BKB

On the Missouri Dept of Conservation TV show on public access a few weeks ago, they did a story about wild hog hunting...said the largest concentrations of hog in MO are right around the Lake Wapapello area.

I absolutely love my Fishond chestpack..... holds more than you think it would, it's light, convenient, and made of durable material!

There was a Docu-Drama released last year, maybe on the Discovery channel that was very informative about the possibilities of a super eruption at Yellowstone....... very scary/end of the world possibilities that I never knew about! I highly recommend watching it...I believe its called SUPERVOLCANO.

The fleece wader pants with stir-ups that I bought a few years ago are comfortable and warm.....a huge improvement in my opinion to the thick neophrene waders that i used to use.

I was also at Bennett on Friday. Fished from about 9:45-2:45 and caught an even 30 rainbows and one small brown. When I arrived, it was tough to find a spot in Zone 1 without crowding anyone. The stretch from the spring to the Holland dam was crowded, as was the area around the two jetties above the waterfall. I ended up fishing just below the Holland Dam in the fast, deep water and caught sveral there, most on size 20 white midge and small scuds. I had one very nice rainbow on for 20 seconds or so that would have gone several pounds, but broke my line! Around 11 I moved to zone 2 in the hatchery outlet area. Fished for a while and caught a few, but left as two older gentleman were about to get into a fist fight over who was fishing in who's spot. Note to the guy smoking the cigar: You were in the wrong....you waded right in front of him! About 1:00 or so I walked down to the Suzy Hole in Zone 3 and caught the heck out of them! There were times when I was catching on every cast! Fished until the wind started blowing and it got cold (and I got hungry). Was that you in the Simms jacket fishing a hundred yards or so below me at the Suzy Hole flyfishmaster?

Fished Wednesday 10/29 on the Upper Current River...WOW.. what a perfect weather day! 60/70 something degrees, clear skies, sunshine...a bit breezy at times, but not that bad. Got to TanVat at 11:00 and fished upstream to about 100 yards Below the Cabin Hole till about 4:30. The first fish that I hooked was a LARGE brown in the first small riffle above TanVat...after a brief 30 second fight, he broke my tippet...soooo sad! LOL I managed 15 rainbows and 1 small brown for the day. (Oddly enough, zilch in the Rock Garden Hole, which I usually do very well in.) The fish of the day came as I was wading back downstream at around 4:00. I was wading through the long, slow, sandy stretch of stream between the riffles above TanVat and the Rock Garden and decided to take a few casts. I usually just walk through this area. I hooked up with a hefty rainbow that took about 5 min to bring in (was a very tough fighter!) The fish was fat and went just above 20" The pic posted below does not do the fish justice....much fatter than it looks in pic! I caught the fish on a variety of nymhs. With a size 22 Black Zebra Midge responsible or about 1/2 of the catch, Including the one pictured below. The fishing was good, but the weather/scenery was great!

I plan on being there both Friday and Saturday. It's an annual family trip for some guys in my extended family. I'm thinking it may be crowded this year...i have never had a problem getting a cabin by the spring in the park for this weekend, but there were none left when i called down 2 months or so ago. I drive a grey 08 Nissan Altima and will be wearing a Kirk's Flyshop, Estes Park, CO hat. name is Bryan...say HI!

I will be fishing the upper current tomorrow...I'm taking my camera with me ( I usually don't cause I like to travel light). Last time I fished the stretch above TanVat I was walking upsteam and crossed paths with a guy who was walking downsteam. He was fishing an interesting dropper rig. At first, I thought it was two glowballs...and thought about switching to a glowball myself as he seemed to be catching fish. When I got closer, I discovered the first lure was a glowball, but the dropper was a Berkley Power Egg!! As we crossed, I mentioned that that type of bait was not allowed in that streatch of stream. He asked if I was an agent...I said no...he just shrugged and walked on. I'm thinking about wearing a conservation agent costume on the stream from now on!!

I have noticed the butts on the ground at Bennett in the past as well.... seems like there are lots of them clustered around benches in Zone #1 and on the "beach" at the Suzy hole in Zone #3

So.... In this forum's opinion....are the rulebreakers getting worse or are we just noticing/complaining about it more?

I called last week to get reservations in the park for opening CR weekend. They said that they keep the duplex cabins by the spring open during the CR season and some motel rooms. All of the cabins were full for opening weekends, but they said they did have some motel style rooms open.

I have floated that section a few times and you are correct...mostly shallow and skinny water. I was able to catch a few decent sized smallies in the few holes that there are. The Dry Creek flows into the Huzzah at Huzzah Valley Resort. I have floated from Huzzah Valley to Scotia several times. While still shallow and skinny in some parts, there are some deep holes and very fishy looking spots. I have caught some very decent sized smallies on this float, although not so much in the last 2-3 years. I don't even see as many large ones as I used to...wonder why?

That's a beautiful smallie in his left hand!

No agent currently assigned to Phelps county...yikes!

Thanks guys... Fished during the middle of the day, about 1:00-5:00 on Wed, Spet 10th. Picture perfect day...temp in the mid 70's and sunshine..... Fishing was kinda slow, caught 4 rainbows all around 12-14 inches on various flies (copper john, black zebra midge, red zebra midge, and grey scud). I walked about 1/4 mile upstream from the access point...some really great looking water! Will be back sometime to hit this area first thing in the morning when maybe the trout might be more active.

Relatively new to flyfishing and have been to the current twice this summer....fished up and downstream of TanVat on first trip and fished downstream of Baptist on the 2nd trip. I see Parker Access of the MDC map and I have several questions... Is it difficult to get to? Road conditions for a sedan? What is the water like there? Wadeable? Should I walk upstream or downstream? Mostly browns in this area? Since I mostly Nymph, would I be better off staying upstream? Any fly suggestions? Thanks in advance!! BRYAN

No swimming allowed at Maramec Spring or any of the trout parks!

I grew up camping in one of those with mom, dad, and little bro...tons of fun! Super easy to set up....can be done in under 5 minutes. Highly reccomend it to small, young families or a couple of guys going on fishing trips who are tired of sleeping on the ground in their tent!

I didn't win the powerball jackpot, so count me out!

I have one! It is one of the best, if not the best purchase i have ever made. Had it since last sept. and its hard to remember what life was like before it! Absolutely love it!

Friday August 8 11:00am-4:40pm Baptist Arrived at Baptist and fished the riffle above the access as there was a church youth group of about 30 putting in when I arrived. Caught 5 (2 rainbow and 3 brown) in my first 45 minutes. Moved downstream a bit and caught another brown right at the access where the youth were putting in and swimming. The first rainbow I caught was a nice 17 inches and fat! The other two rainbows were about 11-12 inches and all the browns were 10". I walked downstream dodging canoes to the big 90 degree bend about halfway to Ashley creek. Caught nothing! Had 2 hookups, one on a dry EHC. All fish were caught on a size 16 chartruse copper john. Heck...even all the minnows I caught were on that as well! Saturday August 9 9:30am-11:00pm Below Cable As I drove into the park around 8:30, I saw the largest Trico hatch I have ever seen! Huge clouds over the entire length of the stream...drove through a cloud when I went over the 119 bridge! Walked down to the cable outside the park and caught 2 (1 rainbow, 1 brown) in the 2nd riffle below the cable and 1 rainbow (16" and beautiful dark coloring) in the upper part of the cabin hole. I was following 2 guys downstream and felt that I was crowding them, so I decided to head up to the park and fish. Saturday August 9 11:00-2:30pm Fly Only Area in Montauk The human hatch was almost as large as the morning Trico hatch! Extremely crowded....hard to find a spot to fish. Had a few hookups on a black Zebra Midge, size 20, but none landed. I can't stress to much how crowded it was! Decided to go back to the river. Saturday August 9 3:30-7:00pm Baptist Several people at access and several fisherman that I passed on my walk downstream. Caught 5 in the fast water just below Baptist (2 rainbow and 3 10" brown) on a size 14 chartruse copper John, and two on a size 22 black zebra midge. Walked to the same spot as the day before with few bites and none landed. Was kinda neat to see the fog role in from upstream to downstream as I walked back toward Baptist. Beautiful weather! Beautiful river! Good time!

I would also like to see some of the smaller steams put under additional length/limit restrictions. I fish the Huzzah occasionally and have seen local individuals and familes take their limit and have wondered what the impact would be if they fished a stretch of steam once a week and kept their limit each time. I just dont think the smaller streams like the Huzzah can take that much fishing pressure if limits are being kept. I have also noticed a SIGNIFICANT decline in the number of large smallies that I have caught and seen in the water over the course of the last 10 years or so.

I waded and fished the Current for the first time last month. I waded from Tan Vat to Baptist during normal water conditions (according to the charts) and rarely got my waders wet above the knees. I think as long as the water is not up, there is no problem wading this stretch. The only stretch that required anything above waist deep was right at Baptist where I crossed to the other side.

Ummm...go for it if you want... Someone will stop you, either a conservation agent or a ticked off fisherman!

There was no visible hatch of any kind either day that I was on the river...granted, I was there during the afternoon. That is a very nice brown flyfishmaster, especially taken out of the water where it came from! The one that I saw looked in the water to be of similar size. It was hanging out with about an 18" or so rainbow! Seems like I will have to practice my streamer patterns to go after the big browns...new to flyfishing and have never tried it!