DaddyO

I apply a little Sally Hansen's to the thread and then whip finish. Prior to that method, I had problems with the fly coming apart. But, I tend to use the same fly over and over. After 10 or 12 fish, the fly is usually breaking down, somewhere, except the knot, now.

Congratulations!! My Dad caught a fish on the first fly that I tied. Even at 45 years old, my Dad, who was 65 years old, could still make me feel like a little boy being praised. He honored me by asking if he could use the fly. I cherish my time on the water with my Dad.

Brian, Good to see you on this forum. If these guys haven't seen any of your videos, they are in for a treat!

If you are concerned about the heat, then you should go to Taney at least once during the day. However, don't focus as much on the fishing, but focus on the lay of the river and get a good feel for the underwater layout. Then go back to the river in the evening, after sundown. You won't have to fight the crowds or the heat and you will get an opportunity to catch some bigger fish. Also check the generation schedule, because you can really only do this when there is no generation. Make sure you have, at least, a 6wt or 7wt rod. Use a floating line and put about 8 ft of 10 to 12 pound Mono for a leader (No Tippet required). You will want to use streamers like Leonard Keeny's PMS or Hibernator or some of the Galloup patterns that imitate sculpins or move a lot of water. You will also want to have a head lamp, but make sure that you don't shine it on the water, as this will put the fish down. You will be casting in the dark so you might want to practice casting with your eyes closed. Be prepared for big strikes (the kind that will jerk the rod from you hand) and big fish. I've had the most luck with Keeny's Hibernator in Black and UV Purple #8. Night time Streamer stripping on TaneyComo has provided me with some of my best experiences. Good luck and I hope you get the opportunity to try it.

Have a look at the Ozark Anglers Forum here I think Lower Taneycomo might be what you are looking for. But, you might want to give Phil Lilley a call at Lilley's Landing. He hosts the forum and is an all around nice guy. The OAF website will provide you with almost everything you want to know about fishing the Ozarks and surrounding area lakes, rivers, etc..

I do a version of this fly on a #14 hook in Dark brown with a few Pheasant tail fibers for a tail and a copper tungsten bead. It is my go to fly that always produces.

This is how I roll....uniek needloft plastic canvas yarn (maybe Walmart or Michaels)... and Red Heart super saver yarn(walmart or online) This stuff is Cheap! get as many or few colors as you need. you want whites and blacks of both type and then probably red yellow and blue if you want to mix like a painter or get greens browns reds etc etc. Get yourself at least 2 or 3 types of UV Ice dub. and a small coffee grinder. the needloft is pretty sick. coarse transparent and shiny so typically if im doing a black fly , i cut about 1/2inch pieces of yarn into the blender and blend for a bit in on off pulses, the needloft sometimes doesn't separate fully, so pic those out till you get nice shinny "dubbing" so for black its going to be red heart black (softer material almost like cotton but its acrylic) then some needloft white (which is like clear micro sparkle) and maybe some brown too, you know...its like highlights and then throw in some uv olive or blue or black whatever suits you(just a little for me)...I use a dubbing loop typically and I actually like the fibers a bit long, even long enough to coat the tail on some of my flies, it will slick back when you get it wet...gives a unified transparent bait fish appearance and looks great in the water, lots of fun to play with, but messy. its not hard. the soft yarn goes with the thick and makes everything manageable. For cray fish i like any yarn and squirrel tail mix, which is thick and nasty and not a "good looking" dubbing to most fishermen but the fish think different. and....then you got all the feathers you use, stick to the weby marabou stuff around the base of hackles, and furs like rabbit, muskrat, pine squirrel, hares mask etc...never ending mess of goodness. you can play with the length at which you cut the pieces for different sized flies. i go right around 1/2 inch plus or minus depending. Good info. Thanks for the feedback. I've got the grinder, but thanks for the link to the other yarn.

Chris, I saw your post on OzarkAnglers.com and I really like these flies!! What kind of dubbing blend are you using and how do you blend it?

I got mine yesterday. Can't wait to try them. Nice looking flies. Thanks to Sherri for hosting and all the participants.

Here I am making a public apology for the wing on the McGinty Variant that I tied for this swap. I opened up the Altoids tin that held the flies for this swap the other day and the Marabou wing was coming off of that fly. I hope they didn't for the rest of you guys. If so, please accept my apology.

I got mine too. I can't wait to fish them. Thanks for hosting BB and thanks to the ones that participated.

Thank you in advance. I just recently started fishing there again. I was off for a year with my daughter who was injured in a wreck and then when I came back the fishing wasn't so great there. If you don't mind me asking are you from near there? Sherri B Sherri, I live in Owasso, OK. Just north of Tulsa. The Lower Illinois is the closest trout stream that I can get to. It's an hour and a half from my driveway to my boots in the water fishing. Have a look at The OzarkAnglers Forum. It is a great resource for the Lower Illinois fishing reports as well as all of the Rivers, Lakes and Tailwaters in the Ozarks.

Just got back from putting the flies in the mail. I even remembered to include toe tags for this swap. Sherri, I included a couple of extra for your cause and also a couple of other producers for the Lower Illinois. In my group of fishing buddies we call them Rick's River Crack. I included a Yellow one and a Pink one. Thanks for hosting the swap.

Nicely done, as always, Rich.

I think the easiest way to get started is to use a single fly with a strike indicator. Most rivers and streams will have midges. I'd try a black zebra midge with a tungsten bead tied on 6x or 5x if you can get away with it. Use a small strike indicator. Set the indicator the distance of the depth of the water you are fishing to the fly. Cast at a 45 degree angle up stream and drift it to about a 45 degree angle downstream. Try to keep your fly line drifting behind or parallel to the indicator so as not to impart drag. If your indicator stops/goes underwater/or does anything that the current isn't doing, SET THE HOOK. My motto is "Hook Sets are cheap. They don't cost a thing." If the midge doesn't work, try a scud or Pheasant Tail or Hares Ear or any other pattern that matches the hatch in your stretch of water. Experiment with it and have fun!!