Perhaps his biggest honor to date was becoming coach of the U.S. Junior Olympic Fly Fishing Team, which brought home a Silver Medal from Wales in 1998. He also has been a frequent guest on "Fly Fishing America" and Jerry McKinnis' "The Fishin' Hole," which appear on ESPN. He's a regular guest on regional television programs such as "Arklahoma Outdoors" and "Arkansas Outdoors." He's also a recipient of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's "Master Angler Award" and he is the first and only person to date to catch all qualifying fish on fly tackle.

Duane's angling adventures have taken him throughout the world in search of trophy rainbows in Alaska, tarpon and permit in the Florida Keys, and bonefish and trevally at Christmas Islands to name a few. But he's still at home and equally happy when he guides Arkansas tailwaters and the wild smallmouth streams that were his boyhood haunts. He will touch on his experiences on these home-waters and more during his visit here. And he will discuss his concerns about Crooked Creek, one of the greatest smallmouth rivers in America, which now faces an uncertain future. Be there.

You can get these items to me by leaving them at Feathercraft or Hargroves or our next meeting in September. Film cans for flies should be available through me or the shops. You can call me at 314-868-1445

We will have campfires and camaraderie every night. This is a good chance to fish with and meet your fellow club members. If you have any questions, call me, 314-846-1466

Yes, Cabela's and Bass Pro have rod and reel combos under $100, but do you know what you are getting or whether its the right rod and reel for you? If you are a beginner, I can't recommend strongly enough going to a local fly shop for equipment advise. St. Louis is lucky in having some very good fly shops.

Granted, you may pay a little more, but you are more likely you to be outfitted correctly to the equipment that fits your casting style and fishing needs. The people who run the fly shops are knowledgeable in all aspects of fishing, whether it is equipment, fly selection or places to fish.. They want your repeat business so they want to make you happy in your choice of equipment.

All of our local fly shops have high quality equipment covering all price ranges. Do you have questions about the length rod to use or the weight? What rod action is suitable to your casting style? Your local fly shop has the answer and will let you cast a variety of rods so you feel comfortable with your choice of equipment. You can't get that with a catalogue. What line should I use: weight forward, double taper or sink tip? Ask your local fly shop. What are your equipment needs for trout, bass, Atlantic salmon, steelhead, bonefish or tarpon? Perhaps you have questions about where to fish, local fishing conditions, what flies are working and guide recommendations. Your local fly shop knows. You won't find this kind of information in a catalogue. I think you get the picture.

Following are fly shops I would recommend. They are listed in alphabetical order and don't reflect my own favorites. They are all good shops and have their own strength and weaknesses.

• Feathercraft
  8307 Manchester Road,
  Brentwood, MO 63144
  (314)963-7876
  Contact: Bob Story
  
  
• Outdoors, Inc.
  9755 Clayton Rd.
  Ladue, MO 63124
  (314)997-5866
  Contact: Alan Mathews
  
  
• Frontenac Outfitters
  8855 Ladue Rd.
  Ladue, MO 63124
  (314)862-8855
  Contact: Ted Lammert
  
  
• World Class Outfitters
  14755 Manchester
  Ballwin, MO 63011
  (636)394-3406
  Contact: Ted Heitman
  
  
• T. Hargrove Flyfishing
  9024 Manchester Rd.
  Brentwood, MO 63144
  (314)968-4223
  Contact: Tom Hargrove
  
  

During the year I hope to do a short feature on each shop. Next month I'll talk about rods. Again if you have any questions you can e-mail me at jlwalker@rpbm.com or walker14@swbell.net.

Tight lines, John

Soon, Sunday arrived and we decided to fish the Boulder river close to Big Timber. It is one of the best decisions that we could have made. Rainbows and brookies were the order of the day and they were aggressive on the take. We fished mostly caddis imitations but there were plenty of salmon fly nymphs to be had. Evidently the salmon fly has a tremendous hatch on the Boulder. At the end of the afternoon, we had our fill and took off for Craig, Montana and the upper Missouri river.

Driving towards Craig by way of Three Forks, we could tell something was definitely wrong. There seemed to be a heavy fog hanging under the wide blue sky that we would normally see in Montana. This heavy fog was smoke of course and we would soon realize that the fires in the area were out of control. In talking with some of the local guides and business owners, we found out that from Helena all the way over to the Bitterroot Range, the wild fires were out of control. This did not hold us back from having a grand time on the Upper Missouri.

We fished the area from Holter Dam down to Craig which is about 8 miles or so. Large rainbows and browns were to be had in the area mentioned. The fish population is substantial and catching more than five large rainbows in a day is not unheard of for the Upper Missouri. We used caddis, trico and sulphur imitations with much success.

The tricos were so thick in the morning and early evening that you could not face down the river without having a trico sandwich. The trico hatch is what most authors refer to as a "blanket hatch." I used several imitations to match that hatch but the two best flies used were a size 14 renegade and a trico cluster or large black midge pattern.

We stayed four days at the Missouri River Trout shop located in Craig, Montana and utilized the services of Tim Plaska, a guide operating under the name of the, Missouri River Expeditions. I highly recommend Tim and the Missouri Trout Shop.

Let me try and give you a better ideal of what it was like on the last morning of our trip;

I woke up at about 7AM and immediately put my gear together and headed up towards Holter Dam. The drive took about twenty minutes to the area I wanted to reach. I stepped out of the car and saw what Bill and I had been seeing all week, a feeding frenzy taking place throughout the entire river. Large rainbows and browns were gulping trico spinners which must have numbered in the billions. I fished for three hours that morning and hooked more than twenty fish or so and landed six. Every fish landed had to be two pounds at least. The largest rainbow landed was about four pounds.

As I put my gear away and sat on the back of the Explorer that I rented, I thought to myself that it couldn't get any better than that! Then I remembered that I had to go pick up the rest of my gear and my hung over compadre' from the Trout shop. (You see, Bill and I had a few libations the night before and Bill ended up staying out a little too late in order to fish early this beautiful Montana morning.) I took off my gear and headed to the lodge. Bill was standing in front of the Trout shop and he had the look of a man who enjoyed himself thoroughly during the festivities at "Hookers" bar and grill the prior evening and into the morning.

I believe that angling is fantastic and I love being a fly fisher. Catching fish is fun, matching the hatch is even better, but do not forget the most important aspect of all that we do; to socialize and maintain our fantastic friendships and relationships throughout the rest of our lives. To bring new people into the sport and teach them the things that we know is also very important. As we help them to become proficient anglers we must also remind them to have fun and enjoy the fly fishers life. We all need to take a breath, step back and give our rivers a break every now and then.

This year we want to provide assistance to those who want to work on their fly tying with the assistance of volunteers to provide coaching and instruction.

Please ask your club members to share a couple of hours one day, either Friday or Saturday to be a fly tying coach.

Dennis Reed would like to hear from those willing to provide coach help for those interested in expanding their fly tying abilities.

Those interested in volunteering please contact Dennis Reed as soon as possible by email mailto:bear_72401@yahoo.com or by telephone at (870) 935-1837.

By volunteering you will be helping us put on another great conclave.

It costs the club close to a buck to print, assemble and mail the newsletter each month. Yes, over half of your dues go to newsletter expenses. Since this newsletter is available on-line, co-incident with mail delivery, doesn't it make sense for those members with on-line capability to get their newsletter by internet at no cost to the club, and the club then saves the cost of mailing? This is productivity at work! You get the same great stuff, every month, the club treasury benefits! If half our membership is on line and uses this service instead of the US mail, we could save about $2000 a year. But it is up to you. We need your help to make this change. See our new membership renewal next month and take the option for electronic newsletter delivery. Heck, we might even get Lefty to come to St. Louis for that kind of dough.

Your Entertainment Committee has reserved a block of rooms for the weekend at Sand Springs Resort. We'll have a private get-together Saturday evening in the Party Room for club members followed by dinner at Sand Springs Restaurant. The spring creek will be open for no creel fishing but limited to flies and artificial lures. Instead of the daily tag of summer you need only to get a No Creel Season Permit good from November 10, 2000, to February 4, 2001 which is good at all four trout parks every weekend in-between. You can get one anywhere Missouri licenses are sold, so you won't have to stand in line in the Hatchery Office. You need to have a current Missouri fishing license to get a no creel tag.

Again we are offering package plans for accommodations plus tickets to the private Club Social and our traditional Ozark all you can eat buffet. Types of accommodations and rates will be found in the Reservation Request elsewhere in the newsletter. As always, the Social Hour is BYO with the club supplying ice, glasses, soft drinks and light snacks. Your coolers are welcome.

Remember, this is a Club weekend, not just "the guys go fishing" at this one. Last year (which was a sellout) we had 20 couples. Plan to bring your special lady even if she doesn't fish. There is fun to be had in snooping in the antique shops and outlet mall in Lebanon--- and there are some very nice lunch spots in town.

While this party if for all club members, we could have a problem this year with latecomers. Last year we ran out of rooms at the resort and almost overloaded our seating capacity at our Saturday Night Dinner when we squeezed over 80 OFFers into the room To avoid disappointment, mark your calendar for November 10-12 and send in a check now.

We do understand how plans can change. If you have a problem, a full refund will be made if you cancel by October 30. After that date, refunds will be made only if we can resell your room. Dinner reservations will be accepted until November 3 when we have to guarantee a count to the restaurant.

Rooms will be reserved only as prepaid reservations are received. Please let us know early if you'd like two or more rooms for a group. Reservations will be confirmed early in November, advising you of your room number. All sleeping rooms have a percolator, coffee cups and a small refrigerator. You bring the coffee. The housekeeping rooms have full size refrigerators, stove, utensils and plates plus a dining table with chairs for four. The restaurant will be open for all meals beginning Friday, November 10.

• September 23: Ozark Fly Fishers will be represented at the National Hunting and Fishing Day at August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lakes 31 and 32. The event will take place from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Volunteers for casting instruction and fly tying demonstration are needed. See Joseph Amonetti if you would like is assist with this effort.
  
  
• September 29, 30, 10/1 Warm Water -Big Piney Outing
  
  
• September 28: Club meeting Duane Hada Program on Arkansas Fishing.
  
  
• October 6-8: FFF Southern Council Conclave
  
  
• October 26 Club Meeting Rick Osthoff on Wisconsin
  
  
• November 10-12: Bennett Springs Outing
  

Teddy G and I were making the last trip of the season, Headed West on a shoestring and a credit card. Neither one of us had found work lately and times were hard.

We pulled into the Bozeman Budget Inn, driving our Dollar Rent-a-car, wearing Payless Shoes. Dinner was from the microwave at the Usave and didn't do much for my digestion or disposition.

"We gotta find a job, Ted. I can't do this much longer." "Hell, I can't afford an Out of State License, much less a decent meal."

"Look kid," he always called me kid, "no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse." "I mean, take that feller from back East, Indiana, I think." "Fired, after being the best at his job, and after twenty five years on the job!" "You know how hard it will be for a guy his age to find work?"

"You mean Bobby Knight?" I asked incredulously. "He won"t need to eat for a month, and then maybe he can get on food stamps, for Gosh sakes!"

"Yep, I mean The General himself." "Look kid, what's he going to do? What with all this "touchy-feely, empowerment, self esteem crap floating around, he is going to have to find another line of work. And at his age! Age discrimination, I call it!"

"You know kid, Coach Knight is a hell of a fly fisherman." "I remember hearing an interview on ESPN where some nutcase reporter asked him some dumb-ass question and he said he had no idea what the answer was. The only thing he knew anything about was "basketball and fishing." "I wonder if he could be a fly fishing guide?"

"Don't see why not," I responded. "A lot of bright men have come out of Indiana, and the brighter they are, the faster they come out." "He has a lot of qualities that could be useful." "Do you remember Ted, back in '81 when he stuffed that LSU fan in a garbage can?" "During the Final Four, in Philly?"

"Sure, kid, what's your point?"

"Well Ted, what do you want to do when you see some guy usin' bait or killin' little trout?"

"Stuff their sorry ass in a garbage can!" he responded with rising agitation in his voice.

"Exactly." I confirmed. "And when he tossed that chair in '84 at Purdue, don't you think that would come in handy if some yahoo gets too close with his drift boat?" "Ole Bobby could rip the bow seat off and pitch it in the general direction of their head!"

"I think yer on to somethin' kid." "And Wayne Duke wouldn't be around to suspend him!"

"Correct, Oh Wise One." "And I'll bet he still has that bullwhip too!"

"And you know how irritating it is to see all these liberated gals on the stream, with their lavender vests and tailored waders?" We guys didn't have to worry about taking a @#%&!! off the side of the boat before, or nothin'!" "Now.... , well things just ain't the same." "The General, he has a solution, though. Remember when he barred a female reporter for the locker room, said it was "inappropriate?" "Nothin' more inappropriate than lavender."

"I do see a problem, kid." "A big one." "I mean suppose the Coach has you into a big spinner fall, and there is a huge brown trout, sipping steadily. He runs a pick for you, dumping a competing guide into next week, and you are about to be DA MAN at crunch time! And you, with your tendency toward buck fever, line the fish on your first cast and slap the water with your next one. And that puts down every fish in sight. What do you think he would do?"

"He would probably 1) kick me, 2) choke me, or 3) tell me to $#&@!%@!! and stay the #@$ outta his way, get outta his @$^#&&*$ boat, or he would kick my $%@!?

"Yep" "See, like I said, things can always get worse."