Blog Anniversary and a Memorable Moment

Tomorrow morning, this blog turns five years old!  It's hard to believe that what started out of necessity because I ran out of pages in my fishing journal.  The original plan was to use this to just post my fishing reports in the hopes that some people might read them and find them helpful.  That's when my competitive side came out and my drive to get a lot of website traffic.  So, I started posting every day, Monday through Friday.  I had business cards made and started passing those out to anyone I met on the water or when I would meet someone that liked fishing.  I had shirts made to publicize the site.  To get more views, I promoted the blog through Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.  I am proud to say that the views of this blog have slowly, but consistently increased and it has been an absolute joy to be a part of.

I felt the need to tell you that story so you can understand how much I appreciate and value all of the views and comments.  I wouldn't keep writing and posting if people didn't come to the site and enjoy the content.  I hope that you get at least a fraction of the enjoyment from this site as I do!  Thank you so much for reading this and thanks for visiting my blog. 

Since today is a personal post, I thought I would also share a momentous occasion with you that occurred last night.  My oldest son that is ten years old caught his first fish on a fly rod all by himself.  I think he was actually more excited than me which is hard to believe.  Right before he went to bed for the night (and after many high fives and hugs) I told him that he has a new goal now: to catch a fish on a fly that he tied.  His eyes got big and said "Oh yeah, I can do that!"  It was a heck of an evening for us and one we will always remember.

A Couple of Big Browns from Lake Taneycomo

If you need a couple of reasons to head down to Lake Taneycomo to do some fishing, here are a couple of videos that you can use for motivation.  The state record trout is from about a year ago but I hadn't seen this footage until now.  The big brown under the dock is recent.  Like really recent!  Phil Lilley of Lilley's Landing posted these videos on his YouTube channel.  Feel free to like and subscribe by clicking on the link below the videos.

Phil Lilley's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIgMZDVIVeWj22d0y2RNvQA

New Logo Thanks to My Buddy Justin!

My buddy Justin is a heck of a graphic artist and recently worked up a new logo for all my social media.  You will be seeing this incorporated more into my social media in the coming weeks and I wanted to take a moment to thank Justin for his talents.  I gave him three criteria prior to the design process and I thought you might be interested to know some of the meanings.

I originally chose the pseudonym "Show Me Fly Guy" because I was born and raised in Missouri and I prefer fly fishing over conventional fishing.  It is also a double entendre.  When I first started this blog, I did so in an effort to share my fly fishing knowledge and experiences.  I wanted and still want to grow a sport that has given me so many incredible memories and experiences.  I am also a veteran public school teacher so my roots in education are deep.  The outline of the state of Missouri is to show how proud I am to be from Missouri.  I don't ever plan on living anywhere else and I plan to spend the rest of my days exploring and appreciating the variety of fishing experiences that Missouri has to offer.  Finally, I chose the colors of black and gold as a nod to the University of Missouri.  While it is true that I never attended this school, I grew up appreciating the idea of supporting the university that represents the state you are from.  My dad made sure of that!

So there you have it.  This logo is more than just text and images.  It means a lot of things with many of them being personal.  I think that when you know a little bit more information about the guy on the other side of the screen, then maybe what I post will make a little more sense.

Small Stream Colorado - Colorado Fly Fishing by Todd Moen

This is a beautifully shot and edited video that shows that the size of the fish is not always what matters.  Yes, you read that correctly and yes I meant it.  But when it comes to wild trout, especially ones that live out west, there is something special about those.  While we don't have a lot of wild trout here in Missouri, I distinctly remember catching a 4-5 inch wild rainbow on the Eleven Point River a couple of years ago.  It still had parr marks and might be the only wild trout I have caught in Missouri.  That was a pretty special fish and was nowhere close to being something that I would hang on the wall or post on social media but that wasn't the point.  The point was not all trophy fish are 20 inches long. 

Catch Magazine YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHUXPkQosjVxl8rt8hzbTNw

Orvis Quizzes

Holy cow do I have a time-waster for you.  Actually, you will probably learn something .  Any time I choose to take an online quiz, I know I am dipping my toe into something about as useful as X Box and PlayStation.  However, there are a lot of applications for these quizzes, and there are lots of them.  You can educate yourselves or compete against your buddies.  You can use these on fishing trips or at fly tying gatherings.    The possibilities are endlessness but just remember that they are for fun.  There is no reason to chuck your iPad through a window because you disagree with Orivs over an answer to a question!  While we are on the subject, does anyone know where I can find ONE good replacement window?  Asking for a friend.


Link: https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/quizzes

Mahoney Outdoors & a STRANGE Catch

Tyler Mahoney of Mahoney Outdoors recently caught one of the most unique things I have ever seen a person pull out of the water.  You aren't going to believe this!  I cannot tell you how many times I have showed this to friends and family.  This is not an exaggeration, I promise!  For more quality content, please visit Tyler's website and consider subscribing to his YouTube channel.  He does a great job editing video and posts good stuff.  I really like the montage of trail cam pictures he put out about a month ago.  So without further delay, here's Tyler's odd catch!

Mahoney Outdoors YouTube Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGBszTFFoSYsu1S-g5BUTGg


Mahoney Outdoors Link: https://mahoneyoutdoors.com/

Missouri Trout Fishers Association: Springfield, a Great Resource!

I just happened to stumble on this wealth of knowledge while conducting some research for the Tiger Tail post a couple of days ago.  There is a lot of useful information here kids!  There is information for novice and advanced anglers.  If you look at the URL, it will give you a clue as to what you are going to view.

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/fly-tying-recipes-patterns/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/media/fishin-funnies/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/media/southwest-missouri-fishing-opportunities/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/media/knots/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/links/

http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/library/pdf-downloads/

Two Good First Days

Beginner's luck!  It's a thing!  I say good for these folks because karma is reading this and I don't it to think that I'm jealous or anything.  Because I'm totally not jealous.  Not at all.  Nope!  Not one bit.  Just happy for these two outstanding individuals.  I can't describe how happy I am as I type these words while sitting at my keyboard.  Soooooooo happy.  Have I caught anything on the scale of either one of these in my 30+ years of fishing?  Nope!  But good for them on their first outing.  Good...for...them!

All joking aside, it is always good to have some more fish lovers in the world with cool stories to tell!

Link: https://www.themeateater.com/fish/freshwater/your-first-day-of-fly-fishing-wasnt-this-good

Link: https://www.themeateater.com/fish/freshwater/video-angler-catches-and-releases-new-world-record-paddlefish

Tying the Tiger Tail

I've been hearing more and more about how a fly called a Tiger Tail is catching fish down on Lake Taneycomo.  My buddy Mark recently caught 6 fish in the trophy area on one of these actually.  I'll be honest, I had no idea what a Tiger Tail was when I first heard about it.  I pictured something with yellow, orange, and black.  I was wrong.  It's actually a really simple fly to tie and is a little bit crackleback and a little bit wooly bugger.  I'm pretty sure that you need to fish these on a sinking leader, sink tip, or sinking line.  The video offers an additional weighting option so you might want to check that out.  So without further delay, I present to you the Tiger Tail!

Link to River Run Outfitters: https://www.riverrunoutfitters.com/fly-recipes/tiger-tail/

Link to Missouri Trout Fishers Association- Springfield- http://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/fly-tying-recipes-patterns/tiger-tail/

Link to Ozarks Chillbilly YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjjS6r3lI4GaMnOEEG9Za6A

Roadside Oddities

Warning: Some might find the images of fish that have been filleted and nailed to utility poles to be disturbing.  There's no blood or guts or anything, but if you are squeamish, you might not want to scroll down to the pictures. 

So my dad wanted to take a ride the other day and visit some of the old fishing holes that his dad used to take him to and asked if my mom and I would join him.  Since I was excited to check these spots out and since a son can't so no that that anyway, we found ourselves driving down gravel roads before you knew it.  One place in particular was a tributary to the Missouri River.  As we got closer to the river, my dad noticed something out of the corner of his eye and said "Did you see those big catfish?'  I looked out the window to see a small oxbow lake and crops in a field.  I was starting to think the old man was loosing his mind when he said it again.  This time I saw two large, filleted catfish nailed to a utility pole.

My mom thought this was extremely odd until my dad and I informed her that this was actually a pretty good method of cleaning catfish.  I have never done it but the way I have heard it described is that you put a nail through the catfish's head which keeps it in place and allows gravity to help you fillet it.  That always seemed a little gross to me but the method makes sense.  I have a problem actually putting a nail through something's head though.  Call me squeamish.

After checking out the tributary we drove back by and I snapped some pictures.  In all, there were seven catfish affixed to these utility poles and their carcasses were left to rot and dry in the summer sun.   Now I don't necessarily have a problem with this, but others might and I get that perspective.  My biggest question to the person or people that did this is why?  The method works but doesn't it give fishermen a bad look when we leave these strung up like trophies?  On the other hand, this place was pretty much in the middle of nowhere so maybe that wasn't the intent.  Maybe the person or people have plans to do something with the catfish after they dehydrate.  Are they fertilizer?  Is this a strange catfish jerky recipe?  Did Native Americans practice this method?  Is someone baiting in raccoons and opossums?  Maybe it is a science experiment?  I'm not here to cast stones or judge, just curious and want to make sense of what I saw.  If you have any ideas or answers, feel free to comment below.

The things you see driving down a gravel road in Missouri!