OKFlyFisher44

I dont know how big of a fan you are of trout parks but Roaring River isn't but like 30 or 40 minutes away I believe? Easy fun fishing in the lower end of the river a.k.a. the "fly fishing area" as I've always called it! If you're going on a weekend, might be fighting crowds but the fishing should be good.... Right now is one of the best times....you can just about fish all day with a beetle or ant and catch fish all day!

I emailed them and they said they can take care of us as long as we can get him fitted right since he's a youngster! Thanks for the input!

Is there a place in the Mountain Home area that rents waders? Does one of the fly shops in the area rent them? My nephew and I are planning to come down to fish the Norfork tailwater and then let him fish Dry Run Creek a couple of afternoons. The issue is that he's 12 years old (a growing boy), so we're trying to keep from spending $50-$100 on a pair of waders that he's probably going to outgrow in a year or two...if they last that long! If we have to get him a pair, we can...but trying to hold out for the time being! If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it!

Good god.... All I can say is....THANK GOD FOR C&R SEASON! I woulda killed someone....

Man Brian...looks like you guys put in one heck of a day! Some of those places look kinda familiar Look forward to fishing with ya soon...

I agree....I have a couple of 5 wts (Orvis and Martin) and they are a good all-around rod for sure. Both cast pretty well and handle most anything I want to catch but I like the "feel" of the lighter rods. I also got a 3wt and 4wt (Scott) that I use 99% of the time and love them! My lil' 3wt is an absolute blast at the trout parks and on smaller streams as it makes catching those 12-14" stockers a lot more enjoyable and it casts the smaller stuff perfect! Its also a ball if you hook into a good fish! Like Terry said...do a lil' research and shop around to find the rod thats going to fit your needs! I think you'll love fishing a 3wt....they are a ton of fun!

HOLY CRAP! Thats amazing....heh...could you imagine catching that on a fly rod....geez!

Great stuff...thanks for all the additional info. I think we'll be prepared when the trip comes! So much fishing to do and so little time!! Got this trip in the works...plus trying to go to San Juan in June and then to Montana in the fall (I HOPE!)....plus back to Taney in October/November for the big browns.... Good lord....I'm turning into a trout bum!

Awesome...thanks guys! I tried getting my nephew on a some good fish at Roaring River during the C&R season but never could get any takers for him. He's doing really well for just starting in October. I gave him my ol' Martin 5-wt rod and bought him a new reel for X-Mas....let me tell ya, he's pretty good with the stick. A lil' rough around edges from time to time but he's coming along... Are you pretty much sight fishing most of the creek or searching for "quality" water that should hold trout? I figured I'd start him out with a san juan worm with a sow-bug as a dropper maybe...or throw an egg pattern. He's really good with sight-fishing with the glo-balls... Thanks for the info once again!

Looking at taking a trip out to Norfork for a weekend trip coming up. Probably spend a day at Norfork (possibly get a guide?) and then like to take my 12 year old nephew down to Dry Run Creek on sunday. So is Dry Run Creek open year round? Or does it not open for a few weeks when the "season" starts like at some of the trout parks in MO? Do you need a special tag? Or can ya just get a Ark. license and a trout stamp? What are some good patterns for Dry Run Creek as well? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Chubminnow hit the nail on the head I do believe. I was wanting to post the exact thing but just couldn't figure out how to "post the plan" I guess? If I was going to do it (I'm planning a week long trip of Trout Bummin' in Missouri/Arkansas next fall if I dont go to Montana) I would do it just like chubminnow said.... You're going to have a tough time finding any privacy except at Crane during "spring break time". Depending on when your spring break is....you'll be competing for quality water with every other family who's taking a spring break trip. Renting a boat at any of the tailwaters will get you some privacy but I'd bet where the majority of the fish are....is where the boats will be. I was @ Roaring River last year for spring break...heh, never again...I still think I shoulda whipped several other "ignorant" fisherman with my fly rod. But I guess at a place like Roaring River...you can't expect very much fishing etiquette (sp?)

My nephew bought their "base model" rod (lack of a better term) and it still cost him $295 I do believe. It's a super nice rod though....casts extremely well! Almost made me upgrade from my Scott rods....but then again....ALMOST

Another thing...are you spin-fishing or fly fishing? If you're pretty new to trout fishing, I also would stay away from some of the bigger tailwaters...could be tough fishing without a boat and waders. Invest in some waders though....you can get into a decent pair for $50-$100 from Cabelas or Bass Pro. As far as places to fish...I'd stick to the state parks as fishing will be easier especially if you're not looking to do any wade fishing. I've fished Bennett and Roaring River....both are good places to fish. If you get some waders, you might also look into fishing Taneycomo as its not too tough most times and fish are pretty easy to find. How many days do you have to fish? When I was in college...we had 9 days more or less starting on saturday and ending the following sunday. Probably figure in a day to travel down and a day to travel home, I'd think? You could fish several good places in a week's time....or just fish a few places a couple of days each... Lots of options to go with!

LOL....glad that someone enjoys opening day! Blah!! I'd probably murder someone...can't stand the crowds at R.R. But its always good to carry on a family tradition...I can identify with that. My family is going on 4 generations that have fished @ R.R....had to convert them all fly fishing though Good luck on opening day!

Were ya fishing that upper pool thats directly in front of the lodge? Those fish have just been hammered all season in those few holes in front of the lodge...myself being one that has casted a time or two to them They were very spooky when I was down last weekend. Seemed like the fish that were a lil' further down-stream weren't near as spooky....they were stacked up in that hole below the bridge that splits up Zone 1 and were eager to sip up my San Juan worms... Glad to hear there was some success at R.R. even with the nasty weather the past couple of days....

Lets load up guys! Make diesel cheaper to drive up for me! LOL...only reason I will probably be getting to go will be because of good ol' tax returns. I'm excited just thinking about it....all of the things I've read about Montana, it just seems fantastic!

Hey Leonard....lots of big fish in the upper end. I mighta seen a couple of fish pushing 8 lbs but they were hanging out down DEEP in the runs last weekend. Only reason I even seen them was because I was casting to other good fish and would see them move down deep. But lots of 2-5lb fish holding near the top....probably will be different this weekend if the water came up a bit but hopefully it'll make 'em active... Wouldn't ya think so Tim? Oh yeah...got all my big fish on San Juan worms last weekend and the weekend before. Chamoui and Orange were the magic patterns....they were even giving chase to the Orange SJ last weekend. And speaking of snaggers...2 of the good fish I pulled in last weekend had hooks in 'em. 1 had a BIG bugger in his back and another had a HUGE crappie jig in his tail Pretty freaking sad if ya ask me!! Reminds me of when I went to Taneycomo during the Browns spawn...lots of snaggers....grr

Thank ya Michael, I will make a note of those places and fly shops! It will definitely be late august at the earliest or possibly Sept or Oct when I go. Trying to get in 2 "big" trips this year....going to the San Juan River hopefully in May or June.....then Montana later on. But we will see how that turns out...

Not really any place in particular as I've read about so many good places. Just looking for personal opinions...

I'm in the process of planning a trip to Montana , looking at going at the end of the summer/early fall. I've researched 100s of outfitters/guides and read all kinds of articles on the many rivers in Montana. Its a lot to take in so I was hoping that maybe some of you have traveled there and could give me ideas on where to go, where to stay, outfitters, guides, etc?? Any input you guys could give me would be great....looking for some info on a personal case by case level instead of just looking at outfitter/guides websites and reading outdoor articles....

When the g/f goes to R.R. I always rig her up with 2 lb Maxima and then use several different techniques... The glo-ball below an indicator works great. I've even tied on bead-head san juan worms and buggers to fish below an indicator and had good success. Also thread jigs in black/green, white, orange, and orange/white have worked well for her in the past as well....all fished under an indicator. On the thread jigs and buggers....I've also had her fish at the head of a run in the fast water and just "holding" the jig/fly in the current. She's almost had the rod pulled outta her hands before.... They should do well...

Took another day trip out to R.R today since the C&R season is almost over! Arrived at the lower end of the river @ 8:45 or so....and was met with some cooler temps and still LOTS of snow on the ground. It was chilly down close to the river but fishing was good. Once again, solid action on glo-balls and san juan worms in the deeper holes. Picked up 15 stockers in the morning. There was lots of fishing rising too but I never did throw any dry flies at them...now I wish I had but oh well... Around noon, we went to the upper-end of the river to sight-fish for big fish. Big fish were still stacked up in the same holes as they were last weekend. The chamouis worm didnt do the trick this time but an orange san juan worm brought 6 solid fish to the net. Last weekend I was having to just put it right on their nose to get any takes but they were actually coming to the orange SJ today. Had a couple fish follow it down to the bottom and pick it up. All in all, it was another great day. Roaring River might not be the most "traditional" place to fly fish nor are the fish very hard to catch....but you cant beat catching 20 fish a day with 6 of them being 18 inches or better. Here are some pictures of the 2 best fish of the day....

Took a day trip out to R.R. this past sunday. Must say that the weather was absolulely perfect.... Started the morning off with an apricot glo-ball w/ a red dot fishing the deep pools in the lower end of the river (fly fishing area as I've always called it). The bite was kinda slow but just kept switching colors on the glo-balls and was able to net about 10 rainbows. My 12 year old nephew was having a tougher time so we took a break at about 11:00 and took a trip up to Tim's to pick up a few things and see whats up... Afterwards we went up to the upper end of the river to do some sight fishing for big fish. All I can say is wow...so many nice fish in the upper end. Caught 5 fish that were between 2-4lbs along with losing probably a half-dozen that just came off during the fight. Caught them all on either an orange San Juan or the chamouis San Juan. They weren't very aggressive as I was having to put it right on their nose to get any takes... To finish up the evening, we went back down to the lower end and I put my nephew on some fish. Caught almost 10 before fishing time ended....again, just switching colors on the glo-balls in the deeper pools fishing with an indicator. All in all, it was a good day. Going to try and make it back down there this sunday for another day trip...still hunting for that BIG fish!

Thanks to a good friend (Brian Wise), I've thankfully joined this forum as all other FF forums aren't ANYTHING like this one! The name's Chance and its good to be part of the OzarkAnglers!