Kansas Fly Fisher

Okay guys, I need some input. I've attempted emailing and sent a PM to Bear52 on the 1st and haven't gotten a reply yet. I checked his stats and found that he has only made one post on the forum and that was to the fly swap. He was last active on the forum on the 13th of July. The deadline for me to mail the fly's out to you is the 8th. Here's my question; If I haven't recieved anything from Bear52 regarding his submittal do you want me to go ahead and mail out what I have. I currently have all but his so we would get 14 flys rather than 15. I'll do what the majority of the tyer's submit. Also, it will probably be the morning of the 11th before I can actually get the fly's in the mail. My Father-in-law passed away on Thursday and his services are on Monday. I'm sure we will stay down there for a couple of days to help the family. If I get home earlier than the 11th I'll get them out sooner. But, our plans are to come home on the 10th so I can get them in the morning mail on the 11th. Tight Lines . . . John

This fella came along for the ride on my radio antenna. After we got to the house I decided to take a picture. I was surprised he stayed there long enough for me to get close enough and focus the picture. I guess he was still scared and didn't want to turn loose after a 30 mph ride down the street.

Please keep our friends in your hearts and prayers over the next few days. We just learned that their sone Ryan was killed by a roadside bomb last night. He was on his way back from a forward camp to the base camp in preparation to return to the states. I'm proud of what he was doing and pray that our men and women are kept safe while over there and they ALL get to come home soon. John

Enjoy yourself Phil. And for pete's sake don't WORK too hard! Bring back lots of pictures for us that have to stay here. John

Okay Mizzou, Keep an eye open for the next one. Hopefully it won't take long. John

I emailed mine to Phil and he uploaded them for me. John

I guess that adds new meaning to "the fight in the fish."

Don, got your fly's today. We only need the dead chicken from Bear52 and we are complete. Today was the deadline so if anyone knows bear52 give them a hollar and see what the status is. I'm going to send him an email and check also. thanks, John

OUCH! Been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt. I know what you're going through and hope for the best. I agree with Mike though, the stupidest thing would be to let it happen again. John

I just emailed you the two pictures. John

If you can't get them (one one's Dano linked to) to download for you, let me know your email address and I'll send them to you.

This one won't complain either. In fact, if your catching fish I may ask you to show me how it's done. John

Not too many pictures I hope. Just reading the post makes me want to jump up and head that way. I don't think I could take it if there were pictures. Alaska is one of the spots I want to make it to. Alaska, the Catskills, and Yellowstone are the spots on my wish list for now. I'm sure there's more but that'll have to do for now. John

Just a quick update. We only have two fly's yet to come in. I just wanted to add a friendly reminder that the deadline is August 1st for your fly submission. If you guys will let me know when you mail your fly's I'll start haunting the mail box again. John

My dad use to work the paper mill near Morriliton. Neat place, I really liked the Petit Jean Mt and the parks there. Some darn good deer hunting up that way. I still have some family that live on the mountain and down around North Little Rock and Conway Lake but Dad and his clan have moved on to Alabama and I took mine to Kansas. Great to have you on the forum. John

Sounds like two good days of fishing. Now if I can just figure out how to get some time off and do some fishing. I think I'm feeling a little ill right now. Maybe a sick day is in my future. Fishing would be just what the doctor ordered. I'll have to try that "Big Mo". John

Luke, got your fly's today. We're down to only needing two. John

I just logged on to the cam. It's about 4:45p.m. and they must be generating water cause it's moving fast on the cam. That was kinda neat to watch for a bit, seeing all the stuff floating by.

Chuck, I had one of the shallow catch and release nets that Wayne and Dano are talking about. It was a great net and they are right about the ease of releasing the fish. I gave it up (my wife uses it now), for the ease of measuring the fish while still in the net. The measure net is a bit deeper (to hold the BIGGER fish you will catch) but it's still pretty easy to release the fish from it. I usually cradle the fish in my hand with the net between my hand and the fish, then simply turn the net over to release the fish. This method seems to work well for me and I don't have to handle the fish an excessive amount. John

I also have a couple of prayer requests The first is for the family of a paramedic friend that passed away while on the job in Topeka. I ask that you keep them in your prayers through this tough time. He was 38 years old at the time of his passing. The second is for the family of the Girard Footbal Coach. He was moving a portable field goal when it came in contact with a high power line. I also ask that you remember the young men of the football team that were present and witnessed this horrible event. They will need the soothing touch of the hand of God to make it through this. Thank you for keeping these people in your prayers. John Jackson

I prefer the #18 olive or gray scud, a zebra midge, and a #12 crackleback, and to finish the list of top 5 would be the pine squirrel zonker that I tied for the fly swap. A bonus fly would be the wooley bugger and the #16 renegade. Most of these are common so I won't include the receipe unless someone asks.

I use the same net as Bill McC! It's a great catch and release net. I also debarb my hooks for ease of taking out of the fish and also if it gets caught in the net. Well worth the investment, which isn't that much. Not to mention you can measure your fish while it's in the net. John

There really wasn't any crowds. There were two on the handicap access and one in the water when we got there. Shortly after that the two on the access left and the guy in the water continued on down stream. We pretty much had our little section to ourselves. Also, I forgot to mention earlier. There are a couple of REAL nice browns cruising the area I mentioned earlier. One would go 4-5 pounds. Their spooky though. Probably had everything thrown at them. Might be worth a try to spend some time figuring them out. I caught my big brown in this same area. I think that's why it's my favorite spot. Good luck.

We stayed in zone 1 all day. We were between the darn and the first handicap fishing access. I was wanting to try below the bridge but we just didn't get there this time. I hear that's a great place to fish. Good luck on your trip.

It was actually a pretty good day. The only time it was really hot was first thing in the morning. Then the breeze kicked up and the cool water kept you comfortable all day.