DoveTail

You can use any kind of rod you want in any zone. The key is the kind of fly or bait that is being used in each zone. So you see spinning rigs up in Zone 1 throwing heavy single hook jigs that qualify as "single hook flies". It may draw some looks, but a fly line in the riffles may be a good way to present a soft plastic worm in Zone 3. The regs clearly state for Zone 3 if it is not bait or soft plastic it can NOT be used regardless if scent has been added or not.

Oh, I see. I used an olive heavy jig head to get it down. The current was pretty swift. When I first got there on Friday I was the only one but quite a few people started moving in. I ended up working towards the bridge. Those that arrived later were in the area you were talking about, then some boats started launching. Plenty of water to fish so I didn't want to work downstream where they were getting in their way. Trying to wade out across the area from the bathrooms where the bank has been cleared is where I am talking the footing could be intereseting (at least in the river levels when I was there). It didn't seem like very many people were catching a lot. I am sure that will improve when the water clears up more and the stockings increase.

PC, I'm not sure which ramp is the "last" one, but if you go downstream from Hwy 64 into that access area, that is the only one I know of (other than the one at BSSP upstream of 64). I fished the area from the boat ramp in that access area up to Hwy 64. It was enough visibility for the trout to see the flies but still stained and swift in areas. The park will be fine but the river may be hard after the rains last night?

The radar summary only shows about 1" of rain for the spring basin area so it probably will be okay. Plus, it only takes 1 week for it to clear up. When it was chocolate mud back in Feb, the next day it had cleared up to 2 feet of visibility. The surrounding areas got some significant rains. I am sure the river will be really muddy (AND SWIFT). At least you won't have to use 7x in the stained water. Plus, if someone cast over you a 6x will hold up better on line crossings. I used 6x this weekend and did just fine. The crowds really thinned out on Sunday. Then Sundays are a little slower as the fish are spooked from all the activity on Saturday.

Went to the river at the public access of Hwy 64 pretty early before anyone was there so the fish were not messed with. Quite a bit of water coming down that could be tricky getting out in the current crossing. Managed to catch a few on a fly but it was pretty slow. Some were putting in pontoons later in the day. Went down to Barclay and did not see or catch a single fish. Maybe have been the wrong time of day or fished over already? A guy on Saturday was using some PowerBait and said he probably caught 30 fish in the morning. The clarity of the water has improved since the big rains but still stained. This next rain system will probably bring the water back up pretty high.

With the heavy rains mid during mid Feb and the spring boiling a brown mud out, things have cleared up a lot but the water is still stained. The trout still had their mouths full of worms, eating as many as they could. Looks like another heavy rain system will bring some rains to the area. That could make a muddy situation this weekend. With the worms in the water, the trout were going after flies that were red worms, a tan and anything that looked like a worm. They were also feeding heavily on sowbugs. One guy had some bright red/pink looking big cone shaped things and they were tearing those up. He also had a bright orange mini jig and that worked well. Lots of people and lots of fish being caught. Larry's Fly Shop said two 20" were brought in and sent to the taxidermist.

Trying to learn more here. Why doesn't that screw up the browns as all fish are brought up in hatcheries? Or are there enough browns to sustain a population?

I have a big scoop on the back with a 3 point lift, wondering why none swam in there?

Congrats on catching a fish on the flies you tied!

I can't wait to get down there. With the warmer weather I would imagine the crowds will get bigger.

I haven't heard of the 2 listed links above, those look good. I have used Feather Craft, very nice folks there: http://www.feather-craft.com/

A heavy nylon rope, ski rope with some hooks on it will work. The hooks don't have to be sharp fishing hooks. I had a fish jump out of the water one time and hit a lure about 8" above the water, took my rod and never got it back!

Thanks everyone. I try to hit Taneycomo or some of the trout streams in MO. Still trying to figure it out! LOL

Hello everyone, new to the site. Thought I would say hello and hope to catch plenty of fish!