stlfisher

I voted recreation, but it is also for fun and for relaxation.

It is like you are looking for an argument just to have one. Once again I never said the place was trashed nor are there rampant violations. What I did say was increased enforcement will further protect the resource and make it better for everyone. I said I was not in favor of a Gestapo agent. It is almost as though you just read what you wanted to read without actually processing what I was saying. Off course you will always have trash and violators...you will never rid it all. I also said that my beef with violators was not restricted to Bennett, but many areas in the state I fish. If in fact they did hire a new agent then they must think it is worth it. At this point I have only meet the new park ranger who is not a conservation agent. I am not nervous when a cop is tailing me, because I am not doing anything wrong. If you are really worried about a trout cam watching you then don't fish under the bridge. I can't even tell who anyone is anyway. They spent less than $2000 to set up a cam that was supposed to let people see the stream conditions and day dream that they were there fishing...that is it period...it has been stated by the guy who set it up. This whole conspiracy theory regarding it is just crazy to me. Then again we didn't really land on the moon.

I don't think I ever said violations were rampant, but I fail to see how increased enforcement is a bad thing or a waste of money. I am sure folks from all over break the rules, but I certaintly don't bring them with me or fish with them. I don't smoke cigars, but it is amazing how many people I see toss cigarettes into the stream when they are done. I am assuming you are much closer to Bennett than I am and fish it more than I do. So I can't understand why someone who uses the resource would not be in favor of protecting it so the experience is better for everyone. The real issue clearly seems to be your dislike and disturst of us "city boys". People from all over break the rules. It is not limited to location or backround. If you want to play it that way then go ahead.

Certainly there is cost analysis done and I have no idea if there are enough ticket's written to justify the cost of a full time agent each month, but if ticket is $70 and you write one ticket a day that is $2100 a month. I would bet on any given day you could write several tickets if an agent really wanted too. I am not in favor of a Gestapo agent type, but I guess I see so many violations when I fish (all over the state) that I just have no tolerance for it. Because of my location I spend most of my time fishing over fished waters with people that just don't care about the resource. In that respect I wish we had more enforcement, not just at the trout parks, but all over the place. I am not bothered by surveillance cams, and everything I have read says the cam at Bennett is not for that purpose and cost about $2000 to set up. I don't want to revisit a subject that has already been debated a few threads ago, but I have zero problems if in fact the cam was used for that purpose. I agree 100% that most trout park fisherman are C@R and I always practice it myself, but I always see people fishing illegally and I fear that they are doing elsewhere as well. If you get them a trout park, were they are accessible, it might make them think twice about doing elsewhere that may not be as easily monitored. Anyway, that is my two cents worth

Yeah I figured they were there and undercover...it sounds like enforcement is up...that is always a good thing.

I agree. More enforcement is always a good thing. I hope the ranger can write tickets like a conservation agent. The more violators chased away the better the experience for the rest of us.

I met the new park ranger last weekend. He stopped by our cabin twice to say hi and we chatted with him for awhile. I don't believe he can write up wildlife codes, but seemed like a good guy. I don't think I have ever seen an agent at Bennett. I am sure they are there, but I have not seen one that I can recall.

I am a fan of the trout cam myself. However, there are many that do not like it at all. For me it is certaintly nice to see the stream and the conditions or just daydream. I am not worried about anyone else watching me, but there are some who are uncomfotable with it.

Red seemed to work the best last weekend.

It was fishable last weekend so you should not have any problems unless it just pours again. The water was still quite stained yesterday, but I think it would clear up quite a bit by the weekend.

The biggest fish I caught all weekend was on a San Juan! It wasn't a huge fish by any means, but the San Jaun's certaintly helped.

Overall the trip was pretty good. I managed 39 fish over 2 1/2 days. The water was up and quite murky. You really had to move around quite a bit and find the fish, but once you did it was not too bad. Yesterday was the best fishing as I managed 18 before we had to take off. largest fish was probably only 2 lb's or so. I threw a little bit of everything and the key seemd to be to drift in the same area mutliple times to give the fish a chance to see it and get ready for it. The fish were on the bottom and deep. The bite was really light...almost like a quiver on your indicator. Yesterday was the first day you could fish the area below the dam at the start of zone two...water was too high and fast the other days. I did catch a really nice brown that was kind of a surprise. Fish were holding in areas that they normally would not...that was key as well. As far as numbers of fish in the stream I could not see the fish as the water was too murky. I can't say if there were a lot of fish or not, but overall I am quite sastisfied. I expected much poorer conditions. There was not a lot of people, but they were packed kind of tight in the fishable water. The Whistle bridge area was a mad house at times this weekend and was probably the best fishable water in the park. The area above the dam was not bad either. The spring was still pretty muddy even yesterday, but I managed to catcha few...first time I fished that area. I may be going back on June 12th if I can swing it and looking for more favorable coniditions.

PC yikes is right. Looks like the water has dropped down to 3.8 and with the rain ending hopefully clearing up a little into Saturday and Sunday. It was dropping pretty steady until that thunderstorm passed through. Anyway, with a 3 day weekend i am hoping we can get some decent fishing toward the end of the weekend.

I can imagine. I remember a few years ago in the fall when the remnanmts of a tropical storm dropped 5 inches of rain in a few hours. We woke up Sunday morning and the stream was in the parking lot by the end of zone two and they had evacuated the campgrounds. The stream was over the whistle bridge. It was so high you couldn't really see the darn at the end of zone 1 either. I am surprised the stone bridge didn't get torn to pieces. It was kind of unbelievable to see the stream that high. Anyway, I think we are still going to Bennett...hopefully the stream will drop and clear up a bit by Saturday or Sunday. it looks like it has held steady at 4.23 the last hour so maybe it will start to drop. I think tomorrow afternoon may be a drink beer day and relax. Either way it sure as hell beats working.

Looking pretty muddy at the moment. May have to head to Montauk.

Thanks for the info. I hope the gauge height stays below 4.

With the water already up and a forcast of 1-3 inches of rain over the next couple of days should I try to change my weekend trip? Does it get blown out easily?

I am heading to Bennett on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a group friends. Any tips on what works well? Last year I did very well on Olive Crackleback's, but earlier this spring I really struggled. Also, from the looks on the Trout Cam the water seems to be a little high, but fishable. Anyone been down the last couple days?

As a Cards fan I feel sorry for Royals fans. The owner is incompetant and the team has not been competive for years. You can add the Pirates to that list as well.

That does seem like a good deal. Hmm...decisions decisions. I think I need to just go and just test out a bunch. Any truth to the theory that you should fish all your setups from the same company? Strangercreek...thanks for the link.

34, 37, 19, 21, and 28 have a lot of small bass in it. 33 as mentioned above is your best shot for big bass. Find the moss and weeds at any lake and throw in it...there is so much pressure that you have to fish in the nasty stuff to have a lot of success. Don't overlook the Catfish lake for bass...there are some nice ones in those as well...just cruise the banks at dusk and you will catch them.

I have seen the solo, but I don't think it is as much of an upgrade as I would like. I think I am leaning towards the Carbon at this point, but thanks for the heads up! Thanks everyone for all the great info so far. I think I am going to go with the Echo Carbon 4wt and still deciding on the 8 weight. The reason I want the 8 weight is I fish some bigger lakes and want the ability for the larger flies and some bigger largemouth. I think I will use Gavin's advice and make the 6 weight the smallie rod for now. I will certaintly check out the Sage Bass Rod's, but I am not sure how I feel about the shorter length. Some of the lakes have high banks so the shorter rod might make it difficult to cast above them...if that makes sense.

I will be at Bennet next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I will be sure to report back on the amount of fish, people, etc. There have certaintly been mixed reviews. A friend of a friend slayed them last week and I heard the guys from Hargrove's caught like 10 fish in 3 days. Who knows at this point, but I plan to have a good time regardless.

I agree with you, but there are advantages to having easy internet for me. My job requires me to be on call certain weeks and I need to have my laptop with me in case I need to do a little emergency work. Easy internet access at the camprounds makes my life much easier and I get back to the stream much quicker. IT guy thanks for update on the web cam and confirming there are no other camera's in the park. I must be in the minority, but I like being able to look at the stream from a far. Still hoping for an underwater camera.

I am looking for some advice on 2 new setups that I am going to buy. I currently use a 6 weight for all of my fly fishing and I am looking to purchase additional set ups. I am hoping to keep each in $250 range, but would expand the budget upwards and delay the second purchase if it was worth it. I need a 4 or 5 weight for trout and 7 or 8 weight for bass. Since I have a 6 I was wondering if a 5 and 7 would be much different...which is why I am leaning toward a 4 and an 8 weight. I have looked at TFO, Echo, and the St. Croix Avid. I cast a Winston from a friend of mine and it seemed nice as well. Has anyone heard much about Echo? I was looking at the Carbon for trout and the ION for bass. The setups come complete from Cabela's with fly line (I would just pay more to upgrade from the Cabela's brand fly line) and the RLS reel for about $250 each. Any thoughts or suggestions?