John Gillio

I agree, a nice looking craw for sure.

Looks good Rob!

Very  strange.

Great idea! Pretty slick Tom.

Nicely done Terry.

2 hours ago, Urbs said:

hey John, I fly fish for them. this weekend it’ll be egg patterns and Jeff Bloods “white death”’zonker. if I catch anything of significance I’ll post a picture. thanks. 

Sounds  good. Best of luck.

Steelhead and browns are a blast. Do you fish them with fly or spin gear?

That is a very pretty build Rob. A friend of mine has a Moonlit s-glass rod and he loves it. I picked up an inexpensive glass 6’6” Eagle Claw 3wt that I have been using for panfish, stocked trout and white bass. What a blast, I love it. It doesn’t have the good looks of your beauty though.

6 hours ago, Tom L said:

After watching this several times, I become more convinced on the theory that "panic bait gets eaten more often than injured bait."

The shiners in the jar were panic and trying to get away, that's why the bass attacked them. Once they settled down in the jar and not moving as much at the end of the video that's when the bass ignored them. At first, the bass ignored the injured shiner (the one on the hook) and only attacked it when the hooked shiner panic and tried to flee. 

This tells me that if I want to catch more bass, I have to present my fly or lure to act more like a panic/fleeing bait than an injured bait. I am sure at time the bass would eat injured bait when they are hungry, but if they are not in that mood, I still can trick them into eating with a fleeing fly or lure.

A fly on the SWING acts more like a panic/fleeing bait than an injured bait. Just a thought..........

I think you are right on target with the panicking minnow thing. I had a large fish tank at work for many years. There could be a handful of minnows in the tank with a game fish or two just swimming around when the bass were not hungry. If I added new Minnows to the tank and they initially darted around in a state of panic the bass would go into a feeding frenzy. Any injured or dazed minnows would eventually become a meal for s bass or crayfish, but those actively trying to get away seemed to be the targeted ones in the moment.

9 hours ago, Rob G said:And John apologizing because his flies have been so beaten and eaten up, you're killin' me here, Ha

Rob my friend, a fly is like a person . The longer we are around the more beaten up we get. Old flies my friend, old flies. I sure hope I can get away to fish with you this year. It’s been too long.

I’ve had success mostly with spin gear and hair jigs, but I’ve had some with the fly rod also.  I’ve found it is important that the fly is hanging horizontally in the water. Bending the fly eye back toward the hook some makes this possible, as shown in the photo. Sorry about the flies being so beat up.

Very fascinating. It reminds me of a time I was fishing  a clear deep pool in a creek I occasionally fish. I dropped a fly along a tangle of branches and a big largemouth popped out of the tangle to grab the fly, but before he could suck it in a slightly smaller small mouth bass darted up from below and struck the largemouth. After a short battle the largemouth backed off to its laire and then the smallie retreated, leaving my fly alone. This played out a number of times until the largemouth finally was able to grab the fly. I returned the bass to the creek and it swam to its home. I tossed the same fly and a couple others in hoping to attract the smallie, but it didn’t show itself. I tried again about 30 minutes later with no luck. It was almost as if the smallmouth didn’t want the fly , but it didn’t want the largemouth to have it either. 

I echo Paul’s comments. I have seen a handful of fishermen destroy fish populations in more than one small body of water that produced well for years before being discovered by the abusers. I’ve also lost spots because of others disrespecting the property. I don’t mind sharing spots on occasion when I know they are catch and release guys for the most part because I like company these days while on the water. There was a time when I enjoyed fishing alone much more than I do now. I held spots much closer then than I do now because the quiet of fishing alone was therapy after a frenzied day. Over all I’m still pretty picky about sharing spots. I can say with confidence that non of my spots are secret, though not everyone who fishes them knows how productive they can be. I like to see people enjoying a good body of water , but sadly I’m too selfish to want them doing it when I want to  be in the spot.

So sorry to hear this.  My condolences, Ed.

I found the Murdich Minnow to be very effective on still water crappie also.

30 minutes ago, Urbs said:

thank you! 

do you have a go-to local pattern?

You’re welcome. When in an area of heavier current I prefer a Clouser  Minnow or a Half & Half. I like a Murdoch Minnow in quieter water or a small crayfish pattern.  I do like throwing poppers when a good top water bite is on.

Looks good.

Looks like a fish catcher to me.

Nice fishing Ken! Wish I could make some of these trips. Just never works out.

32 minutes ago, Rob G said:

Mark, I was just going to post that two of the fellows at fiberglassflyrodders.com also think it is a Wonder Rod.  Didn't Mike G. say he owned a couple ?  Hope this helps.

It does. There were two True Temper rods(Super Deluxe Custom Built and High Flyer) along with an unmarked rod and another Wonder Rod with a solid cream color to it. The unmarked rod and 2nd Wonder Rod were given to a friend. I may give these fiberglass rods some time on the water. Thank you both for the help.

1 hour ago, Rob G said:

If you would like, I can post those photos on the Glass Flyrod forums. They should be able to answer your questions. (Done)

Thanks Rob, that would be great.

I have an I Phone.. thanks.

Do any of you glass guys know the make of this rod? I remember seeing adds for them yrs ago, but can’t remember the maker.

Lots of cormorants around here the past few yrs.

Lost loons?