kmckiou

Mark, Since it does not seem like you have had any responses, I will tell you what I know. Wading is allowed in any Dupage County Forest Preserve areas. There are some forest preserve areas which are inside the city limits of towns. In those cases you may be limited by city ordinance. I know for sure, within the Naperville city limits wading is not permitted. As for were to go...I don't know. I fished the West Branch north of Naperville pretty heavily last year and didn't have much luck. It is beautiful fishy looking water, but, for what ever reason, I didn't catch much. It may just be my technique since I know they are in there. See the picture on the lower right of my signature. That is one of the dams north of Naperville. Looks great, doesn't it! - Kevin

Thought some folks might be interested in seeing Joseph at the Chicago Great Waters Expo. http://www.greatwatersflyfishingexpo.com/chiprogram.html He tells me he will have a booth near the FFF casting area and he will have lots of TFO rods to cast. - Kevin

Cripes! How else is a small business owner to make a go of it today. You have to promote your business/services either directly or indirectly in related forums. Frankly, as a consumer, I consider it a welcome service. It is gravy that Joseph also shares stories, patterns and other related FF stuff. - Kevin

I've only been hanging around this forum for a few months, but really enjoyed Joseph's posts. Shortly after joining the forum I visited OMC and was very surprised at Joseph's initial comments to me. I won't repeat them, but the implication was that there are still bad feelings over some things that happened in the past and he continues to receive antagonistic private communications from ISA forum members. It sounded like he was really taking it to heart. Maybe he just reached a point where he has had enough of it. Dunno...but I am sad he has chosen to solve what ever problems exist by leaving. - Kevin

Joseph, If instead of the plastic cone you tied on some deer hair (or whatever) in a reverse (forward) cone, would that impart a similar action and be more aesthetic? Actually, it seems to me you would not need a cone, but just two forward "wings" that catch the water and impart a side-to-side action on the fly. - Kevin

Indeed. I linked directly to their image but did not point out the source. I probably should have since it is an interesting blog. Here's another interesting lure: It is brought to you by http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/ This has it's lurid aspects as has been pointed out by http://busterwantstofish.com/ - truly interesting blog. But what I want to know is how can we mix sex and flies. Joseph, take note! It has to be a commercial winner since everyone knows that "sex sells". - Kevin

Umm....your point is...????

Hmmm...I obviously need a lesson in casting terminology. Maybe another thread, though. I would really like to talk about sex and lures - perfect winter fare for fly fishing shut-ins. Goes pretty well with the scotch next to the keyboard. Ummm...I hope this subject is not too racy. I would rate it PG at this point. - Kevin

Joseph, I think you miss my point. The spin-casters have managed to combine sex and lures. It is a crude combination akin to painting on velvet, but they did it. What do the fly tiers have to offer? Maybe it is innovation or just plain fun, but if you could catch fish with Pam A, it would make for some interesting discussion of lures. Heck, I might start fly tying just to get a chuckle about what the fish are biting on. - Kevin BTW, the "gauntlet" bit is all in fun...no disparaging intended on either side of the reel seat. Oh! Maybe you could tie a "Pam A" for Mark K's 'Member's Patterns' thread. I'd love to see that!

OK innovative fly tiers, the gauntlet has been thrown down by the spin casters. Top this!

So, they are sort of stubby 10 and 11 weight rods (?). I would think you could man-handle just about any bass with those - which makes their additional recommendation make sense: "When used outside the bass fishing world, we strongly recommend them for probing the mangroves or throwing huge flies for pike and muskies" - Kevin

Now that is an organized email campaign! - Kevin

I wanted to thank those of you who sent email to the Siskiyou County, CA Board of Supervisors regarding their Natural Resources Plan. Evidently we and others impressed on the BOS that they are not living in a vacuum. Their actions are visible to the world. For now, there will be no vote on the Natural Resources Plan and the language regarding the navigability of rivers has been deleted. More information can be found: Trout Underground - Kevin

OK. Since I'm new to the forum, I'll post two photos of my favorites. Here is the Dupage taken this morning as I waded upstream in the Warrenville Grove. And this is my all-time favorite river picture of the Gardner in Yellowstone taken this fall. Just up around the corner to the left is a big hole with brown trout .

Tim, I agree and have done what I can at this time - sent an email to the board. I am simply following the lead of the guys in Siskiyou county which want to keep this at a public/political level at this time. So, I think the best thing we can do is flood the board with emails expressing our concern. I do know that TU and the Orvis Conservation folks have become involved. I think other organizations as well, but I do feel strongly that we should show our support for the fight to stop or reasonably amend this Natural Resource Plan and send an email. It would be great if the folks on this forum could do the same. If the ISA board would like to express their concern as an organization, that would be even better. Finally, if the national level of The Smallmouth Alliance also wanted to show their support, that would probably be the best we could do. Thanks for your comments! - Kevin