Mike G

My bad. Ohio is alive and well at: http://ohiosmalliance.proboards82.com/index.cgi Though not an alliance, Indiana is in the chase with: http://www.indianasmallmouth.com/phpBB2/index.php That's all for now.

There is a clear need for co-operation between state alliances. There is no need to re-invent the wheel in each state. To co-ordinate efforts across state borders, a regional grouping of state alliances sounds like just the ticket. Before going all out for creating a regional SMA, however, I would like to know what the role of the "National Smallmouth Alliance" is or should be. Would a regional group be duplicating what the National Alliance does or what it ought to be doing? How many levels should the pyramid have? From what I can see on the National site, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri have active chapters. Ohio, New Hampshire, and Susquahana are dormant. Is there a Minnesota or Indiana alliance? It almost looks like a region including IL, MO, and WI would de facto be the National Alliance.

There is a clear need for co-operation between state alliances. There is no need to re-invent the wheel in each state. To co-ordinate efforts across state borders, a regional grouping of state alliances sounds like just the ticket. Before going all out for creating a regional SMA, however, I would like to know what the role of the "National Smallmouth Alliance" is or should be. Would a regional group be duplicating what the National Alliance does or what it ought to be doing? How many levels should the pyramid have?

First, Happy New Year! Here's the pattern that inspired the Chaos Locust from the foam fly swap. This one looks like someone just put a foam fly on the hook the way you might put a grasshopper on. There is a nice story about its effectiveness along with how to tie it at: http://www.eflytyer.com/patterns/chaos.html "The first night that I fished this hopper, I caught 10-15 trout, and 4-5 really big smallmouth on my 3 weight. On another trip I went to a creek in a deep gorge and caught another 30 plus trout. On yet another trip I caught some more really big smallmouth. So while my Chaos Hoper is a bit different than Blue Ribbon's it is still pretty neat." Mike Hogue Enjoy!

The Parasite Concept Great question, Rich. the Paracite Clip is a great rig. Finding out that the Brand Name clip can be replaced with a barrel swivel with no loss of effectiveness was a bonus. I passed it on here aftr I saw it in BASSMASTERS.

Here's another one from the foam fly swap. With a designer like Morris, it needs no introduction. Though it looks like a good floater, it was primarily designed to fish sub-surface using a sinking line and a short 3-4 ft leader. The rest is in the writeup and video. Scroll down to the Predator slowly so you can take in the other flies on the page. http://www.flyfishohio.com/Adventures_in_Fly_Tying.htm

Thanks Rich, That was a good tip. When I went to the site I noticed Mr. Gartside has added some more Bohemian Chenille creations to his offerings-all kinds of his "Wiggle Worms," divers, gurglers, weighted ... Where can I get some of that Chenille? I noticed that Jack sells his Wiggle Worm Chenille at $3.00 for 9 feet. That is a dollar a yard. What do we pay, $5.00 for a 62 yard skein. More power to Jack if he can get people to pay that markup.

Thanks for that great link, Rich. We have a lot to learn from Saltwater Ties.

The first of four. As promised elsewhere, here is a link to instructions for the Stealth Bomber. i was impressed with the action of this fly. The tapered head and collar give it a nice diving action while the loop to the rear gives it a good popping sound. Tied per directions the bug is very buoyant. To get a deeeper dive reduce the amount of EVA foam. You can also ask if the Jude Bug is this pattern tied in reverse; or is the "Bomber" a Jude Bug tied in reverse? The link: http://www.flyfishga.com/stealth.htm

Rob, 5 Stars. From the pic it is hard to judge the length. Are they available 4" or longer?

My gear is packed up for an upcoming move. Since I was unable to tie up something specifically for now, I went to the scrapbook. These are from a swap I was in earlier this year. It turned out that only Bassbuggers were in it even though it was on a non-ISA site. Some of these are originals; some are based on tutorials on other sites. I will put up the links as I work through the process of retrieving them. Top Row: Beadhead Chenille Worm, Chaos Locust, Chenille Worm Second Row: Stealth Bomber, Yelow Diver Third Row: Orange Diver, Skip Morris Predator, Draco Fourth Row: Black Diver, Gurgle Pop, Black Gurgler

Rich requested that I put this previous post here. Enjoy! Row 1: The long worm is 5" long. Row 2: Adding a foam tab gives some action and floats the grub's tail up. Row 3: Hula Grub and Tube? Row 4: Furled Grubs. Furling slightly increases bulk and stiffens the worm. Row 5: 6" diving slug. The bulky tail is a braid of three pieces of chenille. The EVA foam diving head is an interesting alternative to a spun "Dahlberg" head.

Rich, I just signed on to put up the foam fly swap flies. Remember that? I will be glad to put the worms there too. Mike

Mark, This site is a little different about posting fishing spots as you know. Most want to keep such information to themselves or a small group of members; and, therefore, they avoid putting it in these forums where anyone can get to it. Some of this approach seems to rub off on the publication of fly patterns. Unique ISA Member creations may not appear here though, like Michael T's Zonker Bouncer, they wind up in the Bronzeback Bulletin. That is a fair compromise between telling all to everyone and telling nothing to anyone. However, where other sites have set out patterns for all to view, that is different. Georgia River Smallmouth fishing, where Craig Reindieu appars often, has a nice and growing collection of links on there fly forum. http://georgiariverfishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3627 The Hairy Fodder is there along with traditional and innovative bugs like the Stealth Bomber. Enjoy, one and all!

Thanks, Tim. As I bury this guy I will sing: Take me to the River Don't Worry be Happy He's a Fad Bass.

http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/foru...=1122&st=20 Heritage Crafts work. I should expand. Heritage has been around a while-not a fly by night operation. The one I used was provided by a resort in the Keys for their guests; so they stand up to some use. Like a car manufacturer, Heritage typically makes a basic model like the Featherlite I used and then adds some features to generate a "Fisherman" model. A $300 craft becomes a $400+ craft. Your Redfish SOT shares some design features with the Sit In Featherlite. They are both "recreational" designs. Don't expect competition speed and or whitewater performance. They are more for beginners. Their relatively broad flat bottoms resist tipping giving them a nice stable feel. That is called "high initial stability." Aficianados will point out that there is a trade off for final stability. Final stability is the craft's ability to recover from extreme angles. For instance a round bottomed performance solo canoe feels tippy, but one can lean way over and not go over. That is nice to have in waves and other rough water. On the other hand, I tipped the Featherlite over when I leaned out to pick a buoy out of some mangroves. That happens fast in a craft with "low final stability." A PFD is a must. Bottom line, you will not take the racing Gold Medal with this design. For long distance paddling or big waters, this would not be the one. But, for fishing small lakes and slower moving rivers, it looks like a winner with the open cockpit and rear storage area. It is a sturdy recreational craft.

Ya'll, Tim Smith's excellent challenge gave me a swelled head since I tied with Jamie for the most right. I got my proper comeupance when I realized that the only mounted Bigmouth I had was clearly not a Bigmouth. Here he is: What say ye one? What say ye all? What is Bigmouth Billy? Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spot, Guadalupe, or Shoal Bass?

Don, Welcome to the ISA forums. After you get a chance to look around, you will see that there is a lot on the site. But as the Canadians would say, "Wait there's more, aye!" Assuming you live in Illinois, investing in a membership is well worthwhile. Getting the newsletter alone is worth more than the membership fee. It really is not a newsletter; rather it is a top notch magazine covering Illinois Small Mouth fishing from A to Z. Besides the newsletter, membership gets you into a lot of activities from fishing and conservation events on the water to meetings featuring expert speakers. As a tyer you should try a Bassbugger session. (BTW I just joined ISA this Spring and already feel I have gotten more than my money's worth.) As for your unorthodox tactics, I do not think you can outdo my father. He was very adept at lobbing Canadian Crawlers, shiner minnows, and grasshoppers with his boo rod and varnished HDH silk line. He developed the habits in the days before spinning gear was available for light persentations and just kept on even after. He was definitely from the "catch and kill" school of fishing. At least I hope you don't top him. I always enjoyed the teamwork required to fish from a canoe. Teaming up with the granddaughter next year should be especially rewarding for you.

Here's an 11 incher from Doug Hannon: The site is worth a look: http://www.bassprofessor.com/

Nick, That is a great video showing a new wrinkle on tying the clinch knot. The final product is a simple clinch knot which I haven't used in a while due to some problems I have had with it slipping. However, it looks like the same approach would work for tying a Trylene knot which is a similar knot which seems to avoid the slipping common to a simple clinch. Though I have not tried it, I will give it a try. Still in the running are the Uni, the Orvis, the Crawford Figure Eight, and the Improved Clinch. PS: Since Davy's knot was a disaster, I changed the title of the thread to protect the reputation of the good knots that have been mentioned. Thanks to responses here, I never tried to use it on the water.

Let me add 10 inch Power Worms. I was using them at least 10 years ago on LM Bass. 10 inch worm, 10 inch bass. With Smallmouth Bass I would expect 10 inch worm, 8 inch bass. But, at times, true to the theory, the big meal attracted a big fish. I can't imagine no one has tried them on SM Bass. Now that I have converted to fly fishing, my 10" Power Worms are excess baggage. pMail me if you want some at a reasonable price.

Joseph, I am glad to see you caught my drift. Before August 15, when I made that comment, OMC was a nice site. Adding pics since then has really kicked it up a notch. Continue to showcase your fine looking shop. If the cost is not prohibitive, a virtual tour would be the best way to do it justice.

Craig, That says it all to me. Thank you. Thanks to Eric. And thanks to all, each and every one, who posted in this thread.

I can visualize it. Wave good-bye to my problem. On the water the Suggeon's Knot is what I will use to save time if that is an issue. And it usually is. In the comfort of the den, the day before, I can see myself using the classic Blood Knot, the Nail to Nail, or the Uni to Uni. This is to say that, in my opinion, theoretically the Blood, the Nail, and the Uni have a slight advantage over the Surgeon's in net pound test. However, with the clock running on the water (TOW), I pick the surgeons. "Never say never; and never say always."

That's a while ago. Later in that thread, I renounced Davy's knot because it was such a dismal failure against the Figure Eight in strength. I am already heeding your advice. I use the Uni Knot regularly while I am coming up to speed on the Non-Slip Mono Loop.