Buzz

Hey Tim, I'm coming down on Sunday. Do you think that the river will still be running high? I'll probably start at the fly only area. Are there any lunkers left? After all of those nice fish pics you posted I wonder... Buzz

I fished Hickory Sunday and did pretty well. I caught 24 fish, the two biggest were 16 and 17 inches. They both came to zebra midges. I caught several fish in the 14 to 15 inch range and only about 10 in the 9 to 12 inch range. It did slow down quite a bit after the sun got overhead. Buzz

Kerry, For some reason orange works pretty well at Hickory. I've been throwing orange thread jigs there and at Capp's for a few years and always catch fish. I'm going to hit Hickory in the morning. I hope to do well. I haven't fished it for a few weeks. Buzz

Thanks guys for all of the info on flies to use. If not for that I don't know that it would have been as good a trip as it was.

Here's the picture of that McCloud Rainbow.

No. I was driving the tan Ford pickup. I left about 1:00pm. I tried to upload the picture of that fish but it keeps fouling somehow.

Well, I said that I would post something today (good or bad ) about my trip to Crane Creek this morning. I'll start with the bad first. It was coooooold as a well diggers behind. Everything was freezing up,me,my flyline, and all of the line guides. Now for the good. I have never caught a trout out of Crane Creek before let alone seen one up close, so I had a good day. I started at the park and worked my way down stream to the bridge. Above the bridge there is a pretty good spot with current and depth, so I tied on a weighted wooly worm with a BH Hares ear nymph. After a few casts I hokked up with what I thought was a Chub, but to my surprise it was a pretty little rainbow of about 6 in. Caught two more there and went on downstream and caught four more of about the same size 6 to 8 inches. Left there and went to the Wire Road Access across from the dairy farm that I've read about. I headed upstream from the bridge and started to fish a good looking hole after changing the BH to # 10 Hares Ear Nymph. Missed a good 12 inch fish so I flipped it back out and let it drift back to me. I saw a nice fish come in and take my wooly worm. When I set the hook I knew it was a very nice rainbow worthy of a photo and measure. He went 16.5 inches and put up a great fight. After returning him safely I cast back to the same spot and had another nice fish of the same size take my nymph and he headed straight for a downed tree. I tried to turn him and the hook came undone. I caught four more little ones with the biggest about 10 inches. All in all a very good trip.

Hey, I believe it Ollie. I'd love to hook into one like that. It's too bad you didn't have a camera with you I'd love to see that fish. I don't leave home without mine anymore especially with C&R fishing. I've gotten some really good pic's of some nice fish I've caught throughout this season. I'm going down to Crane Creek in the morning. I hope to catch some wild McClouds and get some pic's.

Thanks again. I'll try to post something Sunday evening, good or bad.

Yeah, Hickory has been getting a lot pressure. I was there the Sunday before last and had to use nearly everything I had to catch the ones that I did. It appears that the c&r seems to be working better this season, so they will become somewhat smarter, plus I'm sure with the higher water they have plenty of food flushed to them. I haven't been to Capp's since the storm,but I did see the picture of the mill dam. It's very unfortunate and will take a long time to do all of the repair work it needs.

Thanks Tim, I'm going to try to make it down there Sunday if the weather holds up. Any suggetions on fly selection? Hey B Moeller, What did you catch them on last time you were there?

Thanks for the info guys. I hope to get down there soon,next weekend, I hope. Kyle

Thanks Phil for the new Hickory Creek forum. It will make it less confusing when posting news about this fine little piece of water that has a lot of potential. This last fall thru winter has been one of the best fishing in several years and it's nice to meet fellow local fisherman on these forums who have the same passion for fishing and conservation that I have. Kyle

Has anyone had a chance to check out Crane creek since the big storm? I was wondering if it got the rain that everyone north of there had. It's been a while since I've been there and it could use a good rain then. I was hoping to give it a try in a couple of weeks.

Well, I got to the north end of Hickory creek a little before 8:00am and Chief Greybear and his son showed up not long after. After introductions, we tried the handicapped area for a little while and caught a couple,but the wind was to much for me so we moved upstream to get out of it. The fish were still there but were pretty tight lipped. I still ended with 19 fish with one 15 in. and one 16 1/4 in. I went through most of my bugs and caught the biggest and the most on an orange thread jig. Chief had the big fish, a 19 in. male with brilliant colors(the same fish I caught on Christmas Eve, The pic. is posted on the Shoal Creek forum), I've posted his catch here. He can tell you about it. Overall not a bad morning. The quality of fish is better than in the past. I just hope we get one more stocking before the end of Feb. Kyle

I only have Sunday's for fishing. The wife gets my Saturdays,and work gets my everything else. I'll be there early. It's always a challenge to flyfish into the wind.Ihope the gusts stay below 20 mph LOL.

I'm game. I'll be at the north end just above the bridge. I'm not sure what time I'll get there,probably around 8:00 am. I'll look for you.

Yeah,it was a pretty day. It was tough early. I left Ollie and Alan and moved on upstream. I did manage two nice fish, a 15 in. a 16 in. I got back down to where Ollie was fishing and ended my day at 19 fish one of which was a small 8 or 9 in. brown. I pretty much used every color in my arsenal and ended up catching most on a caddis green grub. Sorry we missed you Chief. I went up to the Mill and didn't see anyone or any fish for that matter,so I went down to lower parking access. I usually have the most success upsteam from there if it's been a while since the last stocking. We'll get this thing right eventually. How did you do on Shoal Creek? Kyle

Yeah,I might make it down. I was going somewhere I just hadn't decided where yet. I haven't been there in 3 weeks,so I probably will see you Sunday morning.

Fished Hickory Creek on Dec.22 and Dec. 24 with good success. Saturday the 22nd was a bit cold and nasty with the rain, but I caught several nice Rainbows some in the 13 and 14 inch range. Monday Dec. 24th I did better with even more fish in the 13 and 14 inch range with one 19 inch kicker Rainbow. He came to a brown chenile grub. He was around some large rocks. I did not expect that fish today. Glad I had my net. Colors that caught fish were brown, cream,and black. Cream was the biggest producer. Kyle

I was afraid of that. But I was more afraid of what the roads would be like. We've got quite a bit of ice on the trees here. Can't tell about the roads I'll try them out later. It seems like the ground has enough warmth left that there isn't any ice build up. We'll have to try it when the forecast does'nt involve ice. Kyle

This Sunday looks like it's going to be nasty. Now don't get me wrong, I can usually trout fish in just about any kind of weather but it might be tough just getting there if the foecast is accurate. I just wish it would snow instead of this freezing rain crap that we always seem to get. I'll wait and see what it looks like. If it's not too bad I might make it there. But I usually start much early than noon. I will start at the lower bridge and work my way up if I go at all. Look for the tan and black Ford pickup. Lord nows, I can't quite get that itch satisfied. Kyle

My bad. I was under the impression that only Neosho Hatchery stocked Capp's, because when I talked to the guys at Roaring River they said that they did not do any stocking there. That was quite a while back though. Hey Tim, Help us out. Does Roaring River stock Browns at Capp's? I read at another site that they are stocked once per year there by the MDC. Who is that?????? Kyle

Hey Chief, did that MDC agent happen to say when they stopped raising brown trout? I talked to a couple that were stocking Capp's a couple of years ago and asked if they stocked brown trout there and they said that they did, but on a much smaller scale than with the rainbows. Maybe the browns went away when they started raising the sturgeon. The reason I'm wondering is that I've caught several small browns at Capp's in the 6 inch range just in the last 2 months, more than I've ever caught out of there before. So, if they haven't been raising them and no other hatchery stocks Capp's they would almost have to be reproducing in that creek. That would say a lot for the health of the creek itself and of the fish that inhabit it. Kyle

Well at least you know it's still there. Next time I have something else to throw at him. So you better get him first. LOL