Paola Cat

Count me out .... work crisis. PC

Oneshot .... My favorite stretch of the river is from Charity to the Hico bridge. It's an often overlooked stretch of the river with some super smallmouth fishing starting about a mile downstream from the Charity access. Dang .... I need to get down there. PC

I like it. PC

I'm still planning on being there on the 28th. Can't make it on the 27th .... In Phoenix. Looking forward to it. PC

Thursday and Friday (until mid morning) the fish came in bunches on the white thread jig. You'd catch 4-5 bang in row and then it would slow down with only an occasional fish for an hour or so .... then it would be 4-5 in a row again. A good example of this was on Thursday evening. I took the wife out to eat and got back down to the spring at 6:30 PM. The wife said bring back 4 for the freezer. I was back up at the Bennett Spring Inn by 7:05 PM with 4 cleaned out. Didn't strip any CBs ... I gave it some serious thought on Friday mid morning when the action slowed but didn't pull the trigger. I had the Type IV full sink out and ready to go. Pat .... I think you're right on .... the clearing water made it more suitable for the deep CB stripping and they could see them. With the clearing water, the "gut fishing" shut off. No rod rippers? That's interesting ... just kind of weight on the strip? Was there better action on a slow, fast, continuous, or intermittent strip? Mike

The spring branch is still up and moving fast. It's got a green tinge but appeared to clear up some while I was there. Fished both days in the gauge house area. Did real well on white thread jigs. Caught a few on pink brassies and small egg patterns. You've got to get the fly down and ticking the bottom. Fished the thread jig 4-6 feet under a strike indicator. Used split shot to keep the jig down. Used 5X and 6X tippet. No dry action. Saw some black caddis and midges hatches. Thursday was great ... hardly anybody in the park. Today, the crowds were much bigger. PC

Haven't got our check yet .... when we get it, it'll go to getting the house painted. PC

My go to baits for big cat baits are: Leopard frogs for blues and channels. Use them dead hooked down through the bottom of the mouth and bring up one leg and hook it through the thigh. Small green sunfish for flatheads fished live and hooked through the back. PC

That's some freaky stuff. I think I just signed away all my earthly posssession to the "community" or maybe it was the Abbey ... anyway, I don't feel like going camping anytime soon. PC

Dano ... that brings back the memories. We used to collect the canned beverages as they floated down the river. (2) beverages for us per every (1) that was returned to the "flippers". We had several good days on the river .... getting our limit in the first couple of hours. PC

Sounds like fun ... I've actually done this. Set-up the lawn chair at the boat ramp and watch the carnage. Boats running into boats, boats running into docks, people falling out of boats, trailers jack-knifed on the ramp, boats falling off of trailers, vehicles submerged, couples screaming at each other, maybe some fisticuffs. Man that sounds like a good time. Miss Behavin' II ... now that's funny. PC

I try to make it to Montauk at least once a year ... In fact, it's probably my overall favorite trout park but ..... It takes me at least 4.5 hours to get there from the Kansas City area. It's just too far for me to make a regular trip out of it so ..... BSSP is my "home park". I do a bunch of "day trips" to BSSP. I also try to make a couple of trips to RRSP each year. It takes a little longer to get there than BSSP for me .... but I sure do like that C&R area down there. Last year, I made 23 trips to the trout parks. It's been tough to get that going this year. Let's hope that this rain pattern ends soon .... It's pretty frustrating. PC

FFM .... Yep it's about a 3 hour drive for some of us. I guess you're probably in that range too? Oh well ... there's nothing we can do about the rain situation but complain and be thankful that we're not as bad off as some folks. It's got to be tough on the local businesses. PC

I got a pair of Bite wading sandals on Ebay for $30.00. I've had them for a couple of years now and they're great. I use them for wet wading at the trout parks and on floats. I'm with Tim on the small streams .... I wear my boots. PC

My India trip got delayed by 2 weeks .... I depart now on the 23rd instead of the 9th. I'm considering a trip to BSSP on the 16th or the 19th.

Looking at the USGS Gauge ... it looks like BSSP is up again. A few weeks of stability and now back to high water. PC

"If you're a great jig fisher, you're a great fish catcher." Amen! I have a buddy that is a fantastic jig fisherman ... it doesn't matter if it's trout, crappie, smallies ... he can out fish me (the flyfisher) anytime. This guy is also one of the best fly tyers I've ever seen and he doesn't fly fish! He gives away his flies and enjoys seeing his buddies catch fish on them. I'm very interested in your assessment on the mud/gravel situation. Mike

I've done the potato chip deal .... turns out real tasty. Funyuns .... hmmmmmm. PC

Thanks Wayne .... I've done those floats in the past and have had good success. Have you ever floated from Charity to Hico? Awesome fishing and absolutely no one else on that section. I've never floated the 20 mile section between Big John and Moon Valley. Any feedback on that section? PC (Mike)

Rich ... thanks for sharing. Something else to add to the arsenal. Below the bridge is one of my favorite spots in the park .... I guess everybody elses too. Very similar experiences to you and Pat. I've had some fast action in that area on red zebras, rust zebras, olive scuds, and copper brassies (every cast kind of action). Mike

June 6 or June 28 works for me. PC

I was wondering if there are any canoe outfitters servicing the upper Niangua? Looking at floats originating from Charity, Hico, Big John's, or Williams Ford. We normally take (2) vehicles but with today's gas prices we're looking for a shuttle or an outfitter. Any information would be appreciated. PC

I'm in for an outing! PC

I've had ATT/Cingular, Verizon, and TMobile. They've all had their drawbacks. The family uses TMobile, it has good coverage around home (just south of KC) and works for the boss, son, and daughter for their running around locally. It does not work well in other areas and we've had some travel issues with it. For my work, I have had Verizon and ATT/Cingular. Both of these work well in any US metropolitan area and are OK for work travel. I've had some hiccups with Verizon on international travel. Both have issues in rual areas. Neither is very good around the home area ... but I find the ATT/Cingular to work a little better in areas where I expect it wouldn't. I currently use ATT/Cingular Blackberry and would have to give it the nod, but not by much. PC

Took a minute to consolidate a few thoughts on the current hatch situation at BSSP. In the past several weeks I personally have observed substantial hatches of: Little black caddis #18s and light colored midges #22 in upper section of Zone 1 . I have also seen a few PEDs #18 out on the flat just above the dam. I have not been fortunate enough to get in on any of the Light Cahill or White Miller action yet. I've caught a few fish stripping a crackleback and other guys are reporting this also. All of this is good .... it's real tough to be sitting here at work right now. PC