Sam Potter

Dave, He caught a few more and lost a few, a couple were 20+ inches. He caught his fish on egg patterns, and soft hackles. Dave I don't know how much you fish the Current River, but when the stream is clear and you are in shallow flat water, you need to move very slow and try to keep your distance from the area you are fishing in. One of the things I have noticed about fishermen that fish in the park and then try to fish in the river is that they try to use the same techniques. The brown trout, especially the large ones will spook if they see you. The rainbows that drift down out of the park are not as spooky, but will get that way after they have been in the stream for an extended period. They are easier to catch than the browns. Most of the trout in the Park are accustomed to seeing people, after all they have been hand fed all their life. The fish outside of the park, are pursued by otters, eagles, osprey and humans, if they don't find a place to hide, in a hurry, they become a meal. That is the main reason you hardly ever find a large rainbow, they get eaten eventually. The large browns have learned to survive for a long time, so you won't be able to walk right up to them and expect to catch them. I am posting a new fishing report on my web site tonight. www.TightLine.Biz

Busy week on the stream and several fishermen on the water this weekend. The Current River is running very low and very clear and fishing success has been good to fair. The browns are ending their thing and the rainbows are getting in the mood. We even saw a male rainbow that thought he was going to pair up with a female brown. I have never seen this before, but I guess there is always a first. Egg patterns seemed to be the best fly to use this week, with streamers and soft hackles also taking fish. When the weather clears, the caddis start flying and the fish are more inclined to take the elk hair. The rain and cool weather has the Olives flying, but we did not see many numbers, not enough to get excited over, but there were enough for the fish to take them off the top so they will provide some dry fly action in the morning. There are two olives coming off right now. A tiny one that is pale olive and in a size 24, and a larger olive that is a dark olive in color and a size 20. The larger one seems to prefer the "Baetis type days" like we had this weekend. See the attachment for a nice rainbow caught by a client yesterday. "A Bad Day Fishing is Still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Hey Ted, The hey day of large browns on the Current River was back in the late 90s, but I do agree that we are getting more and more large guys on the end of our lines in the last couple of years. The populations are good enough that only one stocking a year is now taking place. We will have to wait until the numbers are in from the survey that was taken this fall to see if the present stocking plans will continue. If we can convince people to just take a photo and let those big guys go, we would all see more and larger fish on the end of your lines. Unfortunately, I see too many of them end up on the trophy board of some local establishments. An 18+ inch brown will be over 5 years old, so it takes time for them to grow. I am not sure of the growth rate for the Current River, but I have to believe that it could be faster for them. In the surveys I have helped with, and of all the fish I have caught, I have never seen a skinny brown trout in the Current River. The amount of food for them in this stream must be tremendous. As far as the size of the stockers goes, the range is normally about 8-10 inches. Occasionally a very small guy gets in the mix and occasionally a larger one around 14 inches gets in the mix.... and sometimes even a rainbow gets in there. When fish are moved around a lot they sometimes flop into one of the other holding runs accidentally.

Fishing Report October 30 The River is still running very clear and it is very low for this time of the year. Fishing has been fair to good depending on your fishing location and your choice of flies. This time of year the browns have other things on their minds and feed a lot less than normal. They usually don't go out of their way very much to get food, waiting for the river current to bring the food to them. We are getting a good tiny olive hatch in the morning and various caddis hatching throughout the day. They are not heavy hatches, so you will have to catch one to see what they look like, if you want to go through the trouble to match the size and the color. With all the changes in the weather recently, it affects the type of hatches. During those cold, windy and rainy days the larger olive, size 20, will come off and the fishing will turn on. This bug seems to bring on a more aggressive feeding, so I love to be on the water when these little guys hatch. The "Baetis type days" are my favorite days to fish. Most fishermen avoid these days, miss out on some very good fishing, and leave a lot of water for me to fish. Days like this are not comfortable for the average fisherman and just the "crazy guys", as my wife calls them, end up on the water. The colors along the stream are amazing, but will be gone very soon, so if you want to catch them you need to get out in the next week or so. In a couple of weeks the rifle season opens for deer. If you plan to fish during the hunting season make sure you wear some colors to make you distinct from a deer. Do not wear white of any kind, and stay away from the tans and browns. I know that most waders are in this color range, so if you have to be in the stream, outside of the parks wear some kind of florescent orange on your body. I personally do not fish outside of the trout parks, or Taney during the deer hunting season. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

The upper Current River is running very clear and just about normal, maybe a little low for this time of year. If you are fishing early in the morning the Tiny Olives are the predominant bug in the air, with some Tricos and small, #20-18, brown caddis flies mixed in. The Tiny Olives are going to be about a size 28-26 in light olive. and the Tricos are about a size 28-30. You can fish a couple of hook sizes up from the actual bug, if you make your imitation sparingly on the hook. Some of the fish that have been hooked and released a few times, may be a little more picky and actually look for the exact size and color. Fish that have not been hooked or not fished to very much will be less wary and take a larger presentation, and maybe one that isn't actually close to the real bug. Finding the right location to fish is very important, because these bugs do not hatch everywhere. If you are fishing over deep water with a sandy bottom, you may not see them at all. During the afternoons, a hopper or stimulator with a dropper is proving to be an affective way to take them. A good report, from a reliable source, turned in early this week, was using this set up and caught some nice browns with it. Hoppers are still around and the fish will definitely take a large easy meal if it is presented correctly. You can't go wrong with a caddis emerger, or caddis larva as the dropper. The upper Current River has Caddis of all colors and sizes. If you are attentive to the bugs around you on the stream right now, you will notice a very large Caddis coming off every now and then in the afternoons that is a size 6-8. If you are fishing in the evening look for a brown/yellow caddis in size 12. This time of the year brings brilliant colors to the river, so take your camera for those fish you catch and make sure you take some pictures of the colors around you. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report September 24 No change in the fishing report this week over the past two weeks. The Tricos are still the best bet early in the morning, with some Tiny olives starting to show up. Caddis in brown and about a size 18 are good right now. You will see them along the banks in the foliage. The hoppers are good all day and there is a good Caddis hatch in the evenings. The browns are really starting to get brilliant colors, perfect for photos. The stream is still clear and the fish are sill spooky in the shallow flats, but the weather this week has been excellent. I love the cloudy, drizzly days for fishing...not many people are on the water and the fish are more active. And the temps have been perfect. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

We had a very good day this week in Montauk Park. Several fish were caught with the largest a 4lb brown. A very nice 3 to 3 1/2 rainbow was on but managed to lose the hook just before netting. The river is very low and very clear. So if you are a sight fisherman, the water is perfect for you. Remember that the flip side is the fish can also see you much better. The Tricos are still coming off, but in fewer and fewer numbers. Caddis are good late morning and hoppers continue to be the best bet in the afternoon. The cooler temps and early shade on the water brings on an excellent Caddis hatch in the evening, starting about 5:00. They are about a size 18 in brown. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

The Upper Current River is running pretty low right now. The water is very clear and sight fishing is very good. Unfortunately, that works both ways. The fishermen are also easy to see for the trout. In the flat low water stretches of the river, you will need to keep your casts long with a long leader, if you want to catch a trophy fish. Clients this week have had good success with elk hair caddis, in a size 16, brown seemed to be the best color. We tried some tans, but the darker colors worked better. Don't be surprised if the fish study your fly for a little while before they decide to take or refuse it. Tricos have been good, although they were a little later than normal this morning. Hoppers are good in the afternoon, especially along the high grass banks. If you like night fishing try some Hex action over the sandy flats. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz PS: Don't forget to voice your opinion about the gravel dreging proposal on Taney.

It has been a busy week on the water, with lots of fish in the net, but some were not landed on the Current River. I fished two days at Bennett Spring this week with some very good friends from the Kansas City area, and a half day on the Current. The other half of the day was with two eager fisherwomen. These ladies were excellent students and very patient with their new found hobby. Usually when someone learns how to fly fish, they don't start out with one of the hardest hatches to fish. But that is exactly what I did with them. We started with the Trico spinner fall and finished with elk hair caddis. Fishing the Trico spinner fall has frustrated some of the most seasoned fly fishing veterans, but these ladies managed to hook and land two browns each off of the fall. When the bugs were gone we switched over to gold ribbed hares ear, and only managed to pick up one rainbow, which surprised me because we did well with that fly last week. After watching the fish react to the indicator, I had them switch to elk hair caddis and they picked up three more browns. All in all they had a good time, learned a little about casting, presentations, insects, locating fish, landing and releasing fish and just a touch of herpetology. I fished for three hours in the afternoon and caught about 15 small fish, mostly on CDC Caddis and a few on the X-Caddis. I prefer these flies, because they lay flat on the water. They are much more difficult to see on the water, but I have fished them long enough to be able to pick them out pretty well. They are not flies that I would recommend to beginners. The Elk hair sits high, does a fine job and it is much easier to locate and follow by the fisherman. I stayed in a size 16 olive/tan all afternoon. I did not try anything else. When I can get them to rise to dry flies I don't fish any other way. To me it is the ultimate way to fly fish, so why do anything else, and carry all those other boxes around. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Snowcat I fish in a lot of locations on the upper Current. From the park boundary to Cedar. It kind of depends on where I feel like going, how long I have to fish, the day of the week and if I am by myself, with a friend or with a client. There are numerous rainbows below TanVat because the high water washed several out of the park. Almost all the rainbows wash down out of the park. Some are stockers that swim up from below Cedar and a few are streamborn. You will know immediately, if it is a wild rainbow. The fish that have been in the stream a long time have brilliant colors. The washed out color fish are from the park.

I'm Sorry I have not been answering questions. It has been a very busy time for me lately. Shawncat I have not been writing reports for the Meramec, because I have not been there recently. The upper Meramec River had a lot of rainbows in it last month. There were a ton of fish washed out of the park during the last flood. The information I get is from friends that fish there. They have been catching them with bead head nymphs below an indicator adjusted to the water depth. Work the shade during the day with hoppers and droppers. There are some small numbers of Tricos on the Meramec in the mornings but the pods feeding on them are scattered. There are usually caddis hatches in the evenings, with more numbers coming in the fall. Early and late are almost always your best bet during the summer, or at night.

Fishing Report upper Current River July 10 It was a great day to be fishing, except for the continuous rain all morning. It isn't often during the Month of July that we get continuous rain for hours. We will get occasional storms that blow in, but the rain is usually over in an hour or less. Today it rained for about 5 hours continuously, and it was raining when we left a little after noon. At times it was heavy, but mostly a good soaker. As you can tell by the rain jacket that Travis has on, it was indeed a soaker. He caught fish all morning, mostly on the good ole gold ribbed hare's ear. A tried and proven nymph for years, at least as long as I can remember. His largest fish of the day was a 16" rainbow. We would have used a dry fly for an indicator, but with all the rain it made it difficult to keep a dry fly floating long enough to be useful. Fishing was very good, the river is clear, but we did get some debris that started floating down when the river came up. It didn't come up much, but I could tell that the flow was increasing. If the ground would have been soaked the river would have had a good rise, but in July the ground is never soaked enough to bring the river up very much. Today should be an excellent day to be on the water. We did experience a once in a life time event yesterday. We found a Wood Duck hen that had eaten a fly that someone lost in a tree. The hook on the fly was rusted, indicating that the fly had been in the tree for a long time. The tree was leaning over the water with the top branches touching the surface. It had dropped during the heavy water we had a couple of months ago, when the bank washed away from the roots. The fly line was wrapped around a branch and the fly was close to or on the surface of the water when the Wood Duck ate it, apparently taking it for a bug. The poor duck was thrashing around trying to get lose when I saw it. As we approached she dove under the water trying to hide from us. When I caught her, we found the hook had penetrated the end of her upper bill. I cut the line, pinched the barb down and let her go. It was a great feeling watching her swim off. The only regret I have is not taking a picture... I will never see it again in my life, I'm sure. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report July 1 The upper river continues to run well and clear. The fishing has been very good with a variety of flies catching fish. The Trico spinner fall is starting a little after 6:00, but the pods are still spotty. If you can find a good pod you should be able to fish it for a couple of hours providing you don't wade into the middle of it and spook the fish. When you hook a feeder the rest of the pod will drop to the bottom for a few minutes, but they will return to their feeding if you don't spook them. The caddis are still popping sporadically throughout the day, with no major hatch occurring. The yellow stones are just about gone, but I see one every now and then. We caught some good fish this week, with a couple going 22+, but like I said before we used a variety of flies and really did not find a single pattern that was better than the others we used. We can catch the rainbows on just about anything, but we are after the browns, the larger ones, and that has been the challenge. I am starting to see some small hoppers, so I guess I will get out my #12s and begin to test them along the grassy banks. After this week, it can't hurt to try something else, to find a pattern that will out produce the ones we have been using. It looks like a hot and crowded weekend. Share the water and respect the water someone else is fishing. Have a good weekend and enjoy the Great Ozark streams. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

The river is still in great shape, with a very good flow compared to the past few years. It is very clear, so try not to to get too close to the area you are fishing to prevent spooking them. Move slow, and blend with the shade, you will be surprised how many more fish you will find. We fished Wednesday and had a very good morning. I was really surprised how spotty the fish have been feeding on the Trico spinners. A friend of mine and I fished about 50 yards apart and he didn't see any risers. I fished risers for about 2 and half hours. I can not explain it, because he was in a area that has produced excellent dry fly fishing for the spinner fall, forever. We did catch some very nice fish, with the largest a 21 inch rainbow. My buddy also hooked, but lost a brown that was bigger than that. My largest fish was a very pretty 18 inch brown. We fished similar flies, and the fish were eating both. There are still some yellow stones coming off, but not very many. There are several different caddis coming off in the morning, and every now and then we saw a light cahill. I wouldn't call them hatches, because they are sporatic and variable. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

I was not able to get to the Current River this week. I had other commitments, but I did receive a good report from a reliable source. The river is in great shape for fishing with just about an average flow. Most fish were taken with Elk Hair caddis or a Copper John. Combining the two flies and fishing a two fly rig was very effective. Most of the larger fish were taken with the dropper. Finding the right location on the stream, will help you avoid the aluminum hatch ( canoes ). The traffic is especially heavy on Saturdays, but with a little planning you can leap frog most of them and enjoy a peaceful day on the stream. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.tightline.Biz

The river is running about normal flow right now, and still a little cloudy. It should get gin clear in the next two weeks, if we don't get any heavy rain. The side creeks, and small springs that are very unnoticeable along the stream are running good flows. So our water tables are back to where they should be for this time of year. Fishing has been good with all the little stocked browns in the river and with the rainbows that washed down from Montauk park in the last flood. There have been a couple of reports of nice browns of around 5 pounds taken. Unfortunately they were taken out in coolers instead of released. I'm sure that other fish over 18 inches have gone on stringers. Everyone is not a catch and release fishermen, and for most guys, a fish over 3 pounds, is a fish of a lifetime. The tricos are coming on strong, but the fish are not on them yet...I presume it is because of the late stocking, I don't have any other explanation. I have never seen the fish not rise to this spinner. There are some caddis fluttering around, but not in great numers. The yellow stones are slowing down and the light cahills are still here and there. The aluminum hatch is going strong, so be aware, especially on weekends. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report June 1, 06 The river is still running about normal, maybe just a little over average. We did get a small spike yesterday, but it is dropping about as fast as it went up. Typical of the upper Current River. Up fast and down fast, hence the warnings about flash flooding in this area. I had a client catch a nice trout last Wednesday afternoon, about an 18 brown that was taken in some fast water. He had a long hard fight getting the fish to the net. In strong water you have to be very careful about not horsing them out. The extra power of a swift current increases the force tremendously at the end of the line. Cliff did a great job keeping pressure on this fish and he was very patient. Notice the slight off color of this fish. When fish are in discolored water for an extended period of time, their colors will become faint. As the stream clears up the bright colors will return. You may have noticed this with other fish, such as largemouth bass taken out of muddy water. The upper Current River is in excellent fishing condition, and the fish are returning to normal after the aluminum hatch this weekend. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report May 20, 06 The Current River water level is running just about where it should be for this time of year. The color is great and the fishing is very good. This is a great time to introduce a novice to the world of fly fishing for trout. There are plenty of stockers to keep up the interest and some nice fish to bend a rod. The extra high water last week provided an opportunity for the stocked rainbows in Montauk to make their way down stream. Although they are not legal size fish to keep, they provide a lot of fun, and they are eager to take a fly. It really does not take them very long to get tuned in to the insect activity in the river. I don't know if they see other fish feeding on the bugs and learn from them or if they just have a natural instinct that attracts them to the insects. I doesn't matter, either way they eat flies and provide enjoyment to fishermen throwing a fly rod. This weekend was kid's day at Montauk Park, so I'm sure that the stream was pounded pretty good today and will be again tomorrow. I would imagine that families will be camping out more and more during the week days as well, now that schools are closing for the summer. The tricos are coming off well in the mornings, the caddis are hatching in the afternoons and the little yellow stoneflies are popping during the day. A lot of bugs, a lot of fish and a lot of fun. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report May 10, 06 I checked the USGS river levels today before I left the house. It was a good thing I did, the Current River blew out today. It went from about 450 cfs to 3,000 in about 3 hours. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail telling me that he had heard that they evacuated the camp grounds at Montauk Park for safety reasons. I decided to fish the little piney creek instead. It took me about 10 minutes to drive to the creek and another 10 minutes to get dressed and walk to the hole I planned to fish. When I got there the creek was up a little, but with good color. I fished for about 3 hours, catching 6 rainbows and 2 smallmouth on streamers. They were not hitting hard today, I ended up missing 4 fish on soft takes. I was in the water about thigh deep when I started to notice the current picking up and the stream getting a little debris. It was time for me to move into shallower water. It wasn't too long after that the color started to change and in about 10 minutes the creek was up about a foot and it turned to a chocolate milk color. It was time to go home. I checked the water levels when I got home, and the Current had peaked and was dropping. It should be OK by the weekend if we don't get more rain. With the ground totally saturated from recent rains, any more rain we get will run off into the streams. The Flash Flood warning signs posted on the Current River are there for a reason. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report April 25, 06 Perfect fishing conditions, for me, today on the Current River. When I arrived at the river this morning, I was excited about the level and the color of the water. Not to mention that it was a rainy drizzly day. The fish were very active today and hit a variety of flies. I was throwing some big stuff and probably had seven or eight missed takes for every fish I hooked. The smaller mouthed rainbows and small browns would hit the fly but not enough of it to get hooked. Throwing the bunnies, I caught about a half dozen rainbows, and the rest of my fish were browns. The browns ranged from 14 to 18 inches. No big guys today, and with the water conditions the way they were I was disappointed that I didn't hook a 20+ fish. There was a fair caddis hatch today about 1:00 or 2:00. Good size, about a #14, brown. Probably the spotted sedge, but I didn't catch any to identify them. I was throwing bunnies today and really not interested in the minor caddis hatch. When the river is in this condition, I throw big stuff. I can fish the caddis hatches when the river clears and drops, but I only get to fish it a few times a year when it is in the condition it was in today. Unfortunately, I didn't check the water level before I left the house this morning and drove to the river with my 4WT. Not exactly the right rod for the type of fishing I was doing, but I didn't have a choice. Chuck and duck was going to be my method for at least half the day. When my shoulder wears out, I have to stop and change tactics. I probably caught just as many fish drifting a caddis emerger below and indicator, that I did throwing the bunnies, but they were smaller fish. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report April 25, 06 The river is back to just about normal for this time of year. It was just running about 50% before we received rain this week. We had about 3 inches in two days, but they didn't get that much south of here. The color of the river is just a little cloudy, not much but noticeable. We were expecting it to be more off color this morning, but it wasn't. Bug activity today, wasn't what it was 5 days ago, but the cool rainy weather may have something to do with that. The forecast is for more rain and a lot cooler.. down in the 30s tonight. The temperature dropped a lot this afternoon. We had a pretty good day, not great, but the weather cooperated, it stayed cloudy most of the day and we had the stream to ourselves until about 2:00. I would say we ( my good friend Tom and I ) caught about 20-25 fish today. We didn't find any one particular fly that worked all the time, but the olive/brown caddis emerger, size 16 seemed to do better than most. We caught them on caddis dry flies, softhackles and the olive emerger below an indicator. We even tossed some bunnies, but didn't catch a fish on them. The stream is in excellent condition to fish right now.

I have had a death in the family and it has taken me some time to get back to the stream. I had three clients this week and have a couple of reports for you. The Current river is very low, and very clear. I believe it is flowing about 50% of its normal flow for this time of year. There have been some caddis hatches and the crane flies are going well. The larger caddis brown/yellow is coming off about 7:30-8:00 PM and of course the Cranes are also popping about this time. I was told that caddis were also hatching in the morning, but I wasn't there so I can't tell you the size or the color. The ones we saw in the afternoon were very small, brown/purple about a size 20. The fish were not very active during the afternoon, but seemed to be getting after the bugs in the evening. I wouldn't call it real active, but there were, at least some rises, and splashes. There was NO activity during the afternoon. We fished the little piney creek and mill creek yesterday with limited success. The fish of the day was the first one hooked, but he broke off about 5 seconds into the fight. We fished with dry flies, mostly Adams, and some soft hackles. The bright sun in the afternoon didn't help and of course there wasn't much bug activity, except in the morning. If you fish the little piney, make sure you have some #18-20 black caddis. They always seem to be flying around when we go there. The little piney creek as well as Mill creek are very low and very clear right now. A low profile and slow approach will get you more takes than a walk right up on top of them as fast as you can go approach. The fish are very spooky in this low clear water condition. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.tightline.biz

I'm sorry that I have not returned you questions sooner. I have not been down to the Current. I have had some family emergencies.

I'm sorry 10pointer, I missed your question. I have been working on another project this week and didn't open the forum until today. I hope you did well.

The river is still up a little and a little cloudy. Excellent looking water for fishing, but looks can be deceiving. The fish have been feeding pretty well over the past week with the high water and we have a cold front coming in so for whatever reason they were not feeding aggressively today. I had several short soft hits and only managed to land 5 today. None of them were big fish, but two of them were wild or they have been in the river a long time Rainbows. They fought like crazy with several jumps, so if they were not wild, they were very close to it. I drifted some flies, but I did most of my fishing with streamers. I worked at it pretty hard today and the day got colder as it went on. The wind came up, so I was glad that I took my jacket. The weekend looks to be colder and Monday they are calling for snow possibilities, so fair weather fishermen take heed. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day" www.TightLine.Biz