mannym

Either way, count me in. I am just up the hill from Lowell. How could I let all you guys go without me. 

Sounds like a tough task. Water is very low. At least by Lowell anyway. 

So I would wish for a little rain if you are floating. 

This topic is one that has been an issue with me since I was yelled at for fishing a section of a smaller stream. The state isn't very good about offering access to bodies of water they manage and protect. So basically, funds are being used to manage private waters for land owners only.  If land owners want to own the waters, I feel they should pay taxes to protect what they claim to own.  If they do not want to pay up, then leave it for public access. 

Just copy Wisconsin's waterway rules and this state would see more people come to vacation here than everyone heading up to MI, WI, MN. 

Nice fishing! Glad to see you guys did well. 

9 hours ago, John Gillio said:

Found a bike in the river, but I don't think it's Manny's.

I agree. The sprocket looks too big.  LOL Thanks for sharing John. 

I have a 6 ft med heavy baitcasting rod from Grandt.  I won it in a Bass Tournament on Lakes Evergreen and Bloomington some 10 years ago. I still have it and love it!

Not the best fishing park in the area. Like Eric said, the rivers are all high and dirty. You can bank fish a few spots but I don't think it is worth the time. You are better off fishing ponds or lakes right now. Problem with that  is, you don't have many options near by.  Maybe Lasalle Lake or Heideke lake to the south and east of Illini. Both are big boat lakes or bank fishing due to being perched lakes. LaSalle water temp is probably very high right now. Heideke is not in service and may be the better option. 

Maybe others can suggest other options. 

Thank you John. Hopefully, the creatures that live there get much needed help. 

I bet the bugs are Incredible right now. 

Thank you for sharing. That is amazing. Hopefully this rain will fill it back in and allow the fish to live another day. 

If you see a red Murry banana seat bike like this, let me know. It was stolen back in 1985 and assumed the local dirtball used it to ride down to the canal to smoke his Marlboro reds. 

I haven't made it down there to see. Any pictures? 

I had one the only time my wife and I had dinner there. I thought it was pretty darn good too.  

While going through my fishing gear this past weekend, I found one of those clear bobbers. 

I pretty much thought the same about this. I have a pretty good job but seem to always want to find ways to pay for my hobbies. I am still going to build a few for myself. I especially want to build some pack rods for the BWCA and other canoe camping destinations. 

Thanks Guys!

I watched his dvd's when I first started tying. 

RIP Lefty

I have been thinking about building rods and wanted to get some feedback on the experience.

For those who sell, is it a time worthy business? At the end of the day, are you making $5, $10, $15 per hour while building? Is the price point for largest margins way up the scale? I assume you do not want to make rods that compete with what Walmart and Farm and Barn sells? 

My intent is as always, looking to hustle for a little side cash. My wife wouldn't allow me to do strip shows at the local nursing homes. So here I am looking to build them instead of showing them. ( I hope this isn't to offensive. Sorry if it is)

I would love to see any custom builds if you have pictures to share. 

Hey John G, Lets get together some weekend and catch up. We need to make some plans to explore the stream between us. 

Sweet ride!

1..Wisconsin river has many many options.  shuttle services should not be hard to find. 

2. St Croix and Namekagon rivers are a bit past the 4 hr drive, but worth the extra time. They have plenty of camping options. Do plenty of research. There are some sections with white water. 

3. If you were up for an 9 hr drive, the BWCA is probably the best for not hearing any artificial noise. Ive been here every year for the last 12. 

15 hours ago, Forrest Miller said:

Frontier Anglers TN. That's all you need to know for Smallies. Rob Fightmaster if you want to fish for trout. . My wife is from there...we go a few times a year. For smallies the Holston produces crazy numbers. The French broad will produce larger but fewer fish. 

If the fish don't cooperate, the French Broad is a fun whitewater river.  

On 2/3/2018 at 11:12 AM, Rob G said:

Tom, I had never heard of a popcicle fly.   It's neat when you adapt a fly that was originally designed for one species and make it work for another.

Mike, nice poppers, I rarely tie in weed guards but I definitely should tie some in that fashion.  I've only used stiff mono, what type of spring wire is that ?

And finally, tying up some small craws.  Was talking to a well sought after guide at the Indy Fly show a couple weeks ago and he was telling me that his go-to fly for warmwater days on the Muskegon is a small crayfish.  He claimed like others I've heard say, to stay away from real large claws  Good for what ails ya.  I've had success with these on smallmouth, largemouth, rock bass, carp, and I'm told that they're even good for big drum (but can't vouch for that yet....Ha)   Tied on a Mustad  #4  3xl streamer hook.

 

Very nice. 

This storm will force me to work from home tomorrow. I guess I will turn on my laptop at the fly bench.......

1 hour ago, colindanenberger said:

Hello my name is colin Danenberger am a fly tier and fly fisherman. Been fly tying for 5 years and don't leave home with out your fishing rod

Welcome. 

Sounds like a fisherman's wet dream- ponds all around you, a river next door.  And now, just a big old open wound.  

I recall somebody telling me the story about how it was sold under false pretenses.  

Thanks for sharing. 

A little bit of a snow blanket. 

I never had the pleasure of fishing those ponds. But I have heard many stories about the fish quality.  

Do you have any pictures from that area before the digging started? 

The Drone came out this past weekend. After an hour of updates and charging of batteries, I took her up to 399 ft and snapped a pic. Maybe next weekend, I can do another flight.

I also attached a picture from a flight I did in late Spring. 

44 minutes ago, Eric said:

Our forums were upgraded to the latest software version.

Our website was HTML (main pages) and PHP (functional web forms), both of which are still very relevant today. The issue was with our web host — who no longer allows anything else than their proprietary “apps” to be hosted on their server. Thus, the need for the change.

it was either switch web hosts and re-do the forums, or bring the rest of the site in line with what our current web host allows.

Do you work in the industry?