robin; I didn't know you were from arkansaw!-p-

My grandma's folks were. Benton AR, home of celebrity Carl Childers, whose daddy, Mr. Childers, stayed in a little old house off the highway.

They are all good. I will be switching gears soon from Trout fishing on the Guadalupe to chasing Bass and Perch on our Hill Country Rivers and Streams. I know places where catching Bass is spossible on poppers all day.
As for Trout, I would guess that you have not witnessed many hatches with trout rising all over the place. Have you seen Trout rising to a caddis hatch? Sometimes they will come clear out of the water to intercept a caddis midair as they are breaking free of the water surface. Maybe you haven't got into any decent hopper fishing for Trout. Sometimes you have to splat the hopper down on the water to get their attention. When the trout are on top, it's hard to beat.
But it's all good, but especially good when your quarry are looking up.

Jimbo

Each fly fisher has his or her own version of Nirvana. Yes, the toilet flush is great with bass and a pod of trout rising to dry flies can turn your casts to mush. But what about:

-- the hearty tug of a steelhead in a brawling Northwestern river
-- the first scorching run of a bonefish on a saltwater flat
-- the acrobatics of an Atlantic salmon or a tarpon
-- the surface feeding frenzy of a school of false albacore or striped bass herding baitfish

To each his or her own.

Uh... Everyone does realize that when a post starts with an Earl Pitts quote, that it shouldn't be taken too seriously...

Right?????

Apparently you haven't had too many 25 inch trout blow up on a hopper then rip your line to the backing in less than a second... Spend some time around the rivers in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and you will get it. Every bit as exciting as a bass blowing up on a popper. I never though I would have said that until I had it happen, then it happened again, and again.

Rex:

Apparently not. Also notice how they were quick to credit you for penning such fine prose.

So I'm the only one just happy with catch just a fish? I have to know the name of the fish Im catching? That's sounds like I'm trying to get married again. I guess I could quit fishing and take up golf again.

The credit for the eloquent writing belongs to Dusty (TXRR). He turned my basic idea into something actually worth reading.

Nope, I think most of us feel the same way.

The real truth is that my favorite fish to catch is the one currently on the end of my line.

I guess we all have our favorite fish and methods for catching them. Many of you have fished places that I�ll never see and some of those places will live forever in your memories as special trips and fish. I have no doubt that there are fishing opportunities out there that my own experiences can�t hold a candle to. But I think TXRR got it in his reply, there are some fishing situations that are just special. Often they are the ones we grew up with and still enjoy doing.

For me, there is something truly magical about floating a small pond early in the morning. The only real sound is the slight rustle of the leaves and the sounds of the ducks and geese coming and going. It can be a very peaceful and calm place to be. Then having this calm suddenly disrupted by the �KERPLUNK� of your popper just disappearing from the still surface of the water always causes my jaw to drop open. Whether the fish is a largemouth or even just a green sunfish, this experience is just plain fun. Unfortunately, this magical time doesn�t last very long before the wind starts blowing and the sun comes on up, but for the sheer fun of doing it, I�ll put this type of fishing experience up against any of them. This situation is what prompted my original post.

However, is a largemouth on a popper my absolute favorite fish? Probably not. The fishing situation described above is probably my favorite overall way to fish, but there are strong contenders for favorite fish. Topwater would probably be my favorite way to catch a fish� ANY fish. Even though I fish nymphs and streamer style flies more than I do topwater flies. It is the basic principle of using what works.

The best thing about trout is that they don�t voluntarily live in ugly places. Part of my enjoyment when chasing trout is the locations that you get to visit when fishing for them. Most trout are in mountain areas and what Texan doesn�t like to visit the mountains??? Therefore, trout are good.

Smallmouth are a lot fun and they put up a good fight, but I have not had much success with SM�s on topwater. But they can be very entertaining on a Clouser.

I realize that when you start talking about saltwater fish that the whole game changes. But the saltiest water I�ve ever fished is Lake Spence out in west Texas, back when it actually had water in it. So, I have no salt experience to comment on. I�ve also never chased hybrids on a fly, although George sure has me wanting to go looking for them.

So, what would I pick as my favorite fish to catch? This week I�d vote for a topwater strike from a Striped bass. Stripers seem to have this bone crushing element to their topwater strikes that is different than that of a black bass. Stripers can be very frustrating because you can often see their refusal when this bright flash of silver turns away just below your fly. Of course, the fact that I can leave the house, get the boat, launch the boat, park the trailer, leave the harbor, and be on a fishing spot casting to Stripers on Texoma in less than an hour does influence my vote. But Striper fishing doesn�t have the same peaceful feel to it that early morning pond fishing for bass has from a kayak.

But you know, I really just like to go fishing for anything. Especially, if I catch something.

I really dont think you can compare the 2 fishing for bass is an aggressive style of fishing, whereas trout are gentle you have to be sneaky and gentle and always have your wits about you cause that trout can be gone like that if you were not paying attention

This was my point with my analogy but unfortunately people really thought that I'm literally having 1 night stands with bass. Also, I don't live next door to a trout. Maybe a carp or two though. Just wanted to clarify...