trout junkie

Thanks to all for all the responses. I was stoked before the posts, but now I'm foaming at the mouth! I've spent many days over the past 12 years or so on the NFOW and I'm ready for some new scenery. Like I said, I've been to the 11 Pt. once and have been wanting to come back ever since. Just wish I lived a little closer. Brian, I'll give you a ring sometime Saturday as we will be needing a canoe hook-up. I'll report back after the trip. Thanks again for all the advice.

Planning on a float/camp trip early next week on the 11 Pt. I've only fished it once and that was several years ago on a memorable fall trip. Probably sounds a little strange but I'd like to target the pickerel along with the bows and smallies. There were a few posts a few years ago that mentioned pickerel but its been a while since I've heard anything about them. How is the fishery for them? Is there enough of a population to pursue them? Also, we are planning a 2 day float. Any advice on floats and camping areas would be much appreciated.

Thanks all! I'll let you know how it went.

I guess my next question is how do I get to the camping at Mill Creek from Lane Springs? How long would you guess that it would take to drive there? I'm pretty set on fishing L. Piney, but am not opposed to at least check out Mill Creek.

Seems like I heard Lane Springs doesn't open until April 1, which is a bummer b/c it's a great looking spot. Wonder if I'd have any trouble if I parked in the lot and walked my tent down to a camp site? I'm not familiar with the Mill Creek area, but would certainly be up for checking it out. I was so impressed with L.Piney that I might have a hard time prying myself away from it especially when I only have 2 days to fish!

Trying to find a place to camp somewhere near Little Piney/Mill/Spring Creek area. I went to Little Piney (Lane Springs) last year and had a great time, but had to sleep in the truck in the parking lot b/c the gates were closed. Seems like there has to be someplace to camp near there. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

It's been about 7 or 8 years since I've been up there, but the last time I was there we tore up the browns on Rapid creek below the reservoir. (Can't recall the name - maybe Pactola?) Anyway, I've heard that stretch had some troubles with didymo. Here's a link: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_d03634f4-7ca4-11df-938e-001cc4c002e0.html Deerfield Lake was productive too. Lots of brookies/splake. You might also try Castle Creek below the lake. It was historically a fantastic place to fish before the drought years took their toll. Not sure what it's like now. I was most impressed with Spearfish canyon. The fishing is very tight and the fish are very wary, but it's certainly a classic place to fish. Have a great trip. I'm jealous!

I'm a KSU alum and used to fish that area a little bit. It's been over 15 years since I've fished it so I couldn't tell you for sure what it's like now. I do know that you can access it from both sides of the bridge. Rocky Ford can get hot for whites if you hit it right. I live north of Perry Lake along the Delaware river and it gets a really nice and consistent run for whites and sauger in the spring. I haven't been out yet this year, but it should be starting to happen about now. There are also a few smaller tributaries of the Delaware that are fun to fish for whites.

If you make it out this week, let us know how you fared. I'm hoping to take my 1st grade daughter back that way for a camping/fishing trip this weekend. I'd like to check out Mill, Spring, and possibly Roubidoux while we're in the area. Any advice on either creek regarding access points?

We caught fish up to 12 or 13 inches in the morning and early afternoon on small dries, but them started nymphing for the bigger fish. We used pretty standard stuff -- p.t. nymphs, hare's ear, etc.. I did catch a few on a slump buster, but they weren't in the 15 inch range. Have any of you fished Mill and Spring Creeks? They were tempting to go check out because of their close proximity, but we couldn't tear ourselves away from L. Piney. Maybe next time!

A buddy and I had a few days to chase some trout last week so after much deliberation as to where to go we decided on Little Piney and the Current. We've fished the North Fork, Eleven Pt., Crane, Taney, and Niangua, but hadn't fished those two so they won out and we weren't disappointed. After a six hour drive we rolled into Lane Springs campground at around 11:30 or so only to find it closed. We were beat and ready for sleep so we "camped" in the truck for the night in the day use parking area. The next morning and the rest of the day for that matter was nothing short of phenomenal fishing. The caddis were everywhere by mid morning and the fish were keyed in on them. After lunch we decided to target some bigger fish with a nymph rig. We caught 4 or 5 over 15 inches by the end of the day. The creek is much larger than I had imagined and I would bet there are plenty of fish in there that would dwarf those 15 inchers! We both agreed that Little Piney is something special and one that we'll certainly come back to. I'm so happy that the trout have been allowed to do their thing without any supplemental stocking in that section. The fish are beautiful and thriving and as wild as a trout can be. One more thing: We didn't see another soul on the creek and we fished from about 9:30 till dark. Gotta love that! That evening we made the short drive down to the Current and found a great camping area near Tan Vat. We fished below Baptist the next morning, but the fishing was a little slow. We talked to several others and they were having the same results. We did have several takes and near misses and I did manage to pick up one nice rainbow on a San Juan worm, but that was it for the morning. After a quick lunch we decided to head to Tan Vat and fish the water below it. By this time the bugs were in the air and the fish were responding. I caught fish on a size 16 parachute caddis until the fish tore the fly apart. Of course neither one of us had any more exactly like it, but they weren't in the mood to refuse so the next fly worked almost as good. All in all it was another great trip to MO. Each trip just seems to get better and better.

Hi Ed. I have 2 or 3 older Quick spinning reels that I'd love to have repaired. All of them were made in the late 70's or early 80's and are ultralight models. I don't have them with me, but I could send you the model numbers later if need be. Most of them seem to need bail springs replaced, but I couldn't say for sure. For some reason your website is blocked here at the school that I teach at. Can you send me an address that could send the reels to?

Uh...Oh, did I say Psycho Prince? Silly me! I meant to say Halfbacks. Or maybe they were 20 inchers. Actually come to think of it, those 2 flies might be pretty effective on the N. Fork.

I'm headed up there next week for my first trip there also. Which entry point did you take? We're using 49 and are planning to fish Smith and Banadad lakes. Can't wait!!!

We were fishing the lower conservation area. The wading through the brambles was tough and sweaty, but the fishing more than made up for it. We did go up and check out the upper end in the afternoon, but the water was fairly skinny. We did catch a few there, but we liked the water in the lower end much more. Sure would be nice to get some permission to fish some of the private water down from there.

Just got back from a trip to the N. Fork as well as a number of other rivers, lakes, and creeks. Put in at Kelly and paddled up the N. Fork spring with a steady rain coming down. The river had quite a bit of water in it and the fishing was a little tough. My buddy John caught 5 nice rainbows in the middle of the first run below Rainbow Spring on a psycho prince. I fished a rubber legs and crackleback dropper and managed to hook a super nice fish, but he went airborne mid-stream and through the fly in my face. Next day I got up early and hiked down to Cave riffle. It started raining at about 7 or so and didn't slow down until after noon. I had a few weak takes, but no hook ups. I did manage to see 2 otters in the backwater just above the riffle which was nice although I'm sure many of you would beg to differ. After noon we took our families on a canoe trip from ROLF to Dawt. There weren't a lot of opportunities to wet the line, but I did manage to catch a few just below the tail out at cave riffle. (Thanks to Jeremy at ROLF for the tip on that spot.) I wish I could have spent a lot more time there. Next we were off to fish the Little Niangua for smallies. We showed up at the river at around 3:00 on Wednesday only to be greeted by a roiling current of chocolate milk. Bummer! Niangua -- same thing. I was even ready to break down and fish Bennett, but it was dirty too. So, we checked with the river flows on the computer at the nature center at Bennett and found that pretty much everything in the area was blown. We both REALLY wanted to fish, so we drove down to Taney, but they were running water. Next we decided to drive over to Crane and fish the creek. I'd always wanted to fish there, but other rivers always seemed to call me a little harder, but that won't be the case next time. What a beautiful place! I felt like I was hunting for native brook trout in the Smokies with all the obstacles. We found lots of fish and simply had a fantastic time. I managed to hook up 2 sizable trout on a stimulator, but one came unbuttoned and another headed straight for the root wad from which he'd come and broke me off. We did catch plenty of smaller fish up to 10 or 11 inches though. I guess it all goes to show you that you'll never know where you're going to end up when you head out on a fishing trip. The smallies will have to wait until next week because the Boundary Waters are beckoning!

Thanks a bunch for your info and help. I'll send a report when we get back. Looks like we're going to fish the NFOW tomorrow through Wednesday and then hit up the Little Niangua for smallies at the end of the week. I'm stoked! We have some super pond fishing for largemouth, bluegill, and crappie in my neck of the woods, but the river/creek fishing isn't much to get excited about (other than the spring white bass/wiper runs) so it's always nice to get out your way and chase those wild 'bows. I hope you all realize (and I'm sure you do) what a treasure you have down there. I've fished from Alaska to Florida and the North Fork remains one of my top 2 or 3 rivers to fish. Again, thanks!

One more thing, Brian. How do you you fish the crackle back? Somehow I haven't ever fished that one. It looks like it could be fished as a dry, swung as a soft hackle, or as a typical nymph with the bead head. Am I on track on this? I've always had a lot of success swinging soft hackles on that river. Also can you hook me up on the czech nymphing technique. You seem to mention it a lot, but I haven't been turned on to it yet.

That would be sweet if we could hit the river just as it's falling out. It could get ugly (in a good way) if the water has a little color to it on Monday. How had the river been fishing before the rise? Also, has anyone fished the upper N. Fork lately? Can't decide if I should fish it or Bryant on Wed. and Thurs.

I'm headed down to stay at ROLF on Monday and was wondering how the river was looking. I'm planning to fish the river Monday and Tuesday and hit Bryant on Wednesday and Thursday. Any info would be much appreciated.

The ironic thing about this story is that the fish was caught on a 4 weight Stowaway that I bought as a "gift" for my oldest daughter 5 or 6 years ago. Trust me when I say that my wife saw right through that one!

Let's try this:\

Still having trouble with the pictures. The only thing I can figure is that I have the wrong file extension. What should it be?

It was just me and my 2 girls on a camping/canoeing/fishing trip last week to the Norfork tailwater and the North Fork of the White in MO. My 10 year old had some experience with a fly rod, but my 6 year old had yet to throw a fly line. Man did Dry Run Creek break her in! After catching several nice fish just below the hatchery, we noticed a very nice rainbow move into a choice lie below a big boulder. The fish stayed there for at least an hour or so and chased off other fish while it picked off food in the water column. Next we noticed that the water clarity had turned cloudy at best (I imagine one of the raceways was being flushed) and the fishing improved dramatically for the girls. My youngest dropped her egg pattern in front of the pig and the pig ate. I'll never forget the next 5-10 minutes! Thankfully another fisherman with his son happened to come by and offered to attempt to net the fish. He got the job done and it turned out to be an 8lb, 12 oz bow! (His net had a scale attached.) My daughter had been taking pics of my daughter as she fought the fish and unfortunately ran what was left of the batteries out of the camera, but I did manage to get one good pic of the fish. I'd love to post the pic, but can't seem to figure out how. Any suggestions would be great.

I was hoping to fish it this Thursday and Friday, but the rain has changed that plan as well as my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th options. Looks like I'll have to wait it out and try to make a trip later in the spring. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of float/fish options here in NE Kansas. Any ideas regarding a float in the central or northern sections of MO? I'd love to chase some smallies somewhere on a stream. Farm pond largemouths are great, but those opportunities can be had at anytime where I live. Now that I have a week off I'd like to hit up a new spot with a species that's uncommon in KS. Thanks for all the info on the previous posts. I'll be sure to use all of it when the weather clears.