copfisher

I only started fishing the river in 2007. So my observations don't come with as much background as you all. Those numbers are fascinating Laker67. Thanks for sharing. I would have loved to fish this river back in the 90's/ early 2000's. It sounded great. Maybe with better management it could return to its former glory. Over the 7-8 years I've fished the river, though, I've noticed a marked decline. I agree that fish typically hold in the usual areas. Prior to the last three years, although the size and numbers were never spectacular, I could usually do relatively well and pull fish from the usual spots. I guess what I'm saying is I fancy myself a good enough fisherman that I can tell the difference between a tough bite and when fish are not in the river--over the last few years things have definitely begin to shift from the former to later--but I understand it was even better earlier on. Sounds like things have gone from bad to worse. This is disappointing because this is one of the closest cold water fisheries to KC. When I come down I spend money on shuttles when I float, food, gas, etc. I don't mind supporting the area, but absent a change, I may start going elsewhere . Its a shame.

Over the last three years I've noticed is steep decline in the amount of trout caught out on the river per trip. Occasionally, in the past, I would have a rough outing where you might get skunked or maybe land one or two. But usually, you used to be able to almost always pick up a fish at just about every Riffle in the typical spots. Now it seems like every time I'm either getting skunked or maybe just catching one fish per trip. i typically fish the section from Bennett Springs to NRO and only rarely fish the area from an nro downstream to Barclay. So, for the most part, these observations are just with respect to that three or 4 mile stretch of river. Has anyone else noticed a similar pattern in terms of having difficulty picking up trout? Does anyone have any knowledge about whether the stocking patterns have changed over the last several years?

Floated Wednesday from Bennett to NRO. It is in good shap. A bit low and crystal clear but in good shape.

I think the hook size is 16.

Got mine. Awesome! Nice job everyone, especially mic for orchestrating this whole thing. Cant wait to test out a few.

Mine are tied and in the mail. Probably not the most sophsticated fly(and I am not the most sophsticated tier compared to some of you all I'm sure!) but they work just fine and produce well for me. Its a neat combination between a copper john and prince nymph. Tail: Brown goose biot abdomen: green and gold ultra wire thorax: peacock herl wings: white goose biots.

Mine are pretty much done....I may throw some extras in for good measure. PM me with the address for where I need to send them and I'll try to get them out the door in the next week or so. On a side note I gave a few hot-wired princes a test run on the Niangua last weekend....rest assured, they work just fine.

I fished the niangua the weekend before last. I saw at least two or three areas that I would bet money were redds. About a year ago I spoke to someone from the MDC who told me that occasionally he would see redds as well but generally spawning is unsuccesful here and "on the record" the MDC states that there is no spawing activities in the niangua--nonetheless its interesting to see. Anyone else have a similiar experience in seeing these?

I'll do a hot wired prince. I tried to post something earlier but I think it got lost in the shuffle.

Add me to the list as well...mine's not as sexy as rfd515's but I still want to participate

I'm game. I'll do a hot wired prince.

Boring videos suck...Brian, these videos are great. I've enjoyed your tying and guiding videos and hope to make another cameo in the guide trip movies someday. After a person has tied enough flies, I don't need the lecture series to accompany the video--in fact, I don't want the person to talk--music is better. As for "learning" from a video, there's not much you can learn from a fly-tying video once you've tied flies for over a week--other than what materials to use and what should the end product look like. Don't let the haters bring you down. I can assure you there are a lot more people who like these videos then dislike. Idea: have you ever done a fast speed tying video in reverse? That might be weird/ interesting to watch.

These just look like committe minutes. I think those interpreting the wording are jumping the gun before the actual reg's come down. (http://mdc.mo.gov/about-us/regulations/process-adopting-regulations). Those unhappy with this proposal have an opportunity to voice their concern, besides in this forum. (See link, we're on step 4 in the process). In any event, the committe minutes seem pretty clear to me as an attorney. The intent is obvious--no felt shoes in MDC trout waters. I think everyone is overlooking something I find way more exciting: From the committe notes, "Approved the purchase of 25 acres in Stone County as an addition to Wire Road Conservation Area (CA)." Of course, the location of the 25 acres will be important but I see this as a good thing--at least the MDC is willing to put resources towards Crane.

Weird! What are the odds that two get lost the same weekend. Mine has some fairly distinctive features that I'd be happy to elaborate upon if found. Perhaps a modest reward if someone happens to find it. I lost it Saturday morning and tried to back track after I realized it was lost but had no luck.

Accidently left my net somewhere near the river behind the ball fields. No idea exactly where. Please let me know if found. thanks.