Dave Cook

I'll be night fishing there the first week of Nov. I have to take whatever moonlight there is. Usually the darker it is, the better the fishing. The moon will be in the last quarter then, the new moon is Nov 9, and the full moon is Nov 24. I've had good luck on cloudy nights. The lights from town reflect back down from the clouds and give just enough light for you to see.

HHC you have every right to be outraged by the deputy's behavior. I appreciate you sharing your experience. There is two page story in the Sunday KC Star today http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/199839.html ,starting on the front page, about the crowds and bad behavior on the Niangua River. A few years ago, I've walked into the access at Barclay to fish and had seen several MDC vehicles parked there on one of their checkpoint days and that was in the early spring. I have the upmost respect for MDC agents and the Water Patrol because I know they receive extensive training. But after seeing snipers along the river bank, what used to be one of my favorite fishing spots, only gets visited by me anymore during the off, off, off season. That would be winter. I am not judging the state agents, I am judging the situation, and I just don't need that on any fishing trip.

twhit - The KC MTFA club newsletter and other information can be found at http://www.geocities.com/kcmtfa/ or you can call me at home 816-272-5194 We don't meet this month but have regular meetings on the 4th Tuesday starting in Aug. We have fly tying lessons on Mondays for six weeks starting Sept 10. Walking upstream from Point Royale with water running is pretty tempting. I've done that. But I stay on the main channel so I can keep a close eye on the water level. It's totally different from coming from the boat ramp end of the island. Anything more than 2 units pretty well covers the island. The water first enters the backside channel from the downstream end of the island. So if you cross it there you know the level. But I am out of there (I had an experience similar to yours) if I see any current behind the island (flowing in any direction). If you see the current behind the island moving in the downstream direction of Taney, that means it's come up a bunch at the head of the island and is pouring into the backside channel in many places.. If you are behind the island and that happens get out of there quickly no matter how big that brown is back there. Get on the main channel side and make sure your route back to PR is okay. That spot at the end of the island where you ford to mainland is usually the best place to fish on the main channel anyway with zero or one unit on. If there are 2 units on, the water is probably higher than 704. If the water gets up more than a couple of feet at Point Royale, I'd rather be back at the dam fishing the outlets.

I've waded and fished down the island with 2 units running... once. It's a really bad idea. With two units running, the water level can come up WITHOUT the horn being blown. I found myself at the top of my waders trying to get back upstream across the head of the island. The fishing was great but it's just not worth it to me.

You can see a bedspread in the Nov-06 MTFA newsletter http://www.geocities.com/kcmtfa/Troutline/...6_TROUTLINE.pdf And here is my version of a John Deere. Just about everybody else bobs the tail.

Same thing happened in the KC area. I also noticed the same up around Chillicothe Mo. I looked for new buds on my oaks and they are there, they just need time to develop.

I've asked that in the store and never got an answer. I bought the SLi rod kit for my wife to build. It's a nice rod. Tim G. [bluegill222@yahoo.com] is manager of the fly shop at the KCK store. I think this is their number 913.328.0322 x8274 . Maybe he can find out.

Doug, I belong to two fly fishing clubs in KC. All the FF clubs do fly tying. Arrowhead FF meets in Independence and MTFA meets at Fleming Park. Give me a call at 816-272-5194 or email me if you are interested.

Years ago I met Doug Stange at the KC Sport Show and asked him how they shot a particular underwater fish scene. He said they put the camera in an (dry) aquarium and could shoot below the water line that way.

Your best chances for getting the fish meal is to first stop at Montauk State Park and try and getting a few trout. This is a put and take fishery on a daily basis. The best fishing will be the start of each morning at the "whistle". There are a few scattered trout below Akers Ferry, but don't count on catching any down there. The Ozark goggle-eye (rock bass to MN) is your best bet. You can also find a few chain pickerel just below Cave Spring on your float trip. Most are too small to eat but an usual fish to Missouri that will look familar to a northern.

Yesterday's rain in northern Barry and Newton Counties should have been enough to test any containment system. Do these operations get inspected after storms like these?

Lead head jigs get down fast during high water. 1/32 black & yellow should do the job. If you can't stand fishing lead heads, then tie up some extra heavy woolies or mohair leeches. The key is to get to the bottom fast.

If it's the 3rd, I can help out. Dave

Maybe we could make an annual event of fishing Taney on Feb 31. Sort of like Jan 1st. Sure beats going to the trout parks then.

I fished Saturday (in my new OAF hat) downstream of the old boat ramp from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. One unit running, lake level 704. It was a sunny day (felt warm) and ice stopped forming on the rod around 12:30. I was the only wade fisherman at that access. I fished an olive jig, both in the 1/64 and 1/80 size and did well with it. Later in the afternoon, I drove over to the hatchery side and fished from the stairs at outlet 3 down to the big hole from 2 - 4 pm. The water level stayed the same all day. At the stairs, I picked up 2 rainbows and a brown on the P & P midge. Then I switched back to the jig and waded and fished down to the big hole. Well at least to the end of the submerged gravel bar. For the day I picked up about 25 on the jig. As I waded downstream to the calmer water, I saw many fish midging down past the last set of stairs. I waded back upstream to the last set of stairs and fished the ditch with a crackleback and caught one on it. Probably the best fish of the day. I quit at 4 pm, just as the horn sounded.

Park at the entrance gate on the east side of the 64 Highway bridge. You can walk down to the river, downstream under the bridge and you should be even with the head of the island. If it looks too deep to ford over to the island, then you should drive over to the access on the downstream side and fish at the gravel boat ramp. For either place for spin fishing I say 1/16 black and yellow jigs. For fly fishing heavily weighted mohair leech or a heavy wooly. Sinking or sink-tip line even better.

For internet publishing, I think digital photography beats film photography no matter how good the scanner.

I'd like to praise these gentlemen expressing themselves on this post. I think these have been great posts to read to remind everyone about respect for the evironment, private & public propery, other fishermen and ethics. This post is a good example about different points of view being respected by others using this forum. And after reading each person's statements, you can come to the conclusion that those expressing differing points of view seem to share the same values. Something to think about. Jim, I would not consider you being tight lipped after you shared your thoughts on this. Several good topics came out of this that could start many other threads.

The wooly and spinner is about all I fished with for 30 years at Montauk. (I started young). Then I found jigs and jig & cork. It took me a long time to find all the flies we fish with today. Those old-time standards worked so good at Montauk, it was hard to experiment with anything else. Fishing the wooly and spinner was chuck and duck fishing before I ever heard of it. There were always a couple of BB shot (or bigger) added to the leader just to remind you there is more than one reason to were a hat.

I have used the Vanish #6 (2x), #4 (4x), #2 (5x) for tippet for a few years. #6 & #4 for night wooly buggers and #2 during the day. The #2 is 5x and is understated as #2 test line. It's closer to #4. Those 110 yard spools are economical. I think Phil carries it. I can go down to size 16 hooks on the 5x during the day. If I go a smaller fly, I'll add a 6x tippet to the 5x. If I get a lot of refusals on a fly like a crackelback, then I will also add 6x to the 5x. Usually when I use 6x and with a crackelback, the trout hit it so hard they can snap off the tippet without me lifting the rod, so I try 5x as long as I can. If you see the refusals, then that kind of forces you to make some kind of change. The Vanish material seems to join well to your leader or other Vanish in your tippet with just a double surgeons knot. I use the basic clinch knot for my fly and again it holds well. The thing to remember with any leader material, mono or flurocarbon, is to be real careful taking it off the spool so that you don't nick it or stretch it. The sides of the spools, even on expensive line, can have burrs on them that can nick your line. Or there's too much friction with the retaining elastic band.

I already have a few of the premier rods. A couple of 9' - 8 wts from Cabelas when they opened in KC. I was thinking of steelhead when I bought it but I take it crappie fishing into heavey brush all the time. Then we got a 7'6" 4 wt that became my wife's favorite rod for bluegill and trout. When Cabelas offered the 4 piece models for $50, I had to get one of the 5wt models. I already have a 4 wt SCII. These are moderate action rods, which works well for my casting stroke. For all you fiberglass rod fans it reminds you of them without the weight of glass.

Zone 3 at Bennett Spring fills up with smallies in the winter. You'll see the most in the Suzy Hole. I've had several 20+ days in zone 3. If there is any high water during the winter (there has been), then the smallies make it all the way up to the dam. From October thru March you will find many smallmouths in the Niangua near the spring branch. Try a heavily weighted mohair leech or wooly. The fly has to touch the bottom before they want to pick it up.

I fished just below the Rocking Chair on Saturday, staying on the gravel bank. They started one generator around 9 and I didn't notice the water dropping until 11. That's when the fishing heated up. I had been working an olive woolie along the gravel bank with some success. When the water slowed down it was a strike on every cast for the next hour. And almost that hot the following hour. Most or the fish were the small stocker size. They couldn't get enough of chasing a fly. Bewteen the falling water and the wind gusts moving the water downstream, the action stayed good. They were still biting when I quit at 2. One more thing. The color of the water kind of looked like green tea. So there has to be some mixing going on up on Table Rock.

I have fished at outlet #1 and have seen the water come up before the horm sounds. Sometimes there are a few minutes after the horn sounds and then a rise and sometimes it immediate. Assume the later. If you are down around KOA, you usually have plenty of time even on a big rise to get back to the stairs, as long as you take off immediately. One more thing. If they are already running water, they may release more without any warning. It's awful tempting to be out on a gravel bar with one generator running light. You really have to be aware of your surroundings then.

I can bring a pot of chili and a stove. And a can of black-eyed peas for good luck.