Mike G

It is fun for the whole family. [media=256] [/media]

5 or 6 wt? Be sure to post a review.

Here're the snap on pads I made out of a piece of pipe insulation. After cutting it in half, I cut short sections off of the ends and glued them in place with RTV to form the antirollers. I thought of gluing them in place but found that it better to be able to move them out of the way or remove them entirely. Set to go Nice rest for a bump board Note: this photo does not show position for ofishal measurement. Hands and board were wet.

Thanks for thinking to put that up for us. While drooling over it, I noticed that they had nice deal on a similar 5 wt. http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Ross-Essence-9-FS-Rod-with-Case-5wt/21014937?action=product_interest&action_type=title&placement_id=irs_middle&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id=41742939973&category=0%3A4125%3A111667%3A1080424%3A1080425&client_guid=82dae6e4-b0f7-4e78-82b1-f0dbe5f80c2c&config_id=0&parent_item_id=21014936&guid=4592a3a4-c6ce-4085-a2c2-0e3a5d1c6d10&bucket_id=000&findingMethod=p13n Does anyone have any experience with this model? They sure are tempting, but my wife would divorce me if I bought another rod just now. Though for some that would be a "win-win" proposition, I just don't see it that way.

I just caught a nice Largemouth this morning on a Buzz bait custom made. Mine are made with quad plastic blades. I also replaced the smallish blade on my 1/4 oz white Boogerman with a quad blade. (BTW the 1/4 oz Boogerman weighs 1/2 oz out of the box.) The quad allows fast or slow retrieves and it climbs to the surface like a helicopter. No argument the Boogerman is a good one.

Who's bringing the skunk?

Again thanks Jim. After seeing this I did some work with Google and came up with a video that shows a lot of options. A bonus is that it is keyed to kayaks-another favorite topic here. [media=251] [/media]

Thanks Jim. That is another step toward meeting the "professional" standard for measurement. Holding a fish next to a ruler does not do it. But sticking one of these on the bottom of the Hog Trough that mikea uses would make it possible to lay the fish on top of the ruler as required by tournament rules and DNR practices. Sticking one on a Truth Mat would also get the measurement in Inches that I have been looking for. Of course the mat would have to lie on a flat surface. And as mikea says it would have to be wet to protect the fish. CMPR - catch, measure, photo, release. Now rich seems to think that the hog trough is ok. I am still looking for the ultimate ISA Photo Mat though I have an idea for a prototype.

I know yours is smaller, Terry. I am looking for something portable that can be laid flat on the ground or boat deck to get a professional measurement yet protect the fish from the slime loss we all dread. So far the marked mat does that and the trough ruler comes close. While it is laid out I can snap a picture with a hand held camera. That eliminates fiddling with a tripod or equivalent or having to take Jim along to take my picture. Right now I use the marked rod system which brings in some undesirable eyeballing IMHO but at least the rod is rigid and does not flop around like a tape. PS The 80 cm on the Truth Mat converts to 32" which could be trimmed down a bit. But that 32 sounds about right for the fish I am going to measure.

I really like this idea assuming it would get ISA approval for photographing fish. The rollup feature makes it easy to carry and get out when Brutus comes along. I am working on finding one that measures inches.

I am looking for whatever gets the ISA seal of approval. And it would be great if it also met tournament standards. The trough ruler that Mikea showed would be perfect if the measuring scale was printed on the bottom so that the fish laid right on top if it eliminating any issues of angles or perspective. A folding or telescoping version would make it easier to carry. Rob' s mat would make a great ISA product. On the web I see they are called truth mats or bragging mats. The ones I found so far are all from down under and marked in metric. They do a great job of combining measuring and photoing into one. And they eliminate the hassle of a tripod. Oh yeah, we could call it the ISA Photo Mat. So I am dreaming of the perfect fish measuring tool that meets three requirements: 1. Approved by ISA. 2. Meets DNR and tournaments standards. 3. Easy to carry.

OK I think I know the ISA preferred way to hold a fish for photographs. Now I have a question about measuring a fish. As background, the tournament circuits and DNRs have similar standards for freshwater fish. The fish is to be measured with a rigid ruler on a flat surface with mouth closed and lobes of the tail compressed. They specifically rule out using a flexible tape and measuring along the curve of the fish's body. Here's an example of their right way from a recent post. More background, this is really important. When (not if) Terry catches Brutus, he has to be sure to measure it correctly otherwise Jude will not accept it. Many of us are following that quest closely. So I expect there is an ISA preferred way to measure a fish that does not violate the ISA code by laying it down. If not we need one or more ways that everyone can agree on.

There have been many great posts in this thread in and around UV materials. It took me some time to digest what was being said. This emerged. There are two kinds of UV materials or colors-UV reactive and UV reflective. We are all familiar with seeing reactive materials. Their pigments react giving off light in wavelengths we can see when hit with a black light. What we see is not UV light. It is light in the visible spectrum. I assume that most of the UV materials sold for use in flies are reactive. The interesting question that remains is, "What about purely UV reflective materials?" Where can we get them? Since we cannot see the UV light they reflect, how do we know that they do? OK, it says so on the label. Say I Don't believe everything I read...

Hi Joe. That was a great introduction. K3 is only the beginning. I am glad it got you back to fishing. The Second City is a big area for a 10-20. So if you can nail it down more specifically, we can probably help you have more fun. Welcome to membership in a great group...

A link that was supposed to send me to "How to Make an IN-line Spinner" sent me here. I am not arguing. I rely admire his ingenuity. [media=500x281] [/media] But wait there's more! ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BnYDoBB4Wg

Terry, I know you are gettin to the dance from those near Brutus catches you have been makin even handicapped by havin Jude along. I should spin the moral of the story further. (I think you already got this; so this is for Jude.) The gals, that is, bass, do not care how fast you get to the show. They care about how you work your lure once you are there. Fast or slow, surface, mid-depth, or bottom will work depending on their mood. So normally I make a bee line for the honey hole. But I will sample spots along the way since the gals do not always hang out in the most likely places. Gals or bass it is not how you get there; it is what you do when you get there that counts.

Jim S, Come on. I am not that old. But I appreciate your faith in my ability as a go-between.

Terry, Here's a story they tell in Lena. About 100 years ago two farm boys got into an argument about which horse to hitch to the wagon to carry them into town for the Saturday dance. One brother thought the gals at the dance would like the fast one best; the other favored the slow one. They argued through the night and never got to the dance. As a result three generations of children, grandchildren,and great grandchildren were never born. The bachelor brothers died without heirs. The farm was sold at auction, proceeds going to the county. MORAL: Make up your mind! Future generations are depending on you.

My bad. Here's a baitcaster. -- also priceless.

-- $300 ---- Priceless!

I respect the Grateful Dead. I listen to Grateful Dead tunes. If I have it right, the Dead is what the group renamed itself after Garcia passed on. Or maybe a Dead Head can set me straight on the name to use referring to before and after. No matter what you call 'em, they are big juju. Guys will buy a $700 Abel and shell out another $300 for the upgrade? Magic.

Let me know if you are up for a swap. If I were buying skeins, I would get basics like white, black, silver, gold, and copper first. Anyone else want to swap?

"50% in error anyway,I apologize. Re the other 50% I direct you to page 163 of LK's "Advanced Flyfishing Techniques" wherein he states that" bassbugs should be sleek" for better casting.Rubber legs make a bug less sleek & harder to cast.They can also cause line twist.Nowher in his discussion of the design of bassbugs or in the accompanying bassbug drawings does he advocate rubber..." Ron, Go to pages 54 and 55 of Fly Fishing for Bass by Lefty Kreh. There you will find the other 50 percent of your errors.

It seems that our moderators are willing to let taunting go on even though it mucks up a good thread like this one. Therefore, since the taunt is directed at me, I can only reply by taunting back. Hey ronk! Before you muck up a thread with taunting here, you should at least get your facts right. If you did that it would eliminate over half of what you post and save us the time of reading and correcting your errors. In this post you are 100% in error. First, no one named Mike is advocating anything here. Josh is the one who said, "Put some legs on 'em." Second, if LK means Lefty Kreh, then you have that all wrong too. Lefty has written a lot about the value of rubber and silicon legs on poppers though there are some things he does not recommend. If you did some homework, you might know what they are. But these are just a few of the things you do not seem to know. They say, "It is never too late to learn."

Hook on wrong side? Rich can give you his take. I think it is a trout thing. Trout guys seem to like flies that ride barb down and seldom use weed guards. Get some? Are you talking about the chenille or UV material or both. The polar chenille appeared more recently though we have been using its craft cousin, "eyelash," for some time. The materials are very similar. Here's the difference. You get 3 yards of fly tying material for $3. You get 125 yards of craft eyelash for $7. (A 2000% markup). So for basic colors I get some skeins of eyelash and swap with guys who have other colors. Like this, "I have Yarnbee Gilt Eyelash in Lime (Chartreuse) and Ruby Red. I will swap in ten yard increments, one for one, for White (Twinkle) or Gold. PM me. " To get your starter supply go to: http://shop.hobbylobby.com/search/?keyword=gilt%20eyelash&perpage=12&match=AND&F_Sort=2