Johnsfolly

Flysmallie - what type of flour do you use in your dough? We don't seem to get our crust right in our home pizzas. So any help would be appreciated.

I agree sounds like a great trip and the bonus was awesome.

Thanks BH. I had seen these darters when I fished this section previously. Now it get's harder. I am going to have to find different darters in waters that I have not seen them before or have never fished but need to target based upon previous collection records from those water. Should be fun.

Al - that is not so strange. Instead of a minnow trough, it's the small headwater stream or overlooked section of "unproductive" waters that I am fishing with microhooks and tuffs of fuzz or worms to catch unglamorous species like darters, topminnows, sculpins, etc. and am enjoying what is good about fishing. The hunt, the presentation, the hook set, and the landing. The bonus for me is reading through the field guides or scientific papers to determine if this fish represents a new species that I have never caught or maybe even encountered before. Most of the fish that I will catch this year are those that others overlook or ignore and I am excited about the possibilities.

ham - I think we ended up with 18 to 20 for four of us. MoPanfisher - You know what they say about large hands. It means if's harder to find gloves that fit. Just ask OJ.

Actually the worst thing for that brookie was the flour and hot oil. After 6 days of elk hunting, we were glad to have some fresh fish.

Here's a picture of a 24 inch brook trout not a 5 inch fish. Just a matter of perspective and don't look at the size of the fingers..

The problem that I have is with parents teaching their kids there own selfish bad habits. I don't recall how many times a dad and his kid walked right through the section of stream I was fishing at the time. Just because you have waders doesn't mean that you own the creek.

I added longear sunfish, hornyhead chub, bleeding shiner and rainbow darters (new life list addition - see Niangua post) on Sat. Up to 14 species this year.

Glad to see you get out with the Tenkara rod Ham. I've been looking at Tenkara rods, but have not pulled the trigger on one. Been doing all my microfishing with UL spinning tackle.

Nice fish and photos.

I fished the Niangua River at the Rt 64 Bridge access looking to catch some fish that had eluded me last year. I was fishing worms and was able to catch the fish that I had been thinking about for some time. I was able to fight the current and place my baits just where my target fish could take the bait. I let the fish take the baits before setting the hook. Once I landed them I took their pictures and released them back into the river. Here are the male rainbow darters that I caught yesterday. I did also catch a few 8-10 inch rainbow trout on this trip as well. I also tried for some of the suckers, but kept catching the more aggressive hornyhead chubs. Will have to go back again for the suckers.

MJK - I agree about bluegill. If they got to be over 10 lbs, you would never be able to land one. I have been fortunate enough to have caught Oscars down in Florida and they are bluegills on steroids. Great fun on medium light tackle. Last time I was down in that area they have "cleaned" up the waterways and there are very few fish in them anymore.

Great report and photos. Congrats on your trip and thanks for posting.

Poaching a fish is a great skill to have mastered. Then there is poaching an egg or pears. The list is endless.

I haven't caught a bowfin since I moved from Florida. Certainly not a fish that you want to lip with your thumb.

I appreciate that you got your girls out fishing. congrats for that.

Couple of nice wild trout photos. thanks for the report.

I pray for the best for you and your wife as she begins her treatment. Great report and photos.

Nice looking flies.

Friday I was able to land the following: central stonerollers, green sunfish, Ozark sculpin, striped shiners, brown and rainbow trout. Got sick and have not been back out since then. Currently up to ten species since the 1st of March.

Great catch!

I love seeing big browns. Congrats on your successful trip. I am also curious as to they were hitting.

I agree that those are really impressive color patterns on those smallmouth. I haven't had much luck on smallmouth in that section of the river. Even with the fishing being less that you expected still sounds like a great time.

If you were talking about a single day, my best would be 9 species. Some friends and I set up the Ozark Slam, which is catching a rainbow and brown trout, and a largemouth, smallmouth, and rock bass all on the same day. So far we have done this a couple of times and had to fish two different rivers/creeks to complete the slam. On one of those trips I caught brown and rainbow trout, banded sculpin, northern rock bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, green sunfish, bluegill sunfish, and long-eared sunfish. Again I was not targeting any smaller species or else the total could have been higher.