Ham

85) Northern Rock Bass Just Floated the Niangua River from Barclay to Lead Mine. Fished with @Cajunangler. We had a lotta laughs and caught a lotta fish. it took a bit, but I was able to get some Northern Rock Bass on fly. That is not the best way to catch them. I wasn’t able to find a Ozark Sculpin that would cooperate so I’ll be making a trip to Bennett Springs during catch and release season. Maybe I’ll get LUCKY and get a Banded Sculpin as well.

The portage and the drag up the hill were rough. Solo trip means no help, no excuses, and no whining. Embrace the suck.

So, I had a great idea. I’d solo canoe the lower Strawberry River. I’d do a 4.4 mile stretch and walk 2.25 miles back to my truck at the end of the day. I’d start my float about 10 am and come off the water at 4 pm. Walk to the truck and drive back to the boat. Load up and get home about 7 pm. Easy peasy. a lot of stuff for one guy. About to push off. Everything looked so good and had so much promise, but the fish were kinda meh. I love this place, but it ain’t easy. I caught a few small spotted bass. I lost as many as I caught. I needed a trailer hook on my Spinnerbait, but this one ate a streamer. I saw some small bites. I flipped a size 20 over there and got a tiny Mooneye. I also got a couple micros I need to ID and some Mississippi Silversides. I reached a big deep pool and saw a fish feeding in a little pocket where water dropped off a shallow shelf. I could see the fish gulping at the surface. I wasn’t 100 % certain what it was, but I knew I wanted to catch it. I was considering putting on a cicada fly, but it dropped sub surface so I grabbed my 6 weight with a zig jig on it. I was stripping line and I tossed a few feet to the right to check distance before I dropped on my prime spot. I threw the dang thing in the clown’s mouth. It got eaten as soon as it hit the water. I was tight to a sea monster. I tried to pay attention and not snap the rod by high sticking it. I really leaned on That fish. I wanted to see what it was. I got it leadered a bunch, but I could only see it was LARGE. Finally saw it was a grass carp. A big one. I had no net so I had to beach it. First I had to one hand the boat to the beach area and then convince the fish to go that way. toad.36 inchesI was right to be worried about my hook. so, I was looking at a map on my phone, but it was NOT a Satelite image. I thought I was on schedule and I got to my “spot” 10 Minutes ahead of schedule. The only problem is that wasn’t actually the take out. I still had a long way to go. Then I hit a logjam that I had to portage around. It was exhausting and took about 15 minutes. I had quit fishing about 3 pm trying to get to the take out for 4. As it was I didn’t get to the actual takeout until 5 pm. A smooth hour late. Once at the takeout, I got to hump my gear up this hill. It sucked. But no time to feel sorry for myself. I had 2.25 miles to walk. I got my cardio on. 17 minute miles with heart rate about 136 for 40 minutes. Man, I was really Happy to see my truck. I loved my day until 3 pm. I was a little disappointed with numbers of fish I caught, but some memorable fish were caught. I’m dumb enough to do it again.

Yesterday, I went Back to the Black River backwaters with the Glide SUP. I was targeting Black Buffalo or Gar or ??? , but willing to catch whatever BUT I wasn't going to come off target just to catch a few more fish. I have to drive past multiple spots where I can quickly catch a 1/2 dozen panfish. I love the little guys, but I took a break from them yesterday. My first spot was a bust. I knew it likely would be. Changes have been made which may help in the long run but aren't very helpful in the short haul. There was a beaver dam that held back an additional 15 inches of water. I think AGFC destroyed it to allow more water drain out when they replaced the water control structure. I didn't make a single cast. I did not stop at either panfish spot. The first trip on the SUP the wind ate me alive. This trip the wind wasn't projected to be too bad AND I brought counter measures. The water is clear, but the clouds hosed me. Occasionally, the sun would come out and I could see like I needed to see, but too often it was cloudy. I got all my stuff loaded and got going on the SUP. I had a small black fly on for Buffalo and common carp tied on my 6 weight. I had a white zonker on my 8 weight for bowfin. Early on, a cast straight ahead of the board with the zonker just got crushed. A big black crappie Gomer Pyled me by eating the 4 inch zonker. I was off to a good start. It did not continue that way. I eased along looking and looking and looking. I saw gizzard shad, chain pickerel, some really nice largemouth bass, lots of bluegill, a few gar, and buffalo and carp. ALL the Buffalo and carp I saw were cruising NOT eating. I did not see any bowfin, but I know they are there. I gave it two hours total. I caught a couple of bluegill blind casting my carp fly. I hooked and quickly lost a BIG LNG on the zonker. I saw a HUGE snapping turtle. I wasn't close enough to tell the species, but from the size alone it likely had to be an alligator snapper. REALLY REALLY BIG. I saw it from a long way off and tried to close the gap, but it submerged in a deep section of the canal and was gone. I relocated to my final spot; I had initial success followed by my usual misadventures and frustrations. I got a nice largemouth on the zonker. A couple of minutes later I got my first bowfin of the day. A nice female that pounded the zonker. Sleigh ride time. lengthy fight and infighting to get it into the net. I can't measure the bowfin accurately while on the paddleboard. I didn't feel like getting all muddy by stepping off the board into the goo. I was guessing 27 inches. A little later I saw a hint of movement ahead and to the left. A quick cast got a hit, but I didn't get the hookset. I picked up and recast 10 feet further ahead and the fly immediately got inhaled again. Hook found a home that time. Another nice female. Like 25 or 26 inches. So, I tried another bowfin fly/technique with no strikes. I also started looking for carp etc . I never got a good luck at one tailing. I tried some blind casting to good looking areas no results. At some point, my white zonker started to come apart. I replaced it with the same fly in black. I lost my small black fly to a tree. I replaced it with a simple chartreuse fly. I made a little flip with the chartreuse fly and it came tight into a fish when I lifted up. I guess the fish got it in the drop. I had it on for a few seconds, but it came off. The hook point was not as sharp as I would like. I started looking for a hook sharpener. I could not find one, but I knew on was in the truck. I paddled back to the truck. I got the hook sharp again. When I got back to the boat, I saw a bowfin close. Then I saw another. Then I heard another one eat under some grass. Back on the SUP headed into the very shallow clear water. I saw multiple bowfin in water that was < 1 foot. I put the fly in their face, but they were very aware that I was in their world, and they would not eat. I spend 20 minutes trying. I presented to six different bowfin and a large Spotted Gar. On the way back to the dingy water, I grabbed my shades to see if polarized lens helped. Spoiler Alert. It didn't They fit so close to my face that in the swamp they just steamed up. I got another good taker on the black zonker. Nice fish. Very strong. Then suddenly gone. I kept moving and trying. I had a good shot at a HUGE Longnose Gar. > 50 inches and barrel shaped body. Big Fish. I put a fly in its face and it didn't eat. All too soon, it was time to go. I rushed to load everything up and drive home. I am getting better at quickly, but methodically, making sure everything is securely loaded and nothing is left behind. The good news is I was more comfortable on the SUP and I continue to fine tune my set up. I do want to purchase a rack from Glide when they are available again. The board does make fly fishing easier and better, but I still need to be disciplined to keep my fly line untangled etc I keep working on how things are on the board and how do I access my gear. So far so good. No unplanned get offs yet.

I have fished there 3-4 times. I’ve seen carp, but I’ve never seen a Buffalo

Grass carp, common carp, hybrid stripers, Buffalo, and suckers. LNG, Spotted, and Shortnose swim there too. snakehead also, but there numbers are too low to target. I have better spots to try for those.

Gravel Bar for the win

Thank God! I’ll be able to fish Batesvillie again soon

Thanks! I do ok, but The fish will be fine. I’m pretty tender hearted and carefully release most of the fish I catch. Besides, I only caught 523 the first month I was retired.

84) Wedgespot Shiner I have a couple other spots where I can confidently fish for Wedgespot Shiners. This spot is normally a place where I see Ozark Logperch. So, I set out “counting” on catching Steelcolor Shiners and Wedgespot Shiners relatively quickly , and then having time to look around for Ozark Logperch. well, while we have been dry lately, apparently that area has not been. They had a flood event recently and water levels looked springtime high not Indian Summer low. So, I did my thing. I caught numerous Bigeye Shiners, Longear Sunfish, Cardinal Shiners, and Steelcolor Shiners. I saw numerous Brook Silversides. I never saw a single Ozark Logperch. I nibbled the edges and finally found an area I could safely cross the river. A wading staff would have helped. I fished until I figured out where these guys were holding. I caught one where the Chevron was blurry and then I got a nice clean one. I spent my remaining time looking for Ozark Logperch, larger Neosho Bass, and a mystery micro that we’re pretty numerous last time I was there. the flood event really changed the place. It was slow going getting where I wanted to be and water levels were too high for my mystery micro spot. I missed one larger Neosho. I made my way back through the post flood debris and did the sketchy wade back to the car and didn’t get stuck getting back to the highway. I got what I needed, but I was left wanting a little more.

83) Steelcolor Shiner I made a roadtrip looking for a few micro species. I had two I was counting on catching and two that I was hoping for. I have a very reliable spot for Steelcolor Shiners. I was hoping that I could catch one in a few minutes, but it took close to an hour. 😳 oh well, at least it was a Big Pretty one (I caught several more smaller washed out ones at the next spot).

Caterpillar fly

Alledgedly

If they stocked any non triploid grass carp, that would be utter incompetence.

Major Sadface

Why does this happen so often? Are the Grassies not truly sterile? Why wouldn’t the lake manager put in like 1 fish per 10 acres. Wait a year. See if more are needed. let me guess, homeowners felt like there was “too much” grass. They put in too many carp and now there is no grass and the fishery is suffering.

If anyone has been playing this game already, I’d love to hear your experiences. You may have figured out wonderful solutions to some of the problems I am working on.

So far, so good. The board supports 500 lbs. me and all my stuff don’t crowd that. I found it to be stable and relatively comfortable.

I’ve been frustrated by trying to fly fish from my yak. I feel like I am too low to the water and I struggle to make a decent cast. I wanted a way to fly fish waters without boat ramps. Sometimes from shore is too limiting. I started looking a Stand Up Paddleboards. Of course, I always get attracted to the Belle of the Ball. In the case, BOTE. I really wanted a Bote Rackem Inflatable. I think it has the best features, but the $2200 price tag was holding me back. I stumbled across Glide boats. It had many of the same features and was 1/3 the price. Since my first experience on a hard board SUP didn’t go so well, I had more than a little concern about this idea. My reasoning was that it came with an inflatable chair and worse case scenario it becomes a hybrid “yak”. My boat came in last Friday. It came with everything you need, but I did buy a rechargeable air pump to take the work out of inflating it. Pump can be set to your desired pressure and turned on. 6 minutes later, you’re good to go. I need more than 6 minutes to get everything else ready to go. My plan was to use my Yeti cooler as a seat with a standard boat cushion on top. I would move the boat from that position and (carefully) stand up to cast if I saw a good target. I decided Monday was the day that I would take it out and I wanted to target an area that was very frustrating to try and fish on foot. after a slow rigging process (that will improve), I got on the board. Some wobbles, but I stayed dry. Fairly quickly, I was on the board on the board. First fish on the Glide. well, The wind got up and really pushed me around. I was getting blown so fast that I was spooking fish as soon as I would spot them. I did manage to hook one Black Buffalo on fly, but I was using an 8 foot 5 weight and the fish was behind me when everything came tight. I lost it too quickly. Frustrated in that spot, I fought the wind for 45 minutes to get back to my launch site. I loaded up and moved to a less windy spot. Things came Back together much more quickly this time. I foolishly failed to spray on deet. The mosquitos waited until I pushed off and then swarmed me. If they had bit me at the truck I would have sprayed up. I will coat myself no matter what next time. Between swatting mosquitos and watching time fly by, I did manage to get a good take from a Bowfin. Nice strip set and then a long sleigh ride. I wore that sucker down before I attempted to net that fish. Really nice fight. I had survived my first encounter with a strong fish. I stayed dry and everything. I felt a lot more stable at the end of the day than I had at first. I think I will continue to improve. I have to work out some more details, but It was much nicer for the fly fisherman. Less line tangles. Better casting etc. I think this is gonna work out.

Booooooo bowfishing. If it was hook and line only, I’d be more interested.

82) Telescope Shiner I made a drive to a wildlife area to get a Telescope Shiner for the annual species total. I tied some flys for the trip this morning and I got my Telescope Shiner on the first cast!!! Then I caught a lot of Bleeding Shiners. I did get a few more Telescopes though.

Sorry Pete. I don’t get to worked up about color variants. I’m a species guy.

Thats what I am trying to do. Catch a fish in every state. I don’t have to do it on fly or anything.

a trout trip to MIssissippi instead of the White River seems ill advised.

Man, That boat is gone, the net is gone, that Cabela's Rain Jacket is gone. 12 years takes a toll on gear.