Mike G

Correction. You need a round nosed pliers to bend these. The 90 deg. edge of a standard pliers creats a sharp bend that may snap. Bend slowly. Lefty sez most bend back hooks have too much bend.

By the way, Dec. 1 is a regional meeting too. Isn't it? I don't see it on the calendar.

Terry, I see the amateurs, Where are the experts? How many other beginners are going to be there? I will prepare to guide you through a Woolly Bugger and a Clouser-two fairly easy ones. Anything else you are looking for? As a special treat, could rich and Jude demo some of their contest winners?

My two cents: The work horse Mustad 3366 fills that bill. It is light enough to bend to shape with a needlenose and costs $5-6 per hundred. I will have some size 1s at the show.

D'oh! That's what I was going to give him. Now you gave it away!

Better?

Try now.

Tim A, I like your clarification. There are certain things we must do to avoid harm to the fish. There are other things we may do to improve the picture.

Trouble is that your hands are a source of fungus and bacteria. Better for the fish to wear clean gloves or wash your hands first. .

Clap! Clap! Clap! .... Good reply, Rob. We need to strike some balance on this topic of photographing fish. Your picture displayed the fish in a very acceptable way to me. But you were slimed; I have had the same experience.. (Remember the slapstick Nickelodian routine from 20 years ago where they dumped a bucket of green slime on an unsuspecting character.) Our version of it is surprising a proud angler with unqualified criticism about slime removal. We seem to assume that Bass are the same as trout and that the lessons of trout handling apply equally to bass handling. But Bass are not Trout. We really don't know how April would handle a Smallmouth Bass. All we have is her article on handling trout which became a sidetrack to the discussion. I will stand with you on this. I think you should put the picture back. Did it look like this? Here's one that got me slimed a few years ago. I think both of these are acceptable displays of a catch. You rightly point out that, if one does not want to stress a fish, one should not set a hook in its mouth and subject it to an exhausting battle. Apparently, April travels with a photographer in tow making photographs of interactions easy to achieve. I do not have that luxury.

Thanks for the offer Rob.

A while back I was hard pressed to find some 40# mono for making Lefty's Big Butt Leaders. I wound up going to a web source. Recently I was surprised to find just what I needed at Sullivan's Ace in Winnebago. They stock the 1/4 # spools of Berkely Big Game in 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 49, and 50 lb. test. Priced at $7.99 per spool they're a good deal.

First, nice river fish. It would be great if the November prize went to a fly rod. If nothing else that 3/4" gets you a prize for precision. I'll assume that that tip snapped "in normal use." That is, you weren't using the rod to poke a lure free, closing a door on it, stepping on it, or doing other "abusive" things. Then there is no way that tip should break like that, and wrapping would not have saved it. Besides, it broke at a point that might not have been wrapped anyway. I would chalk it up to a hidden defect or "accident that happened at the factory." Do you know the country of origin for the blank. It reminds me that a while back, I purchased a Cabela's Salt Striker travel rod, The first time I flexed it the tip splintered. Cabela's replaced it. The second rod splintered the same place when I gave it a tug to free it from a minor hangup-not what one expected from a rod speced for 10-20# line and 1/4 to 1 oz. lures. That was it for Cabela rods. I got a Bass Pro Ocean Master light action (Line Weight: 8-17 lbs., Lure Weight: 3/8 - 1-1/2 oz.). Tells you something about "saltwater light." I have been using that rod for over 5 years now with no problems. They would say that Cabelas must have got a bad batch. .

"In whatever way, it will not please the cat." If you paid attention to Uncle Larry and Little Tommy, you would know this from Fabulae Animalium (Animal Stories). " There are many ways to skin a cat; but, no matter how you do it, the cat won't like it." Some of Uncle Larry's best stories were the annual Wisconsin deer season scores which usually went something like this: People 200,000 / Deer 6 (deer killed / people killed) PS To their credit, Wisconsin got through the 2010 and 2011 gun seasons without any hunter deaths. Hats off to them. the DNR is hoping for a Threepeat in 2012.

Those were the days, Rich. I still have some of the products purchased back in the 50s and 60s. My favorites are an assortment of 100 hump shank hooks for 75 cents and a kit for building a fiberglass fly rod (all materials included) $12. I still have the rod that I made.

No Muppets were harmed collecting this fur. Here they all are: Elmo Red, Ernie Orange, Bert Yellow, Kermit Green, Piggy Pink, Count Purple, Cookie Monster Blue and a host of others. By getting other family members involved I collected 15 swatches at no cost. Now I will figure out a contest.

"In which ever way, my child will not be pleased" Warm.

Oops, My bad for assuming everyone took Latin in HS and still remembers it if they did. Also I should have used modus instead of via. Caesar said translated, "To tear skin off a cat, many are the ways." Try this. Larry Lujack replied, "Quocumque modo, fili non placebit." "Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?"

Thanks for putting this up. I sometimes use snaps with casting or spinning gear. A big plus is that, if you get a rise or follow and do not hookup, you can switch to another lure and get back there quickly provided you have your alternate ready to go. These should deliver the same advantage to fly fishermen. The only caution is that the snap should not become a substitute for retying often no matter what gear you are using.

I said, "I am familiar with Discoveries in 16 ft lengths (15' 8"). They oil can. That is the hull flexes visibly when you paddle." We should call this beer canning since oil comes in plastic bottles these days. You know how you can pop the sides of a can in and out. That is what the hull of some canoes do under the stress of paddle strokes. Sometimes you can hear it, "Flup-flup." It is not the flex caused by going over rocks. I suppose it is a fine point in regards to performance because the "bad" is that it causes a little extra water drag which can become significant over a day of paddling. You either spend more energy or get there later. On the other hand, the hull that flexes is better at rebounding off of rocks. Andy said, "That being said, I wish it was 2 feet longer, and have a little better tracking ability." In my experience longer tracks better. I test paddled the Old Town 11 6 Discovery and the Pack at Rutabaga and decided against them because of tracking-a real plus on smooth water. On the other hand shorter is more maneuverable-a real plus in rapids. As Andy points out, canoes hold more stuff. The trade off is that they get blown around being higher in the water. In the end one has to pick a boat that best fits one's needs. Lots of good ones out there No matter what it is best to know the pros and cons going in.

Jude, Being new to the area I appreciate your perspecitve. The ones who look good on paper are not always the best I guess. Lee and Lenae were a little weak on the first question. But I will probably go with your ideas now.

Here's all I shuld have said. Go to a place on the water where you can try as many makes and designs as possible. One such place is Rutabaga near Madison. It is not a bad trip from the burbs. http://www.rutabaga.com/ While you are there take a ride in this one-the Fusion 13: They have a UL Kevlar modeo on sale. http://www.rutabaga.com/Fusion-13-Kevlar-Ultra-Light_p_1654.html While you are there take a ride in a Wenonah Canak that combines a Kayak withe the High performance Pirsm canoe. If money were no object one of these would be my choice.

It is a recreational canoe, AKA tub, not a good paddler. 31" at the waterline is not going to let you stand comfortably without sponsons. Like all canoes it will be blown around a lot more than a kayak. I am familiar with discoveries in 16 ft lengths. They oil can. That is the hull flexes visibly when you paddle. For a small boat 43 pounds is not light. On the plus side, they are rugged, hold more gear, and are relatively inexpensive. I would stick with a kayak. Get a tandem for more room.

I like Mike, Jeff, and Cheryl. What do you think?