dafack01

Sometimes I don't think hook size matters too much. For instance, last year I lost a Rainbow that would've gone 18"-19" easy at the boat, and it hit a #10 Copper John in a copper color. I'd have a few giant nymphs in the box just in case. If they're not hitting on the small stuff, why not throw something big? And with big dries, you could also use those as an indicator and have a nymph as a dropper. They won't be as shy with a big dry as with an indicator, plus you get the bonus of having 2 flies in the water. I read an article in Fly Rod and Reel in their Brook Trout edition, where the author caught his biggest Brookie ever (around 8 pounds if I remember right) in Labrador on a #2 Royal Wulff.

My go-tos are Bullfrog Creek (a fishing shop here in Louisville) and J. Stockard. I also buy some stuff at the Clarksville Bass Pro Shops. If I can't find something at any of these, I'll just do a google search and buy it from the first website I see.

I'm in! I'm trying out a variation on Dave Whitlock's Sheep Shad at Cumberland River next weekend. I'm not using any weight and am tying it on a #2 Owner Offset-shank Worm Hook (for those not familiar, Owner makes the sharpest friggin hooks on the market). The worm hook rides hook point up, and the offset shank helps to keep the shad profile without having to spread the krystal flash over a dubbing ball. It won't sink exactly like a sheep shad, due to it not having any lead wraps on the hook shank, but too many effective streamers are unweighted and I want something that I can fish slowly in shallow water for Smallmouth as well. Overall it's a quicker tie than Dave's original Sheep Shad. Which for me is a good thing. If weight needs to be added, I plan on adding nickel-silver coneheads on the tippet like a texas-rigged plastic worm. I have high hopes for this fly. If the "test" goes like I think it will, I'll be contributing some tweaked Sheep Shad.

Besides trout, what are some of your other favorite species to fish for? Do you do much warmwater fishing when you get the chance?

I think you mainly use sculpin wool on woolhead sculpin patterns and such. The wool sinks, unlike deer hair. Stack it like deer hair, though it won't flare like deer hair will.

The Louisville Cardinals really are the better Cardinals.

Thanks madkasel!

I can't help you on a resource. I'm an Industrial Engineering major and find Excel to be an absolute GODSEND, but I learned it all through classes here at U of L (the Cards will be in the Fiesta Bowl fighting for the national title January, BTW). You can do SOOOOOO much with Excel that a lot of people don't know about. I'd higly advise you to read all you can on it because it makes life SOOOO much easier at work. Be sure to pay attention to sections about mathematical formulas, linking spreadsheet pages, and the functions "IF", "AND", "OR", etc... And the shortcut operations like the click and drag functions with equations. Those will do a ton of things for you. I've done simulations with Excel. Had to do one for an Operations Research class and we had to use Excel, not simulation-specific software. I had to use some rather long nested "IF" statements and the random number generator, but the simulation worked out well.

No, that is too colorful. These mayflies were a solid dark brown.

It was a stream, not a lake if that helps.

I was reading this month's Playboy (yes I do read the articles and they are good) and saw a blurb on their page of random facts. 60% of the Ford Mustang is made in the U.S. and Canada. 90% of the Toyota Sienna minivan is made in the U.S. and Canada. I just though that was interesting.

I was fishing for Smallmouth at a stream in Frankfort, KY last night. Deep into the evening (though still about an hour away from sunset), I noticed these gargantuan mayflies cruising around. For perspective, we'll dip into the SAT's; regular mayflies is to these mayflies as a jet ski is to the USS Nimitz. A few of 'em were gettin' it on in mid-air, but most of them were flying around, just diving and then flying back up. I didn't see 'em hit the water, and most of the time they were doing this in one spot then darting off. My best guess is that they would be somewhere in the #8-#4 range depending on shank length, for their bodies were a solid 1"-1.5" long. They had clear wings and long twin hair-strand-tail thingys out their butts. The whole fly would be about 3" long, give or take a quarter inch. All of 'em had brown bodies Did I just see for the first time one of the fabled Hexagenia mayflies? Sorry, no pictures. This description is all I've got.

My experiences are with Moss Rats with baitcasting gear rather than Mouse flies, but I doubt that anything changes between the two (excepting the fact that you can't drag a normal mouse fly through pond scum). The rule: Structure, structure, structure. Make sure the mouse has a good weedguard, because you want to throw it around any vegetation you can find. Lilly pads, grass, cattails, whatever. Downed timber too. A stop-and-go retrieve has always worked for me. They'll probably take it as a frog too, so keep that in mind. I've always worked 'em like a popper, except that moss rats don't pop. FWIW, I've heard that up in Alaska for Rainbows they strip the mouse flies about 50 miles a second, so if the stop-and-go doesn't work, work it fast. But I can't emphasize structure enough, bankside preferably. 8wt and a stout leader if you've got it, because if you hook into a hawg you need to jerk it out of the weeds ASAP or you'll probably loose it. Oh, and wait until you feel the fish before striking, which is WAY easier said than done when you see a bass explode on a topwater lure/fly.

In my limited experience fly fishing for Browns, Dave Whitlock's Sheep Shad. It reminds me of my favorite Jerkbait for trout (Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow), and I've caught my biggest fly-rod trout on it (so far), a 17.5" Brown. I'd love to break the 2' mark on the longrod. Done it twice on Pins Minnows, and that fly produces as well as a Pins Minnow.

I have the Battenkill Mid Arbor on my 6wt and 8wt, and though They're purty I think spending $125 on those reels for my applications is too much. If I bought another reel, I'd get something cheaper. On the other hand, I tend to blow a good chunk of change on my spinning reels and baitcasters. Shimano Calcuttas are the shizzle. Shimano's spinning reels, though, bind when you get 'em soaked. I have a Stradic and I have binding problems on it now after some serious creek fishing. Eventually I'm gonna buy and Okuma something or other. Those reels get good reviews on riversmallies.com

I've always thought that Flatheads fight particularly badass. Better than Channels, at least. I've never caught a Blue though. Nice Cat! I have yet to land one that big!

That Float 'n Fly that Terry was talking about is what catches some of the biggest Smallmouth of the year in the southern resivoirs. It's used most effectively during the winter when the big females are gorging on dead shad, though. Nothing more than a crappie hair-jig under a bobber. 7'-15' of line between the bobber and the jig, depending on where the fish are suspended. I'd see no reason why they wouldn't hit it in the summertime though. People use minnows and shiners for bait all the time under a bobber, and this would do that just fine. Actually, you could zip-tie a spinning reel to a fly rod and make yourself a killer jerry-rigged float 'n fly rod. Float 'n fly rods are as long as fly rods anyways. I hope to try out the float 'n fly this winter at Dale Hollow.

I was using conventional gear, so I put it here instead of the trip log section. After spending 8.5 hours doing commercial roofing in 8,000 degree heat and then fishing all evening in 8,000 degree heat in high, hot, murky-ass water on a lake that pretty much sucks (Taylorsville Lake for anyone familiar with Louisville), fly fishing would've been way too much effort for how worn out I was and how bad the lake typically is. To add to the difficulty, there was a bass tournament going on (there's one every tuesday night). My first fish was a solid 2.5ish pounder on a black and blue spinnerbait (my biggest fish here at the time). The only other fish for hours was a little 7 incher my buddy caught on a Rebel Bumblebug. We saw dozens of boats, and no one was catching anything. At the end of the evening, I was done fishing and just working the trolling motor on our cheap jonboat. We stopped to fish a featureless bank on the main lake. There was some chunk rock on the banks, but no major points and no timber for several hundred yards or more. I just grabbed my light tackle rod rigged with a roostertail to be doing something. Suddenly, hooked into something. Then it started pulling the drag. Then it jumped and we both started freaking out. It kept diving, pulling drag, and jumping, just going ballistic. I landed it, weighed it on a digital scale, and it bottomed out at 4 pounds 11 ounces. We couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the night. Catching a fish that big at this lake is like catching a 10 pounder in Florida or Texas. I just struck gold! AND I CAUGHT IT WHILE DICKING AROUND WITH AN INCH LONG ROOSTERTAIL OF ALL THINGS!! IN THAT HOT, MUDDY-ASS WATER! One boat saw the action, talked to us for a second, and just shook his head in amazement. He hadn't caught crap. It felt good showing up the bass jocks. :yahoo:

Funny. I managed to spill over at Cumberland River in January a couple years ago. I must have had one of the ones that wasn't very stable! Being able to stand up in the thing, while not ideal in a craft of this type, is a must. Thanks for the imput everyone!

Got 'em! They look great! Can't wait to try 'em out!

Where do I start? I'd like a Kayak because I just won't be able to buy a boat for a few years (a house and a new Truck come first once I begin my career). I'll be able to hit the streams for Bass, smaller lakes around KY for Largemouth (Cedar Creek, Guist Creek), and Cumberland River for Trout. Smallie Streams and Cumberland River are my top priorities. I'd love to be able to hit big lakes like Dale Hollow, but I don't have the money to fund a boat to fish them and run up Cumberland River when the generators are on. So Kayak it is. What are some things to get me started? I'm new to Kayaks. Outriggers probably are a must-purchase too. I'd like the extra stability. Or should I get a small Canoe with some Outriggers? Stability is my prime concern.

Pick up "Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout" by Kelly Galloup and Bob Linsenman. Those tactics will work on Trout and Bass alike. They have an entire chapter devoted to helping you find where big Trout hide in rivers. Bass will be in the same places.

One of these days I'm gonna get off my butt and try out those EP Fibers. So far I've gotten used to tying with Icelandic Sheep Hair, krystal flash and flashabou. I like that stuff. I tie 'em almost like Dave Whitlock's Sheep Shad, but in a style more like a clouser (with various weighted eyes).

The flies went out on Friday, and you should have 'em by Monday.

OK, the long lost dafack01 is back. Between looking/interviewing for a job and working as a commercial roofer for my dad until I get a job, I kinda bit off more than I can chew. I procrastinated, and by the time I get off of work I have just enough energy to take a shower, eat dinner, and sit on my butt watching TV until bedtime. Tying flies requires too much effort after I get off of work. I've only been fishing twice in the past month actually. It kinda sucks. Commercial Roofing simply wipes you out. Anywho, I changed my pattern to Smalliehunter's Bonker Zonker (in black with blue estaz- should be a good stained water fly) since it's easier and faster to tie. This way I can get 'em out tomorrow. SORRY!