Mike G

About the time I resolved to pack hair tighter, I came across a video where the guy didn't pack the hair leaving it looser like I did. The idea was to get a bug that set deeper in the water giving the fish a better target. Packed tightly deer hair is like a cork (Then why not use a cork to begin with? ) Julius Caesar said, "Ad excoriandam filem multae sunt viae." That fly is a nice start.

Hey! Where's Jude? How many slots are they filling this round, Terry?

Here's the one to break. $40 including reel and line. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fly-Fishing/Fly-Fishing-Rod-Reel-Combos%7C/pc/104793480/c/104721480/sc/105571980/Cabelas-Cahill-Fly-Rod-and-Reel-Outfit/732362.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fly-fishing-fly-fishing-rod-reel-combos%2F_%2FN-1102570%2FNs-MIN_SALE_PRICE%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104721480%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104721480%3Bcat105571980

there's great news. Forget about fixing it and send it back.

Dream on! Those Simpsom baits are going for $50-100 NIB. Slightly used $35 if you can find one. Here's what I can do for you. When I get the design worked out, I will send you a prototype of the Yellow Tail cork popper. You can be my Beta tester with permission to shiow the bait on YouTube.

A while back, as I was stringing up a rod, the wind blew my car door shut with a solid thunk. I thought that could have been my rods last gasp. Fortunately.I had set my rod on the trunk of the car. Since even that was a scare, I feel your pain. Make lemonade. On the up side, you can still salvage a pack rod out of the pieces. These are sometimes called repair ferrules. http://www.jannsnetc...ing/273320.aspx You trade off some in action for convenience. But you get a rod that fits in a suitecase.

I have a quirky fishing buddy who has this anoying habit. Once he dials in the fish and is getting bit regularly, he quits using what is working and switches baits, changes presentation and so on. He says he wants to learn another technique. Seems strange to me. I usually go to something else when what I am doing is not working.

Turns out, the piano Tuna played me for a Sucker. It was a real Shark when they drove off together in his Carp.

Blinky rules. It is Eric's secret weapon. That Megabas thingy is a decoy to throw us off.

"Your buddy in the back of the boat will holler "D'oh" when you hook and land a big, fat bass while fishing the 4-1/2" shallow-diving Homer Simpson crankbait. If you can't get any action out of Homer, switch to the 4-1/4" Bart Simpson surface-skater that dares the lunkers to eat its shorts. Or you can try the the double-jointed Marge diver when you're in a hopeless situation and just refuse to quit. Tie on the floating 2" Imitation Gruel can when the fish are up top. Just like Krusty says, "It's the sharp aftertaste that gets 'em." And if you want to stir things up at your local "fission" hole, you'll have two versions of the 2-1/2" Blinky the three-eyed wonderfish to choose from."

Good point. Uncle Homer wrote about the Corn Cob Lure. I am working on a lure made of wine bottle corks. The synthetic corks from Yellow Tail bottles have a nice heft to them. Look for a plain popper and a prop model. A buzz blade will be available as an option. Maybe I will print a motto on the package,"It's not about what you're throwing, but where you're throwing it." Now taking orders.

"With a name like Bang-o-lure it has to catch fish." A while ago when Eric was tearing them up with his Megabass Prop Darter, I had a feeling that I had seen that kind of lure before--a long time before. I wasted time searching because I thought it was a variation on the Storm ThunderStick. All searches drew a blank. Then I came across a name which rang a bell--the Bagley Bang-0-lure. “The Spintail Bang O Lure is the most versatile lure ever made. It has a spinner prop on the tail that adds to the surface drama when twitched, but has that slow wide wobble that made this lure famous on the retrieve. It is effective as a surface bait and gets hits on the retrieve.” New owners are reviving the design. Retailing at about $9.00 it may be a bargain compared to the Megabass version with a $25.oo tag. See more at: http://www.basstackledepot.com/bagley-baits-bang-o-lure-spin-tail.aspx

Tmie to pick the best. I have nominated a few, but you can pick other and write in your candidate.

When I started tying in the 50s head cement and nylon thread were established parts of the drill. I learned to tie the whip finish without a tool and have never bothered to learn to use a whip finisher. Crank that back 60 years to 1890 and you would probably find some form of varnish and silk thread being used.The varnish served several purposes. First it would protect the silk thread from deteriorating. Waxing the silk was also important for the same reason. Second, it made a nice shiny head, that would sell better. It is hard to imagine tying back then since varnish dries so slowly and you might have to apply several coats to get the finish you want. Then there were silkworm gut leaders which is another story. Crank forward to the present and ask Terry's question about the whip finish again. First, multiple half hitches would do the job if you don't mind a rough looking bulkier head. I got along for quite a while with half hitches. Second, thread wrapped and soaked in super glue with no knots at all is said to be the 21st century whip finish if you don't mind how it looks. You see my drift; part of the whip finish's charm is that it gives or can give a nice smooth head. Besides that it is a nice secure knot. I use it on the wings of bucktail and hackle streamers to be double sure they don't go anywhere once I get them in place. There is a cult of panfishermen that swear that bluegills smell head cements, glues, and nail polishes. Working without any kind of glue one needs a good knot like the whip finish. So the whip has both cosmetic and mechanical advantages. Thanks to John for bringing up the double hitch. I will have to try it. Here's another link. http://www.garyborge...e-double-hitch/

I have been enjoying the issue for the last week or so ever since Eric notified us that it was available in the archives. As always there is some great stuff. I am glad that Tom's Foxy Crawdad was picked up and given a permanent place of honor in the bulletin. Then Jonn bares his soul on his fishing addiction. Who would have thought? Get help, Jonn. We're rooting for you. Good issue guys.

Me too. Though I never fished there, it was on my route to work for many years. Does anyone else remember the year when foam used to put out a fire at O'Hare was washed into the DesPlaines. When it got to the dam, it was churned into huge banks of foam. It seems that the drains in the hanger flushed directly into the river rather than the airport storm system. Another bump in the road for da mayor's airport.

When I started I decided to make a year (52 weeks) of entries in this category. So now I have to begin reeling it in. It has been an interesting effort. I like fishing and I like philosophy, but I seldom find them in the same place. They are similar. Philosophers deal with ultimate realities like Being, Truth, Good, and Beauty. For me fishing has always been an ultimate activity that requires no justification. I do not fish to live. I live to fish making fishing an ultimate goal. I found it interesting that most times, I could substitute the word fishing in quotations from the great minds to get a new angle on things. I hope the approach was not too contrived. Next week I will try to pick a the best one of the last 50. I welcome your nomination sby the way.

Good post. This sounds like the long lost art of dabbling adapted to fly fishing.

When we were seeing each other it was so great. I carried her picture in my Walleye, and she kept mine in her Perch.

Overdressed Clousers.

lily: out of the water out of itself bass picking bugs off the moon Nick Virgilio

I finally got around to watching this. All along I knew it would be worth it. The similarity between a west coast river dam and a dam on the Fox is hard to figure out. My take is that both dams were good in their times while the original purpose for building them is no longer valid. Thanks for putting this up.

ron, What magazine(s)?

Ding! That rings the bell.Purfict answer, Rich.

I was so happy when I flounder but then I lobster.