creek wader

Tough fishing but, looks like it was worth it. Nice fish. Feels good to get out, I bet.

siusaluki, for the 1st 3 yrs. of fishing 6 different access pts. I never saw anyone fishing, only a few locals at the low water crossings, they were swimming. Then on 4th of July Saturday, last yr. I fished under the Hwy P bridge, near Freeburg. There I saw 3 or 4 groups of people near the parking area, some were fishing. The other day I fished at the Dr. Bernard Bruns Access, because I was short on daylight. There I saw several couples of people fishing or just messing around. Of course it was an 80* day in March. Other than that, nobody. And those few times, I just waded away from them. At my "secret" access, I've seen no one else, fishing, ever. fishinwrench, Yes I've fished the Saline Creek, several times and caught smallies, lg mouth, and Kentuckys. I've only been there once in the last couple of yrs. It was about this time of yr. The stream was way up, but fairly clear. I didn't catch anything. But, I did notice a huge population of large crayfish. The brown ones with the 2 black stripes. So, the fish there ought to be eating well. I didn't notice any improvements, then. I've been wanting to get back there and will try later this yr. mrbuzib1, post me if you come back, I'll point you in the right direction to my "secret" access. lol KCRIVERRAT, those pics were last yr. I just love my camera phone. Here's a few more,

To attach a pic. Hit Browse... .. Then open the file of your pic and click on it. ... Then hit Upload .... Then hit the arrow in Manage Current Attachments (1) ... Then click on the plus. It'll take a few minutes to add. .... Glad to hear they are catching fish. I see that they are starting to generate again. May have to try it tomorrow. .... Wader

mrbuzib1, ..The Maries is a nice little stream. It's about the most northern "smallie stream", in centeral Missouri. But, It's not really worth the drive, unless you just happen to be in the area. The problem is, it get's real low (see the site below). As you can see, a little rain and it runs wild, but, it'll drop in a day or two. It even gets lower in late summer. So, you have to wade a few hundred of yards between fishable spots. I try not to hit the same section twice in a row. So far in 3 trips this year, I've hit 3 different sections. It's definately a wader's stream. When I'm in Jeff. It is very convinient. So, I hit it regulary. But, If I had time to travel to a stream. There are much better "smallie streams", in Missouri, that I've been dying to travel to. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00060...ite_no=06927000

siusaluki, nice. Sounds like a good time. I've never used anything like that. I've got a tackle box full of cranks, that look similar. Next time I get frustrated with the fly rod (won't be long), I'll have to try some on my spinning rod.

All that aside, Did he catch any fish? .. Just kidding. .. Wading in something that looks like your pic, is pure insanity, even in warm water.

03/17, ... Made it out for a little over an hour St. Patty's evening. It was 80* +, no wind, excellent day. Fished a 3rd spot on the Maries. Caught a 12" spot and 3 smallies off a senko, below a riffle, (only spot I fished), on the spinning rod. Then tried my fly rod. Caught a 11" smallie on a blue/white clouser that I tied myself. That's the 2nd smallie on a home made fly. I know it's nothing to most of you. But, I just started tying, this winter, and caught one on both home made flies, that I've tied. Woohoo! I feel good.... Anyway, the largest smallie was on a senko/jighead @ 14". It sucked that I worked all day and only got in an hour fishing, but, was glad to get that in. Can't wait to get a whole day in. ... Wader

Way to go siusaluki. Sounds like you had a good time.

siusaluki, ... Yes, it does feel good. After seeing your pics from your last report, I got the fever bad. Screw the urban trout lakes, that had been tying me over. I just wish I could get more time. But a few hrs. here and there feels pretty nice. Right now the streams are exceptionally clear around Jeff. There has been no real rain in months. So, you can see the smallies dart out from the rocks, logs, etc. and hit the lures. What a hoot. Only problem is, the streams are getting real low. Hate to see that. later ...wader

I'm far removed from being a good fisherman, I'm just a man that likes to fish. So, never take my advice on anything. But, here's my two bits, anyway .... I use soft plastics..#1 senko type, then any of the following in any order, plastic craw imitations, plastic salamander imitations, twister tails, jig and pig ... that's just me though, I"ve never done well on spinnerbaits or crankbaits

Good report. Let us know when the smallies and the wallyes start turning on. I really want to hit Stockton, this yr. ... Thanks Wader

Good report. Looks like everybody's doing well on the streams now. Smallies are really feeding, now.

Yes, I was dead sticking. I was asking for it.I realize it's the bait not the hook. But those hooks are a booger unhooking from a fish. I went again today and caught several more. None swallowed the hook. I used a j type worm hook. I usually can work them out without harming the fish the other hooks are almost impossible to remove. Anyway, I need to get out the fly rod. I need lots of practice, myself.

Managed to escape for a few hrs. today, 03/15/09. Ran down to a different spot on the Maries. Wade fished about a 1/2 mile. Caught a nice 15" smallie, 3 lg. mouth and a few bluegill. Used the spinning rod again, w/ yum dingers and senkos. The water was gin clear. About normal flow.54*, overcast.

Thanks, I'm going with a j type worm hook with a flattened barb, from now on, when using the spinning rod. The 3" dingers are a great year around bait. But, I mainly will be using my fly rod this yr. , with flies. So, I won't be using the little dingers so much.

I used Gamakatsu® Hooks - G-Lock Worm, the other day. The design is a little different than most worm hooks. I guess you can say a better mouse trap. It worked wonderful on 3" Yum dingers for bass. I had very few misses. The hook did the job it was designed for. When the fish got hooked, it stayed hooked. The only problem it would stay hooked "too good". I C&R only. So, I always try to release fish unharmed. Most of the fish that I caught were solidly hooked and I had a difficult time getting the hook out. Several swalled the hook and I just had to cut my line and give them the hook. They were bleeders and I hope that they survived. I've taken them out of my box. ... Anyway, a great choice for hooking and keeping fish, but a bad choice for C&R.

Managed to get out today 03/10 on the Maries. Did a little wade fishing. The river was at it's winter low and very clear. Seen a lot of fish. Fished for about 4 hrs. then got caught in a torrental downpour, about a mile from the truck. Caught a 12 in. smallie on the 2nd and 3rd cast. So, went back to the truck and grabbed the fly rod and caught a 10 in. lg mouth on a streamer that I tied myself, a little self satisfaction, there. Had several hits from smallies, on a few others that I tied but, missed them. So, went back to my spinning reel and caught about 20 bass, mostly smallies, a few spots, and lg. mouth. Also, caught few sunfish and a rock bass. It was overcast in the 50's and occassional light rain, most of the time. Then it cut loose. I got soaked. Cut my day short. Can't wait to get back out. I used 3" yum dingers on the spinning reel and several different streamers on the flyrod. .. Wader

Way to go, siusaluki. I've got the fever bad. I'll be on the little streams first chance that I get. I went below bagnell dam the other day, because I had a co-worker with me, that wasn't prepared for wade fishing. Got to get away from those guys. ... wader

"maby a stripper). ", man I'd like to see one while fishing... oh wait.. you mean a "striper", lol. ... Well at least you caught something. Fishing below dams can be tough, when they're not running water. Timing is everything. Here's a site to check the flows of the waters in Missouri, including Bagnell. I see they ran it briefly, today.. Also, here are a couple of pics, the first is last fall when they were running water, the whites were easy pickings, the 2nd is from the other day when they weren't, a lot of bank and no fish. good luck .. Wader http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/current/...roup_key=huc_cd

Good advice fishinwrench. I have to agree with you on it being frustrating. Nearly every winter I start tying smallie flies and practice my casts on urban winter trout lakes. I start getting all geared up for fly fishing streams for smallies. Every spring by the 3rd or 4th trip out, I get frustrated. I put up my fly rod and grab my spinning reel and soft plastics, then proceed to catch smallies. I'll catch a few smallies on the fly rod. Always small and far and few between. I catch more trees and bushes, though. The streams that I fish are of the smaller variety. So it's tight quarters and the roll cast is usually the only option. By the end of each day, I'm usually down to a popper, trying for sunfish. But, once again, I've got the fever and I'm going to start the spring off, with the fly rod. ... Good luck DoctaJ. My best advice is to stick with it. When you catch that 18" smallie (always eludes me) on a fly rod. It'll all be worth it. .. Wader

We caught a total of 8 cats below the dam today using worms. We were bank fishing. If they're generating water you'll do well. If they are not it'll be slow. I see them drift fishing all the time. I don't know how they don't snag up. I guess you tie the weight below the hook, it still would snag, though. Good luck. ,... wader

I had some free time. So I fished below Bagnell dam today. I knew they were not generating water. But, tried it anyway, it was a beautiful day, better than 80*. The level was down about 10 ft. from Tues. Many people and boats out, but no one catching anything. We threw everything in the box and tried minnows. Finally, my buddy started using night crawlers and caught 7 small channel cats. I finally joined in and caught one. About 2:30, they sounded the horn and started generating. The gulls swept in and started feeding on shad and our hopes raised. But, they stopped generating after about 10 min. and our hopes were dashed. They must of just been testing or something. Going to watch the discharge data and try it again in a few days.

Nice. Glad to hear you did well. I agree with flyfishmaster, we gotta have visual aids. I hit the Little Piney a few times, nice little stream. I wish I had some free time on my hands, I'd try it again.

thanks for the info guys, if I get a chance I'll give it a shot and report back. ... Wader

ummm ... ok, guess I'll try somewhere else