ArkieFlyGuy

Fred, What airport would you be flying out of? Little Rock is your best bet as far as ticket prices with Memphis being a good spot as well. But Memphis puts you about 4 hours from MH and LR is about 2.5-3 hrs. Springfield is a couple hours away, but flying in here is not cheap usually. Same for Fayetteville. SCFFF Conclave is going to be a GREAT one this year. Michael Kyle is the chair and he is working on making it the best ever. There are tickets for a Clakacraft drift boat available. It should be here in a week or so and I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them. Anybody coming to Conclave this year... I'm the facilities chair so I need all the help I can get setting up for the tiers and workshops and again for the auction and again Sunday tearing down.

I want to 2nd, 3rd, or whatever the motion to get an article on Earl Stanek for the magazine. I have had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Stanek on a few occasions and am mystified, amazed, and otherwise blown away at some of the things this fine gentleman does when creating flies. He is truly a very unique individual and anyone who gets the chance to sit down with him will learn something, I guarantee. I have high hopes of sitting with him again at the Southern Council Conclave in October in Mountain Home, AR. As I talked with him last March at the Sowbug Roundup, he was discussing the frame seen in Harold Ray's post above. He and I discussed some ideas on another similar frame he was working on and how he could make the "water" seem more realistic. He was experimenting with a couple of ideas, mixtures, and witchcraft to get the "sensation" down pat. This man is a brilliant mind, artistic engineer, and painfully perfectionistic true gentleman. You should watch him make front legs for a hopper pattern... You may then understand the term "perfection." And article by Mr. Stanek or by anyone who would be willing to sit down and interview him would be a great addition to Hatches for sure. So please consider room for an article on this man who deserves a lot of credit for inspiring a lot of tyers... And if you don't, Will, I'm gonna have to get rough with ya... :nono: :flex: :boxing: (Maddog, take care of my "light work" for me, will ya?) (See... told ya, Ray... )

Uh... let's see... I was born, raised, and spent the first 48 years of my life in Arkansas... I love to fly fish... I'm a guy... Funny, but I just use my name on other forums.

Terry, My sympathy to you and your family. My grandfather died when I was just out of college and started my fist job. He was my fishing buddy and we were very close. But I still feel him almost every time I cast a fly into the river.... and I DO feel him reaching over and placing his hand on my shoulder every time I land a nice trout.... and he's been gone 25 years.... Memories will always be there...

Yes, pcq... Correct you are. If Master Joe-da says it, use mono you must. From the flourocarbon dark side you must stay away. But, to each his own. I say if mono works for you, then by all means use it.

Dustin, Where did you hit that deer? Can't see a lung/heart shot in the pic... looks toward the back. If so, lucky you found him! Nice meat deer... I'm with ya, Bud... I never did like eatin' the horns...

:hyst: :hyst: :hyst: :hyst: :hyst:

I make it a policy not to eat anything that has the yaya's to eat a lion fish. :baby: :hyst: I had some eel sushi a couple weeks ago that was really tasty...

OK... freshwater fish taste "fishy" but saltwater fish are good? I'm exactly the opposite... saltwater tastes fishy.... freshwater is good... Favorite? Grinnel... unless I can get a good BBQd alligator gar..... OK... for real... seriously.... Crappie... followed closely by Bluegill... Just gotta have the Louisiana Hot Sauce to make 'em really taste good...

As many on here know, I've been there... done that... got a tee-shirt.... Sorry about the job.... Here's to finding a better one soon... In the mean time..... as far as trout fishing is concerned... four words... "Come SOUTH young man...."

Funny... but the best duck dogs I've been around have been rejects from breeders.... DUMB breeders... Half black / half chocolate Labs are sometimes really pretty... Does she have any "chocolate" sheen to her? (Use the underbelly hair... seems a bit softer than the leg.... )

Believe it or not, I made a quite usable "Martarelli" style whip finisher out of a coat hanger.... :hyst: Adhesive backed "hook" material (Velcro) stuck to the end of a popcycle stick and one wrapped around a small dowel make good dubbing teasers / brushes. A hint I think I got from here was using the end of a "finger cot" (hard rubber "thimble" used in hand counting money or sorting paperwork) over a bobbin, then run up the thread to hold the hackle back while whip finishing... with my coat hanger....

There are SO many things out there with copper wire... Anything with an electric motor and many electronic devices... hair dryer, windshield wiper motor, aquarium pump, toaster, radio, the list is endless. Depending on the application - size of the motor, ac/dc, amps, etc. - the wire can be very tiny to big and bulky. The only caution here is that the copper degrades due to heat/cold cycling. It can become faded and brittle. That and the fact that some of it will be dipped in varnish and hard to uncoil. If you're lucky, you might even find some colored wire! Tying on a budget.... I LOVE IT! :headbang:

:jumpy: :eek: :clapping: :smoke: Nice avatar, fly time.... Love the bass on that babe... OK... I'll admit it... I started out with the cheapest Wal-Mart fly fishing rig from Shakespeare. It served its purpose. I wanted something I could take out, learn a little casting, fish a few times, and see if I even WANTED to fly fish... I didn't have $1500 in my budget to go out and buy a G Loomis rod, Ross reel, expensive line, etc... I just wanted to try fly fishing. A few months later, after I was "hooked"... no pun intended... I moved up a couple of notches. My last purchase was a hand made rod from a builder in Mt Home, AR on a Dorber ultra-weave blank. Very sweet rod and not an arm and a leg in price... I haven't tried one of SD's rods, but looking at his site and if my best guess is right, they are very sweet rods as well. But I also agree with jlsmithii... better recommendations could be made with more information.

If you're handy with a sewing machine or have a good woman who is, a Crown Royal bag can be converted into a really neat and interesting waste basket. Of course, you have to drink all that whiskey to get it... So if you need help, just buy it, keep the bag, and send me the full bottle.... I'll dispose of it for you..... :thumbsup: That is, that good woman of mine and I will... :drunk:

Surprising what is out there that you can tie flies with. If you guys ever get a chance to hear Sister Carol Ann Corely, the "Fly Tying Nun" talk about tying on a budget, she has some really good ideas and "stuff" that came from "trash" and the dollar tree... Great looking flies! Great idea! Now if I can just talk my wife into buying me a plasma screen so I can tie flies...

MTFA (MO Trout Fishers Assoc.) meets 1st Thursday. SMFF (Southwest MO Fly Fishers) meets 2nd Thursday. Both are FFF clubs. I've been to both meetings. SMFF is doing a clinic at MSU on Thursday nights and I think the meeting is off this month, so next meeting will be October.

I found out about the Taney seminar a day or two late... :wallbash: Yeah, I met Eric at a club meeting. You should get with Leonard... He is on a first name basis with the rocks in Taney. But watch out... I think he catches bats as well as fish down there.... Then again, I think they are his cousins the way he gets around the water at night. Don't think he'd mind me sharing his best of last night... I'm hoping for a little cloud cover Saturday...

Ducky, I went fishing with Leonard Saturday night. I could tell it had been a while since I had fished, but did manage to bring 7 or 8 to hand. But, hell... it's DARK out there at night. The good news is nobody can see how bad your cast is... The bad news, neither can you.... I was back Monday afternoon for about an hour before I had to pick up my step-daughter. I took 160 and messed up at the 13 split. I wound up on some winding goat path that came out on SHExpressway, so no big loss. I can see the Branson West route would work. But how do you go from there? 76? How's the traffic? I may get another chance to fish this weekend if my wife goes to visit a friend. I'll let you know.

You too I love... Master Yoda...

Can't help but admire a beach towel like that... or a beautiful fog hanging over a nice trout stream....

Hey, SD... is it OK if I peddle some Meds, sex, furniture and other BS on this site? Long story short... I was mostly out of work for over a year. I kept things afloat by working odd jobs, collecting unemployment, and being supported by my girlfriend - now wife.... That's right... Cindy and I were married in November on the beach in Negril, Jamaica. Only stipulation was I could not bring a fly rod with me. Oh well... next time I'll sneak my 8 wt in with my underwear.... A couple of months ago, I started working in Springfield, MO and have moved to Nixa, MO. That puts me BACK IN THE HILLS :yahoo: and MUCH closer to trout waters. We've just now gotten settled and I had a chance to do a little fishing on Lake Taneycomo this weekend. AND my first NIGHT fly fishing trip.... WOW... What a different ballgame! Anyway, now that things are getting more back to "normal"... for me anyway... you'll probably be seeing my happy.... uh... face here again. Still gonna be Arkie... you can take the Arkie out of Arkieland, but you can't keep him from drinkin'......... or somethin' like that....

Will, Mark your calendar for the first weekend in October. The Southern Council FFF Conclave is the Sowbug times three. GREAT fishing, tyers, fishing, casters, fishing, presentations, fishing, vendors, fishing, fellowship, fishing, and did I mention the FISHING? Sowbug is a really good time as well. Great to rub elbows with some pretty doggone good tyers and fishermen... and then go fishing for "big ol' big" Brown Trout!! :headbang: Third weekend in March and first weekend in October... Both great times to be in Mountain Home, AR... And us hillbillies even let ya'll yankees and canucks join in the fun!! :j_k:

...and one strong woman!! Shuffleboard meets horseshoes meets ice hockey... and add beer... :yahoo:

Cone, In my present "between real jobs" job at Dillard's, I'm getting to buy some shirts with sleeves.... And if I ever get to go fishing again (seems like it's been months... hell it HAS been months!!!) and I actually catch a fish, I'll have my picture taken with the fish and sleeves..... Maybe if I get this new job, I can even afford SHOES!!!! :dunno: UPDATE: Amanda is coming home today, but is on insulin twice a day. She even gave herself her first shot (of saline) last night. Not sure if they've let her give herself the insulin yet, but were suppose to last night. The next few weeks will be trying as she gets everything regulated and down as to what she has to do. My sister has a 18 year old granddaughter who was diagnosed at 12, and I'm hoping she and Amanda can relate and pass on some tips. She has the routine down pat and it's just like brushing her teeth now.... Thanks for your prayers, guys.