ronk

Rob I don't think color matters much but Lefty K prefers black for topwater.After you tie a cupl test them out to make sure they perform properly.

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Rob Here it is.The body is deer hair.Floatant keeps it buoyant. Not sure what the tail feathers are made of.The deer hair should not be clipped too close.The bug is the easiest to cast,lands on the water quietly and tied correctly dives under on the pull with an audible gerbubble sound.They were available yrs ago from LLBean until the tier either retired or whatever. At that time I found some elsewhere.But they didn't dive well perhaps because the deerhair was closely clipped. Here's another bug I got at a Blowout made of foam material & tinsel that fishes similarly to the gerbubble.The hook is a little smaller than I'd prefer. I'd like to know who tied it.

The only fly I'd pay that much for if it were still available which it isn't is a properly tied gerbubble bug.Best bassbug ever.

Norm Did I see you on a recent episode of Bones?

By the time I turned 10 I'd already gone on many fishing trips with my father & uncle Matt who had only one arm,the other lost to a grenade on Iwo Jima.Two of the more memorable were getting 117 perch from Lake M at 12th st at dawn one Sunday after first going to 2am Mass.& 95 bluegills on red worms at Bluff Lake in the Chain.

Probably is fair when you see grapes at $1.99 a lb. I just broke the $10 barrier at a fast food restaurant.Didn't even get fries with that.

In my experience the best big smb river in our state for about 10yrs before it declined several yrs ago was the Dupage.Though I only caught one 20 in all that time there were many 16-19s & relatively few less than 14.

No 20s for me on this trip either in size or even #s. My biggest up there was this 20+ permit in 2011.My biggest stream smb ever & I believe still the biggest verifiable stream smallie ever on our site was a 21.5" from the Kank back in Aug. '08.Glory days.

According to Accuweather's werbsite between Sunday thru the 1st week in July there's a chance for rain almost everyday with a total possible accumulation of 7". That's just nuts!

I drove by a good size Forest Preserve lake at rte 56 & Naper blvd yesterday named Danada L.Anybody have any experience fishing it? A ranger told me it is stocked periodically.

I wonder what his problem was since there's no connection between the shooting range & the river nearby. I'd've reported the threat at the ranger station a little west of the range.

If you follow Eric's advice re fishing early/late or even at night you should get topwater action pounding the rocky shoreline in summer.Otherwise except possibly during heavy overcast you'll need to fish deep either near shore or better yet near any offshore structure available which will require a fast sinking full sinking flyline.That kind of ffing can become tedious.Some of my best bass outings in years past both spin & ffing came from a quarry

Terry What's so hard to believe? Have you forgotten that the last smb "tournament" was won handily by a gentleman who fishes with nothing but " feathers"?

Hire a guide if you can.It shouldn't cost much more than your wife's spa day

In the decades to come many native species will likely be replaced by those more tolerant of warmer conditions.There may come a time when trout on this continent are "native" only to Canada.

It's just a question of time before those carp breach low head dams during hi water events.

I think Andy speaks for the vast majority if not all ISA guys on this subject.

It's great to see that Nature was given a seat at the table and that a river that was once pretty much an open sewer now contains creatures worthy of consideration.

Colt My preference for 2 piece rods is strictly about aesthetics not performance.When a 2 piece rod comes out of it's case it looks like a flyrod should to me whereas a multipiece rod comes out looking like so many chopsticks.I did actually order the 4 piece Orvis Access last year.But when I saw it had unsightly spigot ferrules I x'd it for the 2piece.Cuddoes to Orvis for offering a 2 piece option if only for that series.

Great performance by the Captain & his crew given the cold front conditions.

Rob I don't see why rod mfrs made odd #ered sections in the 1st place.They've always reminded of someone looking silly walking along with one foot on the sidewalk the other in the gutter.I regret the demise of 2 piece rods as an option.Fewer pieces to align & maintain & their symmetry is more aesthetically pleasing to me. Colt I've always admired ( and have said so in past) the beautiful workmanship of all the rods you've made. That said my criticism of 3 piece rods is a valid one.

I don't see why anyone would make a 3 piece rod. Unlike a 4 piece it can't be broken down to 2 even length sections when left rigged up.My choice for a rod that short would be a 2 piece

Show 'em how it's done Ed

The river will be pretty hi.Let us know how you guys did.