ElkHairCaddis

What are you guys using to catch browns? I haven't targeted them specifically yet, but I bought some big streamers recently to go after them.

@WestCentralFisher, did you go? The North Fork is gorgeous.

Nice trout! Trout fishing in Colorado is awesome. I went to St. Elmo’s maybe 25 years ago. It’s good to hear the chipmunks are still there.

@MObassin95 I'm definitely not an expert like Brian, but I floated from Rainbow Spring down to Blair Bridge over the summer. We caught rainbows and browns near the spring, mostly. My brother caught a smallmouth bass at The Falls near River of Life Farm when he was fishing for trout. Other than that, the only bass we saw were stripers in the large slow pools.

When you return to NFWR, use wet flies and fish in riffles as much as possible. It is really worth hiring a guide or renting a canoe. Wading that river is tough. Barren Fork—I have no wisdom. Haha. That one just took a lot of patience. I probably threw 45 or 50 patterns there before I caught one.

Nice trout! What sort of water was he hiding in?

That’s tough if only because of the amount of driving.

I went first in March 2022 after two days of heavy rain and didn’t see any while fishing the section near the cemetery. I spent most of last summer returning again and again until I finally caught a nice rainbow (16" or so) on the fifth attempt. It felt great.

…what was the hardest stream? I spent nearly all summer of 2022 trying to catch something at Barren Fork. The name is pretty accurate. It was very, very tough.

Thanks for the replies. I’ve gathered some good ideas. 👍

Mepps? I have a handful of those but have never caught anything. How do you fish them?

I’m taking a friend spin fishing in a few weeks. We’ll either fish the Huzzah or the Courtois. He hasn’t fished the area before and will likely ask for recommendations on lures. I’m usually throwing a four-inch Zoom finesse worm. Sometimes I get crazy toward evening and throw a Rebel Pop-R. What else do people suggest?

Thank you.

Thanks, @BilletHead!

Hi. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m a spin and fly fisherman who loves fishing the rivers and streams of Missouri. Smallmouth and rainbows and browns are my favorites, but fishing anywhere that involves a clear stream with a nice gravel bottom is great by me, even when I don’t catch much of anything.