bkbying89

At this time the spring is down and the water must be gin clear. Blue Spring Creek can be tough at the best of times but when it is low and clear it is a real challenge. Catch it at the right time though and it can be a joy. If you can fish it while it is rising you can do well but the fish are always spooky. Bill

Fished the fly only section with friends Wednesday. The morning was super slow. Changing flies often we managed two small trout in the morning. The terrestrials I was sure to be productive were a no go as were many any of the rest of the flies we used. I tried to stay with dries and received some interest but no takers. My friends used Woolybuggers and nymphs. A small black soft hackle was the only fly that took trout in the morning. After lunch, it was more of the same until 3:30 when a weather (barometric) change came and cooled the river off. Then the fish turned on a little and we picked up a few fish on grey scuds and a red zebra midge. Bill This post has been promoted to an article

I see you're still pulling out the hogs. Good job. Bill

stlfisher, The park has been fishing well this year. There seem to be a lot of fish in the stream and are hungry. I had a great day with drys and the next time they wanted something small and subsurface. Try trico and caddis emergers, nymphs close to the bottom and terrestrials. Good luck. Bill

I fished the park last weekend and everyone was catching fish. Some more than others. Some friends fished below the park and did poorly two weeks earlier. I had the same result the week after both below the park and at Baptist camp. Two fish for that day. Rubberleg stonefly, San Juan Worm, Egg Flies, PnP Midges, Pheasanttail Nymphs and Partridge and Orange soft hackle accounted for some of the fish Bill

I think part of the reason I stayed in the park was it was easy pickings and I was usually with someone I wanted to catch fish. I was more of a warm water small pond fisherman and streams were a different world. Later on, I bought a canoe and got hooked on Smallmouth but had stopped fishing for trout. I now belong to a group and we often fish the trout streams in and out of the parks. I like the small wild trout streams but don't fish them as often as I would like. Bill

Trout especially the Rainbow and Browns aren't native to a lot of areas around the US. They were introduced in a lot of Missouri streams way back when Like on Crane Creek and have done well and reproduce so for many of us they are just as good as native but for the amount of pressure they receive. What I find strange is that for all the years I fished Montauk I never thought to fish below the park. I fished the Current for Smallmouth below Akers Ferry down to Big Springs. And then around Two Rivers. Caught My first Walleye below Two Rivers. Now I fish for trout almost exclusively but want to get back into Smallies on a more regular basis. Bill

Then your good to go. Bill

As I remember the only Pickeral I ever caught I was standing in the brush casting over it at a Smallmouth when the Pickeral darted out and grabbed the Rapala. What a fight he put on for a 10-inch fish. Bill

The float from Two Rivers to Log Yard is a good float but the Jet boat traffic can be a pain on weekends. If you can float from above Two Rivers back to TR. A quieter float and not as busy. Bill

I let the force guide my path. Bill

I would never have thought this site had so many desperados hanging around waiting to confess. Johnsfolly, you must be a cold and dangerous fella.😈

It is an either or situation Higher use areas probably have more people breaking laws but the lower population areas have more people breaking laws and getting away with it. I know I have seen people break laws and not done anything because I wasn't sure if a law was being broken. My fault for not knowing. I am referring to gigging suckers with a bow in the blue ribbon area of the Current River and snagging trout in the same area. Snagging I was sure was against the law but couldn't swear they were snagging, just a suspicion. Bill

Most counties only have one Agent assigned, Yes to both, There were two agents one from Dent and the other from Shanon counties. I would like to see more agents in the field but unless we have another bond issue adding onto the current 1/8 a cent tax I doubt we see any additions to the manpower in the near future. Bill

For the first time in years, I had my license checked by two agents on the Current. When they identified themselves I laughed and told him I didn't believe him. I haven't seen an agent in I can't remember how long. He assured me he was. I produced my license and had a nice chat. he told me they just don't have enough agents to cover all the areas in their counties as thoroughly as they need to. Bill

This is news to me and probably most of the people I know including my family that has lived in Jefferson County for the last fifty years. I know the State has been trying to keep the lid on the fact that the bear population has been growing and expanding in Missouri but I didn't realize that they were doing such a good job. The bear in the story has been getting into trash cans in the Arnold area. On a side note, a friend from church showed me a picture of a mountain lion taken recently in the Moscow Mills area taken by his daughter at her farm. Bill

Did anyone else see the news about bears being in JEFFCO. Bill

I am not sure how well this pertains to the Welsh Spring area but the levels at Akers look wadable as did the Montauk gauge. I imagine the water flow will be quick and with murky clarity. Bill

I was surprised at the low numbers of people in the park Thursday. There was plenty of room to move around. We went out below the park first and didn't really do all that well. One of the first times out this year that I finished the day with the most fish caught. Not that six is anything to brag about. If we could get there earlier we probably could have a higher total but it's more about the company when we fish in the group.

I fished the park and river below it yesterday. I caught 6 five rainbows and a tattooed brown on white Wooley Buggers, Partridge and Orange soft hackles and rubber leg stonefly nymphs. I was with a group of eight and the hot fly was definitely the stonefly. three of mine came on this fly. I missed two really good bites on the soft hackle but the brown was on that fly. almost all of the fish came in the morning with just a few in the afternoon. The water was really dingy, it might have been why our catch rate was kind of low. I was surprised by the few numbers of people I saw in the park. It was easy to get into some of my favorite spots to fish. It was hot in the afternoon but a pretty nice day overall. Bill

USGS https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv/?site_no=07064440&PARAmeter_cd=00065,63160,00060 I believe this is a link to the Montauk gauge This one is for Akers https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv/?site_no=07064533&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060.

Right now the flow is 85.+ CFS and height is 1.85 ft. After the last rain, about 6-7 inches total for the week a lot of things changed in the park so I imagine it is the same below in the river. Anything above 2 feet means the water could be muddy to murky. Above that wading may be tough as well. The park waters were deeper in the fly fishing area and below the bridge as well on the 19th. You didn't say where the weather predictions were for. I live outside of Washington and the recent rains we had didn't affect the Meramac or the Current. Watch the water levels from now until the weekend and start keeping track. It is wadeable now so if it jumps you will have an idea where it should be by midweek. Bill

Fished Montauk Monday and it poured in the morning but we all did well including one big hook-jawed pig one of my friends landed. We had the stream to ourselves in the morning. After lunch, other fishermen came out in force. It was a pretty nice day even with the rain. Bill