bkbying89

Thanks for the information. I'll pass it along. Bill

Recently a member of another forum from out of town inquired about the Musky and Gar fishing On Pomme De Terre and I directed him to the Ozark Angler Site knowing this group is often helpful to visitors. I have never fished this lake and don't fish lakes much anymore. Is the Musky worth chasing here? Bill

I have found that if you can go a little upstream in the morning and then downstream in the afternoon that fishing accesses where the floating crowd put in helps avoid the partiers.

We have been conditioned to fish "Over there" make a shorter cast and you will be further ahead so you don't get tangled in the mess of lines "over there". Bill

Fished two of our Blue Ribbon Creeks yesterday with a friend. We started with Mill Creek in Bohigan Wildlife area. I haven't fished Mill much. The other times I fished it was low, yesterday it was more of a torrent. We were able to wade and it was fishable but the water moving as fast and murky as it was made it hard work and fishing tough. We managed a few but all small. I think the recent rains changed the creek some but I am not as familiar with it as I am Blue Spring Creek. Blue Spring Creek was second, I think of this as my home creek as it was the first of the Blue Ribbon areas I fished after beginning to fly fish again. I think that's funny because parts of this creek are as far from fly fishing type water as I can think of. Anyway, My friend did well catching a half dozen fish with one nice kicker. I caught a few but I was struggling to hook up. The weather was great, so anytime outside today was a plus. It was nice to fish without a heavy coat. Bill

Well, at least since last year. The gauge at Steelville has been dropping but the CFS is still pretty strong. By next week I may be able to wade below the springs. Unless it rains more. Bill

Spoonbill snagging outfit works best for that. Bill

You didn't say how much you are willing to spend so I will tell you what I would buy. Since your new to fly fishing I would recommend a Sage Pulse 9 foot 5 weight, fast but not to fast for a beginner. A decent reel, Waterworks-Lamson makes some with decent drags that can be found at STP on clearance at a great price. The line, this is where you need to spend some good money. The line will make fly fishing easier or harder so don't balk here. I have an Air-Flo Elite on my 8 1/2 foot 4 weight Pulse and really like it. The Scientific Angler MPX would be good as well. I tried a Rio Gold and thought it was great on the Pulse 5 weight. Try the lines out and see which one works best for you. If the price on the Pulse is more than you want to spend I would consider a Remington Vice, still a fastish action or a TFO Profesional II as solid Medium-fast that will serve for years, line either of those with Rio Gold. I hope your feeling better soon enough to get back on the water soon. Bill

From the hatchery manager at Meramec springs. we do have did have two strains of browns I am not sure we still do but some or all came from Utah. Browns may lay eggs but the water isn't cold enough for the eggs to hatch. At least that is my understanding from the presentation. Bill

I know they have been releasing a lot of Browns into the river below the park but where they go after release is a mystery. It seems like we catch more rainbows than browns when I fish it and they all escape from the park. Bill

I got my hatchery and fish mixed up. rainbows come from Neosho, not browns. Bill

You may be right about the Browns. I was told that the fish released into the Meramec is a strain from Virginia that may be able to survive better. They certainly don't look like the Browns in the Current. Bill

I was down at the Springs Thursday and stayed until the end and did miserably. I saw very little activity. I was way off my game and the only thing I caught was a cold. I did see a really nice size trout, all red and beat up. It looked like there was a huge gouge on its side ( A bite mark?) and the fins were almost worn and ragged. The hatchery Manager said they were going to release some trout this last Friday. They release fish throughout the season to replace the ones mishandled by fishermen. I see a lot of guys trying to be conscientious about releasing their fish but you will always lose a few. Bill

Where do the Brown trout in our streams come from? I believe it was that the Browns in Taneycomo come from the federal hatchery. Are they the same as the browns in the Current? I know the Browns we chase in the Meramec River are a strain from Virginia, they come from the hatchery at the Springs. They are there to help manage the Copepods that attack the rainbows. They look more silvery with fewer spots than the ones we catch in the Current. Bill

Nice report and some really nice fish. I have fished out of Islamorada both backcountry and offshore and it is always a great experience. I stayed at Chica Lodge when there. That was when HW Bush was president. Bill

If you want to see fish on reds fish the fly only area. the beds are everywhere. They do close the area of the stream in the park from the handicapped fishing area down to the cable to fishing in the C&R season. I assume to give some fish time to reproduce without being disturbed. I have caught trout with parr marks below the cable and some really small Browns that I have no idea where they came from. Bill

Flyfishmaster, your right, the FATC group is kind of special. They have made me a better fisherman. I was back to the park on Thursday and just happened to talk to the hatchery manager. They had released some more fish on Friday and they were releasing more on the thirteenth (Friday). Bill

MoCarp, Just because the water of a lake is clear does not mean that the bottom isn't heavily silted. I will point to Bush's Wildlife Area in St. Charles County, Mo. After years of use a lot of the lakes needed to be drained, the bottom scraped of sediment and renovated. I live near there and it was an awesome thing to see. The fishing is now better than ever in the area despite heavy usage. The Pheasant didn't displace the Prarie Chicken. Farming and land use changes were responsible for the decline of the Prairie Chicken and Sage Grouse. I can't speak to how much the Brown Trout has affected the habitat but in some cases they probably did. I know that out west they are encouraging people to take brookies, rainbows, and Browns in some waters so they can restore the native Cutthroat Trout that can't compete with the introduced species. Some of the rivers I fish have Browns stocked in them and the water is colder than the native Smallmouth like and the Browns don't reproduce successfully there the Rainbows do and I am glad they do. I haven't heard too many complaints from anyone else either. I do agree that European carp are here to stay and I am planning to give them a go on the Flyrod this year.

I enjoyed meeting all of you at the show. Hogwally seemed stoked with the way things were going. It's great being able to meet the people whose post you read on the forum. You guys looked like you were doing really well. I gave a few of the samples you gave me to my brother to try on the creeks he fishes out of Desoto. He was realy thrilled. Hope to meet up again. Bill

I just caught up with Ken and Jim when they had the first one in the net. The second one didn't.take very long. Ken had a four weight Sage and has been fishing in a lot of places and is very experienced. I am sorry about the torn muscle. If you check out the pictures in the website I posted you will see I avoid situations where I might tear anything. Bill

I am sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera is not waterproof so I don't usually carry it. I wasn't near enough to get pictures of the big fish anyway. If you want to see some of the pictures that were taken by my two friends and find a great organization. That welcomes new members go to, https://www.flyfishersatthecrossing.org/.look in the trips page for the latest trip to Meramec Spring. I am the good looking fella with the green hat and fancy shades. I can not say enough good things about the FATC group so you should check them out. Bill

Fished the Springs on Monday with two friends and had a blast. we got a late start but it didn't matter. One of the guys landed two 21 inch trout back to back. I caught fish on egg fly, copper johns scuds. soft hackles, and Wooley Buggers. I was pretty good fishing with multiple fish caught on many of the flies. I think the Wooley Bugger was the hot fly as far as numbers of fish caught, Rusty brown and olive were the two colors used. My biggest fish went 15 inches but I couldn't fit my hand around him. Big shoulders on that boy. several others of the same length but not as buff were caught. Bill

I was going to post that I have eaten Snook and it was great. Only the one time and wouldn't do it again. They are a great sports fish and living in Missouri I don't get to fish for them anymore. Bill

I use furled leaders on my 4, 5, and 6 weight rods. On the 6 I have 2 different length streamer leaders with swivels. One for a floating line the other for a sink tip. I used a floating furled leader on my 4 weight last summer for dries and wouldn't fish anything else. I am using a 4 foot on the five this winter for indicator nymphing. Bill

Thanks, Al, What a great synopsis of Montana's fisheries. I was able to see Yellowstone Park and the Absorokas one year and always wanted to get back out there and fish. Now I have a better idea of what to look for and where to go. Bill