Jason R.

Dude, I would just go back to the Norfork or the White... But if you have to go to the Beav, spider creek is fine- there is not a ton of water to access either way. Bring plenty of 6x and 7x, small midges in grey, green and tan and maybe some small streamers. I think the water is still backed up from Tablerock so your drifts will be slooowwww. Oh and try a ruby midge. Good luck out there.

Oh PETA... I will never understand... but I'm from Arkansas, we don't even wear shoes and survive on almost nothing but fried chicken.

I have one of the old style orvis slingpacks and I love it- In fact Ive almost worn it out. A few modifications- foam fly patch on the front of the strap and a ghetto rigged d-ring in the back for my net- that pack is better than anything I have tried and I have a nice vest and a hip pack that I never use. Its definitely not waterproof. Also the removable part is nice- adds a good place to keep leaders and indicators. Anyway- I would get another one for sure if this one actually kicks the bucket. Only thing from orvis I've ever really liked.

Ditto- probably my last swap- kind of a let down...

I use a dropper almost all of the time and I fish 6x down to 7x almost all of the time too- I think a lot of people set their hooks too hard and use rods that are too stiff. I use my 4wt alot and my 5wt pretty often- but my 3wt is awesome when fishing 7x. Unless I am fishing a really heavy rig I opt for a smaller rod to protect my tippet and my hook-set is pretty much just a gentle lift- not that I didn't start out breaking off every other fish- I'm a bass fishin convert myself.

I'm not a Missourian, but I do fish up there quite a bit and Arkansas has the same problems for the most part. I still can't stand the idea of snagging browns- which I have seen all over the place. I even tipped off a passing MDC agent at taney during the brown trout spawn that all those old dudes around the hatchery pipes were all snagging- albeit with legal flies and fly rods- but they were still snagging and obviously killing huge beautiful brown trout. I think the only way to help with this is for responsible anglers to confront the snagger and let them know that nobody is impressed that they caught a 28 inch brown- under a hatchery pipe- during the spawn- by sticking a hook in its belly- and after trying to snag the same fish for about 30 minutes. My dad and I watched a dude at the Little Red during the spawn at Cow Shoals deliberately snagging brown after brown in a little bottle neck riffle. My dad asked him what he was using to catch so many fish and he replied "oh Im just snagging them." We would have yelled at him but he happened to be about 6'4 280... gotta choose your battles. Next time, maybe I'll yell something insulting from the parking lot and call the AGFC...

I've watched a bunch of trout snaggers (as I'm sure we all have)- mostly at the Little Red and Taney- plus some a Roaring- and the ones that use white jigs just like them I think because they are so visible and they can easily guide them into the fish's belly. The ones at Taney and the Little Red often use big #8 scuds with about 3 droppers of various sizes. It makes me so mad when people snag trout- not that this particular guy is a snagger for sure but if he is someone should yell demeaning things at him.

Man, I forgot to send you an envelope- sorry about that. Keep some of my flies to cover that man. I knew I forgot something.

So I am almost done with a batch of cdc posted- parachute midge dries in cream and black- they catch fish... though you kinda have to guess where they are because I tie them in size 20 mostly. I call them "Airborne Midges." Should be in the mail today or tomorrow.

I would be down for a swap- no idea what Id tie but I like to tie streamers... so maybe a streamer. Maybe a Meat Whistle?

This fad is pretty big down here at U of A- I've already got dibs on several girls' hair hackles. I wonder if they will still tie a fly after being in some chicks hair for a month? One of my friends got a whole peacock eye feather in here hair... as any fly tier knows, those things are fragile... needless to say that didnt last long. Moral of the story- women are insane.

You can catch those grass carp without cheating- I do in sometimes on a golf course. You just follow them around and cast something carp-ish like a brown woolly right in front of whatever junk they're munching on. Eventually they'll grab it. Takes some patience but its fun to get a grip and grin with a 40 pound grass carp.

Im by no means a white bass expert but I have been hitting the upper white with my fly rod- mostly fishing clouser minnows- and it has not been the best season so far. Ive seen plenty of bait fishermen tearing it up with crawfish tails but the bass dont seem to want lures- at least not the ones I was throwing at. The water is loooowwww- so try the shoals closer to the top of the lake. Hope that helps.

Im gonna second the Gunnison out of Pleasure Park- stop in there and talk to Leroy in the big shop at the park- hes a little crazy but he knows whats up. Plus he knows all the guides and such. The Pan and the Taylor are fun too. If you can hit it right, the salmon fly hatch on the Gunnison is epic.

I tie a gray soft hackle with a v-rib body and some ice dub for a collar and use that natural dun color CDC. I just use the puffs or whatever they're called and slip them in from the front, tie them in and cut off the quill. Its really easy and it makes a pretty cool looking soft hackle- cant say it catches more fish, but I'd say fishermen are pretty into it.

Try Gray and Cream.

You got me man... tricky lawyers...

That post cracked me up because I have been on so many trips similar to both of those... I was always the one in the back of the flotilla with a rod instead of a beer in my hand... Oh and Boy Scouts pretty much always bring copious amounts of food so I doubt they'll be eating too many smallies- although I would still hate to be planning a trip for that weekend.

Just in case anyone feels left out, I will gladly highjack this thread and try and sell my Smith sunglasses- brand new Smith Riversides- tortoise shell frames and polarized lenses- never ever worn. same price 80 bucks- plus whatever it costs to ship em- cant beat that. I have no idea how to post pictures on here.

Ive noticed the same thing Bob, Ive got sympathy but no answers.

I use almost nothing but Rio- tippet and leaders, Ive used floro, mono, extreme tippet (which is just braid) and floro max. Ive also used alot of orvis. The rio works well for me- in fact, I feel like its kinda all the same except some cheap sportsmans warehouse stuff I used once. You do get a bad spool sometime- I couldnt begin to explain why that is but the ones I have that were bad were all old spools I found in a closet- might have been age or heat- who knows? It is nice to blame break offs on your tippet though- I do it all the time.

Recently, Im more into hookless flies... I just like to disappoint the fish. neuteredflies.com (Just kidding- dont put that site in, theres no telling what kinda german-weirdo stuff that would bring up.)

I know this is kinda not cool but i have some brand new Smith Riversides for sale in case you liked that style- 85 bucks. Theyre polarized.

Sorry- missed this- yes I do STILL have those glasses... I just hate to put them on ebay, mostly because I hate ebay. I sent you a PM.