Bart Durham

Terry, whats the garbage barge look like? Can you lease it out?

Great idea, I'm grabbing one soon. Thanks Ryan.

Ron, Im sure the Village means well in clearing the undergrowth but doesn't realize the effect. Perhaps they simply need to be educated on the issue and can accomplish what they want without disturbing the vegetation/runoff. Not sure the best way to approach this but maybe attend a village council meeting and offer our insight?

I noted the same shore clearing going on but didn't realize it was being done by the Village. I agree Ron, this should be stopped. We have enough silt in the river and need policies that prevent river sedimentation, not promote it. Anything I can do to help I'm ready to do so. Great fish too!

Anyone who wants to float/fish Sugar Creek this summer let me know. Hopefully the water levels are improved as I recall Bterrill mentioned the water levels were really down last year. I follow his blog and he is off to a terrific start this year. Was planning to do a weekend trip and base in Crawfordsville unless someone has better suggestion.

Terry, wife and I are planning to attend the picnic. Will bring coosa if anyone else is interested in doing float and water levels permit. If there is anything else we can bring or you need help with anything let me know.

Interesting video that reminded me of similar situation. I was bass fishing with Jay Angle on Lake Shabbona a few years ago when a muskie engulfed a shad Jay had hooked on a plastic worm. Jay had the muskie to the boat and near my net when the muskie let go of the shad. Speaking of adrenaline rush. ! The shad didn't fare too well though.

Pretty impressive.

I really enjoyed Austin and Abe's presentations and hope to schedule trips with both this year. The barbecue and conversation following at Famous Daves were excellent as well. Thanks alot Ed for arranging such a nice event.

Those look like some killer flies Jonn!

Tom, I think the ticker will work well for the "No Name Dad"

Jonn, Is it really going to warm up soon?

I hope Tim's interpretation is correct. It makes a lot more sense. Plus, I found my registration stickers kept getting torn off.

Wow! Thanks alot Tom! This should be a winner. I'm heading to the store now to get my materials. Have to give some thought for name.

Ok, maybe it wasn't a beautiful fish but it still was an exhilarating experience

Rob, those are some beautiful flies. John, I had an incident occur while fishing on Saturday I thought you and others might appreciate. I was fly fishing in the rising water using an autumn splendor fly when my fly rod doubled over and I knew I had a fish on. I fought the fish intensely as it tried to swim out to the main channel. Problem was it was a 30 lb carp and I had it hooked by the tail! It was a beautiful fish. I should have brought the fish to shore but tried to grab the fish mid stream and it broke off the fly. I had thoughts of showing photographs here of a fish that might compare with some of yours but to no avail. I guess thats fishing.

Nice looking Coosa Tim. I also like the pedestal. Im anxious to see pic of Terrys. The Coosa should serve you guys well on the Kish and the Rock.

Very impressive looking fly, thanks for recipie.

I went to the Schaumburg show on Sunday and really enjoyed the Kayak and Paddle and Trail exhibit. Gained some valuable insight from my discussions with Drew Gregory of Jackson Kayak and the Paddle and Trail crew. Enjoyed seeing the other kayak options and new technology. Stopped by the WFN booth next to the Kayak exhibit and was given a shirt that reads "Live to Fish, Forced to Work".

Thank you very much Tom for teaching us how to tie the foxy crawdad. Thanks John for being the host and Steve and Mike for your assistance and patience sitting next to me. I'm looking forward to trying out my fly on the Fox/Dupe this spring.

Don't discount the Coosa. May not be the best tracking boat but pretty versatile for our local streams and durable.

Excellent job again Eric. Found Jeff Little article very informative and look forward to seeing him at the blowout.

Check out this new fishing boat, I found interesting, called "the frog boat":

www.onefrogtwo.com

I think it would work well for fly casting on a pond but question whether it would hold up on our local streams, perhaps in low water.

Mackerel?

"Fracking" is a controversial issue in Pennsylvania. I wonder is there is a correlation betweeen it and the recent Sesquahana smallmouth problem in the Pennsylvania waterway?