Buzz

Yep.

Great report and nice fish. Days like that you don't easily forget and seldom duplicate.

I'm planning on coming down. I had a blast last year.

Good points Chief. Earlier this year Chief, Wheatenhiemer, and I did a little wild trout fishing trip. We hit 4 different streams that are totally wild. We each caught fish on all of the streams but the last. Wheatie and I were using our fly rods and Chief was sticking with the spinning rod. To make a long story short.. We were fishing Crane Creek and Wheat and I had both caught our fish, both short but beautifully colored McClouds. As we were nearing the end of the stretch of the creek Chief hooked into a fish that had both Wheat and I reaching for our cameras. I'm not joking when I say that it was pulling like a big catfish. Chief would gain on him and then the fish would make a big run then Chief would gain on him and the fish made another big run. On the last big run the fish broke him off. You can imagine how we all felt. Don't worry, Chief caught a nice fish in the next hole. Bottom line is that spinning rigs have their time and place. I'm thinking about trying it a little more this year.

BOOOOOOORING!!!! Just kidding you Wader. Nice report and some really nice pics. It sounds like you need a Rebel Teeny Craw in either deep or shallow to take care of that crank (bait) fix that you need. It will absolutely catch any fish on any creek in any region of this state and probably any other state for that matter. It does need a little lighter line and rod set-up, but it is a great lure and the depths of the creeks that you discribe sound perfect for it. Next time don't wait so long for another boring report.

That sounds like my first trip to Crane. All of those things you mention are things I should have tried too. If you are going to be in the water you have to move very slowly and stay as low as possible. Another suggestion would be to expect fish to be there even if you can't see them. Get the sun in front of you if at all possible, but stay low. If you can walk the bank or a gravel bar to a spot that is open enough, preferably a fast run, you can high stick those spots by flipping upstream with a weighted nymph and follow the drift with the rod held high, just keep as much if not all of the fly line out of the water. Those are a few things I've learned the hard way.

PM sent.

This whole thread brings to mind the classic Jeff Foxworthy Line: You might be a redneck if.....You've ever had your nipple bitten off by a beaver.

It should be getting close. I haven't been for a while, but it's time to start checking.

Nice. Thanks for the report.

I didn't get one either.

Very nice!!!!!

Thanks. That's a big help.

Of course I want to pump up my numbers!!!!!!!!! Your'e right I am a little surprised. The rest of your post explains exactly what I am talking about. It would not effect the bait fishermen at all. The few Fly/spin fishermen that do take fish out of that section would just have to enjoy the fight and put them back. So I would go along with your idea. Of course it wouldn't need as many stockings as the White Ribbon sections would need. And there is plenty of water above and below for the fish to spread out if they desired to do so.

Just curious.... How do you guys setup your leader and tippets for those really small flies? Since I use a 5 wt. I am interested in a possible conversion from a 2-3 wt. to the bigger rod.

Not at all. I'm actually talking about creating a new stocking area. The section I'm thinking of would be small enough and yet large enough to work as a C & R section that is mostly only accessable by wading. It would be the section above the middle stocking point. It's seriously wild, it has some really deep holes and several good fast water runs. In all of my years fishing that particular area, I have never seen a bait fisherman wading there. It is still accessable to the stocking trucks, just not as easy as what they already have. Don't get me wrong, I know there are already trout in this section, but it would also be the least offensive to the bait fisherman. This would be an area no more than 30%, if that, of the entire creek.

It only took 155 posts to get to the real heart of this entire subject. Really people, what is wrong with the idea of inserting a small stretch of water that can hold fish between stockings??????? The premise for this idea is that within a 2 week period the trout are mostly wiped out. I will attest to that. The idea of having a section that can and probably will hold fish for an extended period of time is exactly what you are going to need in order to determine if the stream is capable of supporting a somewhat larger resident population of trout or natural reproduction. Not to mention the fact that given the time and opportunity trout WILL and DO spawn in our Ozark streams. Ideal stream scenarios really don't have as much to do with it, IMO, as just giving them a little bit of time to get the job done. I personally would like to see Capps go to the same regs that Hickory has gone to for the last few years, which is C & R from Nov. 1st through the last day of February. The problem is that Capps has historically been put and take with no other limits except for Brown trout. It would not sit well with the people who are the ones who do the majority of the keeping on the stream. That's OK with me. I do think that they would more likely accept a small stretch of water that is C & R than the entire stream. Eric, I'm not familiar with all of the trout water in your neck of the woods, but I can tell you this, Capps is a much wilder creek than what most think. It has a very large area that is in no way manicured. It actually resembles Crane in a lot of ways. It's just not as long of a creek. So, this proposal would actually, if considered, be more of a test than anything. If it shows promise, then some regs might be changed permanently. If not, I would assume the regs would go back to the originals.

+1 NOOOOOOOOOO................. It's about a possible improvement to TWO White Ribbon streams in S.W Missouri. This is always how these things go. It starts in one place and always ends up 500 miles off course.

Excellent pictures Zack. I had a blast today. It was great seeing everyone. The weather was perfect,the food was awesome, and the fish were hitting the spinnerbait. What more could you ask for? I had the great fortune to ride in Zack's drift boat. I absolutely loved it. I felt like the king of the world. Zack, you make operating your boat look easy. Thanks for the ride buddy.

My company went to the high deductible insurance plans about 5 years ago. I sat out the first year because I wasn't sure about it, plus my wife has had a few health issues. Anyway, I was paying over $60.00 a week and that was going to go up to about $75 per week. We decided to go along with the high deductible plan and hope we could get enough money built up in our HSA account before anyone got very ill. I now pay only about $27.00 per week and the company deposits $275.00 each month into my HSA. I now have well over $7,000.00 in the account and we are both realatively healthy. I'm looking to let it build up so I have a backup for when I retire.

Early this Spring we came across a limb line that had a Great Blue Heron hooked to it that had drowned. I was pretty pissed. I took pictures and called it in. I'm sure nothing ever happened though.

Way to go Leonard. Very nice fish!!!!

Very nice rainbow.

Yeah, the food............... NUFF said.

I remember the St. Pats day parades and all of the fun in Rolla. That was a long time ago and I wasn't even in college back then. Rolla is a great little town that I have always considered my own. I even went back there in 2001 for the 20 year class reunion. I didn't even graduate from there. It was great that I was remembered by so many people and made to feel like a part of the class.