NoLuck

Hey Don, Give me a hollar if you do go down there. 314-750-1782 I am going down Saturday and maybe Sunday too. Cya maybe Sunday, Rich

Anytime it gets above 2.60 it is going to be swift and murky. If you don't mind fishing deep or close to the banks its not too bad. Last I seen it was over 3.00. The water will be cloudy for a couple of weeks if we have a long dry spell. If we get more rain then its going to be cloudy for a while. For some reason it seems like when its sunny it tends to clear up quicker too.

Mike, That's all I have been asking. Thanks for an honest reply. I have fun regardless if I catch fish too. It is just more fun to catch fish. It will get better I have no doubt, but it will be a long wait. Next year it should get better for size and quantity. Hey..Do you drive a gold or beige GMC or Chevy pick-up with an Ozark Angler sticker in your back window?? If so I saw you at Bennett and I passed you on my way home when you were pulling a camper of about 24ft long. I was driving a white Ford Ranger extended cab pick-up with tinted windows and a Sage flyrods sticker on my back window. Next time I see ya I'll make sure I say hey. Rich

People, I started this thread with a simple question. Now it has become a fascination for one person in particular to bash other fisherman because of how they feel about the situation. If you have nothing to add to this thread without the bashing stop reading it and posting if it bothers you so much. I think we all know how you feel about trout parks. So why even bother reading the sub-forum on the trout parks?? If anyone needs to get over it, I believe that it is you. Rich

I was there from about 2:30pm saturday and Sunday till about 2:30pm. I did catch fish but, when I looked around there was a long time between seeing a fish caught. I think I ended up catching close to 15 fish Saturday and maybe a dozen or so Sunday. I didn't get to the stream Sunday till almost 9:00am so I can't blame anyone but myself there. Saturday eve there were some people catching fish. Under the arched bridge is where I saw the most fish of anywhere. I also saw 2 fish in that hole that went close to 10lbs+. There were a number of decent sized fish there but, nothing like the numbers in the past. I couldn't walk the trail in zone 1 because it was closed. I really wanted to walk it to see if there were fish along the bank on the deeper side of the stream. I also walked through the main hatchery across from the park store to see what was in there. Looked to me like most of the fish in there were really small outside the ones in the weeded up section that looked like a more natural setting for the fish. I believe that that flood that washed out the hatchery really set them back as far as numbers. 2009 will go down in history as a rough year for trout fishing with a healthy stocked stream. What needs to happen is for the people to take this matter into their own hands. People should stop taking as many fish out as they have in the past. I have not taken 1 fish home this year yet. Last year I only took home 15 fish all season. None of those fish were for me. The only way this is going to get better faster is to stop taking all the fish you are allowed to take out. But, good luck trying to convince people of that. Rich

First of all...There are NO native wild trout in MO waters. I believe that there may be some of these fish that were originally STOCKED are naturally reproducing in the streams though. But, what IRKS me is someone trying to belittle someone for their passion of trout fishing REGARDLESS of what type each person partakes in. I simply pointed out the OPINION that I saw less fish than in the past. NOWHERE... did I ask for a lesson on what type of fishing should be enjoyed by all of us by someones beliefs. Bennett Spring is what it is. I like it just as much as i would like fishing elsewhere. Is it a crime for a person to want to catch more fish???? SHEEEESH If I didn't know better, I'd say someone is trying to defend someone who's in charge of whats been happening at Bennett with the lack of stocking. People take fish out and they are not putting the amount of fish in that they need to sustain a put and take fishery. If there is such a shortage of fish, why don't they reduce the daily limit to 3 fish then?? I could care less how many they let us keep as long as there is still fish left to be caught. But if people are taking 4 fish out and they are only putting in 2 then it doesn't take an accounting wizard to figure out where its going. The MDC seriously needs to take a second look at how this recovery to the hatcheries is being handled. I like trout fishing and the comraderie that goes along with the experience at Bennett and the other trout parks. Of course I could always like a little less crowd though just to give people a little more elbow room. When I go fishing, I want to catch fish. I guess theres something wrong with that thought process. Rich

I'm not complaining about the numbers of fish. I'm merely stating fact or an observation on my part. When I used to fish in zone one last year I could make out fish suspending in most of the usual places. This year there are no where near the amount of fish there. I still caught fish but people around me were struggling to even catch a couple in hours of fishing. You can almost always figure out what the fish want if you pay attention to what you are doing.

Hey Folks, I have been to Bennett a couple of times this year already and noticed a lack of fish compared to the the 2 previous years. I was just wondering if you all noticed the same thing. BrittsnBirds and I have both seen the same thing. The water was a little cloudy the first time there but, this time it was clear enough to see that there wasn't that many fish. I fished and did OK when I noticed others not catching fish at all. They are not laying on the bottom either cause I can see the botttom in most places. Cya, Rich

OK , Looks like I know how to do it. That first pic is of some guy that was beating the water profusely at an attempt to catch fish. I recommended Velveeta and he just gave me a dirty look. LOL Sorry Jerry, I just couldn't resist. Anyway, now that I have an idea of how to post pics look for more in the future. I'll be leaving Saturday for a 3 month stint out west to AZ and to CO for work and both destinations are real close to some fine trout fishing. I just hope I get a chance to fish them a little . Take care yaalll, Rich

Ok Folks, I'm new to this digital camera thing so bear with me. I'll start off with one and I'll go from there if it works. Ok see if this works. Rich

Triz, I use ultra, micro-chenille made by Hareline dubbing.. After you tie it to your hook, just make sure you take a lighter and burn the ends slightly on each end. Hope this helps, Rich

Tags are all the same in all parks. No change

Jerry, I know you just kid me about the cheese thing but, I figure I'll throw it back your way a little. Well... I figure its going to be crowded regardless. I think we should either leave to breakfast before everyone else or after. I think the whistle blows at 6:30am. So I'm thinking around 8:00am or 9:30am or so. What does everyone else think?? I really don't care either way as long as they are still serving breakfast. See ya, Rich

Team Velveeta....HAH!!! Man I get no respect. Cricket, You can buy breakfast since I'm going to be broke going to work out west. You know those guides can be expensive. JJ has my cell number to get a hold of me. Jerry does to I think. I'll try to make the horn if possible. Sometimes no matter how hard I try to get up and go I still can't do it whan I don't have to. Pat, I got your PM and no I didn't get those pics yet. I'll do that this week. If I can't catch up to you before I leave I'll send it to you in the mail from AZ with a nice postcard from my streamside ranch....LOL Jerry, Come on down buddy. Just leave your desire to fish undisturbed at home. This is just a social trip for me. Besides I prolly couldn't catch those fish anyway without velveeta and I'm sure the game warden will be watchin close. Oh, and I like the big pic from last year. Thats pretty cool. Hope to see you all Sunday, Rich

Cricket that sounds fine. I'm looking forward more to having breakfast than fishing...LOL. Yes the Ollie's on 64 near Bennett is the one I was meaning. Rich

Dude, I'll be fine as long as I have no intention of trying to fish seriously. I used to be there a ton for the opener as a kid. Now I just get a kick out of the circus atmosphere. Besides, I bought a new digital waterproof camera to try out. I just need to learn how to use it now...LOL. Yeah I know just turn it on and press the button. Its the other stuff I gotta learn how to do before I go out west. I want to try to take some pics of where I'm at and post them on here. Hell I may even break out the G.loomis spinning rod to squeeze in and sling a black and yellow marabou. I'll get back with ya later in the week. Rich

You know as bad as I hate the crowds I may be there this year. I'm leaving for AZ and CO on the 9th of March I believe,so I better get a line wet before I leave. Breakfast at Ollie's?? Anyway,See yaaalll later, Rich

Hey JJ, The water color is about like normal for this time of year. Just a little chalky. The fish seem kinda spooky to me. Seems like the smaller stuff worked better today while I was there. I did pick up some fish stripping a #12 crackleback. If you are going to strip a CB make sure you use the lightest tippet you can get away with. I used 6x Seaguar GrandMax FX. I didn't break off any fish but I really made sure not to yank hard. There are a ton of fish below the dam too. If you want to fish on the bottom of the dam I think you could do pretty good with a CB fished dry just past the foam in the smooth water. I only fished Zone 2 so I can't help you with #1 Cya dude, rich

The weather looks better for Monday than Sunday thats for sure JJ. That archery shop don't open till 10am I think Saturday. So I will probably leave here around 7:30am. I haven't decided weather I'll stay for Sunday. It looks like its going to be kinda chilly Sunday.

I hear ya, They put in some Browns somewhere in the river not too long ago. Maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea. I probably won't be fishing too long unless I stay till Sunday.

Anyone headed down Saturday? I'm going to look at a new bow in Lebanon and I will probably stop at Bennett to fish after it warms up a bit. Rich

Hey Don, When I used to make plans it seemed as all went pretty good. Now I can't make plans and follow through for nothing. I guess I could just wait for retirement but, I don't think I'll be able to walk when I'm 80. I really want to get down there sometime and fish Taney and Roaring River too. I know its bad but I got some money coming from my hand injury and I know we are going to get slow here real soon so maybe I'll get down that way before too much longer. See ya bud, Rich

Hey JJ, I guess I live up to my screen name too much to speak of. Thats the price you pay sometimes. Here I though that I was going to get some free time to fish and hunt and now I work more. I need the extra money anyway but, I sure had hoped to be there today. I do believe that I will be short of work here before too much longer. The boss says that jobs are coming but not till later down the pipeline. Oh and poke all you want about my ldr's. If I started using bigger flies I might land some of those fish. Maybe its just my old age creeping in on my reflexes since I'm 44 and all. Later Dude, Rich

OK guys, Long story short. I thought I was going to be off Friday and its a long drive down there for one day of fishing. Then to top it off at 4:30am I was going to come down anyway and leave about 2:30pm to head home. I load up and hit the ignition key and get the dreaded click-click-click . I thought dead battery. The thing is 5.5 years old so its probably time for a new one. So, I go back to bed and get back up at 8:30am to try to go find a battery. I go to take out the battery and notice that there is a little corrosion on the cables. Clean off cables and truck starts fine now. So after work tomorrow I'll get a new battery anyway so it don't happen again. I was really looking foward to making it this year after last years freeze out. Too bad we gotta wait another year for one of these get togethers. I will never make plans again to be there. If I show up then you know I'll be coming. Rich

Sorry I didn't make it. I'm a little po'd so I'll post when I calm down. Rich