grizzly

Ham, I had a great time. In total, I think I caught about 20 fish which isn't bad considering I hadn't fished in 2 and a half months. Looking forward to going down there in two weeks. I too fish an egg fly as the top fly. Usually with a pheasant tail or prince nymph trailing.

I don't think that minimum flow ruined the White. I've heard that there were spots in which a lot of fish were trapped subsequent to generation shutting down. Also, from the guides I have talked to, they are seeing more large browns up in the state park throughout the year. It's still a great fishery, one that I plan on fishing for my lifetime. I've always considered tailwater fishing to be a hit and miss proposition for wading, so I broke down and bought a 7wt Spey Rod. I'm still learning how to use it effectively, but I have landed some nice fish swinging streamers and large soft hackles on it. It's still wadable, but it has changed. I just look at it as being a new challenge.

Went to the White River this weekend. Fishing was slower than usual. Minimum generation allowed for easy wading, and I spent most of my time below the dam and behind copper johns. Midges in red, black and olive were the main producers. I fished the midges around 18-22 inches below a palsa indicator on 5x or 6x(tippet really didn't seem to make much of a difference, but I was using Fluorocarbon). Trout were hitting emergers very heavily, however I only brought a couple and lost them quickly. Switched to a griffiths gnat, no luck on that. Caught a bunch of stocker browns at copper johns. All were about 6 inches or so, and all were on dry flies. Heard that people where having luck on pheasant tails with san juan worms as an attractor, but I really didn't have too much luck on this (of course I didn't know of their rig). This is the first time I've fished minimum flow in a while. Just thought a report from an average joe was due.

I would think the spring would have to produce substantially more than 20 gallons per day in order to have hold over trout. Not to say that hold over trout are impossible at our latitude, as some large reservoirs stocked with trout will contain holdovers.

I would avoid biots if possible due to durability, lack of movement and lacking ease of use(for some people). You have a nice pattern going here, only thing I would think about is adding rubber legs for an antenna look(might resemble a stonefly of sorts). . .

I can't tell you what to do, but the idea that someone is willing to shoot at another person for trespassing seems a little over the top and worth reporting to the county sheriff. I would hate to see another Meramec incident and it sounds like this guy has no problem with shooting in the general area of another person. Do what you think is best as this is ultimately your decision.

Unfortunately, Taney is the unofficial 5th trout park in many ways. I have seen people do this before and it's hard for me to worry about what they are doing as I would rather concentrate on my day (I'm selfish ). I would say that the guy who holds a nymph down at his feet and releases it into current is bothersome, if nothing else but for the desperation one must possess in order to fish in this manner and disregard how silly he looks to everyone else. Realistically, these people probably have few chances of catching quality fish in a wilder stream(the White, Norfork or Current rivers) because Taney is a very fisher friendly tailwater. It is sad to see that it is being passed down to another generation, but I guess you can look at it and say a dad is at least spending time with his kid.

I need to get back to Yellowstone, I love it there. I was hoping to get there this summer but that appears to have fallen through. I have been there twice and have seen all sorts of wildlife except for a wolf. They are the coolest animal in my opinion.

I would throw in micro jigs, brown or olive, 1/100 oz.

Tim, what hatches are going right now? I'm coming down this weekend with some friends. We'll be in to see you, but I was just wondering what type of hatches are coming off. Sam

Just came back from Taney. The fishing was good. I had luck with size 14 scuds in the rebar run area. Above the main outlet waterfall, natural brown/tan san juan worm were the ticket. There was some heavy midging activity, and they seemed to key in on small (22) emerging midge patterns. Also, stripping size 8 olive wooly buggers below the main outlet seemed to draw heavy strikes along with many follows. Sam

Ok, I know that I am not a kid, but I haven't been to Bennett in years. I have a 5 weight and some patience, what would be a good fly and location? I can understand if you want keep your secret spots. Sam

Brian, I think you really need to focus on your own issues. Even your picture is racially offensive. There is a difference between having an opinion and being offensive, and you easily cross it with your language...

Went down to Tan Vat this weekend for only the second time in my life. I only waded, which limited my fishing opportunities, but I still had a good Saturday. 7 fish to hand and 2 fish that snapped 5x tippet along with a few hit and misses. Best was 17', and I caught a bunch of beautifully colored bows, no browns though. The water was up and stained, which for me is always difficult because I seem to have a hard time finding the right pattern and depth combination. Nevertheless, I figured out a good pattern later in the afternoon. My effective flies were a red copper john and a soft hackle pheasant tail. I did see something unusual. I have seen trout park go after an indicator, and it always seemed to be the smaller, newly stocked fish. But I had two rainbows, both 16-18', rise after my indicator. I didn't see any hatches that would "match" a yellow thingamabobber but this shocked me in that I was fishing in the blue ribbon section. Maybe escaped inmates from the Montauk penitentiary? Or maybe we need to start a new craze in the fly fishing world. These were the hatches I saw this weekend, and no, I don't speak latin. Small tan caddis, sizes 18-20(and I did get a few on sunday before the storm on small caddis dry flies), Midges, larger caddis(14-`16) with brown wings, and some smaller mayflies. I saw a ton of midges, but the trout paid very little attention to them. The paid even less attention to the zebra midges and 30 second midges I fished. That's all I have. Hope it helps somewhat.

I've used 10 lb. test when stripping articulated streamers. We were using 3x & 4x up in Montana on the Madison below the park. So about 5-7 lbs. Around Missouri, usually 3-4 lb. tippets.

So long as you were taking foxes during the season then I wouldn't bother with worrying about the neighbors. BTW, just out of curiosity, has anyone seen a badger in MO? The MDC lists them on their website for hunting/trapping. I never knew that we had badgers here. Sam

Best keeper I've seen Congrats.

Nice brown! Care to tell of the river you caught it on?

Nice post Al. I caught a big 19' white on the Gallatin about 4 years ago. And sure enough, it was on a prince nymph. I know they get the report as being a trash fish, but I thought it was a relatively beautiful fish.

I second Chiefs question.

Pat, you have a creepy picture.

Man that deer skull reminds me of Montana. We were up there last summer, and we were fishing the Gallatin. The fishing sucked but the scenery was awesome. On the hike back I found this sweet Elk antler. I thought that this would be awesome to take home, except for the fact that it was heavy as hell and I'm a fatty. Anyways, sounds like a nice little creek there.

Britts, you sum it up so nice. I hope that you do get up to the Firehole or Madison, they truly are national treasures. And I understand the friends aspect, as it is always nice to meet people who you have helped, and those who have helped you along the way. I guess a couple of summers ago I realized the quality that the trout parks bring to the table. It was hot and humid. I was at Roaring with my daughter and she was bored so I said that we should go down to the area they allow swimming in. I brought my rod so I could "fish" while I watched her. We were about 30 yards above the handicap access and my daughter met a few kids her age that were playing with an indicator in the riffle. Apparently the game was for one kid to drop the indicator in the river, and then all the other kids chase the indicator downstream and catch it before the indicator gets away. I saw the pure joy in the eyes of my daughter and those other kids, a piece of foam and a little bit of freedom went so far that day. Of course the indicator eventually made it down into that deep hole, so I sat on a rock, pulled a couple of thingamabobbers out of my vest and told them to have at it. They played for the next 45 minutes or so before tiring out. It was then that I realized that there is more to these parks than fishing. Fishing wise, I think I caught 1 or 2 fish. But I learned a lot from my young daughter that day. If I'm taking my kid, we go to Roaring River because of its proximity to Branson and the family atmosphere RR has. If I want to fish hard core, then I bust out the 6 weight and its off to Arkansas, or the 3 weight and time to hunt some trout in the Blue Ribbons.

Wayne, I understand what you are saying. It is frustrating when a person in power prioritizes dollars over sense(had to sneak that in there) If you can, you should go to Montauk. It has a beautiful setting and you don't feel like the circus show is about to shoulder you out of your place. It seems like Montauk is the standard that the other parks should strive to reach: semi-natural with easy access. It also has the nice feature of no cell phone service, which is a definite plus for me Roaring is nice for what it is which to me is an easy access stream. Too crowded? Yes, but that should be expected. Bennett is just Bennett. Frustrating in that the gut hatch is major hatch of the day, and beautiful in its own right.

Wrench, I guess I didn't draw it out well enough, and that is my fault. What I meant is that, unlike the Yellowstone River of the Madison below Quake Lake where it takes a lot of work and there are dangers associated with fishing it, Bennett is a destination where a person can fish with his little kids and spouse. I never made a comment on what the improvements, or lack there of, Bennett has made because I just really haven't fished there long enough(and probably never will). I have probably fished Bennett 15-20 times in my life. It's a beautiful stream, but I like wild trout streams. I guess my point is this: what is Bennett and all the other trout parks set up for? It sounds like on one hand you like the convenience of Bennett, but at the same time you wish it were in a more natural state. I get your frustration to a point, but I suggest you find another stream to fish if you want to avoid the "concrete casting docks, surveillance cameras and discharge outlets that pile the fish up in balls positioned for snagging." This line pretty much sums up why I don't fish Bennett very often, and why I have found a lot of joy fishing our lesser known streams and creeks. The Current River is an absolutely beautiful river that may provide the options you desire. I'm not trying to insult you, I guess my point is there are alternatives if you don't like Bennett.