Paola Cat

Darryl ... Did you find any particular section of water from the 64 bridge to Ho Hum to be the best? How long of a float is that? PC

Another observation ..... there were no fish visible in the top of the water column. It appeared that the fish were coming from mid column or deeper. That's why I suspect emergers. I'm thinking that I completely missed the active pattern. Next time I'll match the winged adult and use an emerger or pupa/midge dropper. What do you guys think? PC

Pat .... An attempt on 5/23 sounds good. I'm headed to India for work for the next couple of weeks .... and I'll be ready to get back out by then. The hatches I witnessed on Friday were substantial. This wasn't midge sipping .... the fish were coming almost all the way out of the water. There were fish on the surface everywhere in the gauge house area for at least 1.5+ hours. The rises came with substantial boils when you got one. Stupid me, I stuck to floating high dries and did pick up a few fish but it was inconsistent for me. Right now, I'm thinking I should have tried emergers. I'm betting the fish were chasing emergers to the surface and weren't necessarily keyed in on the winged adults. I did catch a few on cracklebacks later on ... that's a good sign. Everything else was deep. Caught a lot of fish but I'm looking forward to not using the strike indicator and the split shot. Mike

Chased the storms on the way from Paola to BSSP this morning. It looked horrible out in front of me. Anyway, the fishing was pretty good. It wasn't fast and furious but at times was pretty consistent. White G-bugs, white mini eggs, and white thread jigs were the the best. Fished Zone 1 mostly in the spring and gauge house area. There were a couple of hatches in the first 1.5 hours this morning. White midges and little black tent wing caddis. Caught 4-5 on dries and missed just as many. Caught fish on a #22 cream midge, #18 white wulff, and #18 black caddis ..... but nothing consistent. I think I need RC's black caddis pattern to match the hatch. Also caught a few today stripping a #12 olive crackleback. Looks like things are picking up. The water was lower, clearer, and slower than last Friday. PC

Beware of the gangs of rabid bandito squirrels. Also there's spiders ..... don't even get me started on the spiders. PC

Hey Jerry ... I would use the kick-boat in/around some of the accesses ... and that might even be questionable. Around the BSSP access it would probably work and I've seen guys at MDC Barclay in pontoons and kick-boats. The upper river floats would be at least 6 miles ... way too far for the kickboat .... and at times you'd be dealing with some pretty shallow water. I like to wade and then use a canoe just as transportation to get to the next fishing hole. Mike

Buzz ... I don't have any experience at Meramac but can recommend the Niangua. The Niangua does have a nice smallmouth population but on the weekends, there's a siginificant aluminum hatch around the BSSP area. I personally like to fish the upper Niangua (way above BSSP). There's no crowds and the fishing is usually great. The smallmouth up there get to 18" with most in the 8"-10" range. There's also the assortment of goggle-eyes, panfishes, and a few spots. The float from the MDC Charity access to the Hico Slab is a great fishing/wading float. It takes all day and you probably won't see anybody else. Other areas to consider would be the MDC Big John access, Williams Ford and the MDC Moon Valley access. The fishing below BSSP is good also with a mixed bag of trout and smallmouth but on the weekends, there's a large contingent of floaters/partiers. You could do a combo trip ... Day 1 float/wade the upper Niangua, Day 2 fish BSSP. You might want to consider the Osage Fork. This is another stream with an excellent smallmouth population. This one is located close to Lebanon and could easily be combined with a BSSP Trip. We typically do a shorter float on this one. PM me if you want detailed information. Another place that has an excellent smallmouth population, though not close to BSSP ..... but probably closer to you, is Flat Creek (south of Aurora, Mo and close to Jenkins). A nice float is from the Highway 39 bridge to the MDC EE takeout. I have caught smallmouth up to 19" in this section. This one takes all day also, the fishing is great, but you'll see a few more people. This one is also close to Crane. You could do a combo trip here also ... Day 1 do a float/wade on Flat Creek, Day 2 wade Crane. Been waiting for the water to stabilize so I can make one of these trips myself. PC

I saw the Weaver's report. Little black caddis and renegades .... hmmmm. I think RC's got that caddis pattern nailed. Also, after reading that report, it looks like it's time to start stripping cracklebacks. Just checked my schedule .... 5/23 was already penciled in for BSSP (I'm in). I also have this Friday penciled in for a river trip .... might end up at the park based on the river conditions. PC

Hey Pat .... It was good to meet you .... RC and I met up down there on Friday morning. I did pretty good for the 1st hour after the siren on a peach glow ball and then struggled with an occaisional fish until mid afternoon. Did decent after that on the white G-Bug. I'm in for an assault on the river when the water stabilizes. Was thinking on the drive home about consolidating the huge bag of tricks. I went ahead and ordered some boxes from Cabelas to get my stuff organized. I was impressed with your organization. You and RC are alot more organized than me. Anyway, I had a good time and am looking forward to getting back down there. PC (Mike)

Anybody fish this stretch of the Little Niangua?: Dallas County road east of Highway BB to SH 54 bridge. Was wondering about the water conditions, fishing, wadable, floatable? PC

Thanks guys .... I'm planning on going to BSSP this Friday .... hoping it doesn't blow out again before then. Also, I was wanting to do some river fishing on 5/2. One of my favorite floating and wading places is the upper Niangua. Maybe I'll knock-off a little early on Friday and drive down to Charity and Hico and take a look. Anybody driven over Duesenberry Creek on JJ or B recently? Was wondering what it looked like. PC

Been thinking about floating the upper PDT River. I have never floated this river and was wondering if there are smallmouth in the upper river (I've heard conflicting information) and what the best sections would be to float and wade fish. Also, any up to date river conditions would be appreciated. PC

What's the status on the river above Bennett? I've been looking at the Windyville gauge and don't really know how to judge what's normal. Thinking about doing a float from Charity to Hico or Williams to Moon Valley. Anybody got any current water conditions or floated it recently? PC

Weather.Com has a 30%-40% chance pretty much every day next week. Got to get down soon it's almost been a month. PC

Not sure if the weight is a significant variable on the yanking .... LOL. I actually had a 5 weight yanked out of my hands while stripping a bugger at Tan Vat on the Current. Lost that rod forever. The golf club comparison is right on. My lovely bride cringes everytime I walk up to get the mail .... golf catalogs .... fishing catalogs .... I bet I never see 75% of them. Make sure that you test cast any rod that you buy. A 4wt or 5wt is an all around good choice. Pretty soon you'll be there with rest of us with an assortment of 2wts-8wts. PC

Anything in the 1.X range is normal. PC

Brit .... I think we're all checking the USGS site frequently. I'm hoping for a return to normalcy .... the sooner the better. Maybe get some dry action going!

Al's right on ... on the limited access if you want solitude. We do the (2) vehicle thing when we float the Upper Niangua or the Osage Fork. For an Upper Niangua shuttle/canoe rental I'd call Riverfront 888.673.7668. I don't know if they shuttle any higher than Williams Ford. If they don't, ask them for a contact that does. Also, keep in mind that a 2 day float from Williams Ford to Bennett Springs is a nice float also. Good smallmouth water throughout and trout water as you get close to Bennett Springs. Just more canoe traffic on Day 2. PC

For upper Niangua information try http://www.riverjim.com/FLOATING/. There's a good map there. The upper Niangua is remote from the MDC Charity Access down to the Big John Access. I seldom see another canoe and very rarely do I ever see anyone on the bank .... but it's not as scenic as the Jack's Fork. Below the Big John Access to the Moon Valley Access, the traffic picks up but it's still not bad at all. Below Moon Valley, you get closer to Bennett Springs and there's a signifcant aluminum hatch on the weekends. You can get information on the Osage Fork at http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/missouri7.html, http://www.smallmouth.org/MissouriOsageFork.html, or http://mdc.mo.gov/documents/fish/sport/bass/osagefork.pdf. I haven't floated either yet this year because of all the high water and flooding. PC

In the Lebanon area, I would recommend the upper part of the Niangua River or the Osage Fork of the Gasconade. Both are fine smallmouth streams. The upper Niangua may be fishable by then. I would investigate the MDC Charity Access to the Hico Slab or the MDC Big John Access to William's Ford. I have not checked on the water conditions in the Osage Fork, but this is a fine stream also. You would also be close to Bennett Springs State Park. I agree with Gavin ... a chainsaw might be a neccessity. These rivers have been blown out several times this year. PC

Zones, baits, high water, low water, clear water, muddy water .... it's all about adapting to the conditions. I respect the fisherman that can adapt and catch fsh under any of the park conditions. It doesn't matter if you're fishing in Zone 3 or Zone 1. Right now, I'm waiting for some normalcy to return to the trout parks. This year's been crazy so far. PC

I own (2) Pro rods and they're OK. I've never broke a TFO rod. Have broke plenty of others. I wonder what the "guides" would recommend as being any better for the money?

Leonard ... Perfect .... Maybe even set-up a lawn chair. Though it might be tough working the PMS, the articulated Zoo Cougar, or the Sex Dungeon ... LOL. PC

You can't go wrong with the Curados. That's all I currently use .... I've got at least a 1/2 dozen. In fact, I've had 4 older Citicas upgraded to Curado specifications. I've used nothing but Curados for a long time. I primarily use the 5:1 GR. PC

Just looked outside and the animals are lining up in pairs up here. Our thoughts are with you guys down south. PC