jackdizo

I like the pattern! the color combos are awesome. You can always beef up your tippet to get less spinning effect and line twist if it becomes a problem I would assume... I tied this guy up with some brighter hackle and the fish at the springs seemed to like it as well. Also had some twist to it. I think just the amount of hackle on the body being so tight makes it spins a bit, tied a few up a bit more sparse with the hackle on the body and they didnt spin the same, (this spinning thing may be getting some reaction bites?) Nice work Rfisherk! Thanks for sharing.

beautiful rod. I really like the clear wraps with the red. also like the fighting butt. great fish, looks like all the hard work on the rod and flies paid off!

Made it down there on Friday, water was cloudy in the spring but had good flow and was at normal levels. Fishing was good.

great fish! looks healthy as well.

Thanks for the report, Heading down on friday for the day. Hope the water drops a little by then, either way looking forward to it. Have not got the fly line wet in over two weeks due to work. Hopefully I can cure the itch. Gonna tie up some some hares ears for sure along with some typical scuds and midges. Last time I was there the only things that produced well for me was leech patterns on the swing... Did you happen to fish the red ribbon section at all? curious if they have done another stocking of brown trout in there this year. Last year that water was producing some nice fish. Anyway, Ill let you know how it goes.

awesome video! nice editing a music choices. Great river...

Nice work on your first Brown! Congrats. Good coloring on that one as well! What were the water levels like? and did you see alot of fish, specifically browns? I hear a rumor they did a stocking recently...

Brian, thanks again, My buddy pulled this one out near cane bluff with me back in April, it was 28 inches i believe. didnt have as much weight, but still a great pickerel. I actually like targeting them. Love the head shakes and the jumps. And there is no doubt in my mind that the 11 point could produce a 5lb pickerel.

Ham, Yeah its the Jackson Cuda, cant say enough about how much I love that boat. Its a tank, can be packed down heavy, tracks great, and is an all around fishing machine. I have a Coosa as well, usually only get the Coosa out for really small creeks with super tight turns...

Thanks Gavin, Had that boat a little over 3 years now. what a vessel. I think I have seen yours in another post maybe? good color choice.

Awesome video Fishingmill! Very nice work. Your inspiring me to get my go pro out more this year and use it. Hopefully I can have something to show for it by the end of spring....haha. Keep up the good work!

Well finally made it back down to my favorite river in the Ozarks. It had been a little to long, as my last trip to the 11 Point was back in April, so lets just say I was over-due. Got out of town on Friday the October 30th with a few pit stops for some necessities, and myself and a good child-hood friend were off with the only thing on my mind was some fishing, campfires, and the wonderful solitude of the 11point river. Got to Alton around 2:30pm and popped into Eleven Point Canoe rental to get our shuttle set up with Brian Sloss and hear any reports he had to give. Our plans were to do a short 2 day float from Greer to Whitten. We wanted mostly just to fish, and fish for trout at that, and didnt want to be in any sort of rush to cover mileage. Brian filled us in on what the trout had been taking as far as flies, and I grabbed a few extras from Brian and we were off. Thanks for the shuttle Brian! Anyone planning on going down to the 11point definitely hook up with Brian, he will take good care of you. Got on the river around 3:30 and started making our way down, trout were plentiful and were biting good, however we wanted to spare the fish for saturday mostly as we needed to get camp set up for the first night, and get some much needed food, fire, and beverages going after the long drive and with the Sun fading fast this time of year. Saturday morning came quick and I crawled out of the tent just before the sun was up. Grabbed the fly rod and tied the usual suspects on the end of my leader, pulled on my damp waders, and walked down stream from camp to a good tail riffle and started drifting some nymphs. Had some good takes and landed a few fish to hand before watching a doe and her fawn cross the river just downstream from me. A few more fish and decided to make it back up-stream to camp to see if my partner in crime for the weekend had emerged from his tent. Strong camp coffee was made and gone before the fog could lift out the valley, and we were packed up and heading down stream. Trout were in thick numbers in the good runs and taking nymphs on almost every drift. Some were starting to show those golden fall colors, and the majority of fish were in the 13-15 in slot with a few pushing 16 inches. Probably brought 25 fish to hand throughout the day leisurely fishing and floating the good runs. Could not beat it! We made it down a little ways past turner mill with a few hours of daylight left and made camp. Sunday morning started out no different then saturday besides my buddy being up as well before daylight broke. We both worked on getting a fire going and coffee ingested. Once this task was complete, we quickly packed up and wade fished the water in front of the campsite for a while before getting back in the kayaks and heading down stream. Trout were taking the same flies as the day before and we both had a few at hand before our first morning paddle. Now the next thing on my mind after trout and smallmouth on the 11point river is Chain Pickerel. This river can really produce some pickerel, and I do love a good fight from these toothy critters. As we started to get out of some of the typical trout water, I started getting out some of my bass gear and chucking some stuff to see if any bass or pickerel would produce. First cast got smashed by a nice Largemouth. Next Cast, Pickerel. Not far downstream Smallmouth. I love hitting a grandslam on this river, and not many rivers in Missouri will give you three to four species in a day with the quality of fish this river is willing and capable of producing. Throughout the rest of the day I trout fished the water that looked to hold trout, and bass fishing the water that looked as it would hold bass and or a pickerel. Caught around 10 Pickerel, one was pushing a little over 3 lbs (my heavies pickerel to date), two nice smallmouth, and a few Largemouth, all fish were released on the entire trip, with a few quick photos hear and there of some of the better ones. With trout to hand again here and there on the usual flies nymphing, the day was a success and I was grinning ear to ear. All I can say is I love this river, If you have not yet fished this river you are missing out. Or maybe your not, and you should never ever got there, ever???....haha.... I attached a few photos for your enjoyment, and cannot wait to get back down there. Hopefully one more trip is on the horizon before the year end. Tight Lines and screaming drag! Jack

I have a cuda 12 and a coosa. Both are great boats. I use the coosa for real skinny water creeks that I get into when the water is up. But the Cuda can also handle these creeks just fine. I would recommend getting a Cuda. It tracks great on bigger water, lakes and larger rivers, and handles tight turns on the skinny creeks with ease, in my opinion its the best of both worlds. Down the road if you want a bigger kayak for bigger water, take the jump and get the Hobie Mirage with the pedal drive system. ; )

I target them from time to time. I like the fight and the challenge of landing them, I dont keep any fish that I catch except trout, and thats only usually on overnight floats. So I mainly fish for the fun of the fight and like switching it up on species I target from time to time. Mostly Im a bass and trout fisherman, but do chase the carp and the gar from time to time as well as do some catfishing...

Awesome Carp! Bet that was a fun fight on the fly! Nice work.

I grew up in Perryville and have fished the lake extensively. Its a great channel catfish lake if you like fishing for channel cats. Have caught alot of channel cats in the double digits out of that lake, with the biggest just tipping 20lbs and being my biggest channel cat I have ever caught anywhere... The crappie population is good, but most are small and stunted. I personally dont crappie fish, but have friends that still live down that way that tell me about 40 fish days, with the bigger crappie only topping out around 9 inches. The largemouth bass fishing is good, although the lake is heavily pressured, but there are some monster largemouth in the lake. I have never caught a striper out of the lake, but know of guys who have caught some in the 6-8lb range in the late fall when they start schooling on the shad real good and give away their location, otherwise they seem elusive. I have not really put in the time on targeting them though. The gizzard shad population is very healthy in this lake and has a direct effect on the size of some of the game fish you can catch. If your going to catfish the lake, nothing beats cut shad straight from the lake. Have had some epic days cat-fishing the lake. Hope to get down there in the next week to get on that fall bass bite.

I would not say that they are common by any means... But there are a good amount of 10lb bass caught every year in Missouri. Usually out of smaller lakes, private 100acre + or -and larger impoundments like Table rock. However, lakes such as Simpson lake being the tough body of water to fish that it is, in my opinion probably holds a few 10lb bass. Or very close to that mark. I personally know of an 8lb bass coming out of that lake this year. With the amount of fingerling asian carp in that lake that the bass can gorge themselves on as well as the shad, bluegill, etc, it would make sense that the lake has the potential to produce a bass of that size. The only thing holding it back is flooding and the influx of spotted bass that are inhabiting the lake due to the river flooding into the lake as well as gar and other fish that also feed on bass forage. This is just my two cents. I could be wrong. But hope Im not. Its still a dirty finicky lake that can be tough to fish, but usually if you grind it out you will run into some big ones.

You can say what you want about Simpson Lake. Yes, it does have a water treatment facility running into it. Yes, the lake is very stained dirty water (not to the point of it being a cess pool in my opinion), Yes, it can be very fickle and the bite can be tough. With all that being said its my favorite county park lake. Like mentioned above, I usually dont expect to have a numbers day when going there to bass fish, although I have. But there are very very large bass inhabiting the lake. You just have to put your time in and figure the lake out. The lake is not a secret by any means, but most find it a very difficult fishery, specifically for bass, and choose not to spend time on, and thats fine with me. In my opinion, if your looking to join the double digit club for largemouth bass, and you want to do it close to home in the St Louis Area, Simpson lake is your best bet.

Nice, Jealous, already planning a trip to Quetico next year around this time. Look forward to some pics!

I would love to buy some of these. Look like great baits!

Nice report, great trout. Looking to get back down to the river in early november. Glad to hear its fishing well.

Great report and pics! awesome looking bronze back. Mitch's craws look nice, especially with that jig head, looks like they pair up nicely!

TFO rods and reels are great for the price. I have a buddy whom purchased one of their setups from BP, and has not been disappointed. But as mentioned above, I would spend a little extra in the rod department and line if capable. Im a big fan of the Scientific Anglers line for the price. Rio is also quality product. I would buy consider something in the 6wt 9ft range if your ever planning on chasing some bigger bass, carp, or even gar in the future, which believe me, you most likely will. Plus, like said above, it makes a world of difference when chucking bigger flies! Get ready to become obsessed. It changed my entire perspective on fishing when I got my first setup. Let us know what you end up getting!

Very cool stories Al, I agree on Big fish being home bodies. I have floated the Castor River, Whitewater Creek, and numerous other small streams and have witnessed the same fish holding on the same structure / cover time and time again. Its always a great feeling coming around a bend and knowing there is a large fish holding in an area you are floating up on, and that fish year over year should be bigger as long as C&R is practiced.

Seems very plausible. I have fished a small creek numerous times and have definitely witnessed the same fish in locations on that creek even after flooding. I know smallmouth can migrate up to 60 miles according to some studies. Not sure during floods. I would imagine they would possibly hunker down during some floods at specific times of the year rather then migrate during them? Cool Post, great question!