NoLuck

Wish I could've got my rear out of bed this morning. I guess I stayed up a little too late New Year's Eve.

I think I've said I'm gonna try to make this for about the last 5 years. Then something always keeps me from making it. So I won't say I'm gonna make it this year. But, maybe I will. LOL

Look on the trout cam and you can see it once in a while. They built a gravel pier out to the middle of the stream so they could use an excavator to dredge with it.

If it makes you feel any better, Bennett wasn't fishing real well either. I had two nephews that made a trip down and they only caught about 15 fish between the 2 of them from Friday morning till Sunday around 12:30ish. I think I may have managed about 15 each of those days. Monday late afternoon the fishing picked back up again. I'm thinking the weather and the huge amount of pressure associated with the nice weather had them a little hook shy. Monday from 2 till the whistle I caught more than I caught all weekend combined. As as far as a new campground goes, good luck. It'll still be packed unless you reserve well in advance. It may give you a little more lead way time to get reservations though.

I found the bare hooks from Mustad. I just don't have the patience to tie them. I know it's not much material. But, even with magnifiers it's still tough.

I'll be there through Monday, Jerry. I have to work till 7 Friday evening though. Those 24 and 26's are pretty tough to find. I just ordered them from a guy out at the San Juan in NM. I tried my hand at tying a couple 24's and said that there is no way. I'll give you one to try out if you're down there. Just tie on a 12 inch piece of 6X Tippet through the eye of your lead size 18 TBH midge and see what happens. I was amazed at how well it works. See you there if you're gonna be there.

Dave, I didn't figure you wanted me to give away the store. It's just that I feel a lot of people miss out on the challenge part of fly fishing. Even now, after fishing Bennett for close to 40+ years I still get humbled on occasion. I know that if I switched over to a white mini jig I would catch fish though. But, I refuse to use a gut fly. I guess if I was starving and nothing else worked, I might have a different opinion of them. Maybe some day I'll see you on the stream. I'd be happy to give you some pointers about the arsenal of flys I carry. All 5-6 of them.

I've been having real good success on a size 24 copper brassie tied on a scud hook. I've been using it as a second fly Behind a TBH midge of various colors. I was down over the weekend and landed 40-50 fish both days. That's with only fishing about 3-4 hours each day. Find the bottom and just let your fly tickle it on a good drag free drift. That means adjusting a lot while moving from one place to another. I could tell you exactly what I fish and you may not have as much success as I have with them. Just try different things and learn what the fish want. Figuring out what works is the challenge. I believe you'll be more satisfied when you figure it out on your own. It took me a few years to really get dialed in at Bennett. Now I try new things to figure out what else works. That gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that I've figured out something on my own. I think you will feel the same way.

All you need to coat the fly is Sally Hansens waterproof clear nail polish. I use it on every midge I tie.

Get the magnifiers out and tie on those 24 and 26's....?

You win. I don't know what I'm talking about. ?

Didn't miss anything. Tell me how much the flow of that, compared to all the gates open at Table Rock..... Apples and oranges.... Pal.

High flow didn't wash out the hatchery. Water backing up from the river did.

Bennett doesn't get the flow that Taney gets either. I'd be pretty safe to say that the MDC gets a pretty good deal on boulders. So cost shouldn't be an issue. A waste of money was those boot washing stations they put in. I still see quite a few people with felt soles there. Let them try something. It's long over due. I mean something other than more concrete.

The stream through there filled in with gravel in some places enough to walk to the far side of the stream. Some places weren't effected as much as others. You'll just have to see it for yourself and adjust to the new fish holding areas. As far as winter C&R goes, there is plans to dredge parts of the stream. Not exactly sure when that is to take place though. Hopefully the aquatic insects aren't destroyed too bad. I'm also hoping that they put in some big boulders like they did at Montauk. Structure has been lacking for quite a while there now, above and below the dam. Either way it's nice to look forward to some new challenges in the fishing down there. Be interesting to see how things turn out.

Well Jerry, It may have been pretty good fishing a beetle before the last big rain. But I was down over the weekend and top water anything wasn't working too well. Seemed like the only thing I could catch fish on was a brassie. Caught a few stripping a blonde leech on sinking line though ,along with a couple on a crackle back. I'll be on vacation the weekend before Labor Day weekend and Monday through Thursday. Depending on the water conditions along with the weather I'll be down there. If it's crappy weather or high water I'm debating heading out to NM to the San Juan. Cant wait for cooler weather and lesser crowds.

I'll be down Friday night Jerry. It's only hot when you're not in the water.? Besides that, after 5 weeks in 110+ degrees temps it ain't too bad. With a couple days over 115-125 degrees. ?

But it wasn't posted on their website till Thursday morning. I saw what the water level was and was curious what they would put on there myself. Sure enough... Normal and fishing was good. ? Who knows, maybe someone sends it off to somebody and they have to format the update. Then it gets delayed. But it's not the first time I've seen it happen with the new owners. Suspicious at best.

It should be pretty interesting as to what they do this winter. I'm not a big fan of dredging but the stream sure needs some help of some sort. Most of the holes and structure is gone. I'd like to see them dig out some nice pockets and put in some good size boulders. Wishful thinking I'm sure.

So when are you taking me to your favorite spots??? LOL I've been waiting for someone to take me and show me where they are. I promise I won't tell anyone.?

You missed the part where I said I'm happy just heading back the the camper to relax and enjoy myself. That is how I deal with people that haven't a clue about steam etiquette. It's not my job to teach them. I feel if I have to teach them then I become the jerk. So it's better to just walk away. I've always thought that when people buy a tag they should have a handout or at least a board with stream etiquette as a guide for beginners. It would save a lot of grief. But then again people would have to actually give a rats behind. So, it's nice to have options.

You know DaDakota, Some people don't have the time to travel around the world fly fishing. So we take what we have available and learn to deal with it. Sure I would love to be able to go every weekend to a pristine trout stream in the mountain wilderness. But, it just isn't practical for most folks including myself. I rarely, if ever keep any trout from the MO streams. Having said that, I've seen people fishing remote trout streams and it looked a lot easier than fishing for trout in a MO trout park on Sunday evening after a huge crowd of people tromped up and down the stream for 3 days. If it is so easy fishing the trout parks, why do I see so many people come and go all day long and never hook a fish? Sure you can put a gut fly or pellet fly on and catch dumb fish. But, if you choose to use natural bugs to fly fish to actually trick the fish into biting,then it is a little more satisfying. Ive said it a lot, and I'll say it again. You have to take what you have and enjoy it for what it is. If you expect it to be something that it isn't then you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I go there because it's convenient and it's good practice for when I do go someplace more natural. Plus I have a lot of good friends that I can see there and have a great time. It's also about tradition. My family has been going there since as long as I can remember. I'm now 51 years old, and I plan on going there till I can't walk and fish anymore. Maybe even longer if I can find me someone to roll me around and watch. So before writing off something that you don't understand fully of how someone else is thinking, please think of someone else's perspective. I know I'm guilty of it about a lot of things but in this case I can relate. Rich

Looks like the summer army of kids and everybody else is at Bennett now. Tons of people that have zero clue about trout stream etiquette running rampant. I'm glad that I'll miss the month of June while working out west. I feel sorry for anyone that is trying to do any relaxing fishing at Bennett. The fish size has decreased already from a few weeks ago. There are a few decent ones in there but they aren't going to be easy picking. Tons of bank fishing going on in Zone 1 which is unprecedented. Never seen it so bad in my life. The water has a little better flow than it did a couple weeks ago but it's still low and gin clear. The coming week shows promising for some much needed rainfall that'll maybe get the stream in better shape. I'm lucky that I don't mind not fishing as much this time of year. If I drive down and it looks like a zoo I retreat to the camper and relax and grill and have a few cold beverages. I'm really looking forward to late summer and fall to get here now.

It was originally discussed early in the year that they would dredge parts of the stream. Somewhere along the way they decided to wait till after this years season to do it this coming winter.

I've never consumed alcohol anywhere except in the campground at my camper or in the cabins. Although, I see tons of people doing it. But I may have exceeded the speed limit getting down there from STL. Is that the same thing as not following the regulations?? Did I take away anything from public resources speeding.??? By me speeding does that mean that everyone else had to drive at less speed since I used part of their speed???