Kayser

#8 stimulator for calm water- long leader, long drifts. A #16 black ant also works well. If the fish are midging, I tie a simple midge on a #22 short-shank emerger hook (straight eye, oversized)- a few short grizzly hackle fibers for a tail, thread body (cream, 10/0, kept thin for the grizzly color to show through), and 2-3 turns of the right sized grizzly hackle. It's caught more fish than I can count on the trico falls, and is an awesome midge pattern when they're rising. It will ride on it's side if you grease it, with the hook laying flat on the surface of the water, and I prefer to fish it behind another dry to help me pick up on strikes. This also allows you to fish it 'drowned', which accounts for about half the fish. A #14 parachute adams is normally my point fly. Rob

So I've got a question- can you wade out to the sand bars, or is it too deep? Those photos almost make me want to head back to Bennett with a full-sink line and some flashy streamers. They also make me wanna get cave certified, and a dry suit. Rob

Article says 5k, not 50k. Still, not a small fire.

I didn't get a picture- that was back when I still thought nets and cameras were bad luck, and was trying to get the 20"+ fish with 2lb tippet. I've learned a lot since then, and got a net and a tough camera. But I've never seen or heard of another brown that size in the Current before or after. Also pulled a slightly larger rainbow (5", maybe) from the same pocket, so that made that trip memorable for me. I always had a suspicion that if it happened during a low flow, super cold snap, that a successful brown spawn could be possible- especially towards the more marginal trout water, where the temps fluctuate more. But one fish doesn't really prove much- if anything, it could have been an escapee that accidentally made it into the stocking truck headed for the Current. But here's hoping that it could happen again. Rob

Simms blackfoots- comfortable, durable, lifetime warranty. Yes, they're stockingfoot, so you'll need boots. But that doesn't mean you have to break the bank- I was using some old strap sandals or beat-up, oversized tennis shoes for a little while. On a side note, I'll never go back to bootfoots- the stockingfoot are just too comfortable for hiking in and out. Rob

I think 99% of eggs don't produce fry or something like that- water is too warm. That's the reason they moved the brown trout hatchery production to Shepherd of the Hills- colder water from the dam gave much better egg survival results. But I have caught a 4" brown trout without clipped fins at Baptist before... Rob

Awesome. That reminds me- I need to get to the Bourbeuse and do some population control of my own.

I drive down Highway J from I-44 to fish Spring Creek, and have passed a few small gravel pull offs right next to the river. I was curious if you can park and wade in here, or if someone will try to run you off for doing this? I've been looking for a decent spot to wade-fish for smallies for about 3 years, but haven't really found one yet- the trout have kept me busy. If you know of anything, I'd really appreciate it. Living in Rolla, so I would like to keep it within 45 minutes of here. Also, there was a gravel road that ran towards the river near Highway M- is that public parking/access? The river around that old bridge looks like really good water, but I don't know if I'll get shot at for trying to fish it. Oh, and I'm no-kill on smallies, too. Thanks, Rob

I think you got the wrong picture. Nice hybrid, though.

Some of the professors here in Rolla did a lot of work with them, and they're thinking it's a combination of the pet-trade demand in Asia (China, especially) and certain chemicals in the water. Mainly chemicals, but the poachers aren't helping anything. Rob

I used a long (super cheap/low quality) cock hackle, tied down into a back-facing collar, and would just fish it on 6lb mono as a wet. The slow sink or a slow hand-wrap strip would get them every time if you could get it into the rings from where they rose. Also had a good day once in clear water sight fishing for the surface feeders- somewhere around 150 fish. Rob

I used to call that a black gnat when I was just starting off. One of the best bluegill flies I've ever used. Then I switched to bright red tail and black hackle collar, and did even better. I found that it's best to cast at risers and let it sit in the middle of the rings. Lots of fun for a 10 year old with the long rod. Rob

Pheasant tail Woolly bugger BH Prince Scud Stimulator That should be good enough to catch anything, anywhere, with at least a little success.

Geoff- what size are those?

Number 1 problem I've seen with my friends I've tried to teach to nymph fish is the drift- it normally has to be perfectly drag free and on the bottom. It was frustrating when I was learning, but now it counts for most of my fish. It also helped a lot on my dry-fly fishing (except for some caddis fishing). Mending, throwing some slack/s-curves in your line on the cast to get rid of drag. You need to do this because the water near the surface is flowing faster than the water on the bottom, due to friction/resistance from the rocks and gravel. This is also why the fish stick to the bottom- low current speed in the small pockets with access to the food in the current right over their head. Try this out- http://streamsideadventures.com/media/mending-tips-video.html Rob

100%!!! But then again, I'm a biology major...

I can attest to the "one and done" mentality of the newcomer to wild creeks. The crowds seem to be mixed on the "coming back asap" and "never again" mentalities as we cross paths in the afternoons, with the veterans coming back for more punishment, but the newbies still not wanting to get weened off of stocked rainbows and manicured walking paths. I wouldn't feel too bad about posting the vid- most of the generic fly-flingers don't understand the attraction of catching 6" fish on top, and probably never will. Rob

The barred feathers are awesome for tails and wings on nymphs and dries. Just start experimenting- you'll find something that works. Also, I've seen some people use the smallest feathers (cleaned stem, tips clipped to get a V-shape) under a wingcase on big stones as legs. Just start experimenting- you could come up with a new "go to" fly. Rob

I heard a lot of bass guys saying the bass fishing is terrible due to muskies. But all of then are fishing tight to the bank every time I go down there. I say they need to learn to fish something other than the bank. On a side note, hear anything about the muskie fishing lately? I'm still trying to get out to catch one. Rob

Sold the stuff I would never use early this summer. I mean, it was just collecting dust in my tying kit, so why not make everybody happy? Give them the saddles they want, I get tying kit space (and cash!), and help reduce demand for the rest of you wanting to buy some saddles. Also, I've got enough hackle to last a while. Rob

I doubt that they would like paying for a degree in something other than fisheries- looking at Tissue Engineering/Regenerative Medicine. But I think I'll apply next week, as soon as I get all my stuff together.

The best River fishing is from now through the end of October, in my opinion. The best lake and pond fishing runs through December. Just remember- fish slow. Also, 1/16oz white/hot pink marabou crappie jigs (with or without minnows) are one of the best baits. I don't get why more people don't enjoy the cold weather fishing- the panfish can stack up. For example- 100 8-9" bluegill on a Nov afternoon, 75 11-13" crappie on another, and close to 20 2-4lb bass. Usually get one of each trips like this to a local 8acre pond each year. I also remember a late October trip on a "fishless" river near STL, where close to 70 keeper bass were caught. This is the perfect time of year. Rob

Graduate in December. Also have some environmental classes, just no "job experience." Maybe this would be a good way to kill time until grad school starts in the fall.

Wonder if they would take a BS in Biology, with 20 years of hardcore fishing experience?

It's called a "capture, recapture" study. The basically shock it once, mark all that were captured, then come back to that stretch and sample again. By looking at the percentage of fish that were recaptures, you can determine the overall population using cross multiplication. (#Recapture/day2 capture)=(day1 captured/total population). Basically, the recapture tells you what percentage of the fish in the stream you are capturing, and then you just multiply to get 100%. Rob