Kansas Fly Fisher

Nice fish! John

Very true Dano. John

Seems like Dano and I have the same problem. I started out with a basic vest, moved to a chest pack (or two), then to the fanny pack, back to another vest and now have yet another vest. My wife bought me the Fishpond® Gore Range Tech Pack for our anniversary and I love it. I agree with Jerod, I believe the vest is right behind the rod and reel in importance. It must be comfortable, have enough space for all the "essential junk" plus some extra. I really like the Fish Pond for those reasons. The lower pockets hold my fly boxes like they were made for them. There are plenty of loops and D-rings on the chest for attaching "stuff." There's plenty of pockets and the pockets have enough room without having to overcrowd one. I can carry all the stuff I need for the day, plus extra and it's not so bulky that it gets in the way. The neck and shoulder area is padded and comfortable for a long day on the water. It also adjusts to my "oversize front built-in work table." I'll probably keep this one around for a while. John

Reminds me of the time I left my wife at a truck stop while on vacation in Oregon. Took me about 15 minutes before I figured out she wasn't with me. She had been asleep in the back seat of the van when I got out to answer the call of mother nature. Didn't see her get out, so when I came back I just got back into the van and headed down the road. Man that was the quietest ride after going back to pick her up. She still reminds me today, almost 20 years later, of "the incident." Did I mess up going back . . .

Man I got gipped! I paid 2500 bucks for my Area 51 reel! John

Work has done it again. I have to go in at 8pm on Friday and won't get off until 8am on Sunday. Hope you guys have a great time and maybe I can catch up with you down the road. John

Sounds interesting Don, let us know how they work out. I've been experimenting myself. I'll report when I get a chance to try them out. John

Michael, glad you got them. Let me know how they work for you. I've been doing some experimenting myself with it. I'll let you know how it works out when I try them. Tight lines John

I agree with all that's been said. 1 - this is a GREAT site! 2 - there is some drama, but that keeps it interesting, and if I don't like it, I just don't read it. 3 - Comedy relief is good! After all, laughter IS the best medicine. Again, if it's not up my alley, I just move on. 4 - The fishing reports, and pictures, are very informative and fun to read. I enjoy seeing, and reading, other peoples success stories. It makes the time between my trips down there go a little easier. 5 - I feel I've made a lot of new friends thru this forum, some I've met and fished with, some I've just talked to. Phil, you're doing a great job with this forum and I would hate to see it changed in a negative way . . . censorship. The nice thing about this layout is you can pick and choose what is right for you. Just my two cents John

I'm going to assume that you will come into Chanute from the east on highway 39. When you get to the first stop light in town (Lincoln and Highway 39), turn south. About 7th street, Lincoln takes a job one block to the west and becomes Santa Fe. Continue south another 15 blocks and you will see the lake on your right (west) side of the road. Wal-Mart will be directly across the street on the east side. Hope this helps. John

It's a known fact that fly rods, when left in dark, close, confined area (such as a closet), they will multiply. Many a hour has been spent pondering this phenonmen and many a good woman has unknowninly accused their man of "buying" these items. . . . that's my story and I'm stickin to it!

gone - I'm not sure where they are meeting up at, but the lake is located on the south end of town right across from the Wal-Mart. It's part of the Santa Fe Park. Where are you coming from and I'll give you directions to the lake. John

Things are getting hectic at work again but I'm still planning on coming over for breakfast. Where are you guys meeting?

I'll have to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing.

Thought so . . . it wasn't a hard guess from reading the tag though. John

I'm working on it! I got the boss hooked on fly fishing so the plan is in the works, just not totally implemented yet. Hope you guys have fun and . . . . . . watch out for the things that go "bump" in the night John

Good luck guys. Hey snowfly, I think I saw your truck in the parking lot when I was there. Does it have personalized tag from Illionis?

I'd love to make it down again, but I have to work on the 1st. Maybe another time (real soon). John

I don't see the problem with it either. There free and easy to get (providing you are legal). And, like it's been said, there are a lot of lesser important things that require a photo ID, so why not voting! It's probably the most important thing we can do as americans.

I'm going to have to agree with the group. Try before you buy! I've ordered from catalogs and ended up selling or trading the rod later because it just wasn't what I thought it'd be. You know what you like and how the rod should feel for you. That's the most important factor . . . does it fit you? I also agree with the group regarding two piece vs. four piece. I have both, and althought I've not really noticed much difference between the weight's, I'm still not conviced that those extra ferrels don't add "something" to the rod. They (the 4 piece) are much handier to pack and travel with compared to the longer 2 piece. But my two cents say to stay with two. Event thought I take all my rods with me when I go fishing it seems I always revert back to my favorite . . . a two piece sage. Good luck, and remember, cruising the catalogs is half the fun.

Hey MO, are you by chance coming over the night before? I forgot that I'm working that Saturday and have to be at work at 8:00 a.m. John

Good Luck!

MoCarp - you going to be there? I live only 15 minutes from Chanute and know the lake well. I'll come over and say howdy and see what all the stuff's about. John

My vote is for a great wife! Most fisherman are not good boys

I took a friend down to Taney yesterday for his first trip trout fishing. We left Pittsburg about 9:00 a.m. and made it to Taney just before noon. It was also his first attempt at fishing with a fly rod. We'd worked a bit on his casting in the yard but this was his first time on the water. The day started out tought but he hooked up 5-6 times but no fish to hand. I managed to land five myself. We weren't along thought, we didn't see many fish getting caught. We fished from outlet #2 down to rebar. We did see a couple of very nice browns caught below outlet #2. Probably in the 7-8 pound range. Saw one break off in the rebar that was bigger than the two caught earlier. We did see a lot of big browns cruising just not biting. About 6:30 p.m. we left the water for a supper break and quick nap. We headed back to the water about and ran into Leonard and Michael in the parking lot. Leonard joined us on our first attempt at some night fishing. With some help and tips from Leonard, Joey was able to land his first trout! We stayed until just after midnight with Joey landing two more fish. We got back to Pittsburg about 4:30 a.m. After last night I'm convinced night fishing on Taney is the way to go. I'm already looking forward to our next trip down. I figure if we leave home by 4-5 in the afternoon we'd make it just in time for the night trip. Thanks again Leonard for all your help. I'm convinced had you not been there to show us "the ropes" the trip would not have been as successful. John