Greg

I've fished Bennett Springs for years and never been unlucky enough to hit on a day with one of these derbies. Sounds horrible!! Count me out. Greg

Nice fish Jeremy. Glad to see the browns. Hope we have a great fall on our tailwaters. Greg

Gorgeous fish. Nice colors on her. Congrats to the angler and thanks for posting it. Greg

Not at all. I don't think anyone is saying using a heavier tippet would be a bad thing. Fighting a fish with heavier tippet should be a better scenario as you can put more pressure on the fish and land it quicker. More power to you and your Dad. Personally though if I'm fishing in the daytime I just don't get many hits unless I'm using a pretty light tippet. Very nice fish in your pics. Greg

I definitely agree with that. In fact I find a medium fast 5 wt perfect for 99% of MO fly fishing for trout. With the right rod you can cast a fairly big weighted streamer or a #20 dry fly. If you are going to fish with 6 or 7X I would use a 5 wt or smaller and you'll break off far fewer fish. IMHO anyway. Like some of the other posters I use 5X or even 4X when I'm throwing streamers, fishing at night, or when the water is high and I'm using a lot of weight. BUT when the water is low and clear and I'm dead drifting small weighted or bead head nymphs or using small dries I find 6 and 7X to be beneficial. Also regarding fluorocarbon - I'm a fan of the orvis mirage brand. It has seemed more consistent in quality to me and is somewhat cheaper than Rio. Regarding retying - that would probably be a good thing. I do notice that after a number of fish I'll generally eventually break one off. But I've gone other days and caught 30 or 40 fish on the same fly without a single breakoff (using 6 or 7X). I'm too lazy to retie too though (LOL). Greg

I respectfully disagree that if you hook a big trout on 6 or 7X you are always going to kill it (Sorry Phil). Especially 6 or 7X fluoro. I use both a lot. It's pretty tough stuff and will take a lot more pressure than you would think. Take a length out sometime and try to break it in your hands and you'll see what I mean. I'm certainly not saying you won't EVER kill a fish with the smaller tippets but I've caught enough trout on them in the 18 to 22" range to know that's not always true or even true most of the time (at least for me). Several times I've caught a really nice brown or bow on 7X, released it, then later observed the very same fish in the very same lie hours later none the worse for wear. I think there are other factors that play into it too like the dissolved O2 level in the water, overall condition of the fish, etc. I think Dave's timeframe of 5 minutes is a pretty good one. Greg

Sounds like a great trip. I'm glad you did well. I love all 3 of those places (Taney, Norfork, and the white). Greg

It might be a rehash but for me your post here makes me realize how serious this situation is. I had no idea. I primarily fish for trout now but I grew up fishing for smallmouth on the Finley. How sad if this continues or gets worse..... Greg

Wild or stockers those are some beautiful fish. Nicely done. Greg

Al - very insightful comments as always. Regarding your question though: "Here's a somewhat related question...does it disappoint you to catch fish that have obvious fresh hook scars around their mouths? Healed torn-off maxillaries? Sometimes it disappoints me...I guess I'd like to think I was the first one to catch that fish." I've got a somewhat different take. I actually like to catch those fish with the scars. Although they may not be so pretty I kind of view that fish as a survivor/warrior. Maybe those fish that have a few scars are a bit harder to catch than the perfect ones? Greg

I'd be interested in your thoughts too even if the differ greatly from my own. But certainly understand if you choose to keep them to yourself this time. Greg

Yes hopefully it will become a new access point. That would be nice. But a couple of comments about this: First it is extremely sad for those of us that have grown up in this area. I have a lot of good memories of Riverside. My brother's wedding reception was there over 20 years ago. My uncle went to college in Springfield and bussed tables part time at riverside back in the 50's. It seems like most all of the home owned restaurants in our area are now gone. All chain restaurants now or close to it. Also it sure doesn't seem like a good use of our tax $$ for FEMA to be buying it and spending that kind of money to turn it down. But what else is new? Sorry don't want to start anything political here. Greg

Brian I can't remember exactly where I saw it although it was posted on the internet somewhere. I did a google search and couldn't relocate it though. Greg

I might be wrong but back when I used to keep trout - the only ones I cleaned that had the orange colored meat were the bigger fish from Taneycomo. I remember asking another angler and he told me a diet high in scuds or sowbugs gives the meat that color. That could be wrong though. Speaking of hatcheries and hatchery trout - does anyone remember an article written a few years ago about some experiments done with growing hatchery fish that looked and acted more like wild trout? In the article it stated that the trout chow pellets were missing some specific nutrient (copper?) and when that nutrient was added the trout colors brightened up like true wild trout. The other thing done was to limit human contact to an absolute minimum. Trout were fed in such a way that they didn't associate humans with the food. The article said that when these trout were released into the wild they looked and acted very much like wild trout right off the bat. I wonder if MO or Ark has considered this? Probably too expensive though. Greg

Charlie Most mohair leeches are weighted. Are you putting lead wire (or lead alternative) down first? Most of the mohair leeches I tie I wrap ten to 20 wraps of .015 lead wire down first. That builds a bulkier more natural looking body. If you don't want them weighted then yes I would do at least 2 wraps. Love the mohair leech pattern. It's actually what got me back into tying almost 10 years ago. At that time I couldn't find them at any of the shops so I had to tie my own. I tie them in #6 to 18 sizes. Probably my favorite fly. Greg

I've thought about this too. Good question Chief. My take is that by the strict definition of "wild" it would never be a wild trout. BUT in my opinion after a few weeks or months (not sure on the timeframe there) these trout become very like true wild trout. Most or all of the trout on the upper current are stocked but I consider them pretty darned wary. Feral trout is a pretty accurate term IMHO. Some may disagree but after spending a week in Colorado this year fishing for wild trout I just didn't find these trout any harder to catch, any more beautiful, or more hard fighting than our stocked trout (the exception being recently stocked fish at the trout parks and Taneycomo). Mr. Farris - that is really funny!! Greg

I'm glad you didn't let the negative post sway you from the tournament Michael. It's a great idea. Blasting a catch and release "on your honor" tournament??? From a lake where all the fish are stocked (and stocked by the thousands)?? Good grief what's next?? Greg

I do of course. The few times that's happened to me I didn't appreciate it either. But I really think you both just misinterpreted each other's comments. And then it snowballed from there......... We are just not all going to agree on everything. Al Agnew is probably the most knowledgeable guy on here (MHO) but I certainly don't always agree with him. Greg

Hey are you being sarcastic??? Just kidding you back. Greg

I do the same thing. I've never really thought about it but sometimes I'll post info on areas/streams I only fish occasionally (like the upper Current and NFOW). I've never really thought that was wrong especially if someone posts wanting info and there are few or no responses. I've always thought the more information/help you can give someone the better. Greg

I've gotta say I'm glad you are not leaving OAF. I really enjoy your posts. You are obviously very knowledgeable. And I could say the same thing about the other OAF member that you have been having a few issues with recently (Chief). I don't know why but it seems like on internet forums things are very easily misconstrued and blown out of proportion. Not really anyone's fault usually. This forum is actually pretty tame and civil compared to a few others I've been on. Greg

Fish bowl?? Maybe in some ways since the fish are all stocked. But those stocked fish sure grow big............. Greg

Cool........ Greg

I agree with the other posters. Stocking foot breathables are the way to go. I'm a Simms guy BUT if you want to get into waders cheap I've found the bass pro white river waders to be pretty comfortable and breathable. They just don't last anywhere near as long as a better brand like Simms. I've owned several pair and gotten about a year out of them. You might check LL Bean too. I know they have a cheaper line of waders and I hear they are pretty darned durable. See below: http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...roductId=848493 Good luck, Greg

Very nice post OTF. Great info. Of the streams you list I've only fished Crane Creek. Greg