Joe D

ron, to me your .02 is worth more than .02. thats the same way I look at it. the biggest thing for me is cost. I cant justify spending a bundle of money on a whole new line when there are many other ways to get done what you want to do. like they say there is more than one way to skin a cat. I cant wait to join you on the big lake as soon as I get a kayak. it looks like alot of fun. I got plenty of weighted flies for the both of us!! Joe

that is excactly the one I have. to tell you the truth I never use it. the long leader with my weighted flies works fine for me. the water I fish is not very deep most of the time. I was thinking of using that sink tip for getting down to the smallies on the big lake. that would be a situation where I might need it. Joe

IMO mike has the right idea. thats a easy fix. how deep of water are you fishing?? for carp I use a floating line all the time. I use a long leader to get my weighted flies down to the golden ghosts, it works great Joe

I have the renzetti cam travler on a pedistal and LOVE it!! dont think I'll ever have to buy a new one!! Joe

heres a good way to fatten up crawlers. get a plastic container w/ a lid, like a sour cream container. put a layer a very wet newspaper on the bottom followed by a few crawlers. then another layer of wet paper and crawlers. keep doing this until it is full. pack it tight, i usually have to wrap tape around it to keep it closed. the way this works is crawlers absorb water through their skin. but you can only do this for about 2-3 days. any longer and they will drown Joe

most of my fishing is with a flyrod, so I would have to take my own genuine crawbug design. Joe

careful, the fly rod bug bites very hard, and then you will be infected for sure. no cure at this time I am horribly infected and it is easy to pass on to others. john graham is getting pretty bad just from talking to me while not a cure, fly fishing will help the symptoms.......good luck Joe

for smallies you cant go wrong with any craw pattern good luck and dont get discouraged, stick with it , its a blast. check some of the old post in the bass buggers submissions section that were posted by me (Joe D) I posted a few pics of some craw patterns. Joe

did you get a chance to see the 3M minnows in the other posts?? I tied up a few and they look like winners, I'll try to get some pics up. its a good looking fly that is a pretty fast and a easy tie Joe

steve, I'm with you. it always makes me nervous watching those guys driving trucks out on the ice!! last year I read a article about a guy driving on the ice like he did every other year, and went in. it was wierd cause a huge school of carp was in the same area . by swimming fast in circles over and over they created a warmer spot in the water and it didnt freeze like the rest of the lake. it didnt seem to me that could happen. but I did see the news video clip as well and made me a believer. Joe

take a walk around bass pro, I think there are more lures to catch fisherman than fish Joe

seen that one it does look nice. I liked the czech nymphs too. pretty good site Joe

I tied up a few of those and thet look great! I did a few color combos, I try to get some pics up Joe

well if it matters I saw my shadow yesterday while I was at my vise tying come on spring!!!! Joe

I'm always willing to try what ever works, I just want to catch fish!!!! it reminds me one time at the creeks watching a local guy kill the steelhead with a kmart rod/reel and a ratty old yarn fly!!!! sometimes it works out that way........by the way I didnt catch a thing and I tied up some good lookin flies, so I thought. Joe

without a doubt there is more than one way to skin a cat. the drennan floats I have use tygon tubing to control the depth, there is no stop of any kind. the tubing holds it very well and is very easy to adjust depth. you can get away with most kinds of terminal tackle and regular gear, but it is a real joy to fish with the equiptment that is designed for the job. I kinda look at it like you can fix a car with an old rusty set of tools, but wouldnt it be nicer to use a brand new set of the right snap on set of tools??? it is hard to justify spending alot of money if you dont have to though, its a double edged sword isnt it a shame we arent all independently wealthy Joe

I like the drennan floats, they are clear w/ flo orange top for good viz. been hearing /reading lots of good stuff on maxima line for a leader. I use the clam shaped shot that squeezes on and has no "ears" like split shot, so it doesnt twist my line. blackbird micro swivels, tiny but very strong. my bait varies from flies that I've tied to spawn, grubs and sometimes crawlers and even some gulp plastics. all of this is drifted by way of my centerpin, the deadliest way to presentate a bait while drift fishing. I hope to get out with some of you guys so you can see how effective centerpinning can be. Joe

I always liked rubber legs on poppers, they just seem like they belong there Joe

jonn, that razor foam stuart is reffering to is what the bodies on the golden stoneflies I sent you are made of. when I started the razor foam was bright yellow. you can see the belly of the abdomen is still pretty yellow as is in nature, but the top is colored w/ markers to give it a more natural effect. anything that is not bright yellow was done by hand w/ markers and then sealed with flex seal. the wing buds are the same, and I form them with a set of wing burners to make them perfect every time( I cant cut that straight) . I also make the bodies of my dragon/ damsel flies with foam. and also the bodies of my "sure float hoppers" that way they will never sink, no matter what they float. that foam has 101 uses. speaking of the sure float hoppers, that is a great fly to use with a dropper because it is so boyant you dont have to use such a tiny dropper. you can almost use it like one of those stick on indicators, atleast it has worked for me. I got to quit talking all this fishing with you guys, I'll never make it till spring at this rate!! thats ok, we still got the winter run steelies to deal with!! I havent forgotten you john. Joe

gamakatsu makes a new product that is called a "dropper bead". it has a hole through the center to slide alond the leader and also a small hole through the side to attach your tippet for the dropper fly. its a pretty neat set and they have it on their site. so far I like it and have no problems with it. I know GAT guns has them because I got ot from Ken D. might be something to look into if you want to use the dropper method.. Joe

believe it or not thats how my crawbug came to be, just foolin around.

jonn, the big thing is that you are interested in tying and seem to enjoy it. with that alone you will be tying killer stuff in no time!! what you have looks really good!! believe me I still trow away alot of flies that dont quite turn out like what I had in mind!! there are times I put a hook in the vise and dont know what I'll have until I'm done. thats what I really like to do. I have designed a few patterns that very same way. Joe

stuart, I've been using razor foam for a while now , it does make great bodies. I'll try to get some pics up. john, all those things are is thread, fur and feathers, throw them in the water!!!! Joe

I have high hopes for that crank fly or whatever it is. I'm looking for just a little bit of a diving action, not a real crankbait effect. I think twitching it along the surface like a injured minnow might get the best results. I dont know, its one of those "fooling around'' at the vise kinda deals. who knows, maybe I've stumbled onto something big see what cabin fever does to people???? Joe

YES, thanks for reminding me I got to get my frog sent in!! I dont have any real frog patterns ,so I just "came up" with one. I wasnt even sure how it was gonna turn out until I was done Joe