Question:

George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Could you tell me where I would be able to purchase balde eagle feathers? I have an idea for a great dry fly pattern that would require these beauties….. Thanks Georgie……. Robert

Response:

George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Could you tell me where I would be able to purchase balde eagle feathers? I have an idea for a great dry fly pattern that would require these beauties….. Thanks Georgie……. Robert

Ye Olde lil’ wayno’s?

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I pondered this post a bit. Now we have plenty of baldies around so if you want a feather or two all you have to do is come down here, shiney up a tree where there is a nest, wait for the bird, grab a few and come back down. That’s the easy part. The hard part is explaining to a wildlife dude holding a smoke pole in your geezer that what you have is a turkey feather and all those scratches you have you got from a thistle while you picked up the feather. Would you like me to bring you anything on visitors day?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Could you tell me where I would be able to purchase balde eagle feathers? I have an idea for a great dry fly pattern that would require these beauties….. Thanks Georgie……. Robert

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Vasoline?  Soap on a rope?  Pictures of Wayno naked?      Frank Would you like me to bring you anything on visitors day?

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George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Could you tell me where I would be able to purchase balde eagle feathers? I have an idea for a great dry fly pattern that would require these beauties….. Thanks Georgie……. Robert

You can get one loaned to you by an American Indian.  How’s that for a legal answer and it happens to be a fact. — (C) George Gehrke 2001 http://www.gink.com/shopcart/index.html     fine bamboo flyrods & blanks

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Yes, I know its fact George….just having a little fun…… (some snippage) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Thanks Georgie……. Robert You can get one loaned to you by an American Indian.  How’s that for a legal answer and it happens to be a fact.

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Question…the bald eagle…or ‘iggle’ as the guide at the denver show called them…is no longer on the endagered or even threatened species list…correct ? — Halfordian Golfer .

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Question…the bald eagle…or ‘iggle’ as the guide at the denver show called them…is no longer on the endagered or even threatened species list…correct ?

According to http://endangered.fws.gov/ they are classified as "threatened, proposed de-listing", but they are still on the list. — Charlie…

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Question…the bald eagle…or ‘iggle’ as the guide at the denver show called them…is no longer on the endagered or even threatened species list…correct ? According to http://endangered.fws.gov/ they are classified as "threatened, proposed de-listing", but they are still on the list.

And I don’t think you’d be able to possess the feathers or hunt them regardless of their status on that list.  IIRC, the possession, hunting, etc. would still be controlled as are other "birds of prey" like hawks, and carrion-eating birds like vultures, would they not? TC, R

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RDean writes: And I don’t think you’d be able to possess the feathers or hunt them regardless of their status on that list.  IIRC, the possession, hunting, etc. would still be controlled as are other "birds of prey" like hawks, and carrion-eating birds like vultures, would they not?

Time for a grandson story: Jeff and I were in Labrador in July of ‘98.  The guide pointed out the remains of a bald eagle laying on a sandy beach just above the area we were fishing. Jeff walked back and took all of the wing bones from  the skeleton.  When he showed them to me after dinner that night, I told him that I though possession of them was illegal.  I checked with the guide and he confirmed my suspicions. The next day Jeff asked if we could stop by the sandy beach.  When we did, he approached the eagle’s remains and very carefully placed each bone in the position he had found it.  It took him several minutes to complete his task. He was very solemn when he returned to face us.  He saw that I was near tears witnessing this tender moment of his.  He took his fly rod from me, smiled and said, "C’mon, Poppop.  Let’s catch some biggggg brookies."  We did.  <g Dave LaCourse, aka Pop Pop

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I have a friend who has a few, but you better belong to the same type of tribe he does or else it gets costly.  Last I talked to him (3 months) they were still controled with a heavy fine if you weren’t Native American. Lou

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Question…the bald eagle…or ‘iggle’ as the guide at the denver show called them…is no longer on the endagered or even threatened species list…correct ? According to http://endangered.fws.gov/ they are classified as "threatened, proposed de-listing", but they are still on the list. And I don’t think you’d be able to possess the feathers or hunt them regardless of their status on that list.  IIRC, the possession, hunting, etc. would still be controlled as are other "birds of prey" like hawks, and carrion-eating birds like vultures, would they not? TC,

I heard tell some folks call bald turkeys vultures, ifn thats so there goes next thanksgiven turkey, guess this next year itl be storebought. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – R

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I’m in awe of the birds of prey… *Why* are they treated differently than non bop’s ? Not a rhetorical question. Everything lives somewhere on the food chain…right ?

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Tim Walker writes: I’m in awe of the birds of prey… *Why* are they treated differently than non bop’s ? Not a rhetorical question. Everything lives somewhere on the food chain…right ?

I think their treatment is the result of their resurgence.  For years there were no BOPs around because of ddt usage and other pollutions.  Today we have red tail hawks nesting on our land, and goshawks have also been spotted nearby.  After a recent snow storm, when the snow was still fresh and beautiful, a red tail swooped down the forested hill behind the house and swooped up a feeding bluejay.  There was a shadow, then an explosion of feathers as it flew off with the jay.  The impact area looked like a bomb crater with  many of the jay’s feathers spread out from "ground zero".   Dave L.

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I’m in awe of the birds of prey… *Why* are they treated differently than non bop’s ? Not a rhetorical question. Everything lives somewhere on the food chain…right ?

well, i look around my neck of the woods at birds that seem abundant and cannot be killed (seagulls, bald eagles, turkey vultures, etc.) and i wonder how bad things would smell and how much extra garbage would be laying around without all these birds (and other animals) around to eat all of the dead animals and edible garbage… something to think about. cb

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I have a friend who has a few, but you better belong to the same type of tribe he does or else it gets costly.  Last I talked to him (3 months) they were still controled with a heavy fine if you weren’t Native American.

My brother-in-law got one for his high school graduation last year. I’ll have to ask him if he knows the current rules.      - Ken

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If you look in our local phonebook yellow pages under Native American, it says "see Indian". I just thought that was interesting. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a friend who has a few, but you better belong to the same type of tribe he does or else it gets costly.  Last I talked to him (3 months) they were still controled with a heavy fine if you weren’t Native American. My brother-in-law got one for his high school graduation last year. I’ll have to ask him if he knows the current rules.      - Ken

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In Montana, you cannot possess any feather fron any raptor unless you hold a valid and current falconers license (Native Americans excepted). Having one "loaned" to you by a Native American doesn’t count (at least not here). — Tight Lines! Brian D. Nelson Diamond N Outfitters, Missoula, Montana http://www.montana.com/dno/dno.htm 406-626-4022

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – George, You seem to be the Rofiian expert here so……. Could you tell me where I would be able to purchase balde eagle feathers? I have an idea for a great dry fly pattern that would require these beauties….. Thanks Georgie……. Robert You can get one loaned to you by an American Indian.  How’s that for a legal answer and it happens to be a fact. — (C) George Gehrke 2001 http://www.gink.com/shopcart/index.html     fine bamboo flyrods & blanks

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I’m in awe of the birds of prey… *Why* are they treated differently than non bop’s ? Not a rhetorical question. Everything lives somewhere on the food chain…right ? well, i look around my neck of the woods at birds that seem abundant and cannot be killed (seagulls, bald eagles, turkey vultures, etc.) and i wonder how bad things would smell and how much extra garbage would be laying around without all these birds (and other animals) around to eat all of the dead animals and edible garbage… something to think about.

Same could be said of rats too.  They eat all sorts of garbage!  :-) However,  I’ll keep shooting the longtail every chance I get.

Response:

I’m in awe of the birds of prey… *Why* are they treated differently than non bop’s ? Not a rhetorical question. Everything lives somewhere on the food chain…right ?

I think that those creatures lower down in the food chain can recover from dire times a lot easier than those higher up.  An easy way to illustrate this is to compare the breeding rates of lower down food chain species like rats and mice with the breeding rates of the predators.  I saw a program that informed of the sheer breeding power of the brown rat.  One pair of rats can create thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rats in one year; the rats are phenomenal multipliers.  I suppose that the food chains are like the Chinese Triad,  a wide and stable base to support the diminushing by layer orders above.  If the upper layers are removed,  then the lower orders become erratic and quite unstable. The top level predators are the product of the genetic refinery  and represent the cutting edge of evolution  (e.g. bats, dolphins,  (humans) and allsorts of others).  Whilst all levels are as important as each other in maintaining the appropriate balance,  the top level predators  are possibly more affected on a  numerical basis.  i.e.  breeding rates.

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orders become erratic and quite unstable.

This is some sort of Republican Party code isn’t it?  <g The top level predators are the product of the genetic refinery  and represent the cutting edge of evolution  (e.g. bats, dolphins,  (humans) and all sorts of others)….

This idea that there is "progress" in evolution is a common fallacy.  A good book on this subject is "The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design," by Richard Dawkins. JR

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This idea that there is "progress" in evolution is a common fallacy.  A good book on this subject is "The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design," by Richard Dawkins.

Actually, the notion that there is no "progress" in evolution a cause championed most famously by Stephen J. Gould, who happens to be Dawkins’ intellectual enemy. Their feud goes way back, and I think it’s fair to say that they detest each other. I once asked Dawkins’  what he thought about a paper by Gould and Lewontin (The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B205:581-598) that bears on exactly this issue. He (Dawkins) raved for at least ten minutes about how stupid and misguided the paper is. Dawkins’ own views on the subject are more accurately summarized in the book "Climbing Mount Improbable," which definitely gives the impression that there is "progress" of a sort in evolution (i.e., climbing higher on the Mount Improbable). My own opinion is that if there weren’t progress in evolution we’d still be blue-green algae, or worse. The problem is that "progress" is a subjective concept. — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/

Response:

Jeff and I were in Labrador in July of ‘98.  The guide pointed out the remains of a bald eagle laying on a sandy beach just above the area we were fishing. Jeff walked back and took all of the wing bones from  the skeleton.  When he showed them to me after dinner that night, I told him that I though possession of them was illegal.  I checked with the guide and he confirmed my suspicions. The next day Jeff asked if we could stop by the sandy beach.  When we did, he approached the eagle’s remains and very carefully placed each bone in the position he had found it.  It took him several minutes to complete his task. He was very solemn when he returned to face us.  He saw that I was near tears witnessing this tender moment of his.  He took his fly rod from me, smiled and said, "C’mon, Poppop.  Let’s catch some biggggg brookies."  We did.  

Thanks Dave, These personal anecdotes are my favorite posts. Willi

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You’re right that definitions of progressive evolution differ.  The disagreement between Dawkins and Gould on this matter is in fact is pretty much a difference in definitions.  Dawkins believes that in order to deny progress in evolution, Gould insists on a human-chauvanistic definition "which makes it all too easy to deny progress in evolution."   His own definition he calls "adaptationist;" i.e., "a tendency for lineages to improve cumulatively their adaptive fit to their particular way of life, by increasing the numbers of features which combine together in adaptive complexes."   No doubt Gould thinks this definition makes it all too easy to *propose* progress in evolution.  Nevertheless, Dawkins, like Gould, does not and never has believed in the sort of "progress" implied in the concept of a "ladder of life," on which there are higher and lower orders.  This is the sort of evolutionary progress I believe Michael was referring to in his original post. I tend to think that the feud between Dawkins and Gould is blown out of proportion by the popular (and popularizing) press and that it is unlikely they "detest" each other.  I’ve read reviews by Dawkins of Gould’s books and reviews that, while disagreeing strongly with one argument or another, display no rancor or animosity. Quoted from a response by Dawkins to a Guardian article about the "feud": "Stephen Gould certainly is an ‘implacable opponent of . . . genetic determinism’.  Right then, Dawkins must be in favour of it – otherwise there wouldn’t be a feud, and that would be no fun. In fact, as anybody would know who reads what I actually say instead of what I am supposed to say, I too am an implacable opponent of genetic determinism. "Gould thinks that the extinction of the dinosaurs had nothing to do with natural selection. Sorry to spoil the fun, but so do I.  Gould thinks natural selection is not the only force shaping the course of evolution. Well, I know it seems a shame, but so do I, and I have devoted large portions of my books to explaining this." ***** Just what did Dawkins disagree with in the Gould / Lewontin article? BTW, you don’t think the idea that something older than blue-green algae on the evolutionary scale is somehow "worse" than blue-green algae (or us) is just the sort of human chauvinism that *both* Dawkins and Gould would rave against. <g JR – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This idea that there is "progress" in evolution is a common fallacy.  A good book on this subject is "The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design," by Richard Dawkins. Actually, the notion that there is no "progress" in evolution a cause championed most famously by Stephen J. Gould, who happens to be Dawkins’ intellectual enemy. Their feud goes way back, and I think it’s fair to say that they detest each other. I once asked Dawkins’  what he thought about a paper by Gould and Lewontin (The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B205:581-598) that bears on exactly this issue. He (Dawkins) raved for at least ten minutes about how stupid and misguided the paper is. Dawkins’ own views on the subject are more accurately summarized in the book "Climbing Mount Improbable," which definitely gives the impression that there is "progress" of a sort in evolution (i.e., climbing higher on the Mount Improbable). My own opinion is that if there weren’t progress in evolution we’d still be blue-green algae, or worse. The problem is that "progress" is a subjective concept.

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My own opinion is that if there weren’t progress in evolution we’d still be blue-green algae, or worse. The problem is that "progress" is a subjective concept.

Perhaps the most succinct and irrefutable refutation of one’s own opinion that I have ever seen. Wolfgang o.k., this oughta be good!

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Question:

"In alphabetical order …. " You might want to check your order. Allan

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In alphabetical order, I think a new law firm should be set up in Montana by three such men that need a change in life and a serious move into happy trout country.  I.E. "HARRISON, FAULKNER & MILLER"  the Legal Maulers of Montana would have a thriving practice and they could fly fish every lunch hour if they so choose.  I would even donate my services in exchange for theirs.  It would certainly be of equal value! Billings Montana is a serious location  including, Helena and Missoula or even Hamilton Montana.  I only wonder how good they would look in a Western Stetson? Of course they may always try Jackson  Hole and compete with Jerry Spence! CSG (chuckle, sneer, grin!) Mr. G. — http://www.gink.com/chat

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"In alphabetical order …. " You might want to check your order. Allan

; ) Mr. G. GOTCHA! — http://www.gink.com/chat

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; ) Mr. G. GOTCHA!

See how often the gnome will dip into the same sorry little bag to cover his lame ass? GOTCHERSELF!!

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See how often the gnome will dip into the same sorry little bag to cover his lame ass? GOTCHERSELF!!

______  Your breeding is showing. Sad. Mr. G. — http://www.gink.com/chat

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Wolfgang writes: ; ) Mr. G. GOTCHA! See how often the gnome will dip into the same sorry little bag to cover his lame ass? GOTCHERSELF!!

Bwwwhahahahahaha.  ROFLEO. So very, very true, Wolf.  The twits of this world will never change.   d;0) Dave L.

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Whooops!  Guess I rose to the bait …. er,  fly.

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"In alphabetical order …. " You might want to check your order.

things ain’t always rational in Bizarro world. Myxtplk

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You ought to be careful here George, somebody who uses the word bastard as often as you do, not to mention all the other choice language you occasionally come out with, really should refrain from comment on breeding. I fear you may know how it occurs, but not what it means. — "In order to achieve what is possible, one must constantly attempt the impossible" http://www.mikeconnor.de – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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You ought to be careful here George, somebody who uses the word bastard as often as you do, not to mention all the other choice language you occasionally come out with, really should refrain from comment on breeding. I fear you may know how it occurs, but not what it means.

_______ Gee Mike, that term was not used by me in THIS thread, but I see your point and you’re right. I do know, as a matter of fact, what you mean for I may have sired all the bottom dwellers here.  I guess some of us have a talent for such things but look at the fun they’re having!? I will refrain from commenting on what you have aptly pointed out in the future.  What would I do without you Mike?  You’re a great guy who is always looking after me. I am a blessed man, Your pal, George Gehrke Beware!  Do not feed the Bottom Dwellers! — http://www.gink.com

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I suppose I ought to comment on this thread even though I don’t know why. Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind practicing with these guys, particularly in Montana.  Although we’d all be working the overnight shift at Ole’s so we could fish all day, so the law degree becomes superfilous anyway. Mark Faulkner – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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Question:

I might be in the Ormond Beach area of FLorida and I was wandering what Fly Fishing opportunities are there?  We will be down there maybe in mid May.  Thanks for the advice and help…….Ed

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Response:

I might be in the Ormond Beach area of FLorida and I was wandering what Fly Fishing opportunities are there?  We will be down there maybe in mid May.  Thanks for the advice and help…….Ed

Mosquito Lagoon is well worth the half hour drive south. Drop me a email and I’ll send you contact info for some guides that work the area. — SJM

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Question:

Ouch, time for bed.   I forgot to say that the C&R does help increase numbers of fish.  I also agree with the concept that too many = bad and some should be taken out. When my wife wants to eat fish I will keep a few if I am fishing in a spot that I know will not miss them.  I have fished certain streams, lakes and rivers that cannot afford to miss them so I C&R. I think 100% of either side is a little extreme. Now I can get some sleep.  Thanks for your patience. Warren (Ain’t life in the gray area GREAT?!?!)

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Warren writes: I think 100% of either side is a little extreme.

..my point, exactly. Blaming one side or the other for overall complex ecological issues merely divides what should be a common interest group.                           Tom Littleton

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Howdy gang, Sorry to vent but I don’t know where else to scream. I went to my favorite mid summer fishing hole.  This is a southern cal river that is mostly just some deep ponds during the summer months with some sunfish and smallmouth bass.  On Sunday I went to my favorite pond to cast flies to my "friends" (a small group of 2lb smallmouth) and to my horrors, they were all gone.  Some catchnkill moron had come through and taken those bass.  Ya know, they could provide great fun all summer and fall to fly fishers if some loon didn’t kill them.  Why is it people still do this? They probably took em home, cooked one, nearly puked on the result, and threw the rest in the trash.  Its a shame. -John

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Some catchnkill moron had come through and taken those bass.  Ya know, they could provide great fun all summer and fall to fly fishers if some loon didn’t kill them.  Why is it people still do this? They probably took em home, cooked one, nearly puked on the result, and threw the rest in the trash.  Its a shame. -John

Did you see the fish removed from the pond??? Isn’t it even remotely possible that either some other factor caused your lack of success???  I primarily fish C&R, but I don’t feel it is right to label a person as a moron because he keeps a few fish to eat. The "meat fisherman" or "poacher" cleaning out a hot spot is the most cammon excuse for a lack of success where I live, and I guess where you live too. George Adams – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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Personally, if your keeping fish from a river, I would say 85 is a bit high…..   Not to be confused with lakes and sustainable populations, and highly prolific species. With the numbers of fisherpersons on todays rivers…..I just don’t feel the math supports even keeping a few. fishermen ‘raise fish’ fisheaters buy fish fishkillers kill fish

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Yea, what George and Jonathan said.. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy gang, Sorry to vent but I don’t know where else to scream. I went to my favorite mid summer fishing hole.  This is a southern cal river that is mostly just some deep ponds during the summer months with some sunfish and smallmouth bass.  On Sunday I went to my favorite pond to cast flies to my "friends" (a small group of 2lb smallmouth) and to my horrors, they were all gone.  Some catchnkill moron had come through and taken those bass.  Ya know, they could provide great fun all summer and fall to fly fishers if some loon didn’t kill them.  Why is it people still do this? They probably took em home, cooked one, nearly puked on the result, and threw the rest in the trash.  Its a shame. -John

– Particle Salad/ Noom Room Studio http://home.earthlink.net/~psalad

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Your letter is a prime example of a holier than thou catch and release attitude. Healthy fisheries survive angling. Stressed fisheries do less well. Heal your streams,limit your angling and encourage others to do likewise. Then, you may see better conditions, and appreciate the outdoors and angling for what it can offer.                            Tom Littleton

Blah blah blah (not being rude).  Catch and release is a viable option!  Just recently their was an article in the paper about how there were too many fish in the Big Hole because too many people practiced catch and release.  Fish and Wildlife was worried with the heat that too many fish would die which happened a while back. There are several other examples of how catch and release can improve the quality of fishing.  Albeit it is not a 100% solution, but sometimes every little bit helps. I keep a fish or two every year so I am not 100% C&R, but do see a lot of value in it. Warren

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John Lacell writes :                                   On Sunday I went to my favorite pond to cast flies to my "friends" (a small group of 2lb smallmouth) and to my horrors, they were all gone

One can only wonder if the friendship were mutual. Ya know, they could provide great fun all summer and fall to fly fishers if some loon didn’t kill them.  

No, they eventually would have been stressed to death with enough hooking and habitat invasion. Plus, how do you know that they were killed by angling as you infer. Highly unlikely it is that all of them would be caught. Your letter is a prime example of a holier than thou catch and release attitude. Healthy fisheries survive angling. Stressed fisheries do less well. Heal your streams,limit your angling and encourage others to do likewise. Then, you may see better conditions, and appreciate the outdoors and angling for what it can offer.                             Tom Littleton

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Question:

Tom , My friend your singing to The Choir .   Harry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – :  #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. : After all it’s about the fish …right? You bet, Harry. I’m with you on that one. Rather than proposing to make it pure C+R, why not have a 1-weekend season? Hunting seems to work rather well like that. If the fish can handle pure C+R, they can handle some harvest. Why bias the policy against the vast majority of fishermen who like to keep some fish? : : 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their : wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund : the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our : taxes. Should this be taken as "I’m not willing to pay for it myself"? Of course, sending a bill doesn’t mean you actually collect money. Do you *really* think we’d reap a "windfall"? No, if they have the money, rather than pay us, they’d keep that money and raise their own army. Then we’d be back to square one. It is in our own interest for these nations to not keep large standing armies. That’s what gives us the title "superpower". If a country had the money to build a strong military, it probably would not need US aid to protect itself from other nations. For example, England would not need US intervention in the foreseeable future, but Kosovo will. Meanwhile, the US spent over a billion dollars on Kosovo and we never see that money again. The US will end up fighting over there again without compensation because of Milosevic or some other tyrant and we will spend billions of dollars to try to solve a problem that will never be solved without 50 or more years of commitment. As far as I am concerned, the US environmental problems are more important than Kosovo. Congress whines "a Billion dollars has been spent on the salmon in the last 20 years….", but is a happy camper whenever we blow billions of dollars in a few weeks to try to rectify a problem that has existed for 1000’s of years in the false hope that we can make things better in a month of bombing when the Serbs and Kosovars have been intolerant of each other for hundreds, if not thousands of years. A few years of peacekeeping will not make things better and the US will spend more on Kosovo, a place more than 3000 miles away from America than it will on fixing our environmental problems in the next few years. When was Kosovo a part of the US? Is it the 51st state? It is wrong for the government to spend more money on Kosovo than it does for many states. I bet the people of Wyoming are pleased that the citizens of Kosovo get more Wyoming taxpayer dollars than the people of Wyoming. If Kosovo wants our help, they better pay their share of the taxes. Whenever Americans need improvements or protection, Americans pay their government for those services. Why should another nation who uses our Governement to solve their problems be absolved from paying for the services that they used? Anyways, the *real* question is how much are *you* willing to have *your* taxes increase to fund all of your points?  If you are not willing to pay for it yourself, then it’s all just hot air. no, I am willing to pay my taxes even with an increase, but the government should be efficient with the money it collects from taxpayers. It is not right for the government to spend billions of dollars on the problems of other nations while we have so many problems at home to solve. If the government is going to spend money on other nations, the government should demand payment for services rendered. I pay to fish by buying a license and that money is used to manage fisheries. My payment pays for the management services provided by my state. Why should the military be any different? If a country has a problem that has to be resolved by the military and they ask for our help, that US military aid should be paid for by the country that is asking for our help. What’s wrong with paying for services delivered? It’s ridiculous to let our tax dollars be spent without demanding compensation for what has been done. Spend the money on the salmon/steelhead, forests, waterways, educational system, infrastructure and technology instead of throwing money into a fire. Tom JonCook.

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Are there any other rivers in the lower 48 states that a summer Steelhead will take a fly on the surface?   I’ve had many days of ten fish on the Deschutes river in Oregon skating fly’s on the surface for Steelhead.  Wonder why they take a fly on the surface on the Deschutes, and not on other rivers? — Sharp Hooks, Pat Holdzit Fishing Products Inc. http://www.holdzit.com Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

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At the right time and place they’ll take a dry on any water.

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I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

Response:

I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

Hi All, There are two ways to dry fly fish for steelhead. Waking or skating dry flies and dead drifting dry flies. We met an old English angler on the Bulkley River in B.C. who said that the only tasteful way was to dead drift dries. I think wild fish are preferable. Sun off the water and 60 degree water temperater also can help. You are looking for water that is less than 10 feet deep, moving at a medium speed and with a pretty smooth surface. Maybe late September, early October? There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found.

Response:

There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found.

Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam)

Response:

says… There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever?

Excessive commercial fishing pressure, improperly designed dams, water pollution, destruction of habitat and improperly managed sport fisheries….. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text — something bogus to avoid spam)

Response:

If you catch enough steelhead, the nonsense about a difference between hatchery and wild fish becomes obvious.  I have always found steelhead come up for dries best in the tail of a pool, usually on a side.  Probably just less water overhead and that they usually are found in this area at the start and end of the day which probably means they have not been disturbed for some time.  If you spot a fish in such a location, a little skate when the fly is about 2 foot above the fish’s lie helps. Fred – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I believe wild fish come to the surface more readily than planted fish. I know that Bill McMillan swears by surface fishing for steal head in his book Dry Line Fishing For Pacific Steelhead.

Response:

There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam)

I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left.

Response:

says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam) I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left.

I think the steelhead and salmon could come back to historic proportions if the following things were done: 1.) All remaining undammed rivers are allowed to flow freely for eternity. 2.) Cities built near spawning habitat should be forced stop all development     near the spawning habitat. 3.) Ban commercial fishing for coldwater fish in the sea or freshwater. Catch     and Release only for wild stocks and certain hatchery stocks should be     maintained to create fisheries for the average angler while saving the     wild fish with prudent management. Seafood farming (the planting and     raising of seafood)would be implemented instead of commercial fishing. 4.) Train and pay former commercial fishermen to help study and protect the         fish stocks.     5.) Create tree farms for necessary lumber and ban logging in pristine         forests. Hire loggers to log the tree farms and use their expertise to             assist in the reclaimation of logged forests. Train loggers to fight         forest fires, maintain national parks and use their forestry skills             /training to help wilderness areas. 6.) retrofit all amenable dams with fish ladders to allow fish migration. 7.) breach all dams that cannot be retrofitted to help the salmon/steelhead         migrations. 8.) All hatchery plantings be restricted to planting native river stocks only     and augmenting the hatchery stock by a yearly infusion of native river.     stocks. 9.) Ban all logging, development and restrict access in sensitive areas. 10.) Reward organizations and industrial firms by giving huge tax breaks to companies that actively seek to help the environment by complying with the environmental regulations. 11.) Punish (15,000% tax rate)all firms that show wanton disregard for the environment by heavy taxation. 12.) Punish firms that try to leave the US in effort to circumvent the rules with a 20,000% tax rate. 13.) Punish (100,000% tax rate) rogue firms that try to lay off workers to offset financial punishments due to environmental callousness and ineptitude. 14.) after implementation of rules 10-13, all firms will be in compliance as it will be unprofitable to intentionally pollute. 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our taxes. 16.) With the 15 rules above, the salmon, steelhead and other wild stocks would be saved, fisheries for the average angler would exist, the environment would be cleaner, the old growth forest would remain, wars would cease, loggers would still be employed, development would be carefully controlled, taxes would be lower, the military would be superpowerful/well funded and we would have enough money to enhance America’s future and resolve many of our problems.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – :  #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. : After all it’s about the fish …right? You bet, Harry. I’m with you on that one. Rather than proposing to make it pure C+R, why not have a 1-weekend season? Hunting seems to work rather well like that. If the fish can handle pure C+R, they can handle some harvest. Why bias the policy against the vast majority of fishermen who like to keep some fish? : : 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their : wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund : the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our : taxes. Should this be taken as "I’m not willing to pay for it myself"? Of course, sending a bill doesn’t mean you actually collect money. Do you *really* think we’d reap a "windfall"? No, if they have the money, rather than pay us, they’d keep that money and raise their own army. Then we’d be back to square one. It is in our own interest for these nations to not keep large standing armies. That’s what gives us the title "superpower".

If a country had the money to build a strong military, it probably would not need US aid to protect itself from other nations. For example, England would not need US intervention in the foreseeable future, but Kosovo will. Meanwhile, the US spent over a billion dollars on Kosovo and we never see that money again. The US will end up fighting over there again without compensation because of Milosevic or some other tyrant and we will spend billions of dollars to try to solve a problem that will never be solved without 50 or more years of commitment. As far as I am concerned, the US environmental problems are more important than Kosovo. Congress whines "a Billion dollars has been spent on the salmon in the last 20 years….", but is a happy camper whenever we blow billions of dollars in a few weeks to try to rectify a problem that has existed for 1000’s of years in the false hope that we can make things better in a month of bombing when the Serbs and Kosovars have been intolerant of each other for hundreds, if not thousands of years. A few years of peacekeeping will not make things better and the US will spend more on Kosovo, a place more than 3000 miles away from America than it will on fixing our environmental problems in the next few years. When was Kosovo a part of the US? Is it the 51st state? It is wrong for the government to spend more money on Kosovo than it does for many states. I bet the people of Wyoming are pleased that the citizens of Kosovo get more Wyoming taxpayer dollars than the people of Wyoming. If Kosovo wants our help, they better pay their share of the taxes. Whenever Americans need improvements or protection, Americans pay their government for those services. Why should another nation who uses our Governement to solve their problems be absolved from paying for the services that they used? Anyways, the *real* question is how much are *you* willing to have *your* taxes increase to fund all of your points?  If you are not willing to pay for it yourself, then it’s all just hot air.

no, I am willing to pay my taxes even with an increase, but the government should be efficient with the money it collects from taxpayers. It is not right for the government to spend billions of dollars on the problems of other nations while we have so many problems at home to solve. If the government is going to spend money on other nations, the government should demand payment for services rendered. I pay to fish by buying a license and that money is used to manage fisheries. My payment pays for the management services provided by my state. Why should the military be any different? If a country has a problem that has to be resolved by the military and they ask for our help, that US military aid should be paid for by the country that is asking for our help. What’s wrong with paying for services delivered? It’s ridiculous to let our tax dollars be spent without demanding compensation for what has been done. Spend the money on the salmon/steelhead, forests, waterways, educational system, infrastructure and technology instead of throwing money into a fire. Tom – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -JonCook.

Response:

 #17-Outlaw all types of fishing in any of the river so reclamied. After all it’s about the fish …right? HM – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – says… There are less Steelhead than ever, but if you want to work hard enough for them, they can still be found. Why do you think that is, Bill? I mean, why are there fewer steelhead than ever? — something bogus to avoid spam) I started fishing steelhead in the 60s in northern California. It was still pretty good fishing then, but the older guys really saw it in it’s ‘hay days’. I have fished with an old group of anglers that fished for them heavily from the end of W W II till just recently. Mostly, they are too old to wade and secondly in the last 10 years they have lost interest. We still have a pretty strong younger group that travel up and down the northwest coast of North America. I have listened to them tell the stories of fishing 50 years ago on the great un-damed rivers of North America. The mighty Russian, Eel, Trinity, Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and on up through Oregon, Washington and the great rivers of British Columbia. It is a crime what we let happen to our great rivers. We mostly wipped out the wild steelhead in the 1900s. Bad logging, too many dams, de-watering and agriculture have lead to the loss of habitate for the might ‘Iron Head’. Commercial netting up north in BC is to blame also. If they could just start working on some of the good rivers that are left we could save some wild steelhead stocks. I have been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Take a few rivers and turn them back to wild rivers with no hatchery fish. Close them for 10 years and build back up a good population. No logging on the drainage. No dams. No more roads. Steelhead should all be wild and all be catch and release. If you have caught wild steelhead on a fly rod with a floating line and dry or unweighted steelhead fly, you can understand this kind of thinking. Hell, if you caught a wild steelhead on any kind of tackle you would understand. Rather than complain all the time, we should try to save what is left. I think the steelhead and salmon could come back to historic proportions if the following things were done: 1.) All remaining undammed rivers are allowed to flow freely for eternity. 2.) Cities built near spawning habitat should be forced stop all development    near the spawning habitat. 3.) Ban commercial fishing for coldwater fish in the sea or freshwater. Catch    and Release only for wild stocks and certain hatchery stocks should be    maintained to create fisheries for the average angler while saving the    wild fish with prudent management. Seafood farming (the planting and    raising of seafood)would be implemented instead of commercial fishing. 4.) Train and pay former commercial fishermen to help study and protect the         fish stocks.         5.) Create tree farms for necessary lumber and ban logging in pristine         forests. Hire loggers to log the tree farms and use their expertise to             assist in the reclaimation of logged forests. Train loggers to fight         forest fires, maintain national parks and use their forestry skills             /training to help wilderness areas. 6.) retrofit all amenable dams with fish ladders to allow fish migration. 7.) breach all dams that cannot be retrofitted to help the salmon/steelhead         migrations. 8.) All hatchery plantings be restricted to planting native river stocks only     and augmenting the hatchery stock by a yearly infusion of native river.    stocks. 9.) Ban all logging, development and restrict access in sensitive areas. 10.) Reward organizations and industrial firms by giving huge tax breaks to companies that actively seek to help the environment by complying with the environmental regulations. 11.) Punish (15,000% tax rate)all firms that show wanton disregard for the environment by heavy taxation. 12.) Punish firms that try to leave the US in effort to circumvent the rules with a 20,000% tax rate. 13.) Punish (100,000% tax rate) rogue firms that try to lay off workers to offset financial punishments due to environmental callousness and ineptitude. 14.) after implementation of rules 10-13, all firms will be in compliance as it will be unprofitable to intentionally pollute. 15.) Bill nations with an exorbitant military service fee for resolving their wars with our military. This huge windfall of trillions of dollars would fund the government. clean up the environment/save the wild fish and lower our taxes. 16.) With the 15 rules above, the salmon, steelhead and other wild stocks would be saved, fisheries for the average angler would exist, the environment would be cleaner, the old growth forest would remain, wars would cease, loggers would still be employed, development would be carefully controlled, taxes would be lower, the military would be superpowerful/well funded and we would have enough money to enhance America’s future and resolve many of our problems.

Response:

Question:

Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill. Although I’m basically a "live-bait on a spin reel person", I’ve messed around with my "fly outfit" the last couple of years. Never had much success until yesterday though. Not a bad sized rainbow either. Around 11". Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. See ya on the streams!!!!! Tom

Congratulations on the first trout on a fly! Got mine last summer.  Went t some state parks in southeast Minnesota in mid august.  Caught my first on a #12 Wolly Bugger a 12"Rainbow. caught the rest – a total of 14 browns from 8-13 inches mostly on my own design— a kind of peacock and guinea soft hackle that looks like a small minnow when wet.  Don’t know what to call it. Biggest thrill was casting about 40 ft across the river at Forrestville, having a 12" brown jump out of the water with the fly in its mouth, run half way across the river to me and do a double flip 10 feet in front of me!  Talk about getting hooked on fly fishing!  WOW! I will be going back this year to MN or Wisconsen to repeat the fun! Good luck, Ken — Remove NO-SPAM- from return address to e-mail me. Sorry, but this is to discourage spammers and auto junk mail generators. Ken Wells "When In Doubt….Go fishing."

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill. Although I’m basically a "live-bait on a spin reel person", I’ve messed around with my "fly outfit" the last couple of years. Never had much success until yesterday though. Not a bad sized rainbow either. Around 11". Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. See ya on the streams!!!!! Tom Tom, Nice going with the first trout…I am also relatively new (<2 yrs) and enjoy hearing about people and fly fishing. Of course the next step done this road-to-ruin is fly tying….no rush, take your time, but getting your first trout on a fly you tird is also outstanding…. As you can probably tell, I’m consumed by this experience called fly fishing….if I only didn’t have to work…… — John Carney          Fly Fisher & Parrot Head (NO-SPAM in address to avoid spamming)

And I’ll bet that, just for a minute or two, while you were landing thiat first trout, you considered throwing away ALL your baitcasting and spinning gear.  Welcome to the Club!! Mac McCaskill

Response:

Trout hit my first two casts hard, and kept hitting every type of dry fly I used aggressively all day. I missed a ton of good strikes (sure could use some advice on setting the hook correctly),

Tom; You note that you missed these aggressive strikes.  That happens because (often) an aggresively striking wild fish is hanging-out under/around some current somewhere near the bottom.  He sees your fly (food) and shoots up, slamming the fly and zips right back down to the bottom as fast as a Rattle-snake strike.  Well, unlike a natural fly, yours has a leader attached to it.  I’m sure that you have noticed how much force water can exert on your line.  This happens with the fly.  The drag of the tippet can pull the fly from the fish’s mouth, or cause him to "spit it out" before you can set the hook.  I have noticed this a lot recently while fishing emergers during the sulfur hatch.  WHACK!… nothing. Jason Beary

Response:

Congratulations on the first trout on a fly! Got mine last summer.  Went t some state parks in southeast Minnesota in mid august.  Caught my first on a #12 Wolly Bugger a 12"Rainbow. caught the rest – a total of 14 browns from 8-13 inches mostly on my own design— a kind of peacock and guinea soft hackle that looks like a small minnow when wet.  Don’t know what to call it.

A bug. John Fereira

Response:

[snipped] Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday.

[snipped] Well done Tom!  Nice innitt? On a more serious note(!)  You are now in danger of becoming the best Definition: The best angler in the world = whichever angler at that given instant in time is enjoying themselves the most. richard

Response:

Congratulations Tom, I too caught my first, a 14" Brown, on Wednesday in the Clear Fork river (Ohio).    It was a store-bought fly, but that didn’t make it any less exciting.   Like you, nobody around me has any clue what its like. Bob  

Response:

Hi, Congratulations. I had the same problem,  so I bought my fiance her own kit,  now she joins me on all the trips,  and the best is that she is not using my expensive rods. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Tom: <<Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. It is a "big deal". The outdoor learning process can sometimes be frustrating when there is no father, brother, aunt or uncle to answer your questions or share your experiences. So…, thanks for taking the time and sharing with us. Congratulations! Tight lines, Joe

Response:

Congratulations, Seems just like yesterday … so many years now. Next will be that monster brown on a fly you tied.  Nothing beats the feeling of a first anything.  I don’t know about others on ROFF but there is still nothing like splash of an eager trout or the slurp of the grandfather of all trout. That’s just a feeling that never gets old. Corey http://www.ncweb.com:80/users/crbock/

Response:

Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill.

Just wanted to drop my 2 cents in, too. I fished the Great Smoky Mountain National Park last weekend, doing some very deep, hike-in mountain stream fishing, and had the best day of dry fly fishing in my short (about 1 year) career fly fishing. Trout hit my first two casts hard, and kept hitting every type of dry fly I used aggressively all day. I missed a ton of good strikes (sure could use some advice on setting the hook correctly), but I did bring in an 11-inch wild mountain rainbow. My God, what a fish this was! Never seen that kind of coloring before. These fish are naturally reproducing, wild trout (even though their ancestors were imported to the area and stocked until the 1970s). Even so, this guy fought hard, jumped at least 12 times, and left me speechless at having takien my first wild trout in such a beautiful setting. For you Midwestern FFers, I have a story on FFing in the Smokies coming up in the summer issue of Midwest Fly Fishing magazine that provides local contact numbers and other information. E-mail me off-list if you want more information. Dave McCarty

Response:

Hey Tom:

<<Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. It is a "big deal". The outdoor learning process can sometimes be frustrating when there is no father, brother, aunt or uncle to answer your questions or share your experiences. So…, thanks for taking the time and sharing with us. Congratulations! Tight lines, Joe

Response:

Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill. Although I’m basically a "live-bait on a spin reel person", I’ve messed around with my "fly outfit" the last couple of years. Never had much success until yesterday though. Not a bad sized rainbow either. Around 11". Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. See ya on the streams!!!!! Tom

Tom, Nice going with the first trout…I am also relatively new (<2 yrs) and enjoy hearing about people and fly fishing. Of course the next step done this road-to-ruin is fly tying….no rush, take your time, but getting your first trout on a fly you tird is also outstanding…. As you can probably tell, I’m consumed by this experience called fly fishing….if I only didn’t have to work…… — John Carney          Fly Fisher & Parrot Head (NO-SPAM in address to avoid spamming)

Response:

Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill. Although I’m basically a "live-bait on a spin reel person", I’ve messed around with my "fly outfit" the last couple of years. Never had much success until yesterday though. Not a bad sized rainbow either. Around 11". Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. See ya on the streams!!!!! Tom

Response:

Hi all, Just thought I’d let everyone know that I caught my first trout ever on a fly rod yesterday. Man, what a thrill. Although I’m basically a "live-bait on a spin reel person", I’ve messed around with my "fly outfit" the last couple of years. Never had much success until yesterday though. Not a bad sized rainbow either. Around 11". Oh well, I’m sure this is no big deal to most of you but I just had to tell someone. Everyone in my family has no clue as to what it’s like. I figure you all do. See ya on the streams!!!!! Tom

didja et it…? — TimW Halfordian Golfer

Response:

Question:

I have been fishing the Red River below Denison Dam for some years now and can be quite sucessful when the generators are not "on" – discharging water. An average spring morning from 6am to 8am will produce 10 to 20 small stripers averaging 12" to18". Great on a 5 to 8wt. However during the spring, the water is normally being discharged due to spring rains and this is my problem. I have never been able to consistantly catch fish with the water flowing. Under these conditions I use a 10wt sinking tip line and all the normal flies that work with the the "water off". Bait fishing with live shad or minnows is normally great during this water flow so I would expect flyrodding to be the same,-but not for me. I have a boat designed especially for flyfishing the river which is quite safe and effective.

Response:

I have been fishing the Red River below Denison Dam for some years now and can be quite successful when the generators are "off" – not discharging water. An average spring morning from 6am to 8am will produce 10 to 20 small stripers averaging 12" to 18". Great on a 5 to 8wt. However during the spring, the water is normally being discharged due to spring rains and this is my problem. I have never been able to consistantly catch fish with the water flowing. Under these conditions I use a 10wt. with fast sinking tip line and all the flies that work with the water "off". Bait fishing with live shad or minnows is normally great during this type of water flow so I would expect flyrodding to be the same,-but not for me. I have a boat designed especially for flyfishing this river which is quite safe and effective. For a picture of the boat and my son see www.2ducks.com/boats.html Would be happy to take out some experienced flyrodders that can teach me the tricks of this particular aspect of flyfishing. ANY SUGGESTIONS would be appreciated. If you think it may be my fly selection, please let me know. I commonly use clousers of all colors, all sizes, some top water poppers. I have not been able to tie the large 8" flies, but the average striper caught is <20" so I would not think this is the problem. I am not a guide, just an avid sportsman living 5 miles from the dam. Can fish 2 – 3 flyrods out of the boat at a time so bring an experianced friend if you would like. I normally can fish from 5pm to sunset weekdays, Fridays 1pm to sunset, and all day on the weekends. If we don’t catch any fish you can buy my lunch at Burger King. Water temperature is 48 and rising and the floodgates are now open. Have private access to the river.

Response:

Question:

May your Christmas Present be an Orvis Bamboo with a Guide missing! Mr. Gink — MZ

Response:

May your Christmas Present be an Orvis Bamboo with a Guide missing!

Oh yeah ?!?!?!? Well…may you get the same thing, and break it when you drop your "Tickle Me Elmo" on it, which breaks as well… TimW

Response:

   Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing.fly    Organization: Fly Fishing Products Manufacturer    May your Christmas Present be an Orvis Bamboo with a Guide missing!    Mr. Gink AND, that you live in a climate where you can’t use it for growing tomatoes! cheers,         -tgades

Response:

Question:

Not entirely true.  Maine allows flyfishing, catch and release, is some of it’s waters.  You need to get a law book and check.  It offers some great fall fishing if you do not mind catch and release. Regards……

Response:

Fishing seasons are lame. I’ve never lived in a state where you couldn’t go out and fish ( practicing C/R of course) in the dead of winter if you so desired. In these days and times and with the extensive licsenceing (sp?) fees collected and with ever tightening fisheries management, you’d think I could rip some lip any old time I wanted. Go west Connie. Maine isn’t good enough for you. (of course I’ve never been to Maine, though I almost honeymooned there) you can fish 24/7/365.

Response:

Fishing seasons are lame. I’ve never lived in a state where you couldn’t go out and fish ( practicing C/R of course) in the dead of winter if you so desired. In these days and times and with the extensive licsenceing (sp?) fees collected and with ever tightening fisheries management, you’d think I could rip some lip any old time I wanted. Go west Connie. Maine isn’t good enough for you. (of course I’ve never been to Maine, though I almost honeymooned there) you can fish 24/7/365.

Actually there are several rivers in Me. where you can C&R artificials only for landlocked salmon. Also, in Sept. the striper fishing is often great, and in October & November there are sea run browns that put their sweetwater cousins to shame (and taste fantastic).Not that I want to encourage any MORE people to come up…I’ll be lucky to make it home tonite as it is :-                         jc

Response:

We are going to Maine in October 3 – 8  and I was wondering what kind of fly fishing can be done that time of year if any and what the rules are? We plan to go to Acadia  and to Baxter State Park.   Any thing would be helpful.                           Thanks                                Connie

Connie,         The truth of the matter is that you can fish in Maine after Oct 1st. When you get here check out the infamous 96-97 open water fishing bible, and you’ll notice numerous ponds, lakes and streams open to fishing after Oct 1st. to the 31st., but all are catch and release during that month. All are at least artificial lure only, and some are fly-fishing only. There are a couple of rivers open all year long that are catch and release only such as the Nezinscot River in Turner. One of the most productive rivers open under this regulation will probably be the East Outlet of the Kennebec river starting at Moosehead lake. On the Kennebec from Skowhegan to Augusta there is a two-fish limit on Salmon and trout all year long. Hope you have a great time in Maine. Dave P.S. Watch out for Moose.

Response:

We are going to Maine in October 3 – 8  and I was wondering what kind of fly fishing can be done that time of year if any and what the rules are? We plan to go to Acadia  and to Baxter State Park.   Any thing would be helpful.                            Thanks                                 Connie

Response:

Connie, I hate to be the one to rain on your parade…but the fishing season in Maine closes as of September 30.  You will be relegated to leaf peeping and moose gazing.    Enjoy,    Gerry

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Question:

I would appreciate any information on fishing for steelhead or salmon around Vancouver in late October, particularly on wadeable river spots. Thanks in advance, RK —   /      RedKnight               | Chris McCarley   /      "I have seen the future |            and it is neural."      |

Try calling Ruddicks Fly Shop in Burnaby (Suburb of Van)

Response:

I would appreciate any information on fishing for steelhead or salmon around Vancouver in late October, particularly on wadeable river spots. Thanks in advance, RK —   /      RedKnight               | Chris McCarley   /      "I have seen the future |            and it is neural."      |

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