John Gillio

Yes, congratulations.

Thanks Mike, I remember that post. I do not recall ever catching a common carp or a sucker on a spinner, though I have done well with spinners while fishing for grass carp in the river. Dan Gapen mentions on the video in Norm's post that the Spin Bee works well on carp and suckers. I may give them a try.

I haven't read any of his books, but plan on picking up his guide to small stream fly fishing. It has very good reviews. Rob, nice article in the Bronzeback Magazine about the simple bunny leach. I was just thinking about tying something similar.Your article inspired me to get it done. I just used your simple instructions. As you said,"Simple can be better".

Well said Mike, though there is something to be said about a good selective harvest and a few fish on the table at times.

Mike, don't get us started on that again . I have been to Dan's booth at past sport shows. You could ask that about a number of his lures. How did the Flap Doodle work on rough fish? I would like to find a good lure/fly pattern for carp and suckers. You and Dan may be on to something.

Cool discovery. A couple of my favorite reads were Dan's books on river and creek fishing from the early 1980s and 90s. Thanks for sharing.

Ron, the first LM Bass I remember catching with a lure was also on a hula popper. I was in maybe 8th grade, fishing a strip pit with my dad. I accidentally tossed my lure over a limb. The lure swung just above the waters surface. I think it was on the second or third swing when a nice bass went air-born to take the lure. It took me right off the limb and I was able to land the fish. Long before I ever had a fishing pole in my hands mom and dad would take us kids for walks along the little creeks in the nearby state parks. We would scan the waters for minnows, scuds, snails, water striders and such.We also liked to float walnut shells on the creeks trying to figure out how they would react in the currents. Mostly I remember it as fun time spent with the family. Dad would take me to the river sometimes when he fished. I was armed with a small net which I used to catch crayfish or hellgrammites. Dad would use them for bait. I may have been in about third grade when I first fished.

I totally agree with Mark too. You just need to take the time to make sure they are set up right, give them some guidance, and be ready to call it a day when they have had their fill. If a bunch of gills, chubs, or bullhead doesn't do the trick fishing probably just isn't their thing.

Wow! Looks like they had fun. Is your boy with the gar or the carp?

http://www.okeefesreef.com/"Make America Fish Again" T-Shirts. Find under fun print T-Shirts. Eric, in an article on good parenting I read that it is a a good parent that takes his or her kids fishing. I am sure there is something to that statement.

Good article Mike. I suppose I would be in the 40 % group. The sport needs to grow, but that growth needs to be with those who care about the sport enough to protect the resources that allow the sport to continue. Along with growing the sport, there is a need to grow a respect for the land, waters and wildlife that we have. In this respect more anglers does mean less solitude, but it also strengthens an ethic that is good for the sport and the environment it thrives in.

I pretty much stick with mono. At times I think a line with less elasticity would be better, such as when jigging for walleye and sauger with spin gear. Thanks for sharing Rob, interesting articles.

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-monofilament-vs-fluorocarbon-infographic.html Berkley and I have heard the same.

This is just an observation based on watching game fish pick off prey in the 50 gallon tank I had at work. If these flies were all swimming around in the tank the sparsely tied flies at the bottom of your photo would be the first to be gobbled up. Thinking as a fish, those sparse flies look pretty haggard and would probably be an easy target compared to their more robust looking partners. I agree with the statements made by the fishermen above, though I have no scientific proof to base it on. It just all makes sense.

Congrats to all those hitting the magic 20" mark that puts the label of Brutus on a bronzeback, and to Terry for making it such a storied event.

Lesson to be learned: Don't fly your helicopter too close to the open sea.

A major player in the global warming problem.

The acid rain problem has slowed considerably do to international efforts, just as the large hole in the ozone has been almost closed due to organized international efforts.It appears that global warming is the next mess we got ourselves into and will need to be addressed by the global community.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and your best year yet.

I just saw that on the news earlier tonight. Sad to see.

I just checked the Big Vermilion's flow rate. Normal for this time of year is 300 CFS. It is flowing at just under 30,000 CFS. Being I am in the Vermilion Gorge, I can start wandering the shoreline when the water dips to 4 ft. at Leonore. It appears to be leveling off at 26 ft. Looks like without that brick or horse shoe we may both be deep into our backing before we find any fish in the holes. Strangely, the water may be deep enough to find some shallow spots to fish.

I suggest adding some weight to the end of your fly line. Maybe a brick would do.

Prayers will be offered here too. I met Steve once, at the canoe launch at Lowell. Nice guy!

Santa brought a number of fish/ fishing related gifts this year. We have no fireplaces, but he did manage to get in a nice jacket with an embroidered brown trout on it, a rainbow trout pen, a Bass Pro Shops gift card, two cans of KIng Oscar sardines in olive oil for Sardine Monday (long story behind that one), and a more manly photo album for my brag book (I thought the dragonflies on the front of the old one were manly enough. Apparently I was wrong.).

Merry Christmas to all!