roundtrout

Almost as long as I can remember. Translated, that means 30+ years with about an 11 year hiatus while in the Navy. My great-grandfather lived just off the lake in Forsyth, about half a mile up from Powersite Dam. We visited at least a couple of times every year from our home in south Kansas City, on the Kansas side, usually stopping at Osceola Cheese on the way down and again on the way home. I remember doing just about every kind of fishing except fly fishing on Taney, until recently. I remember swimming at Shadow Rock on Swan Creek and a hole upstream where an old iron bridge crossed the creek, playing skee-ball at Rockaway Beach and attending Sunday services in Branson, when it was still a pretty sleepy town. The biggest entertainment attractions were the Baldknobbers and the Shepherd of the Hills play. Most of my fishing was for bass and panfish on either a Zebco spin-cast or some other brand spinning rod. Trout were for the grown-ups. Even though I started flyfishing for panfish around 12 years old, throwing popping bugs to blue gills on farm ponds, I never used it on Taney until a couple of years ago up at the dam, fishing the KOA rip-rap. I recall one Sunday morning running my great-grandfather's trot line, with my grand-dad rowing the john boat and already dressed for church, we pulled in a 40 lb Blue Catfish off the park just down from the cabin. Boy, were we in trouble with grand-ma when we came back toting that catfish! Lots of other memories I should probably put down for posterity. Thanks for posting the topic and letting me relive some old memories! Bob

I posted "No Change" to the current regulations. Aside from the ethics and/or enforceability arguments set forth, both of which I agree with, the question arises as to the results of a change to the regulations. Though I do not shuffle, I'm also not the most gracious wader. One of the reasons I stay on the bank as much as possible. Shuffling may work at Taneycomo, but at other locations I've found that purposely advertising your presence in the water tends to put fish down more than bring them out. In other words, its just good practice not to shuffle. What concerns me is that any attempt to ban shuffling will likely be accompanied with a ban on wading. As I'm currently boatless, that would drastically affect my ability to fish. Besides, I like to be able to walk the bank, though sometimes I need to wade from one section to another or simply wade to allow my backcast a little more room!

No Change

Dave, I've done the beadhead thing on a little larger size hooks, 10 & 12. Gold or tungsten beadhead emulating the white floss jig that you find at the shop and elsewhere. I would think the white marabou would work too. Good luck! Bob

Dave, I've had some luck with the white mini-jigs under an indicator. Either white or silver head. The brassies have been good to me as well. Weavers has a fishing report (don't know if its been updated lately) and they usually give a summary of what's been working. Cracklebacks and the "John Deere" are usually a good bet. Dry flies have been a little tougher, at least for me. I have had some luck on some black mosquito parachutes, but nothing regular enough for any real certainty. Hope this helps! Bob

Sorry Randy, I'm not familiar with his work. Do you know any of the titles? I've acquired a number of books with a lot of patterns that don't seem to apply to the Ozarks, at least the areas I fish. There's a good book "Blue Ribbon Ozark Trout Streams" that I think I bought at Cabelas. It talks about many of the area's streams and includes a number of plates with flies that are supposed to work. Its part of the "Blue Ribbon" series that I've seen advertised in some of the industry magazines. Don't hold me to it, but it might have been through Amato books, http://www.amatobooks.com/. Hopefully somebody else will know something about Skip Morris. Bob

I appreciate that this forum has maintained a sense of respect and decorum. I think Phil's right to ask that no names be specifically mentioned. Hopefully, any culprits will also be perusing these topics and tactfully get the message! For others, it may simply provide an education in an aspect of which they were unaware. Some folks will never learn and others will never change. Still, its important that these things be brought up and discussed and (hopefully) remedied! Its a great way to inform and educate as well as make great contacts! I know there's always more for me to learn. Bob

What's the best way to float and fish the Niangua? I've got various MDC maps, but they aren't very detailed. How far should you float and what's the best tactic? That is, is it better to fish from the canoe/raft/tube or pull in to a gravel bar and fish the run from bottom to top? What do you guys recommend? Thanks. Bob

Captain T, During the summer months, I usually avoid the river altogether due to the canoe traffic. Or at least time my visits to correspond to the times of least traffic. That's nearly a rule for me regarding Bennett Spring Access. I have gone to Barclay, though. In fact, though it wasn't summer canoe traffic time, my visit last fall with my son to Barclay resulted in him catching the first Brown trout of his fishing career just upstream of the Barclay ramp in the slower water. He hooked up with a couple of rainbows and then that brown. I think the Bennett Spring Access area looks good, especially the closer you get to the bridge. Sand Springs provides good access to the river right at the inlet of the Spring. A strike indicator and mini-jig has worked well there. The folks who run the hotel/campground advertise that you need to be a guest for access. I'm not sure what MDC rules are on access to the river, but I think that's reasonable for someone operating a business and I wouldn't trespass. Besides, the folks are nice and I've stayed at the hotel a number of times. Don't know much about Ho Hum or Prosperine. The books I've read indicate that there's decent brown trout fishing at least to Prosperine as the water temps stay cool enough. After that, it gets sketchy and seasonal. Try Sand Springs if you get the chance. Access is right at their canoe put in and there's a gravel bar that gets you out into the main part of the river without disturbing the fish by wading. Of course, you have to wade out to it, though!

Al, Thanks for the summary. I'm inclined to go with the solo canoe, too. I think I'll get more use out of it than the other options. Can you post the websites I've missed from you list? I've included a couple others I've been looking at and Fox put on the site for the hands-free canoe. Maybe we should put together a list of the personal pontoon boats and kayaks as well. It would be nice to have all those to compare and contrast and solicit comments from folks who've used each of them. Thanks again! Old Town - http://www.otccanoe.com/ Mohawk - https://www.mohawkcanoes.com/home.htm River Ridge - http://www.riverridgecustomcanoes.com/main.html Compass - http://www.fishingcayak.com/models/streamer.htm Buffalo - http://www.buffalocanoes.com/canoes.htm

JJ, I know what you mean. The price of gas already has me thinking about switching jobs and moving closer to the fishing holes! Your offer is a nice gesture and perhaps somebody in the St. Louis area will take you up on it. For my part, I'm all the way across the state and I doubt you'd want to take that route to pick me up on the way. As far as feedback, I think its a good idea. The problem I foresee is people wanting to leave at different times according to different committments. That, I think, is the real advantage of driving yourself. You can get there when you want and you can leave when you want. Besides, if an emergency crops up, the person affected can up and leave without disturbing the rest of the group. Its going to be interesting to see how these prices affect family vacations and tourism. I know I'll be spending more time closer to home as a result, though it may also mean that I spend longer vacations than I would have otherwise. That is, I'll likely take fewer, but longer trips to help off-set the total cost. I'm already re-thinking what used to be long weekend get-aways! Well, there's two cents for you! Have fun on opening weekend (its actually about the only one I purposely avoid - sorry). Closing day is another matter altogether! Bob

Brian, Yeah, I've thought about it and I'll probably keep thinking about it as the one thing I've got plenty of is time. I've never used one of the personal or two-man pontoon boats and am a little intimidated by them as there appears to be a lot going on inside and out. They look great on the water. How do they handle on running water? I imagine its pretty straightforward on still water? I've also thought about float tubes and the small, plastic bass boats. My main problem is that I can't afford to have one of each! I used to float quite a bit when I was younger so I'm fairly comfortable in a canoe. I understand the problem of paddling a larger, two-seater solo. That's why I like the solo canoe idea with the seating arrangement closer to the center. I also like the kayak idea but I've not spent any time in them. Rod stowage/access would seem to be an issue with the kayak, though I imagine its not a problem if that's what you're used to using. I do have a trolling motor and have been toying with the idea of using one of the canoe motor mounts to reduce the amount of paddling on large still waters. I've been looking at a number of canoe manufacturers including, Old Town, Mohawk, Compass, River Ridge that Fox recommended and lately Buffalo canoes in Northern Arkansas. I expect that one of these days I'll come across something I just can't live without and end up making an impulse buy. Still, I'm hoping to make an informed decision which is why I appreciate hearing from all you guys and read the different perspectives! Bob

I don't think confrontation helps anybody. My dad used to tell me "you can always walk away". That advice has served me well over the years. I recommend it to anyone. Rude people and confrontation are probably the reason I tend to search out places nobody else is fishing, even when the fishing is a lot harder or not the species I'd prefer to pursue. I had a similar experience on Taney where a guide brought his client right to where my son and I were fishing. Fortunately for us, we were having a good day and the client seemed more interested in what was working for us than the advice the guide was giving that just didn't seem to work quite as well. He then made a big deal about getting his client into his boat rather than continue to fish from the bank, like us.

John, I'm just south of K.C., just north of Stanley. I occasionally get down your way to Farlington (Crawford County). One of my H.S. buddies has a cabin on the lake. Its a nice place, though has gotten pretty busy on the weekends over the last few years. Mostly bass, catfish and crappie fishing. We used to go down there for spring break and do quite a bit of fishing. Haven't been down for a year or two. If I'm headed that way, maybe we could get together and I could take a look at that book! Bob

I enjoyed this one. Aside from the gratuitous sex which most of the current authors feel a compulsion to add to their offering, it was entertaining. Definitely not a "how to", but nice to read during the winter down-time, when work seems to keep me chained to the office. Any other opinions?

Anybody know if this book by James Washabaugh is ever going to be re-published? Its been in revision for over two years, I believe. I'd like to read something not only on the parks, but the drainages associated with them. The idea being that what works in the parks is likely a good indicator of what will work further downstream (such as the Niangua, Meramec, Current rivers). Has anyone read the original and was it worth the time?

I share your desire for a chance at some nice Brookies in Missouri and from some of the things I've read, Brookies were stocked in Missouri at one time. I don't recall the locations, sorry. But as trout aren't native to these waters and, again from things I've read, Brook trout have a tendency to overpopulate, MDC may not be inclined to introduce them into Taneycomo where they could outcompete existing populations. Sorry to be something of a wet blanket! (I think its really more about me and not wanting to get my hopes up.)

Dave, That's good news. I'll have to see if the local store has it on their bargain shelf. I think the particular inventory at B&N is very local, but hopefully they'll have one. Let everyone know if you come across any other bargains or interesting reading material! Bob

This information is a little dated, but we (my grand-dad and I) caught a 40 lb Blue Catfish while running our trotline anchored just off the park upstream of Powersite Dam. Of course, that was about 26 years ago or so on a Sunday morning before church. As you may imagine, my grandmother was less than pleased as we were already dressed for church but we couldn't wait to run the line.

Ollie, Its a deal. I'm hoping to get out mid-March. Unfortunately, work is going to keep me busy until then. I'll drop you a line when I get things firmed up! Bob

Champ, Sounds like the type of boat I'm hoping to buy. If you don't mind my asking, where did you find the used boat? Classified ads, river outfitter, boat store? Thanks. Bob

Thanks guys, that's helpful. Wayne, I was wondering what you thought of the Mohawk? I like the looks of that Solo 13. For all of you, have you ever used those temporary seat inserts in the canoe? Bob

Gavin, I just picked it up and looking forward to starting it! Thanks. Bob

Bud, I tie my own in sizes 10 & 12. Weavers just outside Bennett Spring carries them in gold, silver and lead head in sizes 10 & 12 (maybe some others). Not too expensive for a bag of 100 but I'm not sure what the mix is between 10s & 12s (it may not be 50/50). That helps a lot to cut down on the cost and they are fairly easy to tie. They are a lot easier that slipping a bead over the hook, so I've gone to tying a lot of what would normally be beadheads with them. If you want more variety on the color of the bead, they are also pretty easy to paint using Testor's model paint and a home-made drying stand (modified metal shirt hangar). My biggest problem with painting is finding a place to let them dry where they won't get bothered. Bob

Thanks Ollie! It will be a little while before I get to head that way unless I get a shot at a long weekend!