podum

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.
Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.
Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

Gonna be a blast!

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.
Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.
Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.
Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

No floating for me between Memorial Day and Labor Day.  Late September through November is much better on all of the rivers - especially if we get a little October rain.

I think attention to trout parks takes pressure of pristine quality spots so they serve a purpose. Will say the parks were a lot better fifteen plus yeas ago. Crane Creek and some of the blue ribbon areas don't get a lot of traffic and I really value that

Looks like an old bruiser.  Congrats on the great day.

Same experience with the leech Wrench.  When starting I try to have all 4 presentations in every cast.  Dead drift into a swing, then let it hang, then strip back.  Once the fish tell me what they want, I focus on that.

I've fly fished the Niangua a lot - far more than any other river.  As a result, I've developed habits based on things that worked.  As a result I use mostly the same flies in the same types of water, etc.  I'm wondering if I'm missing some opportunities because I've become set in my ways.  So . . . open question.  What are your go-to flies and techniques on this river?
I'll throw mine out - I nearly always start with something new I tied and end up within 40 minutes with a size 10 olive leech or bugger of some sort.

All good stuff.  I miss about half of my takes on swinging flies.  Doesn't matter if its a leech or a #16 soft hackle.  I always believed it was because of the tension in the line.  When fish hit and turn, I believed they pulled the fly out of their mouth and the lack of slack provided no margin for the fish to hold on to the fly.  The "use heavier tippet theory" destroys that thought.  I'll give it shot.
I'd love to fish with you Wrench.  Drop a PM

Same experience with the leech Wrench.  When starting I try to have all 4 presentations in every cast.  Dead drift into a swing, then let it hang, then strip back.  Once the fish tell me what they want, I focus on that.

Yep, leeches and buggers always seem to get the job done.   They are both excellent search patterns, and they get bites either when dead drifting, or on the swing, or when stripping through slow water.  Even gets bit just hanging in the current...... You can't fish them wrong, but one way will always be better on any given day.
A tungsten bead-head crackleback in lt.olive has been a staple for me in faster water riffles FOR YEARS.  The hackle lets it tickle right along the bottom on a dead drift without hanging up.   You'll either get bit mid-drift once it has gotten down along the bottom....or when it starts to swing up off the bottom.  
A lt.olive colored soft hackle (same color as the crackleback) is a staple for me too.  I fish it kinda spey style in the mediocre slow pools, and it picks up random stragglers year 'round.
Black foam Beatle's, and outlandish oversized attractor dry flys are fun during the summer and into the fall before the leaves start falling.  
The biggest mistake I see people make when on the Niangua is standing in one spot too long.  Those fish are schooling stockers.....so keep moving until you catch one, then there will usually be 8-10 more in that little area.   Those ding-a-ling rainbows will either move 4-6ft. to take a fly.....or they won't take it at all.
 
Oh, I forgot the Y2K Bug.  That one has saved the day more than 20 times during the fall/winter.  I sight fish that big blob of orange/yellow goo, and some of the biggest trout I've caught in the Niangua have come on that stupid thing.

The area is Lake City CO (1.5 hours south of Gunnison).  Great fishing all around that area - remote with lots of public lands.  Waterdog Lake is a helluva hike at altitude.  Starting around town at 8400 and hiking several miles up to 10000ish.  Not much danger of overfishing pressure.  It is beautiful.
There are several lakes like it in that valley.  Lots of big native cutthroats in those high mountain lakes as well.

The area is Lake City CO (1.5 hours south of Gunnison).  Great fishing all around that area - remote with lots of public lands.  Waterdog Lake is a helluva hike at altitude.  Starting around town at 8400 and hiking several miles up to 10000ish.  Not much danger of overfishing pressure.  It is beautiful.
There are several lakes like it in that valley.  Lots of big native cutthroats in those high mountain lakes as well.

In typical "blonde" style.....the tail and underwing are 2 separate pinches of Marabou (if you do it all with one longer piece of marabou it will foul around the hook every other cast).   
 
The bottom is ugly.....it never mattered, so we just half-assed wrapped some Krystal flash over the tail tie-in area. 
If you wanted to be all fancy you could do a nicer job with yellow floss.    But honestly I don't think it matters.     A hint of YELLOW or Chartreuse is a real thing though, we established that for sure.       We actually used yellow..... but the closest I have now is chartreuse.   Whether that matters is debatable. 
Swing it, or slow-strip it, with rod tip twitches. 👍 

Abuse/destruction/pollution by farmers, nearby landowners, gravel pirates, road crews, ect.  that assume that nobody would notice.....and that nobody would care. 
The more FRIENDS a place has, the more oversight it has.  
I know that, especially around my area, places are posted "No Trespassing" by people that don't own, and don't even know who truly owns the property.   They'll even call the Sheriff and have you cited for trespass......when they have absolutely no authority to do so.   In many cases the law doesn't even check to see if the ones "reporting it" are even the owners.    It's total BS !     If you're cited for trespass and take it to court.....then the bona-fide OWNER should have to appear....... but they, nor anyone in their behalf, never does.   
The county just takes your money, and adds a mark to your "criminal record".....cuz they think you're stupid......and most folk are.   
If you are ever cited for trespass, make sure the prosecutor DOES HIS JOB !     You can do this by saying....."Hey, I talked to a guy that SAID he was the owner, and he gave me permission to be there......then here comes THIS GUY!     So now what? ". 

Not ticked at me I hope.  Its a pretty little creek and I caught a single pretty little fish.  I don't think Barren Fork is in danger of becoming the next Bennett Springs due to my little trip report.  
If anything, I'd like to see the wild creeks like this get more attention.  Not that I want to see cars parked there the next time I go . . .  selfishly, I want it all for myself.  But isn't that a narrow view?  particularly when it comes to protecting such rare resource like this for the long term?  It deserves at least SOME attention.  
I get what you're saying about the pinheads though.  But suppose its a pinhead who owns property on this creek and starts trashing it?
People need to expand their imagination of where to go and and how to fish and what to target, and in the end I think you become a better steward of wherever you prefer to go and fish.  Outlet #3 at Taney, yeah, I've done that once.    What else is there?  How do you challenge yourself and seek out a new adventure?  Is that 100th stringer of stockers you landed as thrilling as the first stringer?
99.9% of the people who trout fish in this state will never bother with a place like Barren Fork, . . . . and thats okay.  I've driven by it so many times, I'm glad I finally pushed myself to go and explore it, even for just a few minutes.

I'm afraid that I can't share y'all's love of hummingbirds 🙄
There's something about working on a running outboard, hooked up to a water hose, that amplifies their curiosity.   It's really hard to concentrate on anything when there is a flying needle hovering 3" from your eyeball.