OKFlyFisher44

My dad and I are looking at making a weekend trip out to TR this coming weekend for his birthday. We've fished just about every lake in Oklahoma with success much of our lives but was wanting to get a little insight about "The Rock". Our home lake is Grand Lake where this time of the year we are throwing poppers and buzz-baits early in the morning and then switching to spinner-baits and crank-baits as the day wears on. Throw in the occassional jig around docks and we usually catch our fair share of good bass... Is Table Rock similiar to our Grand Lake patterns for this time of year? How has the rain affected the lake? Also, is it better to stay away from the "Branson side" of Table Rock? We're probably going to stay at one of the lakeside resorts in the Shell Knob area and launch from the same place. What should we expect and how should we fish this side of the lake? Any input would be great!

A friend of mine has an Okuma loaded up with 5-weight line....its a very nice looking and well-built reel I thought. The drag is adjustable and very smooth. He's been very happy with it....but he just chases trout with it... Great reel for a great price!

Good ol' trout bum...

I tried "carping" for the 1st time a few weeks back and it was a lot of fun. Honestly, I only caught 1 small carp (16 inches) but it was just fun because its a big challenge. We fished a small creek earlier in the day by walking up high on the bank till we spotted a fish and then we'd try to "stalk" them by getting as close as we could to make an accurate cast. It was tough to say the least...but very fun. They are very spooky. I also ended up catching a few drum in the 2-3 lb range which was a blast.... Next we fished some shallow weed beds at a large farm pond....it was over-cast and raining so it was very tough to spot fish but we did get to cast to a few fish but they were very picky. I think if the weather had been better where we could see the fish better....we'd had more success. Most of the time, we spooked fish before we even saw them because of the over-cast skies. It was still a lot of fun.... I'm fishing a 9' TFO 7-weight....works good for bass and carp.

You hit the nail on the head....Headwaters is the one I found in the back of an issue of American Angler while reading on my "thinking chair" So I'm guessing they are junk or what? Just kind of want a bamboo rod to play around with when I'm fishing small water or the trout parks. Just to have something that has the old school "vintage" look and feel to it....just for fun honestly! Not looking to try to fish Montana or something like that with one...just something to play with. If I'm going to have to spend over $500 to get a decent one.....I think I'll pass up on that. I can buy some other things I can really "use" with that cash....plus the wife won't be as grumpy

Been reading about and shopping around for a bamboo fly rod. I'm thinking I'd really like to try one out...just because of the "vintage" factor of fishing with one. Love to have one custom-built for me but they're WAY too expensive...found a few rod-makers that are moderately priced ($275-$600) compared to the high-end bamboo rods. Anyways...who has fished with bamboo? Did you like it? Do they cast pretty well? Fun to fish with? Any input would be great...

Gene's is an amazing place to stay....I was very satisfied with our accomdations there this past July.

Caught several of those this weekend on my 7wt while walking a local creek trying to catch carp and drum....they're a lot of fun.... Just really slimy and nasty....god I hate having to handle them!

I know gas prices are high....but just jump in your vehicle and drive east to Missouri or Arkansas! The options are almost endless as far as places to fish! As far as beating the crowds....ehh...going to have to fish through the week more than likely. The North Fork of the White is pretty un-crowded as far as fisherman...lots of floaters though. Lots of places in Missouri and Arkansas that you can pay a premium to fish there....just do a lil' research...

Post some pics/fishing report in the General Angling Discussion forum!! I'm trying to throw together a trip to Colorado myself...

I took my nephew down there a few weeks ago...the place is absolutely amazing and its a beautiful little stream. I had a lot of fun playing "guide" for him. Big fish everywhere!! He could hardly stand still to cast... We didn't get to catch any of the HUGE fish...but he landed several nice fish in the 17-19" range so he was excited. We did "roll" a huge 'bow. I seen it eat his san juan worm and he set the hook...only to see the fish roll over and turn his head to run. Hook pulled out immediately...major bummer!

I agree completely with the above statement. I've stayed away from these Catch and Release threads as I agree with Trav...its like beating a dead horse but here are my thoughts on the situation.... As far as catch and release goes for Taney....its a put and take fishery as far as the Rainbows go I believe. As long as people are taking "legal" fish...let 'em take them for all I care. I am saddened when I see big 'bows and browns harvested from our rivers for sure...but thats their right if they want to keep that fish, as much as we hate to see it happen. I am for "catch and release"....thats basically all I do. I have yet to find a way to cook trout in a way that tastes good to me, so I release every trout I catch whether its at a trout park or Taney or the North Fork. So I feel I'm putting fish back for another angler to enjoy...be it catching and releasing them or catching and eating them. Unless its crappie or catfish, I have no desire to take the time to clean fish that I don't wanna eat. And most of the time anymore, I don't keep them either as I HATE having to clean fish...especially catfish! I'm a member of TU and I firmly believe we need to protect and maintain our coldwater trout fisheries...but let's concentrate our efforts on rivers or fish populations that need it. Places like Crane Creek or the North Fork of the White (MO)....or any of the rivers that support a brown trout population. Or how about all the small creeks/rivers that are having their smallmouth over-harvested? Or any other fish species thats getting over-harvested for that matter! There's just too many angles on this whole "catch and release" idea...especially in the Ozarks. On a personal note, I believe there needs to be more support given to protecting places like Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Canada, Alaska, etc....those exotic places that offer a fishing trip of a lifetime.....because if we don't act now, our children's children won't have the chance to go to places like that to have that fishing trip of a lifetime. Thats just my thoughts on that. Ok, so I've rambled way more than I originally planned...and I accept full responsibility and am now going to prepare myself to be blasted! Lord...why did I get involved? All I wanna do is go fishing

Ha! Just got lucky that I haven't burned any of my vacation time yet this year...got it all saved up for this fall! Now...the real trick is getting my wife to understand why I need to make this trip! It could be a tough proposition but usually when it comes to fishing...she knows she's fighting a losing battle. I was suppose to go to Montana this fall but thats getting pushed back till next year due to expecting my new baby daughter come November.....compromises! I haven't heard much about the Spring River....is it that good? I appreciate the input fellas....I'm making some route changes in my plan now. Just hope I can make this trip happen....

Yeah, thats the only issue with the trip...is the order to fish these places so I'm not wasting a lot of time on the road. The Current is really outta the way from the other waters so I'm halfway tempted to skip it but I really want to fish it...heard some good things about the place. Not really sure how to go about it....

I agree RPS...the White is too big of a river system to cover in 1 day. You can fish Norfork pretty thoroughly in 1 day, I did it a couple weeks ago on my 1st trip to Norfork. The White is a different story...I've never fished it before. Hopefully they will cut generation by fall...crossing my fingers for the White River system and Taney to stop generation. Zach....how did Taney fish after dark? I'm making a trip to Taney with a couple of buddies sometime in October/November...was planning on doing some night fishing! Thanks for the input guys....hopefully I got it planned out pretty well. Fuel is the only thing thats going to hurt....I drive a Dodge 2500 4x4 Diesel for my vacations but I'm highly considering driving my lil' Isuzu 4-cylinder/5-speed truck that I drive to work everyday that gets roughly 24-26MPG. My only worry is...."Snowball" has 183,000 miles on it...hehe, but it runs fine so who knows. That might just be part of the adventure....

Just as the topic says, if you guys were to plan a Trout Bum trip to fish all the "quality" water in Missouri and Arkansas...how would you guys do it? What rivers/streams would you fish? I've got my vacation time set aside to use this fall and I'm considering just using it to take a week long trip to fish everything I can in Missouri/Arkansas. I'm based out of Mannford, Oklahoma (just west of Tulsa) so I've been staring at a map for a while now. Best I can figure it...I think I'd go at it like this: Go up I-44 and start at the Current River, fish it for a day or so, possibly float it Head southeast to fish Crane Creek part of a day and Roaring River part of a day Cut back east to Taney, fish it a couple of days targeting big fish Keep heading east...fish the NFOW for a day by floating in a canoe Then head south to the White/Norfork area, spend a couple of days there Keep heading south to finish up with a day or so at the Little Red Then hit I-40west, come back home! What do you guys think? I could also do this trip in reverse i think....starting in Arkansas and fishing North through Missouri. Just wanted to get some other opinions or even past experiences if anyone has attempted this before? I know there is some other waters that could be covered...like the Eleven Point and Niangua systems. I included Crane Creek to throw in something different...plus I've never fished it before! I also included Roaring River because thats where my trout-fishing obsession began when I was 7-8 years old....its always had a special place in my heart. I think it would be a lot of fun. Obviously, price of fuel is really going to drive up the cost of the trip...but I figure I will eat cheap and camp to try to off-set the cost of fuel.... So...how would you guys do it?

So...they're going to be generating water come fall when the big browns return to Upper Taney?? Am I the only one interpreting this info this way? If thats true....that sucks! No sight fishing for big browns....the thought almost brings a tear to my eye

Yes, we waded the entire time. We thought about renting a boat but just decided to take our chances wading. On sunday, we didn't catch the generation till almost 2:00 I believe since we were fishing on the lower end of the river. So we got PLENTY of fishing in.... Now on monday morning...we got down to the dam, fished MAYBE 20 minutes and they started generating water. We were really bummed out....couldn't believe they started generation that early! Oh well...we loaded up all our gear and hauled butt over to Roaring River....fished there for a few hours before heading back home so we got to fish anyways....

Made my 1st trip ever to Norfork this past July 19, 20, and 21 and it was well worth the 4-hour drive. We stayed at Gene's Trout Resort and for the money spent, couldn't of asked for a better place to stay especially being right on the river. The room we had was really nice and the whole log cabin theme was really neat. We arrived on saturday evening and drove up to the dam to just check out the water. To our surprise, they weren't generating any water!!! I was the only one that a valid fishing license at that point so we didn't get to fish but we checked out the river and then walked over to Dry Run Creek to check it out for my 12 year old nephew. As far as fishing on sunday, we fished at Quarry Park sunday morning with some success. My first fish of the day was an awesome 10-inch Brookie, I'd never caught one before so I was simply amazed. We had luck with copper johns and a sowbug pattern that I tied up myself. I ended up catching a few browns and a cutthroat so I left with high expectations of getting the Grand Slam. There wasn't as many anglers there as I thought there'd be for a sunday morning as we got to fish where we wanted throughout the morning. We grabbed lunch and then headed for the catch n' release area down river. We put in and waded up to the big island upstream from the access point. We fished both sides pretty hard for a couple of hours. I caught most of my fish on copper johns and midges in the bigger riffle/run on the right side of the island. My cousin fished the slower water below the right side of the island with sculpins and buggers....got into a few fish. I did catch my rainbow right off, so I got my Norfork Grand Slam! My 12 year old nephew caught some nice fish outta Dry Run Creek but we never could get any BIG fish to hook up. We threw every sow-bug pattern I had in my box that I tied up and what we bought at the fly shop. We also tossed Y2K bugs and san juan worms at them....to no success! I think I was more frustrated than my nephew was....the kid was making good drifts to big fish that we could sight-fish and hitting all the "fishy" spots that we couldn't see fish. I think he was just excited to get to cast to such nice fish. I will definitely be bringing him back to fish that place....it's an amazing lil' stream. All in all, it was a good trip. The fishing was a lil' tougher than what I thought it would be. Combination of new water and the heat....as it was HOT! I will definitely be back to fish the Norfork again....I wanna catch more brookies!

Not a problem buddy...hopefully it helped out some! As far as beetles go...fish them as a dry fly and just dead drift them over fish or fishy lookin' runs. I always will sight fish with them by casting to fish that are tucked up next to the bank...usually always works if you can get a good drift in. As far as indicators go...it varies with me. Sometimes I'll use the yarn indicators and sometimes the hard-foam indicators(orange and green colored ones that EVERYONE uses)...just depends on the presentation. As far as where to put the indicator...just adjust according to how deep the water is, where the fish are staging, etc etc. I usually try to keep it close to the bottom unless the fish are "staging" closer to the surface....which in that case, you dont need an indicator unless your fishing SMALL flies. Hope this does you some good....

Summertime fishing @ R.R. usually goes like this for me....and always had success Early morning....fish a wooly bugger (for the freshly released hatchery fish that are very aggressive) or fish an egg pattern under a indicator in some of my favorite deeper holes. Might throw in a san juan worm in there too.... Mid-morning to afternoon....usually catch me fishing with a beetle or ant. Also seem to have good luck flingin' a wooly bugger in the deep slow moving holes...always fun to sight-fish that way by stripping them in across the fishes noses. Also have good luck with various nymphs (copper johns, hares ears, etc) fishing the deeper runs right behind where the holes are "seperated".... Evening time.....san juan worms, soft-hackles, and looking for any hatches.... In the 10 years I've been fishing R.R. I have always had good luck with these techniques. Some minor tweaks to tactics from time to time... Hope this helps...

Thanks Dano!

Whats the phone number to call to check generation at the Norfork Dam? Needing it for reference for my trip next weekend... Thanks!

Been there before! My 1st trip to Taney...during October, lost a huge fish in the exact same fashion....

I concur with that statement