kodiaksalmon

That's cool. I wasn't out to call you out, but I'm sure you've seen alot of guys on the web posting pics of ducks, songbirds, whatever, shot illegally or out of season. Just looking for a clarification, so as to not have a misunderstanding....

Dip it in Gulp! Just kidding, but I know a guy who does that and it makes me laugh when I see him do it. Anway, as has been said "action." You gotta make it look alive, either through movement, or acoutrements. Rubber legs, a bit of flash, marabou, etc. But remember, alot of things look differently in the water than they do on your vise. Things like bucktail look alot different wet than dry. But you don't need to overthink a bugger. They are what they are, and they work well.

I like Borax over salt. And IMHO it's not worth the effort of formally tanning a squirrel, especially for tying. And uh....I don't wanna be a party pooper, but according my Ohio regs....squirrel season ended two weeks ago.....

Meh, I dunno. My concern is the snakehead's DIRECT competition with the other apex species of the Great Lakes drainage, especially LSC. The muskie and smallies do well here because they "fit" well together in a system. Pike and largemouth are distant seconds to muskie and smallies respectively. Throw a "healthy" snakehead population in there, and who knows what will happen. Snakeheads reproduce much more prolifically than pike and especially muskie, and they eat much the same thing. Have a couple of years where muskie reproduction is off, and snakehead holds in full swing because they're more adaptable, and the balance can tip quickly. And just remember, we ain't out of the woods yet with mussels and goby's. Just because they haven't destroyed the GL's yet doesn't mean they haven't yet damaged, and won't continue to harm down the road.

That's almost as crowded as Kenai....

Indeed. They are different fish. If you're looking for bowfin, try big pike flies. I can't keep the dang things off my line!

You guys should check out national geographic they recently had a show about snakeheads in the United States. In the show they were fishing for snakeheads by looking for the ball of eggs or fry that hang on their backs. It was visible when they came up for air. As far as killing them goes it is my personal opinion that you should only kill what you intend to eat. Take the carp for example: I still hear people say that the minnesota dnr says you should kill all non-native carp when infact the regulations state that it is illegal to wantonly waste any fish. As with most invasive species, the snake head is here to stay I normally agree with the "eat what you kill" but this is different. I saw that same show, and have seen others and read articles on them. In some states it's illegal to put them back in the water. I say kill every one you can, because as soon as they make their way into the Great Lakes, it's all over. Education is the key here.

Just make sure you KILL every single one you catch. They're the next zebra mussel. These things are bad, and some states even offer bounties for them.

That's cool. Ida figured Eva Longoria was a liberal wacko, but turns out she's into skinning things!

Luck for what? I'm from Indiana originally. Originally from S. IN down on the Ohio River, but ended up graduating high school from Plymouth. If I was gonna fish IN again, it'd be Webster for muskies, but you're a few months away from that yet.... This time of year, I do steelhead or stay in and tie. Welcome. Jeff

Good. And do put that extra coat on. I've got four coats on my working surface, and two everywhere else. I just saw where you're from. I'm originally from S. IN too. My table is solid oak and my grandpa built it for me with oak from our property in Orange Cty, south of Paoli. I based the plans on my first tying table, which I made myself, but didn't look this good!

I lived in Tulsa in 99. I'm in the USCG, and they sent me to Spartan to learn how to work on turbines and air craft. I love OK.

....From my cold, dead hands.... :gunsmilie:

Did you use any grain filler? Oak is such an open grain, it'll hold dirt and grime if you don't fill the voids. Looks good.

I'd agree that alot of casts are killed in the back cast, but I'd have to kindly disagree with the "J" shape. As far the load on the rod, a J is the same as a U in that the line is still laying out on the back cast, and still hasn't fully begun to load the rod. If your line is still in a J, you've still got "slack" in that line that hasn't gone tight and loaded the rod. The line needs to be fully unfurled or laid out both on a back cast or front cast before the opposite cast is made. Think of it in terms of the line on the water, you woudln't pick up your line with a J laying on the water. No, you (should) make sure that your line is straight and all slack is taken up before making a back cast. The top leg of the J is line that will not be used to load the rod, and the first half of your cast is spent pulling that top leg down and around, and only then can you fully, efficiently load the rod.

What do you mean by "topwaters?" Poppers or ants? If you're trying to learn with popper or bass bugs, that'll slow your learning curve as larger flies like that can slow you down. There's alot of things it could be. Just saying "it dies" could indicate a few things. But typically when that happens it's a matter of an inefficient cast, and your fly line is losting energy. If you don't feel like professional lessons, get yourself a book by Lefty Kreh or Ed Jaworski. These two gentlemen are pretty much about as knowledgable as you can get. An efficient cast consists of a tight, narrow loop on the front and back cast, a sharp accelleration throughout the cast, not starting a forward or back cast until all slack line is removed from the line (either on the water or in the air) and a level path of travel for the rod tip. There's other factors that go into a good cast, but for efficiency, you need to remember these things. The other things to remember are the sudden stop at the end of the cast, and keeping your rod tip high (produces tight loops) and a few other points here and there. And this is where proper instruction or a book or DVD will help you. I could write six paragraphs about exactly what I'm talking about and try to describe them, but my writing and descriptive abilities pale compared to theirs, and it'd honestly save us both time if you went down to Barnes & Noble and got a book that'll have pic and captions. Heck, you could probably find it online if you looked for it. But right now, just going off of "it dies" it sounds like your casting stroke is inefficient and you're losing power in your line.

OK, so where on the West Coast? Welcome.

I guess I'm missing the "Obama" part, but that's cool.

I used to be a Lund guy. My Dad still is. But for the water I fish, a tin boat will knock your spine out of alignment...and they ain't made a stand-up center console Lund yet.....

I get big bags of mylar and 6-8mm beads for my muskie flies from Michael's.

60 and 80 lbs flourocarbon! I used to use wire and will never go back. I used Tyger, and Toothy Critter, and actually prefer the Toothy Critter to the Tyger. Tyger kinks to easily for me, and actually collapes under my flies on the cast. I use 60 lb FC 95% of the time,and can tie Bimini Twists in it and use loop-to-loop connections, with a swivel clasp for attaching the fly. And they wear great. I've never lost a fish on them, and have had leaders last weeks and several fish. People will say that FC will break on a muskie, but hell, muskies have been lost on wire with bite-offs. Any leader can fail, simple as that. But I've not come to the day yet when my FC has failed...it'll come, but I've gone long enough that FC has proven itself to me. Even conventional muskie guys are going more and more to FC. They fish heavier, like 100-130 lb, but they're throwign DCG's and Top Raiders, so the extra heft is needed on those baits. 60 FC gets my vote.

AMEN to that! I luvs me my Ranger! But since a Ranger is out, I'll throw down my .02, and I'll get flamed for this- I tihnk kayaks are trendy. Not saying they're bad, but I think too many people flock to kayaks because they're new and cool. I say go with the pontoon boat. I have one, and I've fished it alot. They do come with alot of crap one them, pockets, oars, and all kinds of stuff to snag on. But take that stuff off! I prefer a pontoon boat with a simple stripping apron, and a deck on the back for essentials. No motor, no anchor, no oars. Keep it simple. I also like my pontoon in that I fish it with fins, and don't use oars at all. So I can move and position myself with my fins while fighting a fish or even mid-cast. I can spin on a dime (pivot) like a tank on tracks, move from one spot to another while changing flies, putting on a new tippet, getting a drink, whatever because my hands are free. Things you can do in a kayak. I don't need rod holders because I don't have to row anything. If you do want oars, you can use them and then take them off and put them on the back deck out of the way. I've got a Buck's Bags pontoon, and I keep it disassembled, and in a duffel bag! It's a big bag like a hockey bag, and while I have a full garage and drive a truck with a roof rack, it breaks down and is small enough to store in a closet, or fit in the back seat of your car...and that's bags, frame, foot pump, fins, stripping apron, and deck all in the one bag. Something else you can not do with even the smallest kayak. If you want pics and how small it breaks down, I can go out and take some for you. I say pontoon boat 100%. Kayaks aren't bad, but when I see them, I just think about much more comfortable and "roomy" I feel in my pontoon boat...and yes, I've fished from a couple of "fishing" kayaks. And I still wished I was in my pontoon boat.

The good thing about "leeches" is that there is no certain "leech" pattern. "Leech" is more of a style of tying than a specific fly. Make it dark, hairy, and with some action, and it's a leech. Rabbit hair, maribou, and craft fur all work well for leech patterns. Experiment and have fun with it. Leeches allow you alot of license in your tying because it's hard to screw them up. Where are you in WA? I just transferred out of Port Angeles. Jeff

Welcome Mr. Jeff. BFR, where are you at? I'm in Harrison Twp, about three minutes from Harley Ensign.

N'er mind....I figgered it out.....