool is 656 msl) 12/31 ... No generation occurred on this date Sunny, high 56' 644.94 1/1 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 68' 644.93 1/2 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 62' 644.98 1/3 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 64' 644.96 1/4 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 58' 644.96 1/5 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 57' 644.96 1/6 ... No generation occurred on this date Partly Cloudy, high 50' 644.94

I have found that some flys are less expensive if I buy them espceially if they require expensive hackle or lots of different colors. Small jigs can be purchased by the card and it is almost a wash. I usually buy a few cards and then just add maribou or head color depending on what is working. The thing that I find is best about tying my own is discoving what they are hitting, tying the night or morning before and then have it work on the stream. There is just a little more pleasure catching a fish on something that I have created and then lots of times sharing a few of the sucessfull creations with one of my grandsons, sons or a fishing buddy I have met on the stream that wasn't having a good day. Been on both sides of that scenario. I always have my tying boxes with me at taney and many times find that it is more convenient to concentrate tying the patterns that are working that week. How many times have you switched flys several times before finding what the special of the day was in the Trout cafe. Of course it is the one fly in your fly box that you only have one of. If you have the vice and feathers all is not lost.

No one can complain that there isn't enough diversity on this forum. The nice thing about a forum is it's like a cafeteria. You go down the line and only pick out what you enjoy. You don't need to trash all of the other things that are on the food line to have a good experience.

Your absolutely right about the moss. I didn't know why the stretch had changed at the hatchery outlet, but it is really different. They ruined what was one of the best riffles and runs in the stream. I seldom even fish there anymore because it is almost impossible to get a drift because of the moss dragging line and fouling the fly. The comment about the owners at Weavers is right on. They are a class act and very customer friendly. I often buy something there at least once when I am at Bennett if I need it or not just to stop by and chat. Awesome and very accurate web site also. a must to visit if you plan a trip to Bennett

I usually start with black and yellow (black tied on top and yellow on bottom) with yellow or gold jig heads. White, black or olive are also good colors. You can buy or order a whole card of any of these jigs at Basspro for less than you can tie them unless you already have jig head hooks, maribou feathers and thread in your kit. The maribou stores well, just don't leave it exposed to bright light or sunlight for extended peroids or it tends to fade out.

There is an angler that I know that fishes larger jigs (1/64 th and 1'32) in the Busch wildlife lakes in St. Charles county. He fishes without an indicator as well as with one. fishing without an indicator try moving the rod tip up and down rapidly (3 to 4 times a second if possible) for each turn of the handle of the reel. Try letting it sink a little before starting the retrieve for deeper fishing. With an indicator let it land and sit for several seconds before the retrieve. Sometimes you will get a strike on the drop so be ready to set the hook on any unusual movement on the drop. After the drop start jigging back by just jerking the float 3 to 4 times or more to move the jigs up several feet and then let it sink again. Repeat all the way to the shore. The fish seem to hang farther from the shore when the water is stell. When there is a chop on the water you can fish closer to the bank and around brush and structure closer to the bank. Trout Unlimited pays to stock lunkers in some of the lakes and I know of a 10 pounder 28" long caught at Busch wildlife this year. Seen the pics so I know it is not just an urban legend. Let us know how you done and good fishing. Is there any other kind??????/

A few things I observe when fishing jigs: 1. Be sure to keep the indicator upstream from the jig. Don't let the float pull the jig. 2. Try fishing at different depths if you are not getting strikes. (sometimes the bite is on the bottom and sometimes just inches below the surface) 3. Set the hook on the smallest movement. Sometimes the indicator will go under and other times it will just bearly wobble on the surface. If the jig stops, moves or goes under set the hook. 4. Keep any slack out of the line between the tip of the rod and the float. 5. You might want to also try changing colors often if the bite is slow or going to a tung head midge in place of the 1/100 jig. 6. This was mentioned in the other post but is important. Be sure the indicator is not to big so even the smallest strike can be detected and make sure that it is just large enought to float on the water and not be pulled under by the jig. Others may have different ideas but these things work well for me when fishing jigs.

Snagged: More on the 10 # rainbow. The rainbow was caught in one the lakes that is not catch and release. The fish was 28" long. I found out that the angler who caught the fish lives across back yards from my oldest son. He has several pictures of other lunkers caught at Bucsh wildlife area. He fishes with a spinning rod using jigs fished under an indicator and just jigs them to the shore.

Snagged: Check this out= http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?s...ic=4319&hl= I saw a picture. Not sure it was supposed to be kept until February but the rainbow was every bit of 10 #. I am from Ofallon. Just about 4 miles from Busch. Where are you from.

I don't know what camera you are using but on my Sony I can crop the picutre right in the camera. If you go into the view selection on the camera and then you can use the zoom feature to enlarge the picture then move it up or down left or right then retake the photo from the view that you see. It saves both the original pic and the cropped one. Usually the step by step instructions are in the manual. I take a lot of pics through my spotting scope of birds and I usually have to crop them to get them centered. You don't have to lose the original photo when you crop it outside the camera either. Just remember to copy and paste the original and give it a name such as fish1.jpg and fish2.jpg. Most software lets you do this within the program. just remember to do it before you save any changes such as croping or changing contrast.

Merry Christmas to all. Hopefully each of us as we enjoy the blessings of Christmas we can find time to remember others less fortunate by sending something to a food pantry, or shelter etc. I recently saw a picture of a soldier in Iraq who had made a makeshift worship area with cardboard on the muddy ground with a cross in the middle and an American flag on either side. Let's say a prayer for safety for him and the other patriots that are defending our priveledge of having that Merry Christmas and a prayer of thanks to our God that we live in this great America.

If you go to Montauk don't overlook the two stretches just below the park regulations. You must have a trout stamp but are not limited with the week end regs of the park. You can drive to the first access past the park on the Current. Instead of turning out of the park just go strait and there is a great hole there and the the next access is just down the road (If I remember right it is called baptist camp) a couple of miles. The current river there can be waded down past the first rapids a ways if the water is not up to high. The last time I fished the rapids just next to the parking lot I landed and released an 18 inch brown on my second cast. Hopefully he is still there for you to enjoy.