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Gold Glove Ripper
ParticipantThanks for the feedback guys! You all gave me some good things to think about. I think I will take your advice and stop in at Feathercraft and test some of the rods you mentioned. It never crossed my mind that I could test the rod without it being a demo day or something. I’ll keep you posted on how it turned out. My goal is to have one purchased by the end of July. Does Hargroves allow you to test rods there also?
Thanks again!
DIParticipantOk- Thanks for the info! I was able to make the cut (#5!) and get in on Terry’s Beginner Fly tying class this month. He told me to hold off on purchasing anything until after the class. I’ll take his advice and wait to see all that is involved and needed before making a purchase.
ParticipantThanks for the info! I just checked out J. Stockard website. Definitely a good source for everything fly fishing. Now how happy is my marriage….Ha!
ParticipantKenny-
My in-laws are from this town; so I normally stay with them when we visit. However, this would make for a good FATC trip. (Maybe a alternative to a Taneycomo trip) Not too far to travel with a 5-1/2 to 6hr drive from st. louis. Take hwy 63 at Rolla and head south. Drive right past Montauk ; then thru Mammoth Springs into AR. Once in AR you’ll have another 2 hrs from there. There are plenty of places to stay. You could research places if a group got serious about going. The Little Red is tail water off the Greers Ferry Dam – so fishing can be tricky around generating schedule; unless you want to fish from boat. As a little incentive though – the world record Brown Trout was caught there in 1992 at 40lbs 4oz! It held the record until 2009. The monster is on display at the dam site. Fishing is good below the dam in trophy area. You’ll have good access to it thru the public JFK camp site. They have a big hatchery site as well. Other good access points is Cow Shoals and Winkley Bridge area. Area below below dam is an all day spot; then if you wanted to try further down the river cow shoals or Winkley bridge would be another day.I found a great fly shop in town – Ozark Angler that has great info. They also provide guide services. Last summer I went to Feathercraft here in st. louis to load up on some supplies using my FATC discount of course. After talking with the guys in shop and telling them that I was fishing the Little Red; they gave me a phone number to a former employee that just moved down to Heber Spring, AR that works at Ozark Angler now. (Mike) Long story short ; I called Mike and talk to him before I arrive in town. Having the connection from feathercraft he said lets get together to fish. So I met up with him and we fish all morning together. He didn’t charge me anything. He gave me all kinds of tips and told me what some good setups would be. It was great. Good guy – he just happen to be off from work and said I could tag along with him.
Heber Springs, AR is the town.
DI
ParticipantOver Thanksgiving weekend I had a opportunity to fish the little red river down in AR. (Heber Springs, AR) I have been going down there for years and never had a better fishing experience than what I had this year. Fishing was outstanding! I got lucky; they were not generating at the Greers Ferry Dam all weekend because of repair work. I was able to be in the water at sunrise for 3 straight days. At the end of day 1 a friendly fellow fly guy gave me a copper/black bead head nymph (size 22) to try. He said be prepared and be ready they will hammer it! I had been using a black zebra midge size 20 tied on with a sow bug. Was having some luck but they weren’t killing it. So I thought I start day 2 with the copper/black midge given to me; I used it as dropper off of a elk hair caddis. Holy smokes did they lite it up! Caught 4 or 5 immediately with it in the first 20 minutes. Two were 14 inches. Then the monster came with a strike that I hadn’t felt before – taking my line clear across the river. Using 6x tippet I was doing my best not to pull in too hard. I kept the monster on for at least 3-4 minutes. Reeling him in and letting him back out carefully when needed. Then like the rookie I am as I got him close I walked back to shallower water just a little and went to grab my net and he rolled snapping line. All I saw was his large wake swimming away from me. Brutal but exciting all the same! Only having one copper/black midge ; I went with the same setup using a black zebra. It just wasn’t the same. I can’t believe what a difference it made between having a copper vs. silver bead head and wire. Also going down one size from a 20 to 22. Overall, had a great time and I learned something. Been thinking about it all week. Also grateful for the nice gentleman that shared his secret!
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