jimithyashford

Hey thanks, that's super helpful, if I can prod a bit more. 1- Gotcha, that is helpful thank you! 2- Hey the uber thing is a great idea. Thanks! 3- This is spin casting right? Or are you talking about like a steady slow stripping in off a fly cast?

So, I am just learning to fly fish, trying to get my cast, figuring out different kinds of flies, and I figured I'd head somewhere where I could for sure get a fish on just to get used to what landing a fish with a flyrod feels like. First: My casting still stinks. If I have a LOT of room to back cast, I can cast out in front equal to the distance I can backcast, which is maybe 30 feet tops, but I can't shoot line at all. I'll keep working on it. So, Rockbridge was pretty neat, and nice little place. Kinda expensive to be honest, that's the real down side, but otherwise really nice. I'd say if it was 20% cheaper it would be right about what I think it's worth, but as a splurge while I'm learning, not too bad. So, I was out there fly fishing for maybe 2 hours, and didn't get any fish on. I tried floating flies on the surface, tried nymphs under a bobber at the right depth to practically roll off their faces, nothing. There were plenty of other fishermen out, and I saw a few flyfishermen land fish, but really not very many. So finally I put the fly rod up and switched to a rooster tail, and immediately first cast, a big one. And not just a first cast fluke, every time I pulled a roostertail through them, they swarmed it aggressively. Since you have to pay by the fish there, I put the rooster tail away and thought I had cracked the code, they are in the mood for reactive strikes at moving targets, ok so I'll fly fish streamers then, to try and get that same kind of bite. Another hour, nothing. I tried a couple different colorations, I tried letting the streamer just float past them, tried stripping it in quickly, tried stripping it in in short little hops, tried basically every retrieve I could think of, and they'd kinda chase it a little, but never bite it. So eventually I switched back to a roostertail and they immediately started hammering it against, and I very quickly caught honestly more fish than I wanted to pay for and had to stop myself. I fished for about 4 hours total, but caught all my fish on the roostertail in about 10 minutes, my final weigh out was 13ish pounds of fish with an average of 3.1 pounds per fish. It was expensive, but I've got trout for the next 3 months in my freezer. So, in my very limited experience so far, Trout lose their minds for a rooster tail and don't seem to care much about anything else. After that I drove over to Northfork, where I have heard there is good Trout fishing in the blue ribbon section. I waded out into some of the riffles and went back to flyfishing, using nymphs and streamers with enough weight to keep them down a bit in the heavy current, and I did land one Smallmouth, that was fun, but no trout. Anyway, that's the result of my trout trip last weekend. Will I ever go back to Rockbridge? Maybe as a treat for a friend or something where they definitely want to catch fish, but for my own self, probably not. Don't get me wrong, if you want to 100% catch as many big trout as you want, it's the place. But it was actually too easy (once I switched to rooster tail that is) it almost felt like cheating. It wasn't as rewarding as I'd like. I will say, I had a burger in their restaurant before leaving, and I dunno if I was just really hungry, but that was one of the best burgers I've ever had.

I've been to Taneycomo twice now, not very long either time, really more just scouting different areas. First time I waded out a few feet from the bottom of the stairs at the hatchery access right below the dam and tossed a rooster tail for about half an hour, and caught a huge smallie, very dark coloration, not the golden river smallies I'm used to, but that was the only bite. It was in the last 30 min or so before sunset. Second time I went to Rockaway Beach. I cast small lures in and around some of the dilapidated docks there, caught a few panfish. Then I paddled out to the deep part of the channel and let some power bait on a small hook sit down on the bottom for about 30 min while I drifted, no bites and light was fading so I headed home. Ok so, here are my questions, if anyone can give insights. Note: my boat is a kayak, so I am on arm power to get up and down stream. That will become relevant. 1- I've heard a lot of folks talk about wade fishing the trophy section and fly fishing it. But at least the one time I went out there, it looked way too deep for that. The Dam was off, so I assume what I was looking at was low water, but even so, the current seemed pretty strong and at least from my view from the lot, it looked like it got chest deep or higher not very far out, which with that kind of current you can't really wade. So how do you wade fish the trophy section? Or do you not really and I just misunderstood? 2- Since I am in a kayak, I have to paddle back to where ever I put in. On most lakes that's not an issue, but here, well as many point out, the upper portion is more like a river really. Around what point would you say the flow slows down enough that a person could kayak upstream back to their put in without killing themselves? At least up near the dam, that current looked way too strong for that. 3- I have only ever fished small water for trout. Get pretty close, within I dunno, 30 or 40 feet of the fish and either spincast something like a rooster tail or fly fish smaller lighter things. My understanding is that further down Taneycomo, once you get past the trophy section, you really can't fish like that, you have to fish more like you'd fish for catfish and get your bait way down to the bottom and let it sit. Is my understanding right? The trout like to hang out in the depths of the channels where the cold water is? Or are they up shallow around structure more like a smallmouth? 4- While I am trying to learn trout fishing, I also like to bass fish, I assume the bass fishing is less good up where the water is cold and gets better once you get down below a couple of the major creeks that warm the water up a bit? Like I would have thought below bull creek at rockaway would be good bass water, and maybe it is, I didn't fish it very long, but at least the afternoon I was out there it didn't seem very active. 5- Any other general tips? Just regarding methods and general lay of the lake, not asking for your secret spots or anything. Thanks!

Do what instead? I alternated between rooster tail and power bait. Powerbait is the only thing that got bit. The only trout methods I’m familiar with are using some passive lure like power bait or a fly or a little plastic worm or something that you cast and and let drift through likely areas. Or fishing them basically like smallies with little spinner and what it.

Can I ask why you don’t like fishing white and red ribbon streams, or what about blue makes you prefer them? I thought the whole point of the ribbing streams was more restricting rules means healthier populations and better fishing?

Decided to try trout fishing. So far I have floated Ninangua hair below Bennet Springs twice. I fished the same way both times and I caught 3 fish for about 10 hours of time on the water. Got on the water at the crack of dawn, so I have about 3 hours of alone time on the river before it fills up with party floaters. Used 2 set ups the whole time- set up 1: small hook with 2-3 powerbait artificial eggs on it, about a foot up from what a small split shot weight. I fished this by tossing it into currents and letting it float put logs/cover or swing out and settle into eddies for a minute before reeling in. Sometimes I’d toss it into a deeper hole and let it sink to the bottom and sit there for a minute. Set up 2 was a small rooster tail that I fished more or less the same way you would for smallies. So! A few questions please- Is this a good spot? I know trout aren’t native to our waters and only exist in places they are stocked, or are descended from stocked populations. I know there is a hatchery at Bennet, so in theory you’d barely be able to get a hook in the water without catching a fish, but maybe it’s overfished? I honestly have no idea. I just know I caught only 3 for 10 or so hours of fishing and probably passed 100 other fishermen and never saw anyone else landing a trout. That seems awfully meager pickings for having a hatchery right there. Is trout fishing just a really slow kind of fishing? I have no frame of reference. I know it feels really slow compared to like bass fishing, but fishing all morning for 1 or 2 might be par for the course for all I know. It’s my understanding. That like 99% of the fish you catch at or just below a hatchery are relatively small, and you have to go to waters where they have time to grow and breed naturally to get bigger trout. Are there “good” trout streams of that kind in Missouri? Or are those fish exceedingly rare?

So let's say I wanted to fish Lake Linden on the Finely, or a stretch of water on any stream where there is a darn between the last public put in and the upper reaches of the stream. As far as I can tell on Finely specifically, although I am sure there are other similar streams in the region, there is no public put in above the Lindenlure swimming hole. So there is no way to put in above Lake Linden and float down to it from public access points. But if I put in at the swimming hole, that is below the darn, and portaging above the dam would require, I assume, crossing private property. So if you have a stretch of navigable legally floatable water, but with a darn of some kind blocking off a stretch of the stream, does that mean that while those waters are legally floatable, yes, but you are effectively barred from entry? Is there some nuance to it I'm not getting?

So, it is my understanding that in Missouri, and in most states in fact, while a marina or dockyard can have rules that say nofishing, that only applies to fishing FROM the dock, that if I kayak up to the dock from public waters, I can fish in and around the docks/marina all I want, so long as I don't tie off, get out of my kayak, pull into the actual slots, in in any way impede someone from getting into or out of their slot. Is that legally correct? And then second question, aside from strict legality, what about etiquette? Is this one of those things where "yeah technically it's legal but it makes you a major asshole" type things, or one of those "This is totally allowed and if people give you a hard time they are in the wrong" type of things? I genuinely don't know. Thanks.

Last time I tried fishing fellows, kayaks weren't allowed. I think? It was several years ago and a park ranger ran me off the water. I've tried bank fishing all up and down near the fishing dock and never had any luck. But I guess the lake is kayak friendly now? So that's great news. Is there actually decent fishing out there, or is it the kind of thing where you might as well drive 30 more minutes and go somewhere else? The bank fishing left me with the impression that the lake has hardly anything in it. I am mostly interested in bass and crappie.

Hey howdy. In this context, what does "midway down from the dam" mean? Like midway between the dam and that little low water bridge that's like half a mile down?

Howdy all. Resurrecting this dead post. It was interesting reading through where I was 5 years ago and the advice I was getting. I feel like I am a pretty successful angler now, at least for bass. I very rarely get skunked, and pretty reliably have good trips. The kind of fishing I have gotten decent at is bass fishing in streams. Whether wading or kayaking, 90% of the time when I get out on the water I'll catch a decent number of fish, maybe not all giants, but good numbers, and occasionally a good sized fish as well. I almost never tie on a crankbait or rooster tail anymore. I use finesse techniques 90% of the time. Wacky Rig and Ned Rig are my go tos, a jig with a craw plastic on it also works well. I also throw a hellgrammite on a light jig head and let it float down current and settle into pools, smallies seem to like that. I do still sometimes throw a crankbait or rooster tail or occasionally a spinner and retrieve past cover that I'm trying to lure something out of, or if the bite is just on really hard. My favorite bass fishing lure is actually a micro ned plastic on a little jig head. I like it cause small fish will bite it, so at least you're having fun and frequently catching, but big fish will bite it too. The two largest bass I've ever caught were on it. 20 and 22 incher. So not giants compared to what you lake fishermen catch no doubt, but for river fish I was quite pleased. Also, while I feel like I can catch Largies more reliably, and they get bigger, I have WAY more fun catching Smallies. So, I'm very happy about that. I am, however, trying to expand my species a bit this summer, now that I feel I can reliably get on the bass. Here are the other species I am thinking about expanding my repertoire to, if you have any advice: Trout: I gave trout fishing a few tries last summer. I put in on the Niangua just below Bennet Springs. I started pre-dawn, tossed little power egg things on a bobber with a small weight, targeting areas where current dumps out into a pool to create and eddy, or passes by cover, and I got a few bites, but didn't land anything. It seems like retrieving the trout through the strong current, the hook tore out each time. Very soft mouths? I dunno. But I didn't manage to land any, and by about 9am I was run off the river by the ceaseless parade of bank to bank recreational floaters. Crappie: I honestly have no idea how to fish for crappie. I know they like structure, and they tend to school up. People tell me to fish "off the points" but I honestly have no idea what that means. I mean I know what a point is, but I have no clue what "off the point" means. I've tried a little bit, like banking my kayak right on a point and casting strait out off the point with some small minnow bait or crappie powerbait hanging like 5 feet below a bobber and just let it sit there for a while. Tried the same thing a bit to the left, bit to the right, bit further out, bit closer in, and after about and hour figured I was missing the trick and just went back to bass fishing so I didn't waste my outing. Catfish: I am still utterly vexed by catfishing. Of course I've only tried a handful of times in the past few years, but I have put every bait known to man on a treble hook and tossed it out into a river channel or off the bank at a lake, and I dunno, I just never get bit. Shrimp and cut bait and liver and soap and catfish dough so on so forth. And nothing ever takes. So I dunno. Of course I'm not super patient. If something hasn't bitten in about 20 minutes I'm probably moving on.

Got a friend who wants to go out fishing, but they can't kayak or wade or hike, at least not very far. We used to fish at the Mutton Creek Marina back in the day, they had a fishing dock that was pretty incredible. It was covered and had a big cut out in the center, so you could fish off the outside or the inside. Go there with a bucket of minnows and you could catch crappie all day long. But since that place closed, We've struggled to find anything like that. I transitioned to doing much more mobile fishing, wading/hiking/kayaking, and I have a lot of fun with it, but he can't do that, and so we haven't fished together in years. So, does anyone know any good spots where a couple of guys can plop down with some beer and tackle and stay pretty much in one spot and have a good afternoon fishing? I almost don't even care about the species. I've tried several of the fishing docks around Stockton and at fellows and valley water mill and popular bank angling spots around Springfield like Peckers beach, but I feel like they all kinda stink. Hours and hours of sitting for little to no bite.

I've rented kayak from a lot of outfitters in the area over the years, but none of them seem to have angling kayaks. Really all I need is rod holders, but a larger cargo area, higher seat, rails, etc would be nice. Does anyone know of any outfitters that can outfit a fishing trip, and have angling kayaks?

A kayak is my only boat, its gotta be better than bank fishing right? And yeah yeah, i knew as soon as i tied it on i was gonna get crap for the rooster tail, but i only had rooster tails and crankbaits to fish near the top. What would you recomend tossing at schools of baitfish when you start to see surface strikes? Or is that not worth casting at?

So I went back out to Stockton last night after work, equipped with all I have learned in the last week or so and the confidence of success on the Piney over the weekend. And I got skunked. Let me tell you all what I did, and if you could tell me if I did anything wrong, or did everything by the book but they just weren't biting? So attached is a picture of the route I took, it is just south east of the Ruark campground. I headed strait for the closest point and fished all over the point and slightly down both sides. At first a used a Ned Rig with the zman plastic that mimics a shad. I cast near the shore and retrieved out to where the water gets to be about 15 feet deep. No bites. I moved to the next point, did the same. Eventually I got snagged on the bottom and swapped out for a ned rig with the hula plastic that kinda mimics a crawfish. Same tactic on the next point. No bites. I moved out to where my fishing map shows a submerged attractor and used the Ned all around that. At this point I started to notice a surface bite picking up, it was maybe 7:15pm or so, so I switched to rooster tails and shallow diving crank baits just to try and get in on some of that action near the surface, but nothing bit. I worked my way back to where I launched, casting into bait balls as I saw them. Now with the ned, I am still a little unclear on how to properly retrieve the Ned. Some folks are saying to basically not move it, or move it very little, others are saying that just letting it sit there and soak is a waste of time, cause if there is a fish near it'll get it within about 30 seconds or its not going to.