SKollmann

Supplementing my offer to cover our exhibit on Wednesday, I'm hoping one or two other ISA members would join me that day so I could break away a couple hours to canvas the other show exhibits as long as I'm there.

Always looking for opportunities to learn more about fly tying, so please add me to the list of interested attendees. Too bad the Bassbuggers monthly fly tying events are on Monday and Thursday . . . those are the two nights of the week that I play tennis.

I can cover Wednesday, January 21st. Please confirm. Thanks.

Don . . . did I miss the website? As a fly tyer, would like to access. Thanks.

What time are the two Hummingbird seminars scheduled?

Thanks to all who responded to my initial request for input about upgrading my fly tying vice and tools over the holidays. Having received a strong endorsement of Renzetti vices coupled with the referral from Mike G to the FlyFishOhio website, I stopped by Trout & Grouse on Sunday since they are a distributor of Renzetti vices. Found that these vices were considered "state of the art" (and therefore more expensive). In light of ongoing costs associated with my other activities (tennis club, fishing clubs, canoeing club, etc.), I'm not an exclusive fly fisherman and tyer. So I was hoping for a good vice at a more moderate price. That said, I shared copies of the info from the FlyFishOhio website with the Trout & Grouse guys . . . endorses the Peak vice as the best in the $100 - $150 price range (MSRP US $144 with optional midge and saltwater jaws for $35 each). Trusting that there are seasoned fly tyers out there who have used the Peak vice, would appreciate your insights as I narrow the field before making the purchase. Thanks.

The vote is in, my BassBugger Buddies . . . and the official winner is neither Democrat nor Republican. It's RENZETTI. With the brand receiving such a strong endorsement, I would now appreciate guidance in selecting the right model. If it helps, I plan to continue tying bass flies primarily, but may evolve into trout and panfish flies down the road. You were all kind enough to steer my in the right direction . . . now steer me with this next decision. Thanks once again.

Appears both of you (Jonn and Joe) are young whipper snappers. Take it from one who will hit age 64 later this month . . . just wait for your later years.

Hey, Jonn . . . you're still a young whipper snapper from central Illinois. At my more advanced age, my nerve endings are more sensitive to cold temps. PS. My bride of 40+ years is from down your way . . . Anchor, IL to be precise. We've paddled the Mac several times unaware that smallies also reside in the river. When I retire in a year or so, plan to attend Camp Smallmouth.

OK, Fellow Bassbuggers . . . I'm looking for your professional input! With Christmas fast approaching, I'm looking to replace my beginner flytying equipment with an upgraded vice and tools. Thanks to you taking me under your wing at a few monthly tying events coupled with a 6-hour flytying course at Trout & Grouse, I've decided to make indoor tennis and flytying my primary winter activities since I cannot paddle my canoe, fish the local rivers, or cycle with my bride during the winter months. For those Bassbuggers who have been tying a whole lot longer than me with much better equipment than mine, I would really appreciate your insights since this will undoubtedly be my final set of flytying equipment. Thank you!

Having experienced before many witnesses a 17' smallmouth bass literallly jump into my canoe a few years ago on the KKK while demonstrating an eddy turn to the young men in my Boy Scout Troop, I made a commitment to learn more about this species and contribute my services in the preservation thereof for my three grandsons as well as other youth in the greater Chicagoland area. Passing by the ISA booth at the Chicagoland Outdoor Show at Rosemont the following winter, I was struck by the compatibility of the ISA goals/missions and my commitment. Have been an ISA member ever since. I then returned to work at the ripe age of 60 and have found little time to join ISA members on the river. Keep up the excellent work . . . one of these days I'll retire again and take up fishing, canoeing and tennis full time.

While I cannot make a firm commitment at this time to offer my volunteer services for the weekend, if my schedule frees up, I would be most interested in hosting canoe rides for the youth in my 17' Wenonah Spirit II kevlar canoe . . . with or without sponses. Also have very lightweight bent shaft paddles like those used in the Olympics that would demo the ease in which canoes can be paddled. If interested, please advise . . . and I will do my best to shuffle my schedule to accommodate. Steve (aka "Paddlin' Man") Member, Prairie State Canoeists

In response to our regular shortage of chairs at the monthly Bassbugger fly tying events held at Angler's International Resources, I am offering to donate four nice wooden fold-up chairs with padded seats. Please advise if interested and I will deliver. Unable to make the June 12th event due to tennis conflict, but will bring along to the next meeting. Thanks. Steve

Hey, Jude . . . any plans to reschedule this cancelled outing for another weekend in May?

Check out these vice selection tips to whet your appetite, John . . . and then log into www.flyfishohio.com and check out many, many models posted under several pricing catagories. The Fly Fish Ohio team is proud to bring you our very first "Shoot-Out" style review. For this project we've selected fly tying vises under $150. Have you ever wondered what you can REALLY get for your money? We tied a big bunch of flies of all sizes on each of these vises just to answer that question. Don't spend a nickel on a new fly tying vise until you've had a chance to read this review first! We guarantee you'll be surprised by the results!!! Welcome to the first Fly Fish Ohio Fly Tying Vise Review! This is an auspicious beginning; it’s the first major equipment shootout on Fly Fish Ohio! How many of you have thought to yourself, “I’d like to get into fly tying but I really don't know anything about it?" or "I have a really nice vise but I'd like to get something that's lighter, smaller, or easier to manage while traveling?” The Fly Fish Ohio crew has the answers! Joe Cornwall, Mark Blauvelt and I all tie our own flies. Between us we have over fifty years of tying experience and have collectively tied thousands of flies using a variety of different techniques and a wide selection of gear. You might say we have “opinions.” With this being our first major review, we'd like to share the ground rules for this and other reviews to follow. Our first major criterion was price. This review covers products with a maximum MSRP of $150 and we’ve further segmented that market to examine vises under $50, from $50 to $100, and from $100 to $150. As the Senior Editor my job consisted of some serious web surfing sessions. I came up with a list that includes product from virtually every major manufacturer, which indicates that these companies have a vested interest in reaching the beginner and budget-conscious tier. Hundreds of emails and dozens of phone calls later and we have a group of products ranging in price from under 20 dollars right up to the 150 dollar limit. In the future all shootout reviews will have a price segment associated with the equipment. The next criterion is a unified definition of quality performance. This may seem somewhat self-evident at first, but the fact of the matter is that most reviews don’t provide concise, categorical performance definitions. As a reference vise we've included the long discontinued Thompson Model B. This $6.50 vise (about $36 in current value) defines the minimal performance a contemporary product should exhibit. If a new manufacturer can't beat this old warhorse then there really isn't much to talk about. This review uses ten specific areas that we found best described the actual in-use performance of the product. Each of the ten areas is rated on a scale of 1-to-5 with 5 being the best level of performance. Here are the ten questions used to evaluate the performance of this selection of fly tying vises: 1. First Impressions. Did the vise come in an attractive package? Was it well packed and would the packaging serve as storage for the vise? 2. Directions, literature, parts lists and documentation? Does this vise come with a set of directions that explain care and maintenance of the product? Are there illustrations of the parts in case you need to order an accessory or replace a missing part? Are there well written directions explaining calibration and set-up of the vise? 3. Vise fit and finish. Is this a well finished product? Did it communicate quality right out of the box? 4. C-Clamp quality: Is the clamp well designed? Did the clamp provide a solid, immobile mounting system for the vise? Did it remain tight through a long session of tying? Did it mark, or have the potential to damage the surface of the table to which it’s clamped? 5. Vise stem finish, adjustability and length. Is the vise flexible in placement for a number of tiers and table heights? 6. Smoothness of operation of vise jaws. Were they easy to open and close? Are the jaws easy to calibrate for various hooks? Do the jaws remain in the calibrated position or is it necessary to readjust the jaws after a few flies? 7. Rotation and adjustability. Is the vise capable of rotating? If so, was the rotating mechanism smooth and robust? We used N/A if the vise didn’t feature rotability, but we tried not to hold that fact against the product. Of course lack of this feature is a 10% penalty in itself, even though the N/A rating still provides 1 point. We've all tied on fixed vises, but the ability to see the far side of the fly is so critical that we thought it imperative to incorporate this as a standard. That said, we all agree we'd rather see no rotability than a poorly implemented system that detracts from the product's utility. No differentiation was given to simple rotability versus "true" rotary tying functionality. 8. Jaw grip, hold and clearance. Does the vise hold the hook stable under both vertical and horizontal pressures? Is there access to tie on any type of hook in the normal size range? Can it reliably hold different sizes of hooks? All vises must hold a minimum of size 20 to 2/0 to rate a 4 or better unless they are purposed designed and labeled as being designed for a specific hook size (tube, midge or saltwater, for instance). 9. Accessories. Is the vise capable of being customized with a bobbin cradle, material clip, background card, parachute tool, waste receptacle, etc.? A good vise should have a material clip included as part of its design. 10. Reviewer’s Choice. There is no category for this. This is a gauge of “goose-bump” factor. Did you like this vise? Could you forget about the tool and do the job? Each of these performance parameters was graded using the rating system detailed in the sidebar. A scale of 1 to 5 was used, with 5 being the very best performance. Each tier rated each vise and the the answer values were averaged for each question. The averaged values were then summed and a total point score was assigned to the product. Joe and Mark were only aware of retail price points after they had completed tying to keep price "prejudice" from affecting the outcome. Further,. we didn't discuss any of the products until we had completed the reviews so there was very little chance of any of us affecting the answers of another.

Rich . . . One More Cast is much to far for me to commute from Northbrook. That said, however, in the event musky patterns are provided during the evening, would appreciate receiving copies since I plan to fish for musky up at Eage Lake in Ontario, Canada in July. Thanks.

Over my lunch hour today, I was reading an article in the March 2008 edition of In-Fisherman entitled, "Rigged and Ready at Ice-Out: Smallmouth Game Plan." In the article, Matt Straw addressed several approaches, including suspending jerkbaits, jig-grub combo . . . and the one that really caught my interest is a float-and-fly system of which he states, "Time-tested things that seldom fail for spring smallmouths include float-and-fly systems." Matt recommends a 9-foot rod plus a 1/32-ounce synthetic hair jig under a fixed float using 6# flourocarbon line (or the same attached to a braided mainline with a barrel swivel). Product names he likes include a small Rainbow Plastics A-Just-A-Bubble, and either a SPRO Phat Fly or a TC Tackle Stubby Shiner. Says that he believes smallies will continue to key on smaller shiner and fry imitations until the water warms to above 50 degrees. That may take some time in northern Illinois considering the unusual cold weather we've been experiencing lately . . . so perhaps a float-and-fly will be ideal for the next few weeks until it warms up.

Hey, Neighbor (Mr. Dragiewicz, this is) . . . you've made a great decision by moving from "walking your dog" along my corner lot to "walking a dog" in search of bass. Welcome to the ISA! Once you get your feet wet paddlin' with Jude on the Kish (I hope that's all you get wet), let me know . . . you can try your luck once again fishing from my 17' canoe. Then again, let me know when you and Jude schedule your outing on the Kish. Perhaps I'll invite another smallie colleague to join me and we'll make it a foursome . . . subject to Jude's approval, of course! Now . . . to reinforce Norm Minas' claim that there are also big bass in the Kankakee River just waiting for a hookup, check out this 17-incher that I caught on a spinnerbait on my first cast of last year while fishing with the ISA group during our April outing. Hey, Norm . . . if you want to float fish the KKK in my canoe sometime when it's warmer, let me know. It's equipped with sponses for added stability + a Minnkota trolling motor to allow us to make a run upriver and float fish coming back down to our cars. Otherwise, wading is also an option. Steve (aka "The Paddlin' Man)

Will a SOT kayak be auctioned off again at this year's Blowout? If so, need to bring my canoe cartop carrier along in case my ticket is drawn.

Norm . . . since I paddle with a canoe club, I've had no "hands on" experience with a square stern canoe. They are typically made for fishermen and hunters . . . and can usually accommodate up to a 5 H.P. outboard motor. That said, they are still small and light enough to be car-topped . . . or flipped onto the bed of a pick-up truck. The model that I'm thinking of is an Old Town Predator SS150 which I believe already includes an anchor system, oar sockets and oar locks, and wood/web seats. May be optional features. Sounds like this may be the ideal watercraft for you with a set of sponses for added stability. Were I not also a paddlin' nut, but instead an exclusive floatfisherman, I'd definitely include this unit on my list of possibilities. Undoubtedly there are other models around as well. If you want more info, I'd be happy to check my latest Canoe/Kayak Buyers Guide and fax or send you a copy. Let me know.

As you can tell from my ISA log in handle, I'm not only a fisherman . . . but also an avid canoe buff. When I'm not fishing with the guys, my wife and I are paddling downriver with other members of the Prairie State Canoeists (PSC). So of the few topics on which I consider having expertise, I know a fair amount about canoes and accessories. All the prior comments are important to consider, so I'll complement their observations. I purposely purchased sponses for my canoe for floatfishing purposes. My Winonah Spirit II canoe has a "shallow arch" hull configuration vs. a flat bottom hull design. Shallow arch canoes paddle faster in the water due to less hull surface that would impede forward progress. So when we paddle with the canoe club, we definitely can "make tracks" . . . complemented with bent-shaft paddles. That said, I also love to floatfish for smallies on the Kish, KKK, and other area rivers and lakes. So since my watercraft is a "tippy canoe" due to the hull design, stability for floatfishing is provided with sponses. Don't have the brand name at the office, but will follow up with details later. I'm am quite pleased with the resulting stability and feel equally comformable standing in my canoe when casting lures or when flyfishing. Added a side motor mount to accommodate a Minnkota 30/30 electric trolling motor which will even move my heavy-set buddy and me upriver on the KKK against its typical 3 mph current. The added plus is we only need one car . . . launch the canoe at a put-in site, motor upriver 2-3 miles, and floatfish downriver to our car. If you'd like a demo sometime before purchasing your sponses, let me know . . . would be happy to give you a test drive as soon as it warms up. Steve K (aka "Paddlin' Man")

Having attended the show for many years, I sought the opportunity to represent an organization at the show with the same sportfishing values that I support . . . and my wish came true compliments of the oranizational leadership exemplified by the ISA leadership corps. This being my first experience as an ISA Exhibitor, I enjoyed every moment spreading the word about "catch and release" and preservation/conservation measures required to ensure future generations (including my three grandsons) have the opportunity to join "PaPa" and other grandparents in learning the same values. That said, you can count on me again next year . . . and as stated in a previous message, perhaps next year's schedule will permit me to make a greater contribution. For those who didn't volunteer, this "Show Newbie" strongly urges you to give it a try next year . . . we at ISA always need your support! Steve

Here's an update, Tim . . . plan to be a "show participant" on Saturday from noon until 3:30 pm and then help man our ISA booth around 3:30 pm until close at 8:00 pm. Looking forward to the opportunity to contribute my services and market the inherent values associated with membership in the Alliance. If I weren't still gainfully employed and had no plans for Sunday, I'd make a more significant appearance. Guess that will happen when I retire in three years and then work part-time at Bass Pro Shop. On a related note, I think it was Mike who suggested trading cell phone numbers. Here's mine . . . 708-334-6275. I trust our booth is in the "Fishing Pavillion."

Heading up to Eagle Lake in Ontario, Canada in early July and would appreciate any commentary in terms of flyfishing equipment and flies. During the day, we'll be out with our spinning equipment in our guide's boat, jigging for walleyes as we have done with great success in prior years. However, during the early evening hours until one hour after sunset, we typically go after smallies and northerns. This year I plan to try my hand pursuing these prey with a fly rod which prompts the following questions . . . 1. Planning to take one fly rod + reel besides my regular spinning and bait casting equipment. Plan to take my 8-weight rod loaded with 9-weight line instead of my 6-weight rod. Comments?!? 2. The reason for taking my heavier rod + reel are obvious . . . big northern and muskie. What flies would you suggest? Thanks to Stuart and my fellow Bass Buggers, I hope to learn enough about tying my own flies before leaving. 3. I also plan to fish for smallmouth, but would only have my heavier rod and fly line. What flies do you suggest for pursuing smallies up north with heavier equipment? Bigger wooley buggers and clouser minnows? Or would my heavier rod + fly line be OK for casting the same size smallie flies that I use around here? Thanks, in advance, for your comments . . . most appreciative!!!

Heading up to Eagle Lake in Ontario, Canada in early July and would appreciate any commentary in terms of flyfishing equipment and flies. During the day, we'll be out with our spinning equipment in our guide's boat, jigging for walleyes as we have done with great success in prior years. However, during the early evening hours until one hour after sunset, we typically go after smallies and northerns. This year I plan to try my hand pursuing these prey with a fly rod which prompts the following questions . . . 1. Planning to take one fly rod + reel besides my regular spinning and bait casting equipment. Plan to take my 8-weight rod loaded with 9-weight line instead of my 6-weight rod. Comments?!? 2. The reason for taking my heavier rod + reel are obvious . . . big northern and muskie. What flies would you suggest? Thanks to Stuart and my fellow Bass Buggers, I hope to learn enough about tying my own flies before leaving. 3. I also plan to fish for smallmouth, but would only have my heavier rod and fly line. What flies do you suggest for pursuing smallies up north with heavier equipment? Bigger wooley buggers and clouser minnows? Or would my heavier rod + fly line be OK for casting the same size smallie flies that I use around here? Thanks, in advance, for your comments . . . most appreciative!!!