Russ

Greetings from even colder Alaska, Ex yooper here from Sault Ste. Marie. I sure do miss fishing in the U.P. Never made it down to Troll Land to fish. Life is good here in Alaska... got 3 inches of snow last night. Gonna make it hard to cast my fly into that 8 inch hole in the ice. Tight lines to all Russ

I'm glad your dog is doing better. I know if it were me, I'd probably go shoot his car tires or something like that and then wind up in jail myself. Keep it within the law but make him sorry for what he did. Tight lines, Russ in Alaska Hey Michigan Trout Guy..... Tool fan here too. "I am just a worthless liar, I am just an imbecile"

Ok guys, here's my 3 cents. About a month ago I noticed a loon on one of our local lakes acting strange. (my wife and I are members of Alaska Loon Watch) The next day we talked to a Fish and Wildlife agent about the behavior. She thought it could be lead poisoning. My wife and I went out in our canoe to get a better look at it and noticed a fishing line in its mouth. We thought it may have swallowed a lure and a lead sinker. After consulting with the agent, we decided to try to capture the loon. We gathered our big salmon net and a large box and headed out to the lake. We saw that the loon could not swim very well and could not close its mouth. Its tongue was swollen and prevented it from closing. We were able to net it and bring it into the canoe. I managed to cut the line ints mouth and the tangle of line, swivels and a 2 ounce lead weight from its feet. We called the agent and she ssaid to bring to her. We drove into Anchorage and she examined it and determined it needed to go to a local bird recovery organization. They x-rayed it and found many hooks, swivels, line and a lead split shot in its stomach. Unfortunately the loon died a few days later from lead poisoning. You can not imagine how we felt about losing such a magnificent animal for such a sensless reason. My wife and I immediately threw away all our lead split shot. I was already using lead free line weight for my flies. As far as how much better it is over lead... I don't care if lead is better.... saving a animals life far outweighs any benefit lead may have. I urge everyone to use ONLY lead free wire and sinkers. They cost the same and will help save ducks, fish, and LOONS. Tight lines.

In my search for the perfect vise, I have bought the Dyna-King Barracuda junior Trekker in a C clamp model. I did alot of research and talked to alot of people about their vises. The overall choice was the Renzetti, but I decided n the DK. Why?... it was the quality of the machining and roller bearings. It felt like it was built better. I also liked the grooved jaws... they seem to hold a hook stronger. I want to thank everyone who gave their comments and advice. For anyone having the same delemia about which vise to buy, I would suggest www.flyfisherman.com They had a great vise shootout. Thanks again, tight lines and happy tying.

I want to thank everyone for their input to my vice question. I have a monumental decision to make soon. I have narrowed my search to the D-K Jr. Trekker and the Renzetti Traveler cam. Both appear to be a great vice for the money. I went to www.flyfisherman.com to look at their vice shootout. The D-K took tyers choice in the $200-300.00 category. The Renzetti didn't do as well in its class. I have heard from many many tyers about their vices and their experiences. Although the majority chose the Renzetti, I feel the D-K may be a better choice for my tying style. My next step is to take some of my tying material to the local fly shop to do a few test flies on each vice. Thank you again for all the advice. Stay tuned...

I am planning to buy a new vice and would like your comments. I am looking at the Renzetti Traveler and the Dyna-King Junior Trekker. Both are about the same price and, I think, quality. I would appreciate any info you could pass along. Russ in Alaska

Glad you liked the flies. Now get out there and fish!!!!

Will, Good luck on your recovery and I hope you get on the water again real soon. Tight lines!

Great looking fly Smallie. Maybe you take a few pics of how you wound the hackle from bead to bead. Is this a fly used for bass?

Plan 9 from Outer Space is suppose to be the worst movie ever made. I saw a movie called Dark Star about a group of guys in a space ship that are attacked by a killer beach ball. Oh my god, it looked like it was made in some guys garage.

I'm almost Canadian. born in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. Fished the St. Mary's River and Munoscong Bay in eastern upper Michigan. All my ancestors were Canadian. How's that???

Smalliekiller, Go Steelers!!!!

Anyone ever fish in the U.P. on Munoscong Bay or the St. Mary's River? That is my old stomping grounds. I haven't been on those waters since I left home 27 years ago. My dad and I used to fish for walleyes, perch and pike all summer long. What great memories. Of course that was before the river had salmon, now everyone is into salmon derbies and competitions. Sort of takes the fun out of it. If I could just go back to the days of sitting in my dad's boat, listening to his stories and soaking in the hot sun on Munoscong Bay.

I wanted to start a new list in addition to the favorite movie list. A few of my favorite non-movies are: Band of Brothers The Civil War The Horatio Hornblower series any of the Sherlock Holmes episodes starring the late Jeremy Britt the Farscape series on the Sci-Fi Channel and one movie I forgot... the Godfather I haven't seen A river runs through it, but I plan to soon. I was going to add a regional favorite of mine, but I thought I would get laughed out of the forum... that movie.... Moonlight in Escanaba.

The best movie of all time.... The Quiet Man with John Wayne Monty Python and the Holy Grail The Sting Jurassic Park I Star Wars, the very first one..... brought back lots of childhood fantasies The Searchers True Grit Young Frankenstein... "what knockers!' My Fair Lady... yes I happen to like that movie... Audrey Hepburn is awesome! Hunt for Red October Seven Samurai... the original Magnificent Seven... which I also like