Saltybum

Unless of course you go near crime hills in Orlando. Even the cops avoid it. I've been living in Florida since 1955 and have seen one live coral snake, two rattlesnake and maybe four cottonmouths. The very few others were already dead. I grew up in the country west of Orlando and was in the woods, swamps etc. 100s of hours and the only thing that ever bit or stung me was horse flies and skeeters. If I can't see the bottom I will not wade. Not because of critters but because of aholes throwing beer bottles etc. in the water. I got a nasty cut one day when a broken bottle sliced through the sole of my shoe. Some people just watch too many whiney ass news reporters about snake and gator infested waters etc. As far as buying property...be sure to look for high ground as too many developers are building in areas that appear dry today but could flood from a tropical depression quickly.

Yes you are the Mike. Pm me your address and send one to field test on the bucket mouths.

Decided I need to try something a little different to coax those smart old gator trout into eating. Bought a nice dark cape full of long feather to tie up some eel imitations. Everything in fresh and salt water eat eels. I do need to be careful not to blind cast these as blow fish and needlefish will shred the tails in short order. First eel got rushed by a nice red only to miss the hook and then later lose it's tail to a blow fish. I hate those things. I haven't cast the big one yet but the other two look good in the water. Unfortunately 15-20 winds yesterday killed me on the flats. With a weighted head Mike might like these for bass.

Nice, but how about sharing his info? Maybe we can help him out too.

When someone ran a hook through my gut my legs bent and I hollered a bit.

And those salty cats ALWAYS leave behind some thick sticky slime up to a foot above your lures.

I get them on ebay...but they are not all equal in quality etc. Finding the right size can be tricky to your hook preference. The extra large are definitely strong enough for larger salty fish but what a pain getting a hook on and off as they are very tight and tough. Thanks Mike for the complement on my record tarpon and I think it was my first ever on fly too.

yes I can see how even the smallest might present a problem with tiny dry flies. I generally wade in 15-28" of water and not noticed any problems increasing sink rate of my shallow water flies or even small poppers. Artimus got your address and will send shortly.

PM me your address arti

I'm one of those guys who tends to change flies a lot when fishing the flats for reds and sea trout that seem keyed in on certain baits at different times. have found they work pretty good and landed a 41" redfish using the large size and hooks 4-1/0. I do know that if I don't change them regularly or try forcing a too large hooks on they can break. I have a bunch of small and mediums I'll never use. If you like I'll send them to first requester.

Ditto on Townsend. This time of year the river will have a lot smallmouths and a few trout in deep holes but a lot tubers midday. The smokies prongs are right there and Cades Cove is a must visit. Ian at R&R taught me a lot about how to get those little prong trout too. AND stay away from Pigeon Forge unless you like traffic jams worse than I Drive in Orlando. Please post some photos of the trip for us other flat landers.

Recently after getting tired of what sandworm stated about stick on glue and superglue gel also not holding the eyes on I have tried using a small bit of CCG under the eye and over the top. So far much better. I mostly fish shallow flats and like a very slow sink so I keep the goo to a minimum.

Please post photos of the finished lot. I was too late to get in so I'll keep my eyes open for the next one.

Beautiful work as always Steve. Making me think I need to hunt me up another 8wt blank.

I got email from Steve and he tried contacting Will who originally set the site up. But he said Will can be slooooooow sometimes about getting these issues corrected. I guess we go fishing while we wait.

Any replies yet on the tech problem?

When I heard you say you were tying Gama-CAT-su I was sure they were for meant for me.

Nice for sure but if it was mine it would be cluttered fast. I guess I'm just one of those cluttered desk cluttered mind types. I am curious about the photos on the blue pad though.

So Johnny....you need a field tester for that slider? Very nice work. Please show us what eats it.

agn54 I was seeing quite a few trout in one area with occasional red on a nice flat last couple weeks. Then we got about 4" rain and really screwed up the water with run off. The banana river had a big area that looked like milk ( right over my spot ) and to the west chocolate milk. Across the road was cleaner and I saw several fish but only got one trout to make a half assed bite at a mullet im. The couple reds including one about 10 lbs were not interested at all. M A Y B E.... I need to tie up a blue clawed crab to try.

I like the blue grizz for the claws. I have a blue neck I haven't done much with and now know where to use some. Now if I can just find where the reds are.

I can't report on the Vapen but I have had Redington's CPS, CPX and Link rods as well as the TFO BVK. All were nice with the CPS being my favorite. Both companies have excellent warranty service, so you can't go wrong with either company.

Thanks Steve. Always appreciate any info you have concerning rod building. Seeing your rods posted here ( great inspiration ) keeps me thinking about building another for myself in the 8wt range.

Anybody have any experience with these blanks? I see on ebay where they are offering some at half price for a fast action model. Thanks in advance

I just wish I could get into more fish that would get into my backing. I don't live near bonefish and big tarpon and can't afford to travel to those areas. I've only hooked on big redfish of about 42" and it did put the drag on my Nautilus to the test. But hey, I say go for it if you've got the knowledge, equip. and desire to build a new reel. If you need a field tester I'm available. Give me an excuse to fish more too.