vandelay

Wayne, if it doesn't rain the rest of the week do you think there is a chance the river is wade fishable at certain access points by the weekend? I'd planned to sneak down on Saturday morning, but there is no need if the water is high and looks like chocolate milk. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for the advice. We caught a few down from the boat access around the corner in that first run, a few more in the nice quick run down from that, and we flat out had a blast where the spring meets the river. We landed and released about 15 trout in this run in about an hour and it was a of fun. I had no idea the Niangua was that beautiful. I will be coming back next time as we only saw one other fly fisherman. FYI - the floaters got to us around 11 AM and that is when it was time to get off the river!

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I appreciate the help. I always love fishing in new places and breaking away from the crowds.

I've fly fished Bennett many times and want to get out of the park and away from the crowds. I'm heading down there this weekend. Where are the best access points to wade fish the Niangua downstream from Bennett? It looks like the Barclay Conservation Area offers a few points to the river. The Bennett access point out of the park by the Hwy 64 bridge looks decent too. Does anyone have any good recommendations out there? Thanks!

Kuch and I will be down again for another great weekend with you guys on the river, and the good times afterwards. I'm looking forward to it!

Hey all, so who is all coming down this year for Fly Flingers? From KC, it will be myself and Kucharski. The weather looks great and Brian and Ryan have pulled in some nice prizes for the raffle again this year. I'm throwing up 2:1 odds that I leave Alton with a new fly rod again this year! Sorry Superfly!

Yes, thank you all for another succussful Fly Flingers weekend! Griff, great job on the smoked meats! Our group had a blast and it is really hard to beat the Eleven Point in the fall. MIZZOU!

He's a monster Cat! Nice picts Tito and it always helps to have a super net man with Griff too. It takes a few guys to land a fish like that. The landscape is absolutely beautiful for that time of year. I wish I was there. Well done sir.

Has anyone ever fly fished on any of the islands in Hawaii? I am heading out there this week and am looking to book a bonefishing trip on Kauai. I'm headed to Oahu and Kauai. If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

Thanks Cat, Ryan and the entire 11 point canoe rental staff for the bbq, raffle and great day on the water. It was good seeing the St. Louis crew and Superfly and friends from Springfield again as well. We had a great time as always. Why do the Tigers always lose when we come down?!

Hey Cat, it looks like it is just going to be Kuch and I this year. We are ready though. See you guys late Friday night.

Griff and I got out last Monday and had a great day. Stoneflies, crawdads, eggs, hare's ear droppers all worked well. I also caught my first chain pikerel and a sucker fish on a fly rod. Griff did catch a 24 inch hog that was as dark as a blue catfish. She was a beauty fish! We did manage to land a lot fish and we really lost count. We also got to try our luck with some on-stream first aid. I managed to cast a size 2 heavy weighted fly, on a weighted line too, into the back of my right hand. If this ever happens to you, remain calm and take a shot of whiskey. It was in very deep so we pulled the hook threw the other side of my hand so we could pitch the barb back, cut the back of the hook shank and pulled the remaining piece of hook threw the newly created whole in my hand. Even if you pitch your barbs back it is not a good idea to try to pull the hook back out the way it came it. Thanks to Griff and some calm heads, we prevailed and I kept fishing to land a dozen more trouth. My reco is to always have a first aid kit and a pair of plyers for all day float trips. Also, click the link below and scroll to the right side to see a picture of mine that was selected for picture of the month. I took it last fall and the stone fly is one I bought from these guys, like I do for most of my stones. They are high quality flies. http://www.bigyflyco.com/

Sounds like a plan Cat! We are looking forward to it and it is on the calendar. I do need to re-start my streak of winning the fly rod though. Fly Flingers is always a good time and the river is perfect in October.

I'm a bit late to the party on this topic...waitng for the boy to arrive and he's late...anyway, there are some really good thoughts on here and here's my wish list. 1. NO JOHNBOATS! These darn things stir up too much gravel, produce way to much noise for a beautiful river, and I've been almost ran over by idiot johnboat captains at least a dozen times now. 2. More policing of the white and blue ribbon areas - this needs to be done to reduce poaching of trout. If you float from Greer to Mary Decker's, there are plenty of fish. As soon as you are beyond Mary Decker, the fish population seems to dramatically drop. This did not used to be the case. 3. I know there needs to be a balance between bait and fly fishing, but fly fishers do more for the fish population with catch and release than any fishermen on the river. Their really isn't a good way to release a fish when caught on bait because the trout take it too deep. I really don't have an solution, but feel a better balance needs to happen. 4. Either stock more grown fish or more fingerlings...more fish and bigger fish will do more for the river than anything. ALso, I would drop the daily limit to 3 trout in the white ribbon section. 5. Keep is as wild as possible in whatever happens with the river. It is was gives it its beauty and keeps bringing me back. 6. Lastly, naked chicks every half mile! Okay, just kidding on that one!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to see who was all planning on heading down the Eleven Point next weekend for the Fall Fly Flinger's weekend. I've got 7 coming down. I think there are about 15-20 total last year. It is a great time on the water as the colors are changing. See you next weekend.