Thom

Welcome back Trav .... but don't be so timid ... and humble ... tell us what you really think. Let the Trav BEGIN!

On this particular day I counted nearly 200 eagles on the lower end of clarksville dam viewing through my spotting scope. there were even more above the dam on the ice flows. Here are some of the pictures shot thorugh my spotting scope of eagles on the ice and across the river in Illinois. I shot these by holding my sony DSC p10 to the lens of the scope. you have to double to see the birds in the trees. Every tree was filled with eagles.

NOT Well it was worth a try to get the upgraded newest version. Yes I did get all 12 and what a great collection. Thom

Ronnie No apologies necessary. I am sure like all of the tyers appreciate someone to take this project on and the flies will all be ready for testing this spring. After all it is titled "warm water flies". I am hoping to get down to Taney sometime in Feb or March maybe when the shad kill comes through. Even I can get bit then providing the water isn't boiling through the uppers like it often is this time of the year. Tight linesThom

What lake was that on. I thought the lakes were frozen over and ice fishing was only possible but the ice is too thin to walk on now. I was there Sunday and the ice was craking and poping when it was walked on but I can't imagine it being melted off enough to use a fly rod yet.

Gatorjet: Yes I knew Al Wehnert also. He was my first suprervisor when I served an appretenice as an electrician. Al was a master electrician and very knowledgable maintnance supervisor. I learned a lot from him and greatly appreciated the way he treated all of his employees with dignity and respect. He was really good to share all of his knowledge with the skilled workers. If you did your job you had no problems. He was liked and respected by all of us and we hated to see him retire. I actually asked if your dad was Al Wehnert first then changed to Al Coad his replacement because I didnt realize that Al didn't retire until 1972. You were blessed with a great father. Thom

I am thinking about checking it out tomorrow. I will bring spinning rod and some larger jigs or clousers just in case there is a possibility of getting to a melted area. If I find any patches fishable I will report back here. Thom

whew Flysmallie: When I saw deal on some flies I was wondering if the 144 flies of 12 different kinds had gone to ebay. Hey thanks for all of the work put into the swap ... I am looking forward to fishing each one this year sometime. tight lines Thom

If your dad wasa Al Coad I absolutely knew him. Great guy and was my supervisor. I actually ended up in the same job later as General foreman and then went to engineering before being transfered to Wentzville as High technology coordinator. I retired in 1990 after 38 years

Let us know how you did and what lake

I agree on the fishing there. Spent some time there a few years back fishing out of a Klack. Fish under 2# are unusual. I couldn't bleieve the size and stamina of the fish there. Looking at the background of the brush at the streams edge got my juices flowing. Great habitat to fish either out of a boat or wading. Lots of room to fish. we were having lots of action at one pod area and a guide moved in with his clients. I just moved down and out from them and it started back again. I am sure that my offerings were different to what the usual fare was there and that made it more interesting to the bows that were used to seeing the same o same o from the locals. BTW one fish is all that can be kept there and I never saw anyone keep one. YOu must leave the stream if you keep a fish. And yes wading is very possible there just a little walk to the stream and usually have to go up and out of the stream to walk down to the next spot but it is well worth the walk If it is your first time there I would recommend a guide t o make it a great outing. Reasonable and well worth the money. Thom

Ronnie: I changed mine # 12 to HPU red eyed shinner. I had orginally thought I would tie a bluegill fly but changed to this one instead. It was mailed on the 23rd so it should be there soon. Can you revise the page on list of flies. Thanks Thom I

Need info on highway 70. Can anyone give me information on highway 70 from St. Louis to Vandallia MO. Are the roads safe to travel and what are the reports for today and tomorrow? Thanks of any info Thom

Ronnie: My 12 HPU Red Eye shiner flies are in the mail and headed your way. I modified it somewhat from the orginal pattern. I enclosed an envelope with postage and addresses for shipment back to me. It will be a #2 Eagle claw L095JL worm hook with a 3/16 Spirit River real eye + nickel red at the off set of the front. The body of the hook is dubbed with Rumpf Estaz opalescent olive. The top inner side will have a plume of Olive maribou with silver wing flash over it. The underside will have a salmon flashabou accent and the bottom of the hook over the salmon flashabou and will have Green wing flast tied in the center and wraped over the barbell and then doubled back to just past the end of the hook. I have marked all of the wingflash with a black bar to resemble the markings on the lateral of the shiner or small gill which it will mimmic. I hope it will produce some fun for trying this spring for smallmouth and I plan to also try it for browns as it could look like a sculpen or small minnow. Thanks for taking this on ... it has been fun and was a first for me tying this fly. You will probabally be able to tell that when looking at it. I hope the fish are dumb enough to give it a try though. Maybe the will die laughing and we can just net them as they float. tight lines, Thom

Keep that rumor going .... it is the least we can to prevent anglers from driving all the way out there just to get skunked. There are no fish at Busch and all of the trout in lake 27 and 28 have died of lonelness and starvation. They do rent plastic fish at the concession for picture taking however. I have seen some of the pictures on this forum. Great replicas.

I was wondering if anyone has been to lakes 27 or 28 lately. With all of this warm rain and warmer weather I wonder if there are some breaks in the ice that can be fished. I might even try 32 or 33 for crappie. I know they are there and are eating something. I have been doing some tying and would like to at least give it a try tomorrow or at the end of the week. It is always fun to go there in the winter with my spotting scope and watch the deer and birds that congregate in the wildlife areas. Fishing just another bonus. I always have a flyrod and spinning rod in the roof of my Tahoe. Thom

You are correct in that the GMC VS the Chev side by side is a bit more $. The advertising is that Chevrolet is professional grade and that GMC is Commercial grade. GMC is a little more heavy duty with emphasis on "little more". If a 50000 dollar truck is just 700 dollars different just how much could you make a vehicle better for 700 dollars? Little better quality seat covers, little better quality tires, little better, fancier trim interior. That is about it. I have driven and owned both several times and will tell you that it is toss up in the vehicles. I bought my current Tahoe over the Yukon because it is a "little" better rated. 60000 Vs 58000 dollars and I couldnt find much difference. Availability for this one was the difference.

Welcome Letchie. Lots of members in this area. Ofallon, St.Peters, St. Charles etc. I am also from O'fallon. Keep us posted on your adventures. Lots to be learned here and apprediate all of your input.

I got news for you Taxi. The GMC and Chev are much the same truck. Electronics, motors, drive trains, 99% of the same components. I worked for GM from plant engineering up to corporate level for 38 years and helped install and beta test the electronic testers for the ECR and harness systems as well as other major components and systems. Same test parameters fit both brands. I actually spent some time at the testing grounds In Milford where they were driven and tested. In some cases the flat outs and terrain testing was done with either one or the other becausae the packages were the same. There is one difference though. The emblems on the exterior. One says GMC one says Chevrolet. Makes GMC and Chevrolet salemen nervous to ask them the difference too. Thom

Two places to check out in Illinois: Balwin Lake and Coffeen Lake offers warm water (power Plant) fishing in the winter time and also You can fish below the dam at Carlyle in the winter time and catch white bass, catfish, crappie, and a few others. You can fish up againt the dam or down at the low water dam and catch fish in the winter time. I am not sure about the camping there but because of the hunting seasaons I would bet that there are some places open. tight lines. Thom

Corey: Great pictures. I wondered how you got them posed so well. What camera and settings did you use to shoot the pictures. I suspected you used a long lens or crawled on your hands and knees along the shore. Thanks for sharing. BTW .... I sent you a PM on another subject of interest. Thom

T.J. does a long 14 to 16 inch jig to get a drop at the end of each motion. I would say 3 to 4 feet deep and dropping nearly 2 foot on each take up of the reel. the strikes are coming on the drop when he takes up the slack before dropping again. Eric look at the edited post at what he caught at dry run.

My grandson TJ ,who will be 12 in February,was fishing Busch Wildlife a few days ago and before leaving he asked Dad to maybe take the camera. Well the camera didn't get packed but TJ who is getting real good with a spinning rod and jiging caught a 5 pound 24 inch rainbow on the catch and release lake at Busch Wildlife. It is back in the lake and ready to challenge another angler. T. J. hit the grand slam at Dry run creek last summer Pics from that outing. mom brought the camera.He did very well jiging on the white at wildcat shoals. Thom

Ronnie: I will be tying Fox Statler HPU Bright eyed shiner or a variation thereof in place of Michaels offering. Hope to get started this week end. Thom The above is the idea that I am working from and the following is the prototype that I am tying. I have changed the wing flash a bit (three colors with black band marking) and added a bit of maribou to the center for movement and a wrap of chartuce glitter around the dumbell. It is tied on a #2 worm hook with a 1/8 oz dumbell. The picture is of the same fly ... the top is upside down and the bottom is the way it will actually fish ---> HPU Hook point up. I am naming it the QNT SHINER OR the one letter better fly. I will start full production this week. The only problem is with attaching the eyes to the dumbell. They don't seem to obvious as eyes but I am told that they do in the water? humm ... hope so but time is running out and I got a late start due to circumstances. The eyes can be easily changed later if necessary. Thom