Jason R.

Try some Gami B10 hooks on your poppers. Those suckers stick fish so well it is uncanny.

Thanks billet. I havent seen a hornworm yet- had every other pest though.

Latest tomato/banana pepper harvest. Some bigguns on the way. I think these are Russian Black Krims.

There are ways to make a fly walk the dog- but it isn't as easy as with a lure. A sammy (I assume) and a spook have weights in the tail end that make the back "catch up" with the front to produce the action. Flies have to be light (unless you like hooks in your ear). I have tied a few flies/poppers in the style of the "pole dancer" and they work pretty well. In order to get a reliable "walk-the-dog" action- I think the fly has to be fairly large. Either way, they are not easy to cast. I have caught some good bass on them though.

I tie some with balsa that work really well- posted this one before I think. They take a bit longer to spin up though. http://flyinthesouth.blogspot.com/2013/02/balsa-swimming-minnow.html

I'm South of you a bit in Central AR.

I have noticed the same thing and my theory is that Taney has a large amount of relatively still water whereas the White is mostly swift flowing. Taney also has an incredible amount of scuds.

I planted my first garden this year. I already have a ton of bell and banana peppers and my first ripe tomato. Pretty sure I'm hooked on yet another hobby.

Dang.

I have fished that area a bit- I worked in Crawford CO (near Delta) at a ranch for a couple seasons. Beautiful area. I drove through Cimarron once or twice. Man I miss the Gunnison. What an incredible place.

Just got back from Gulf Shores- caught several flounder, a pompano and a ladyfish- also got a wicked sunburn.

I am about to try the same thing down in Gulf Shores, AL. Last year I caught a few reds and ladyfish from the beach- but mostly with my spinning rod on jigs and plastics. This year I am bringing my 9wt with a Rio Outbound sink tip line- I couldn't cast very well into the wind last year so I think this setup will help. I have researched a bit and I plan on throwing large clousers, shrimp patterns and deceivers. I think the idea is to look for any structure on the beach and fish around it and be on the lookout for and fish or bird activity. I am still going to bring my spinning rod in case my Dad and brother are out fishing me and I can't stand it.

I bought some Patagonia rubber bottoms just so I could fish in Missouri- wow I have never felt so unstable. I need to try them with studs but the rubber on its own is nowhere near as good as felt.

Fair enough.

Thats exactly how my dog reacts to a fish.

Aren't all carp invasive technically? Pretty sure the common carp isn't native- it just doesn't reproduce as fast as the asian ones..

I think Hoglaw may feel that a lawsuit and/or getting cops involved is not always the best thing. This is a very controversial issue- I sort of know the lawyer for the AGFC (I know his son) and he has been working on stuff like this- with only marginal success to my knowledge. I may or may not also be a lawyer and I believe I would do the same as Hoglaw. Even for a lawyer a personal lawsuit can be expensive and heck- you could even lose and set an unwanted precedent. As for having a rifle waved around me and my woman, I very well might have flipped out and called the sheriff if possible.

I would tie up some elk hair caddis- or whatever your favorite caddis pattern is. I usually use a size 18 EHC. Also caddis-ish nymphs. I did really well with a dark green midge with a black tungsten bead- size 16- I think they took it for a caddis larva. You are right- too early for hoppers. Caddis dries on high water can be a blast in the spring though- if you catch the right conditions.

If your son wants a big brown on the white- your chances will be higher in a boat with the water up. Most of the large browns I have caught have come on either large streamers or hopper flies (in the summer). Granted- wade fishing is more relaxing and simple and you absolutely can hook a large brown while wading- it is just less likely. I was just up there and got to wade on the Norfork a bit- caddis are starting to come off.

Dang I gotta work on my deerhair- those look great man.

Been tying some of these for the basses.

I catch most of my fish on a midge like this: Bad Picture- size 16 scud hook, lack and red size small copper wire with a tungsten bead. Black 8/0 uni. I now tie these as slim as possible- seems to work better than this fuller profile.

Cannot wait for spring. Both on shad colored clousers.

Is there a market for a fishing gear consultant? I think I need to look into this. I could make sure their actors didn't look like morons for a very reasonable fee. Say 50 grand? Heck, I'd do it for 25.

I fished every one of those streams in and around Fayetteville in college and grad school. Got run off by landowners very rarely. The guy that owns the Creeks golf course ran me off once- never had trouble at the blessings. I got chased by a landowner in a truck out at one particular stream- I just ran and hopped the fence. My rule of thumb was to park my truck in an innocuous spot and then stay in the stream bed- usually nobody cared. There are some decent small mouth in places you do not expect them to be.