The Troutdoorsman

Smallie, Always enjoy your posts. I'm appreciating the kinder, gentler tone as well. It lets the focus be more on what you are saying rather than how you are saying it. Even with the edge taken off your passion for protecting and preserving our rivers comes through and is contagious. Can't wait to read the next write up.

Excellent tactic for bass. Trout are a little different though. Trout being very oxygen dependant will move into riffles where the broken white water is introducing oxygen into the stream. In summer when higher water temps mean less oxygen, I look for trout in very skinny, fast broken water first. Then go from there. Great topic http://thetroutdoorsman.com/ http://www.riveroflifefarm.com/fishing/guides/Rusty_Doughty.html

Would've been great if you would have tied a size 20 pmd on after you were done with the streamer rod.

So when Chris and Laurie booked with me, I must admit I was nervous. The river was up and stained, between 15 to 18 inch visibility and 850 cfs. High and dingy water. Now I relish this type of water normally, but they were total begin- ners and had never touched a fly rod. This type of water is great for streamer fishing. Getting from never touching a fly rod to throwing a 4" articulated fly is a big leap. Laurie's first fish on a fly rod There just isn't anyway to do it without getting some experience first. On the North Fork, that means indicator fishing. With as off-color as the water was, I really didn't think the fish would be able to find a nymph to hit it. So I warned Chris and Laurie that the fishing might be tough and threw in the spinning rods just in case. So I put together a two fly rig and threw on the bobber. I thought I'd try the murky water combo trick of an attractor and a more natural fly (if you can call a wooly bugger that). The attractor was a cerise San Juan worm. That's right, a Cerise San Juan on the North Fork. Chris's first fish on a fly rod After about an hour of casting, mending, hook set ting and fish playing lessons, it was time to do this thing. Up went the anchor, out went the flies, and down went the indicator. It was that quick. Laurie was the first to hook up, and she was cool as the other side of the pillow. As with most, fighting a North Fork wild rainbow can be a shock. You fight this fish throwing every trick in the book at you, running up stream, down stream and staying deep not showing itself. Then you get it to the boat and it's only 14". Happy rainbow It was on the top fly. The attractor brought the fish in and the natural finished the job. We spent the next 4 hours hooking up at least every 15 minutes, including an awesome double in super fast water. Almost all fish ate the wooly buggers, but a few took the worm. We never threw a streamer; they could have. It was an "if it ain't broke don't fix it thing." Nice Rainbow for Chris After lunch the sun got high, the temp got warm and the floaters arrived. Things shut down, but the good fishing of the morning more than made up for it. Only goes to show you gotta take what the river gives you.

Al, That used to be my home stretch of river and I have many good memories from there. While rounding a bend, just after Hwy. 8 bridge disappeared out of sight behind us, we came upon a large herd of cattle crossing the river. Half on one side and half on the other. The cows didn't like the idea of us getting in between them in our canoe. The half that hadn't crossed started bolting for the otherside. We were on a collision course, but we couldn't slow the canoe fast enough. A huge heifer hit the front side of the canoe and we spun sideways. Some how we managed not to tip. The rest of the cows, now freaking out from our yelling and frantic paddle strokes sending water into the air, turned and run back up the bank the way they came. We righted the canoe and pushed pasted the cows as fast as we could. In total silence trying to figure out what had just happened. After a minute my friend, who just about had a cow in his lap, turned to me and said "We are the only two people that I know, that can be in a canoe, on a river and get run over by a cow."

Like so many other things in life the rules to keep things in order are already in place and just need to be enforced. http://www.nps.gov/ozar/parkmgmt/rowdiness.htm If their were rangers doing serious checks at all the popular put ins, on the rivers we love, the bad elements would go away. Nobody, especially those not in compliance likes to be checked. The resources are there at both the state and national level since the Jacks Fork does fall under the feds. I say let the partiers have the Black river out of Lesterville, the Huzzah south of Steelville and the lower Current near Van Buren. No fisherman in his right mind would go there to catch, on a weekend anyway. Rigorously patrol and write citations, open up coolers and just be a presences on the JF, Upper current, upper North Fork, and 11 pt especially at the put ins and word will get out. Let the drunks and such go to the other places and everybody is happy. As for the respectful fisherman and families, well God bless them. This thread was started by a report stating that the floaters encountered were polite and respect, albeit numerous. While this does disturb our serenity it does have a benefit.Some of my favorite accesses have come in to being due to the Sport Fish Restoration Act. Which is funded by the sell of fishing products (among other things). http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR_Act.htm. Most if not all of us have benefited by decent and respectful fishing and outdoors people spending money. Missouri is a state that is replacing it's hunters and fisherman, while other states are in budget crisises as hunters and fisherman die off and aren't replaced/ not buying licenses or spending money. I think we can do something. Show up at public town hall meetings (they happen all the time in the national forest area). Write letters and put presure to patrol our favorite fishing put ins. The undesirables will soon leave. On the otherhand teach a youngester to fish or help a newbie get excited about the sport and maybe the funding will be there to protect, patrol and preserve more areas at an even greater level.

I think SA took a big hit on there technique specific lines,too. From what I've seen of the "Streamer Express" fly line, I've been disappointed. The line has serious memory issues and coils really bad. Especially in cold weather. Making it really hard to shoot line and had to be worked to straighten out get through the guides on every cast. They really pimped these ines hard in the beginning and sadly the market is so saturated, a couple of slips can kill you.

Great taste of the NFOW flavor.

Brad, I lived in Bonne Terre for years and floated any where from Mounds road to Flat River creek many times. Always had good luck on smallies with a brown and orange jig and pig or a green pumpkin 4" curly tailed grub. Coming down from the old railroad tressel (which they used to call Leadwood beach) there is a steep cut bank with a cow pasture on top. I caught the biggest smallmouth of my life up against that cut bank, about this time of year. They will be deep, next to the banks with sharp drop offs, with cover close, like a dead fall log. There are dozens of good holes in that stretch.

What types of holes do they like to hold in.

If the official Driftboat Conclave is like the unofficial Driftboat Conclaves it is not to be missed. I'm in.

Yeah I've heard them called jointed rapala, double back or broken back. I like those from about 2 or 3 hours before sunset til dark. Mid day I like the curly tail pitched into a deep hole up against the bank, in the shade or around deeper structure. Just bring the line tight and watch to see if the line is moving. Many times you can feel the bite, but let him run just a little bit with it.

Red, For the fishing I use 4 lures: Pumpkin green 4" curly tailed grub with a bullet head no bigger than a 1/8 ounce, rebel crawdad in tan and orange for clear water or yellow for stained, brown and orange jig and pig with a brown pig (again no bigger than an 1/8 ounce (which are hard to find) or and especially at dusk a double back minnow. They seem to hit it before it hits the water at times. All your standard smallie stuff will work. Most importantly in times other than spring, on the upper end, the water can be really low. If your canoeing you will be dragging a lot. Make sure you had good wading shoes and not sandels. That section is a graveyard of broken flip flops. The scenery is more than worth the trade off as the float to Rymers has Jam Up and Meeting House caves.

I like caddis green or UV cinnamon ice dub. With the green I wrap a green wire and with cinnamon a red one. Mine are so simple it's an insult to the pyscho prince name. Basically just ice dubbed and wire wrapped for segments. What I've found is more important than color or detail is size. For the pyscho (or any other droper or smaller fly) no smaller than a #12. For the stone at least a #8 and I've been doing better on #6's here lately. The bug life in the NFOW is fat and healthy and it takes a big fly to move a fish.

....while you guys were busy knocking my pink cap and soul patch Far be it from me to bash a well quaffed soul patch. Besides a close inspection of the articulated in that big browns mouth reveals that it is joined together with braided soul patch hair.

Guiding is all about how good you look in a pink hat.

Two Words HELL HECK YEAH. This makes Missouri's third chapter, which will greatly increase the states presence, visability and influence in the organization. Bottom line is it's sure to mean great things for trout in Missouri.

I'm some what disturbed that the costuming is available "between floats" and at a moments text. I hardlly think that keeping those items on hand to sample for fly tying materials can be the excuse. Justin, I do not want to know what all is in your basement.

Certainly when fishing for wild fish verses stockers a difference can be told. I'll often guide people on NFOW, that are used to fishing in the trout parks and they will ask "where are all the fish?" As in parks and heavily stocked rivers trout can be easily seen. The wild rainbows in the North Fork have adapted to their environment so well, they are nearly invisible. Upon hooking them it can be a matter of minutes and just about when they reach the surface until you get your first sighting. Also I find wild fish to be much more skidish, not only in NFOW, but in creeks if they spot you, they will run and they might not eat again for the rest of the day. And as for the fight. A wild fish can't be beat. Even in the North Fork the browns (which I love to catch as well) when hooked just kind of thrown their weight around. They may make a run down stream or head for the bottom, but nothing compared to the rainbows. They will run upstream downstream and all over. We frequently get fish in and have people remark that they thought the fish would be bigger due to the amount of fight in the fish.

The official word from MDC is that there is no measurable reproduction of brown trout in the NFOW, due to the temperature being too warm at the spawn in late fall and early winter. Of course the rainbows have been reproducing wild since 1964 when stocking rainbows was halted. I too have caught several 4" browns with par marks, including one while on a leisure float with an MDC fisheries biologist. I held it up to him and he immediately reminded me that there is no measurable reproduction and insisted that the fish was within the slot length that they stock, but he didn't say a wild brown was impossible. This guy is as honest as the day is long, but I have to think that a few of those dinks with par marks are wild. That said there are some 6000 browns that get stocked in the NFOW every year. With out that stocking I’m sure the species would disappear. As for the cover credit, I bet we’ll see a retraction in the next issue.

I got the new conservationist in the mail today. It had a picture of a beautiful brown on the front. This being right up my alley I turn to the cover credits and what do I see? The phrase "A wild brown trout is caught in the North Fork of the White." I can hear the head lines now: MDC accidentally lets the cat out of the bag. Browns reproducing in the North Fork of the White. Conspiracy linked to the mafia and the Illuminati. Bigfoot is next.

If you head for the current you can get a two for one experience. Fish the park in the morning, just be sure and have a few fish to play with and then head for Baptist after lunch and fish a more natural enviroment. If you have time after that Barren Fork creek is 45 minutes away. That's the most natural of the 3, with wild rainbows. If you do head for Barren Fork do your homework it can be tough fishing. Also if there's a good rain and the river rises, coupled with an overcast day, the North Fork could really turn on.