Fishingmill

Awesome fish. My guess is approx. 4-5 lbs. Beautiful Missouri specimen right there.

@Gavin, I'd be interested to hear if fishing was good on the section of river I was fishing (Tan Vat to Baptist Camp). That day I talked to a few other guys who said that it was also a rough day. Not sure if this is just one day or a recent trend. @jackdizo and @joeD, I've always caught fish in this stretch, but I just didn't see as many fish as I normally do. It could be a combination of a few things: 1. Flooding could have washed some fish downstream, especially the rainbows that I am used to seeing. 2. The flooding changed the river and the fish were not where I am used to looking. 3. The river was low and the fish moved further downstream. 4. I was trying out some new flies. 5. The fish just weren't biting and the ones that did were biting very light (I missed 3 fish that day - 2 on nymphs under an indicator and 1 on a dry fly). 6. The weather, unusually warm and windy. But here's some positive thoughts... there are a lot of really cool runs in the this section now and I am sure the rainbows will start to stack up when they start stocking regularly.

First let me say, the weather was wonderful. Hard to beat fishing in 70 degrees in February. I fished from Tan Vat to Baptist Camp. River has changed a lot from the winter flooding. Most pools are completely different. As nice as the weather was, I didn't catch a single trout the entire day. Been probably 3 years since I've been skunked trout fishing. Fish were biting very light. I hooked into three browns that day and they all got off before I could get them in. I also didn't see as many fish as I normally do. Other guys I talked to only managed to catch a few Bottom line: tough day fishing but at least the weather was nice.

Great post and comments. Thanks for sharing. Smallmouth on a fly rod is a wonderful thing. I was fortunate enough to fish in Northern Michigan and caught a 20 inch smallie on the fly. It was a tug of war match until the very end. One of the hardest fighting fish I've ever caught. I was using very thick tippet (probably 15-20lbs) and put a lot of pressure on the fish during the fight, so it is difficult to compare it to the large trout I've caught. I've caught lots of trout over 20 inches, but I am usually using the small tippet possible, usually 4x or 5x. I would never fight a large trout like I would a large smallmouth. Maybe that's what makes smallmouth on the fly so much fun.

@jfrith that picture is awesome. Congrats.

I went to Montauk on Sunday. Fished the flies only section. Water was a little high and pretty murky. It looked like there were several rainbows spawning in rapids. Not sure if it is normal for this time of year. Kinda slow but saw a few rainbows in the 2-4 lb range. I was using a variety of nymphs. Very light takes so there were several that I missed.

Very interesting year with all the rain. Tried to focus on more warm water fly fishing this year. Caught my first grass carp on the fly then immediately broke that record. Caught my first decent largemouth on the fly. Caught a new personal best rainbow trout on the fly. Also, caught several new species on the fly: yellow perch, longnose gar, smallmouth buffalo, common carp, blue catfish, silver carp

Thanks, I'll probably try to go down Sunday. It's either here or maybe Montauk. Even if I don't fish, it will be interesting to see the water and if there are any changes.

Anyone know how Maramec Springs looks? I was thinking of taking a trip down there just to see how it looks, but don't want to waste my time if the park isn't even open.

Beautiful sunrise.

@FlyfshI've never used a gopro in a cave, so you got me there. Haha.

Gopro are best for capturing outdoor action footage. They aren't great for indoor shots with low lighting. You can get a refurb dslr with a lens for about the same price as the GoPro Hero4 Black. A good dslr will record video in low light and allow you to zoom. But they aren't as durable or waterproof as a GoPro.

I like the new look.

Yeah, this is the biggest fish I've seen at BSSP in a long time. I'm sure he will get caught a few times during C&R season. Glad to hear he is still alive. Hopefully the people that catch him handle him with care. It's pretty challenging landing these fish in such tight quarters.

Congratulations. I agree with Flysmallie, no need for a measuring tape. As long as you have a memory (and a picture for proof to your friends), that's all that matters. I always keep a measuring tape in my pack, but rarely use it. I usually just put the fish against the handle of my net and then measure the net later on.