You should see the ugly barbell eyed beast I was flinging at the time.....I call it the Tiger Shark, it weighs about the same as an adult dachsund. Gives nice "backcast saggage". Casting those is more like swinging a pick than casting a flyrod...THWACK! THWACK! like a pendulum

The jackets were on and off all day the first day and fleece city the 2nd day. I use weighted buggers with a floater and indicator a lot, personally I prefer to have the weight in the fly and not on the leader. My exception is egg patterns, then I'll use shot. But a lot of times I tie a dropper off a fairly heavy barbell bunny leech and put an egg pattern on that......kind of like serving up two desserts, it's fun to see which one they like. I also love swinging sink tips with unweighted flies. Casting is a lot more fun that way eh?

It's funny, I used to wear only chest waders. Now I absolutely hate them and haven't worn them in about three years. I have breathable waist-hi waders but I just don't like the feeling of being bound into a pair of fishing overalls all day long. Pain in the butt when you need to pee. I wear fleece lined snowboard pants over capilene thermals in the winter, and a lot of times I just stick with hip boots. Maybe it's a carryover from when I was a wee lad, or maybe I'm just a big dork.

Jim, I'm sure you've fished that spot but have you been in there lately? the nasty flood last year brought in HUGE logs that block the trail so it's a rail pain going around the logjam and over the giant boulders to get in there now. Be careful if you try it, I slipped and smacked an elbow on a rock.