Jason R.

They are comparable to Orvis. All of them are a bit different so your best bet is to cast a few of them and see which one you like the feel of- regardless of brand.

I like flyshops. I try to buy all my fly-tying crap at McClelland's or Ozark Angler if i can. I think they probably make the most money on little stuff like flies but I can't bring myself to buy flies.

Thanks man- I will call him if I need to get this motor checked out. I am a greenhorn but I am a super cautious greenhorn.

Thanks phil. I agree with you on all that. I previously had a Shawnee with a 9.9 that I ran on the LR a lot. I sort of know the river. I have planned on a bigger boat this whole time. I'd really like another fiberglass trout boat. But I got this whole rig for cheap (way less than 2k) and the motor was worth the price I think. Good point about the back end weight hampering a drift Though this two stroke is only about 150 pounds. Hopefully I can find a better boat to put this motor on. Thanks for the advice man.

Really good advice. I'll probably run this one as long as I can stand it. There's really nothing wrong with the boat besides a small leak and aesthetics.

Thanks. Its a 14- but I know what you mean. I didn't inspect the driveshaft (not sure how I would with your typical CL boat exchange) but I did drive it quite a bit- and it gets up and goes. Does about 26 upstream which seemed pretty fast to me. I've found that I'm kinda anal about my equipment so I don't know how long I can live with the banged up boat. I really just bought this rig for the motor. Thanks for the advice- need to get some of that grease- can you get that at an auto parts store?

I just bought me a 14/48 alumaweld with a 2 stroke Suzuki PU40- boat has the jet transom and is a flat bottom. So... I mainly bought this rig for the motor- and I think I got a decent deal all told. I think the motor is a 1990. Its got a new liner and the guy just sharpened the impeller. Boot looks decent and the motor starts really well. Only ghetto part is that he sort of fabricated a shift linkage- but it works. Might try to get a stock one. The boat is pretty beat to hell but it only leaks a little bit. My plans right now are to fix up the boat a bit (paint, fill in some screw holes, maybe a plywood floor) and sell it and the old trailer. Is a 16/48 a good size with a 40/30? This is my first jet outboard and I bought it to run the Little Red mostly. If I do get a 16/48, can I just get a jack plate to get the right height? Thanks. Also, would it be worth it to try to fix this old boat? It has the typical jet boat damage- dents, welds, cracked welds etc. Any general advice for a young moron?

Brock Dixon is a great guide- I have been out with him on many occasions and we have always caught big fish. Has just got a sweet new boat too. I caught the trout in my profile picture when I was out on the White with him. http://www.northarkansastroutfitters.com/

In my experience- clouser minnows in shad colors are a good bet.

Man, I love fishing the run up there. If I get up there for work any time soon I am going to have to stop by there. Last year I caught it right at the end and managed to catch a few on my 6wt. Year before I managed to catch a good day and caught 3 or 4 of the biggest hybrids I've ever caught.

Whats funny is that my dad took me and my brother fishing all the time when we were little- ponds, Arkansas River, Lake Maumelle, Lake Conway, Lake Chicot- all the AR trout rivers etc. Anyway- I was always climbing through the brush to a better spot, begging to stay out a couple more minutes, etc while my brother just played with the lures or dangled his feet in the water. Some people get the itch- some don't. My addiction didn't really take off until college though- when I started fly-fishing with my roommate- who was a danged good fisherman. Now my wife thinks something is wrong with me because I want to fish all the time...

I sort of agree with you though. I had to recruit fishing buddies while I was in college. Now that I am back in central AR- I don't really have any fishing buddies other than my dad. The few guys I know that fish and live around here are in Med School and don't have any spare time. Now my younger brother, who is 26- none of his friends fish. They are all into computer games- though I think a few of them hunt during duck season. I don't think you can blame their (my) generation- I think the fact is that their dads didn't take them outdoors very often and computer games just seem easier, cheaper and more instantly gratifying.

Im 28...

Lake Fort Smith has white bass? That is very interesting. I've only been up there once. Really pretty lake.

Youre right JD- im going to keep them under the lights for at least a week or two. Theyre just getting too danged big. Started too early.

Im just about to put a few in the ground. Sprouted cherokee purples, oxhearts, hillbillys, brandywines, russian black krims and various cherry varieties. Trying to keep it down to about five plants in my own back yard. Last year I did about 20 and it just got out of hand.

I have bought a bunch of lines lately and honestly- as long as I get a weight forward line that is from a decent company I have been happy. I even like Cortland 333- which I have on my 7 and 8 weights (cut off about 2-3 feet to make the taper shorter). Cortland's pricier lines are nice too. You cannot go wrong with Rio or SA. All their lines that I have tried are great. I've got GPX Textured on my 5 and it is money. I don't like the Sharkskin lines- only because of that annoying noise they make.

Yep I'm stealing that idea.

I got some rubber soled patagonias that were on clearance. They are a little stiff but they seem like really solid boots that will last a while. I'd recommend them.

I have been that guy- fishing clouser minnows on my 7 wt with a full sinking line in Goshen. All the guys with spinning rods kept getting closer and closer to me and they just could not get bit. It was glorious. One guy parked his boat right over where I was catching fish and eventually moved on out of frustration. Hasn't happened since.

Ha! I'm fine with that.

Oh and I've been tying single hook streamers like this one with it.

I just bought about 4 packs of it. Great stuff. I've been tying basically woolly buggers with a laser dub head and they have been great on trout. Hooked a few decent brown on this particular fly:

Dark grey over light blue- with that black/blue/purple metallic flash- can't remember what it is called... Definitely a go-to when I used to fish the crap out of the beaver lake run in college. My newly discovered favorite color is black over purple for stained water and pond bass.

I'm partial to dark grey over light grey with a red eye. #6 hook- small size lead eye- less weight the better for me as I use a slow full sink. Got to be real bucktail- I've tried all the synthetics and they do not fish near as well. I ended up taking a razor to all the synthetic clousers I tied and retying them with real bucktail. My second choice for color would be grey over light blue.