Buzz

I just finished reading the previous topic and didn't hear anything about flies or lures to use. I will be camping at Alley Springs and will canoe both Saturday and Sunday. I'm taking both fly rod and spinning outfit. I didn't hear anything about trout. I thought Jacks Fork had trout also. What are they hitting on and where should I concentrate my efforts? The photos were awesome , I can't wait to get on the river. If the aluminum hatch happens maybe it will spawn a topless Betty hatch also. Maybe I should bring beads????( LOL) Any info would be helpful. Sorry about the late notice just decided to go yesterday. Buzz

I have an antique Shakespear Tru-art automatic reel that my mom bought for my dad for a Canada trip he was able to take back in '68, or '69. It is still a great and usable reel. It was the first fly reel I used, along with the rod which is glass and only says POWER-TAPER on it now. (Any help on THAT would be helpful.) Anyway, I used that rod and reel until I hooked and lost an 8 lb. rainbow at Roaring River back in '87 when I accidentally hit the automatic reel in lever and popped the glow ball out of his mouth. It made me sick. Nonetheless, it is a cool vintage reel, but now it sits on the shelf with my other collectables. The rod is like casting with a log. I have no idea what weight it is, but I'm guessing it has to be at least an 8 or 9 weight. It sits on display also. Buzz

Thanks for fixing that Swellcat. First time posting a link. Good story though. I have to give it to Kansas Fish and Game, they do a very good job. Buzz

The new potential record breaking largemouth was caught outside of Columbus,KS Sunday by a 14 year old. I wish I was that lucky. Check out the article and picture. Buzz potential kansas record largemouth

Thanks P C, You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would like to spend one day floating and the next fishing in a park. That is all good info and I printed it off so I can put it all on a map. As far as Flat Creek goes,Chief and I are going to hit it sometime soon. He was telling me about it, but wouldn't have figured it to have any 19" smallies. That's what I love about our streams, they can always surprise you. I'll let you know what we decide to do for our trip. Buzz

Ok, now I know where it is. I lived in Jeff city years ago and had forgotten about it. Thanks. We are lucky to have some pretty good smallmouth water down here both wadable and floatable. Small streams and large creeks. I'm really starting to get into fly rodding for them. I hope to do even more this year.

That may be an understatement LOL.

Thanks for the reports guys. I have a question????? My buddy and I are starting to plan a weekend fishing trip around the 3rd or 4th week of May. We want to float fish and I want to get some wading in. I was thinking of one of the parks (Maramac or Bennett ). Both are great fisheries with floatable rivers. I've only fished Roaring River so I'm ready for a new challenge. Smallmouth fishing would be a plus. From what I've read the Niangua has a very good smallmouth population. We had originally talked about the NFOTW, but it is quite a bit farther for him to drive. He is in Columbia and I'm near Joplin. Any help would be very much appreciated. Buzz

Hey creek wader, Remind me where the Maries river is. I know I've been near it or over it when I was a kid, but can't remember and don't have time now to do the search LOL. What and how do you catch'em there? I have good luck here with tubes, hawgtails,flukes, and even the big spinnerbaits I throw for largemouth. Buzz

Shoal Creek was really moving, but the color was perfect. We caught most of the fish in the slack to semi-slack water. I didn't get a smallmouth bite,fast water or otherwise. Chief caught a very nice smallie on a wigglewart, but it was away from the faster water also. Most all of the largemouth were in or around the slack water with some kind of cover like downed trees. All of the fish I caught hit the Woolyhawg tail on a jig. I only had one hit and miss on the spinnerbait, but went back with the hawgtail and caught him. I think if we had taken the anchor we might have had better luck in the faster water. Buzz

Yeah , I'm ready. I haven't fished for two weeks and I'm starting to Jones a little bit. Lamar might be good now,but I'm open for anything. let me know where you want to go and when. Let me know how you do if you do go floating this week. Buzz P.S. you got my e-mail...

I only started fly fishing for bass the last two summers and have caught some very nice 2 and 3 lb. smallmouth along with qiute a few nice largemouth from Shoal Creek. I haven't tried it yet this year but I might in some of the more wadeable places. Next to trout I love catching smallies on the fly because they are such great fighters. Woolybuggers in olive, black, and brown really call them out. Crane is about 45 mins. from Neosho. It's an easy drive. I want to get back down there soon. Those fish are definately a beautiful strain, and them being wild makes it that much more fun. Just let us know if we can help anymore. And definately keep Hickory and Capp's in mind for next fall and winter trout . Buzz

Hickory Creek is a great little White Ribbon fishery from Nov. thru March 1st. I have fished it only once since the catch and release ended. I was there on March 23, less than 2 weeks after catch and keep started, and caught only 3 trout. I would think that without a restocking recently it would not be very productive. That is unfortunately the way White Ribbon fishing is around here. I would be surprised if it is restocked again until Oct. As for Bass, Chief is right. If you can get down to Shoal Creek or where Hickory runs in you could probably catch a few smallies and biggies. I've caught some nice largemouth and spots in the last couple of weeks on SB's, HawgTails and Wigglewarts at a different part of Shoal creek. If you want trout I'd have to agree that MAYBE Capp's, but definately Crane would be the ticket. I'm not sure if Capp's has been restocked since the first big flood. In a couple of weeks without anymore blowouts Shoal creek is going to be hot. If I fish it next weekend I'll post something. Maybe Chief wants to do a little scouting??? Welcome to the site. It is the best I've found. Buzz

Phil, I have the same skin as coyote. You can change mine back. Thanks, Buzz

I talked to a few guys about it today and they told me that these birds dive into and swim underwater for a very long time. Soggyfeet- From the vantage point that they get in the trees I'll bet they sure can see a school of crappie. I may oughta go back this weekend and try to catch some before the cormorants get them all. LOL And now I know that just because it looks like a duck it might not always be a duck............ Buzz

Yep, I think that is what they were. I've heard both names but never seen one before. That many fish eaters could terrorize small waters. I would assume that they would be migratory birds for the most part. I have had a crane divebomb a Zara Spook before, I yanked it away just in time. My favorite spook, you know. Thanks for the info. I knew someone on this forum would know what I saw.

I went to Lamar city lake yesterday morning for a little spring Bass fishing. There were a lot of various ducks on the water and in the air. I noticed from quite a distance a bunch of big black birds perched in trees. As I got closer I could make out that they were all black with very long necks and tan/orange colored beaks. One flew from a tree close enough that I could see it's webbed feet. There must have been 50 of them. At about noon they had pretty much all left. Anyone have an idea what these birds are? BTW I caught 5 largemouth, 4 on War Eagle spinnerbaits and 1 on a Wooly Hawg Tail. Nothing real big, three were in the 2 lb. range. Buzz

For baitcasters it's only one piece for me. I always hope for that big one, and I don't want that weak spot in my( fishing) rod. I will use 2 piece rods for spin casting only. As far as sensitivity goes, my dad gave me an older Lightning rod and it has become my first choice when I'm fishing with worms or creature baits, all of the lableing is long gone but it looks to be about 5'5" with a trigger grip. They are also reasonably priced. I would definetly go with the 1 piece. Buzz

By "kicked off" I mean that I get kicked off of the site entirely. I' do some more experimenting and see if I can figure it out. Thanks for the help. Buzz

I need some help. I can only post on Fasty Reply. Each time I've tried to change topic I've gotten kicked off. Thanks for your help, Buzz

I've caught fish from Crane and Capps and Hickory with very different colors, but the fish I caught at Hickory Creek in Neosho have the most orange/rusty colors. I'm not able to post the pics now for some reason. I've had contrasting info on which hatchery stocked Hickory last fall,( Shepard Of The Hills or Neosho), but if you look back on the Hickory post you will find the pic that I posted on the 19 inch Rainbow. I did notice a very different look of the 16.5 inch male Crane Rainbow (look back to Crane Creek on Jan. 20, 2008) he did have a good orange color to the gill plate though with a lot moe spots. I'm not sure of the breeding, but I'm sure that they use genetic mixing. Buzz

I just got my weekly e-mail from wal-mart.com and they have a braided line on clearance that I've never heard of before today. It's made by Spiderwire and it is called Ultra Cast Invisi-Braid. I like the thought of a clear braid. I used to use braided line, but only for night fishing and would color the first 6 to 10 foot with a black marker. They have it in 10# and 15# for $17.99 with site to store shipping. I'm thinking it might make a good leader for trout fishing too. Check out Wal-mart. com... clearance items, unless your local store carries it. Mine doesn't hardly carry any good stuff anymore. Buzz

That all sounds great. I want to get down there soon, now that the weather looks like it might settle down. What type of small jigs do you use on Crane? I know that even back in January the fish seemed to be in or near the fastest water. Buzz

That's a great idea. I bet the family was a little ticked when they found that all of the click pens didn't work anymore. LOL. I have done the same thing and it does work really well. Another thing I started doing, after all of the pens were used up, was get small guage wire from a craft store and wrap it around a small nail. It gives you the same outcome but you don't get as much grief from the family and you get a lot more bang for your buck. I use them for my flukes and they do work great. Buzz

Thanks. Sounds good to me. I'll try to stop in and say hi if I can tear myself away from the river long enough. Buzz