fishgypsy

Bickering over whether or not stream X is or is not a sh*thole seems absolutely pointless to me. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes good water. It's an opinion. A preference. Everyone has one. If yours doesn't jive with someone else's, so what. Get over it.

That's what I was thinking, mosouthpaw, unless there's some sort of easement involved. I don't know the answer.

Yep Bill, those are parr marks.

I thought it was about holding people accountable for their individual actions and behavior, not taking away everyone's rights. My mistake. *Fade into wistful flashback....* I still remember one of the first fall turkey hunts I went on with my dad, back when the rule was one bird a day. He shot two with one shot. It was a mistake, and arguably, he shouldn't have taken the shot. He could've thrown one in a ditch, or not tagged it and stuck it in the freezer. Instead, we took it to the check station. He was sure to get a ticket, and he did- not only because he shot two birds in one day, but also because he had misread the calendar, and the season didn't start until the next day . The agent gave him some leniancy (few people would admit to shooting two birds, especially out of season), but he still had to pay 80 bucks or so in fines. That had a big impact on me- no one's perfect, I don't expect them to be. The difference is whether you accept responsibility for the consequences of those mistakes. I guess that, in my mind, I can't justify killing something if I'm not absolutely certain as to what it is. If that means passing on game, so be it. And I'm still not convinced on the whole heron thing. Even if we excluded all smallmouth which appear to have gig ("heron") wounds...what about hellbenders? I've seen several with obvious gig wounds, and they live in habitats where they're inaccessible to herons. What's stabbing them?

The fish on the left certainly looks streambred.

I've never had a whole lot of success on the Current with hoppers compared to other terrestrials, namely ants and beetles. I have had a couple days where fish would whack a big orange, yellow, or peacock stimulator, size eight or so, but I'm not sure if they were taking it as a hopper, stonefly, or just because they were pissed.

I thought about using that analogy too JD, just taking it a different direction. I'm getting the vibe that some folks out there would be okay with the swans being shot, so long as it was a genuine mistake. In my opinion, it simply doesn't fly (no pun intended). I see no need to ban gigging because some folks can't identify fish, but it wouldn't bother me if giggers who couldn't identify their quarry had to face the same penalties as waterfowlers who couldn't identify their quarry (a few grand in fines and revocation of sporting priveleges). And I can't be certain how those swans died in the first place. I didn't see the guys shoot them, and I've never heard of waterfowlers targeting swans. Which leads me to this hypothesis: Eagles attack swans, and the incident in question took place at Eagle Bluffs. So I mean, it's possible that those birds died of the result of eagle attacks, not of a couple boneheaded "sportsmen." Plus, I thought that photo was way cool

IMO, whether it's intentional or not is immaterial. Part of being a responsible sportsman is being able to identify your target positively before you pull the trigger. If you can't identify positively what you're about to stick, you shouldn't stick it. If the water's too turbid to be certain as to the species, you shouldn't be out that section of river, on that night.

I haven't done a whole lot of it, but from what I've done angling and electrofishing they seem to tend to congregate around the mouths of smaller tributaries which are entering the main river. I've caught them out of Boeff Creek, as well as Perche Creek near Columbia. And those creek mouths- watch out for asian carp. If you're in a kayak, they shouldn't be a big deal.

Sick. I grew up on Germania, with RDP as my backyard, and have no affection for it. Though it was fun watching waterskiers in the backyard in '93 However I have been interested in the carp fishing down there, especially down towards the Mississippi. I bet things get interesting in the spring, with a couple warm rains and fish spawning... I'll have to see.

No one said he cleaned 300 fish : )

Nah, it's just that some of those old bunkers put off an awfully creepy glow once it gets dark

My favorite book on the subject is "The Yellowstone Fly Fishing Guide" by Craig Matthews. It goes into the major drainages, small streams in lengths in fairly good detail, letting you know acceses, trails, species present, hatches, and flies to use. He also owns Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, and is very approachable as to information regarding the local fisheries. PM Sent.

Browns don't, but rainbows do. That was the only logical reason I could think of, that rainbows move up there to spawn in the gravels and MDC doesn't want folks stressing the fish or walking on redds (I thought one of the goals of Blue-Ribbon status was to protect wild trout fisheries, it's sort of unclear from the regs whether that's a goal on larger waters though). And it wouldn't explain why the ban on fishing that section existed before the newer ribbon regulations. Ah well.

Cool stuff, I love it out there. How'd the spawning browns taste?

I was wondering if rainbows move up from the Current in the late fall and winter to spawn there, that'd be my only guess. It's always closed to fishing, so I've never looked.

I've gone out a few times and it's a lot of fun- when are you going and whereabouts are you planning to spend most of your time? Grizzly bears aren't terrible, when I've been up there I've worried more about the bison than the griz. Good luck!

I've gigged before, and I'm not bashing giggers, I just made the point that it's an efficient way of killing fish. If it was inefficient, I doubt there'd be a whole lot of people out on dark rivers in freezing temperatures to do it. Not necessarily a reason to ban the sport, and as I've said before in this thread, I have no desire to pursue that route. As for education, I'm with Al on this one. You may get change at the margins, but there's always those who will do what they want, period and it seems like a lot of those folks are the ones who are having the most negative impact on consumptive sports, from a public persona standpoint. Zebra mussels are a prime example. Offhand, MDC has put out: -At least two different pamphlets. -Wallet-sized trading cards with info on them. -At least two different pamphlets. -At least two different stickers- plus there's info about zebra mussels on those adhesive fish ruler stickers you can get. -There's info on them in the native mussel brochure. -Multiple articles in the Conservationist. -Blurb about them in the Summary of Fishing Regulations. -Blurb about them in the Fishing Prospects. -Displays at the state fair, county fairs, and FFA events showing what mussels can do to intake pipes and the lower units of outboard motors. -Signs at hundreds of accesses making boaters aware of zebra mussels, how to check for them, and how to properly clean and maintain boats. -Focus groups regarding zebra mussels at several locations throughout the state. Yet zebra mussels are still infesting various waterways throughout the state, often a result of the activities of boaters and anglers. I guess I see the education angle the same way some folks see legislation- you can pass all the laws or pass out all the brochures you want, but it'll only affect those people amenable to change. Maybe I'm way out in left field, I think it's more of an ethical thing- if someone sees nothing wrong with sticking a smallmouth, they'll do it no matter how many laws or pamphlets are out there. But when it' becomes an ethical issue, akin to baiting or spotlighting, an issue where your peers knowingly dissapprove of it- I think that's when you'd see the biggest shift.

Very cool Brian, thanks- I'm planning on getting soaked down there this weekend!

I'm just wondering if the price of the lines has gone up. They could become a collector's item.

I can only speak from personal experience, but I've never caught 300 of anything in an hour and a half, even with high-end gear and electronics. Gigging is an awfully efficient way of harvesting fish.

There must be a lot of confusion on this topic even between agents, as I was stopped at Montauk several years ago for using a dropper in the C&R section. I wasn't ticketed, but he told me it was illegal. As for the 33 hook rule, I think that can be found under the trotlining regulations in the Wildlife Code.

I've just started using Sally Hansen's clear nail polish and like the results. So far it's worked fine for me.

John- I understand your frustration, but that's life. I've been unemployed since August. We're all hurting for money. Deal with it. Fly shops are one of the most competitive ventures in the retail industry- if anyone dove into owning and operating a shop and seriously didn't expect competition, that's their folly. Aside from the markup, precisely what's the difference between a product Brian is selling and a product a fly shop would be selling? I understand that a flyshop would be able to help if I had issues with a product, which would be great if I were buying a rod or reel or waders or something else I'm getting for the long haul. But I've never had an issue with fly line that wasn't due to anything but normal wear and tear.

Brian- are they WF or DT?