Bill Anderson

With Labor Day and its crowds now history, this morning I drove the half hour from home to RR and found a light crowd at the upper end of the park,so I decided to join the very sparse group at the lower end of the camp ground. There was a veritable blizzard of a pale white midge hatch on, but the fish were not rising to them that much. I started out with a #20 elk hair caddis, which they also ignored for the most part. To my surprise, when the fly finally got soaked, the fish finally showed some interest, I started stripping the caddis just under the surface, and the fish started chasing it and I finally started hooking a few. I only fished for about an hour and a half,but caught several this way,including one pretty rainbow of about 16 inches.I also had some hookups with a red San Juan worm. I had left my clip on magnifiers at home.,..you might know,so it was a great effort just to tie on a tippet and fly. But overall, the water is down, very clear, and the weather was very cool and sunny. I also got to break in a new 7' 9", 5 weight Dennis Stone bamboo blank I just got built up,so every fish was a real treat. I had a bit of trouble with the ferrules not fitting so when I got home, I worked on that problem successfully. Nickel silver ferrules are nice, but you have to properly fit them. A little metal polish and that problem was taken care of. I like RR and it's a close trip from home, so I enjoy being able to run down there for a couple of hours of fishing when I have a mind to do so.I usually stop by and visit with Tim at Tim's Flyshop for an hour or so after fishing, but the shop was closed.I guess Tim is off on one of his Alaska trips or something.

Neither. I use a Richardson Chest Flybox by itself these days if I'm close to the car. If not, I add a Hardy Brook shoulder bag for a few extras like water, lunch and rain jacket. I like the unencumbered minimalist philosophy. I started out as a walking tackle shop, but now, 50 years later, I've pared it down quite a bit.

Hi Dano....yeah, 30 years in the news media is hard to shake.

I hope this fee thing doesn't rub people the wrong way and they just quit visiting the mill. If they had put a donation box in plain view as you drive into the park, that might have spurred more people to donate. As it was, the donation box was almost hidden and you had to actually walk up to the mill to see it, and you still could have walked by it without noticing it. I guess time will tell. Today I did speak to someone at the MDC, and they told me that if you enter the stream without crossing the mill property, you could still fish up to the mill with out paying anything, because the stream is MDC controlled. If you set foot on their property, you could be called to pay. I just talked with Jim Moore, a Jolly Mills Foundation board member, and he told me that general operating expenses and overwhelming trash problems had prompted the fees. He said it has been in effect for a few weeks now, and they had sharply reduced both the volume of visitors and the trash problem, which is now a third of what it was. Paying visitors tend to clean up after themselves, he said, and the Foundation had been running a deficit in their annual budget for the past several years, and board members were having to dig into their own pockets to make up the difference. Mr. Moore said they regret having to take this action, but with expenses continuing to run in the red, they had no other choice. The caretakers that live on the property are only paid by free rent, and it was overwhelming them to keep up with the trash. Mr. Moore said the fees had greatly reduced the crowding problem and he was sorry that it had come to this, but financial needs required to them to charge user fees. Mr. Moore was very cordial in our conversation, and I think I will take care of the fee problem myself by just buying a $50 annual membership for my family. My family and I really enjoy the park often, and I want it to continue to be available to the public.

The operation and upkeep of Jolly Mill is totally handled by the Jolly Mill Foundation, which is a private corporation.The city of Monett has NO connection with Jolly Mill whatsoever, inlcuding trash pickup. Monett's duties end at the city limits, which is many miles from Jolly Mill. I confirmed this with a call to Monett City Hall. So the new fees schedule that is posted at the Mill is solely the doings of the Jolly Mill Foundation. I tried again to call them on the phone today, but there was no answer. I'll keep trying to get hold of someone at the Foundation to get a handle on the new rules and fees and report what I learn here on the forum.

I drove over to Capps Creek to day from my home in Monett, and there is a brand new gate and sign At Jolly Mill that says: Cars, Vans and motorcyles $5 per day, busses $30 a day. So I guess they must be having some financial problems or littering problems at Jolly Mill.They offer a yearly membership for $50. You can still park across the road at the state conservation parking lot, but I don't know if they will try to charge you if you walk in to fish near the Mill or not.There was no one around to ask, so I didn't stop. Anyone have any more info on this?

Thanks for the replies gentlemen, and when I do get a chance to try the area, I'll file a report. I don't have a boat, so any fishing I do will be while wading.

Water snakes are nonvenemous/harmless, but feisty, and will strike repeatedly if cornered or if you try to pick one up, But you were in NO danger in the water with one, although it would be unnerving to some people.I was warned way back in high school about water snakes. It seems I had been in the biology lab playing with one that I let out of a cage, and every time I tried to grab it to put it back into it's cage, it bit me. When the teacher saw my bloody had, she asked me if I had been fooling with the water snake. I told her I had, and she told me that that type of snake is almost impossible to tame and from now on to leave it in the cage. Mind you, I'm NOT talking about a water mocassin, but a water snake.

Dave, Cabela's has always carried a really good selection of flyfishing gear. Go online and order one of their flyfishing catalogs. You'll enjoy it. LL BEan also has a fabulous flyfishing catalog.I'll make a beeline for Rogers when the store opens. My family and I get to Rogers often for that great Chinese Buffet restuarant there....best I've ever been in.

Just stay away from the Scientific Anglers reel that Walmart sells. I bought one for my youngest grandson and it held up one day. It has plastic gears and a plastic rachet,which wore out in one fishing trip, It's purely worthless junk.The cheap, Chinese made Pflueger Medalist reels are OK for the money.I have several of the older,American made Medalists, and they are famous work horse reels. You can find them on EBay, but they cost a bit more than the present Chinese made variety.But for the money, the older, U.S. made Pfluegers are tough reels and last forever.

I think that's great news! I really prefer Cabela's over Bass Pro Shop. I have been in the New Orleans Cabela's a couple of times and really liked it. I've ordered a lot from them over the years, and Cabela's and LL Bean are my favorite outdoor mailorder suppliers. Bass Pro Shop in Springfield is a nice store but their fly fishing shop doesn't do much for me. Last year I tried to buy some waders at Bass Pro, and they had no idea of what size fit what, and did not even have a list of sizes offered by each company. The waders are just hanging in a corner and none of the employess knew squat about them. I said to heck with Bass Pro and bought some Simms waders in Branson.

I have looked over Roaring River where Highway 86 crosses it and it looks promising. Has anyone had much exprience in that area? I know it can't be too far from where it enters Table Rock, but I'm wondering if I should go there and give it a try. Also, any trout down that far? I would guess a lot of fish from Table Rock Lake probably get up to that area. It looks like good smallmouth water. Any info would be appreciated.

You also need to check out the fine cold water trout fishing we have in this area too. I live in Monett, by the way. DANO---things are getting right at Beaver,and we need to get down there soon.

One thing is for certain, and that is that the moron who was doing the shooting is now facing aggrivated assault with a firearm, and that is a felony. He could do five years or more in the state pen and it would serve him right.

I've only fished Beaver tailwater a few times now, but my best fly has consistently been an olive bead head wooly bugger, fished with a quick, short strip,It has produced for me when nothing else seemed to stir up any action.

I drove over to Beaver three days ago, and the lake is still very high as is the tailwater. Table Rock is still super high and it still backed up into the Beaver tailwater. If you don't have a boat, you're out of luck. I don't have one, so I'll have to wait until the water levels drop.Corps of Eng. says it may take until early August; hopefully it will drop sooner.I sure miss being able to wade below Beaver.

I don't care how "noble" the cause is, flyfishing tournaments are a cancerous blight on the sport and on the limited cold water resource.Find a lake that can take the crowds and the pressure,

I'm headed to RR for a few hours in the morning. I'll make a post afterwards.

In the 100+ years those trout haven been in Crane, I'm sure they have seen some whopper floods. They'll survive just fine, I willing to bet.

My wife and I almost got swept down the Little Missouri at Narrows Dam below Lake Greeson once when they suddenly opened both generators without blowing the horn. We were fishing at Riverside when it happened. I went looking for blood after that, and one idiot Corps employee nonchalantly told me the horn was broken, and they did not know when it would be fixed. Only self control kept me from stomping the brains and crap out of that clown. That was 30 years ago. I guess nothing has changed since then. Their negligence will get someone killed before it's over.

What if instead of it being a "concert" it was a fishing conclave, a trapshoot, or a turkey calling tournament ? .........I haven't heard of any fishing conclave, trapshoot, or turkey calling event that was mostly populated by people using illegal drugs, having sex all over the place, or collapsing in heaps too drunk to walk, everywhere you looked. On the other hand, I have seen this behavior widespread at a number of "concerts' over the years while I was in the news media or in law enforcement. At one such concert put on by the Rolling Stones in Memphis years ago, Memphis Memorial Stadium sprouted hundreds of thousands of new marijuana plants all over the natural turf football field a week or so afterwards. I personally did a story on this event and it's aftermath while working at Memphis TV station. So I don't blame the local authorities for coming down hard on these people. I can only imagine what complaints prompted it.

Dano...sure was good to see you again and get a chance to fling a fly with you. I caught a few, nothing over about 14 inches (my first was the largest), and really enjoyed the eats. I could not believe the swarms of midges we had after the rain! Dan, we need to get over to Taney soon. Terry...I'm enjoying the book I got from you. It was a great opening day! Hope to see you guys again soon. Bill Anderson

I made a day trip out of it for Saturday. I finally got to meet Harry Boyd and Bob Nunley, and had a great time getting to know them and had Bob autograph a copy of his book, "The Snake Rod" for me. I also spent some marvelous time with my old Memphis friends Dan and John Berry. I saw Monte Stark for the first time in years and had lunch with old friend George Harmeling, whom I had not seen since before I moved to Florida, eight years ago. I also found time to wander thru the exhibits and watch some fly tying. It was just a one day affair for me, but I really enjoyed it. It was the first conclave I had been to in about 20 years or so. Now that I call SW Missouri home, it hopefully won't be my last.

Today, I fished for a couple of hours below Beaver Dam on the White, and even fished along side a couple of gents I met there. Between the three of us flyfishermen, and the several dozen bait fishermen downstream, you could hardly call it a "secret" place. I hooked 7 and landed and released four nice rainbows, so being around others sure didn't hurt the fishing. But I was a couple of hundred yards upstream from the pack of bank fishermen, so while I could see them, they obviously didn't interfere with me wade fishing, and vice versa. But I guess we are all looking for that special, little or unfished spot.

If that character fell in, the drugs oozing from his skin pores would probably cause a fish kill....