Fly_Guy

Greetings all - a bunch of friends from KC and I went down to RR last Mon - Wed. Water back to near normal - still a touch hazy when compared to typical summer clarity, but not enough to notice. Whistle blew at six thirty, and my wife and I had 17 and 20 fish respectivly, before nine oclock Monday. Fished the first 10 min. with black rooster tails, and went to white Gulp power eggs. Couldn't keep em off the eggs. One thing that I would implore everyone to do is pinch down the barbs on their hooks when fishing with powerbait (if you plan on releasing the fish). the trout usually nearly swallow powerbait, and small, barbless hooks make it super easy to release the fish without damage. Also, I've found that using one Gulp brand egg is sufficient (many people like two eggs on one hook). To remedy this (and avoid using my precious eggs) I usually find a discarded egg on the side of the river and pair it with my Gulp egg. I used a Rebel Crickhopper in zone one as well, to general success. As far as flies go, dries were starting to pick up. Normally at this time in the summer, the water is a bit slower, and fishing dries is easier, but I found that there was a fish in nearly every hole rising when i started flying around midday. Used an #18 deerhair caddis (because I didn't have any elkhair in my kit), and a #22 black ant. Picked up most fish on the ant. Later went to Tim's shoppe and bought a couple of black foam beetles. (If you are planning a trip to RR, visitng Tims Fly Shop should be included in your schedule - an amazing little fly shop, and Tim is happy to give advice) Anyway, fished down in catch and release zone 2 for a while, and caught fish on the foam beetle, a neon green san juan worm, and one on a #18 brown scud. I talked to a few fishermen there who had had very good luck drifting a red san juan worm, above a pheasant tail. Zone one was quite crowded, so if you are a fly fisherman, I would recommend going down river if you are looking for any form of solitude. Our whole group stayed in the cabins and a couple of rooms at Roaring River resort - and a good time was had by all. The guys all had a Star Wars marathon (one movie per night), keeping up with the tradition we started last year with Lord of the Rings, and to be continued next year with either Pirates of the Carribean, Spiderman, or three Bond movies. We haven'd decided yet. Good luck y'all!

Don't channels require water temperatures in the low-mid 70s minimum to grow to any size? Would Taneys average 58 degree water year round be sufficient to sustain a natural population? I still say have the MDC stock wiper - I'd like to catch em (on a fly rod - yahoo!) , they'd eat the 10 inchers, and a trophy wiper fishery would draw tourists.

I do need to - haven't been to taney since last year - I'm thinking about it this coming thursday, but I'll have a trout fishing guy with me - so he'd rather chase rainbows and browns.

Thanks - I'm using a work computer with workin sound now- it helps!

Isn't it amazing to see a kid get 'hooked'? We took our five year old nephew for the first time a month ago. He kept getting hung up on the bottom, so when he starting yelling "I got one!!", we were skeptical at first - but he caught a trout completely by himself (we helped with a few others). He talked of nothing else for a solid two weeks. He'll be a great fisherman - he reeled in three, but by the time we were driving home, he had caught four. When we was telling his dad later that night, he had caught twenty! Amazing - he's learning real fast!

hey tim - a bunch of friends from KC and I are making the trip this coming Mon - Wed. I've been tying lots of gnats and ants. My friend here at work says that you tie a mean foam beetle - I was wondering what size you generally tie them in? I probably will swing by your shop and pick up a few, but in the future, when I have more time, I'll try some. I'm not a fan of rubber legs through - course, it could be that I usually use worn out spinnerbait skirts. Is there some kind of leg material that you can buy? - in your video it appears that you just tie one piece of rubber, and it splits into three parts. Thanks, Brian

Thanks guys - need to try crane out sometime - I hear the fishings fast and easy!

lilley - have they been generating pretty constantly? - are some times better than others to hope they'll give it a rest for a while so us boat-disadvantaged can wade a bit?

Copperheads are very vain snakes - if you set up a camera and a appropriate background, they will hold a pose for hours. Of course, it helps to smash their heads in first As for me, I never kill snakes - I figure they all have an ecological nitche. From the stories I remember hearing on Crane Creek however, I will carry a 12 gauge if I ever fish it - nasty stories I've heard...

Thanks guys - that gives me a few to try. I have some old Zatarans batter w/out MSG, but I looked the other day and they now use it. I got some GreatValue biscuit mix to try - and will have to try some of y'alls suggestions too. Now all that remains is the fun part - acquire the fillets! Appreciate it!

You would have to modify the river a bit for crappie - and probably stock fathead minnows or something. I grew up next to a fairly fast moving stream that produced some of the best crappie I've ever fished. Besides - voracious eaters is the point - easy to catch a quick and tasty limit! (at least in upper RR) There are fry/fingerling populations in RR - but not sure how many of those reach maturity - perhaps Tim would know if there is a "natural population" of rainbows in lower RR (I've only fished the lower portion twice). I've always thought it got so much pressure that it would hard for a natural population to be viable. I've seen fry in some of the very top pools - and always assumed that they somehow came from the hatchery. Do they stock trout with eggs? - at the top I don't think a trout has very long shelf life. I agree with everyone else as well - brookies would be a nice change - haven't caught them since Oregon.

speaking of fish fry - what do you use for batter? I've been experimenting with all kinds of stuff - but am partial to Uncle Buck mixed with flour. The problem is, my wife is quite allergic to MSG - so I have found one kind of fish batter without it (cant remember the brand). Love some fried walleye and crappie. Anyone have any batter tips?

Trav - or "another member" my apologies - I didn't check to see who started this topic on Taneycomo when I polled for RR. I will from now on site the proper topic starter for the record - I'd like to see saugeye and wipers - something that could be stocked but managed easier. Costly for the state however.

Fair point trav - they would probably have to stock them upstream once a week or so - but something would have to be done about the log dams to satisfy those 60 mile a day walleye apparently introduced from Kenya However - I contend that trout park trout are so far removed from wild trout, that you could do the same thing for other species. The most reasonable would be something like crappie I suppose. If you could make larger pools... just dreaming of course.

Thanks for the responses guys - being realistic, most of these choices wouldn't work well with the river the way it is. I figured the most popular choice would be the other two trout (which would be kind of cool - and capable of being done). However, imagine catching a "lunker" 40 inch pike with your five year old nephew! My personal choice was walleye simply for the food value. If you could dredge out the river and make it average 15 foot deeper, I think a mixture of walleye/smallmouth/pike/yellow perch would be both fun and would be a good Canada patch for me until I can get back. It would be possible (but not economical - imagine the cost). The cool spring would be a great mimic of northern waters.

Just fun to think about - another member posted a similar question on the Taneycomo forum. Basically, this question could also be, 'What fish do you love to eat?'

Where's the closest place to get minnows around that area? Are any places open late? (appreciate all the info guys)

Well, my wife and I went to Stockton for the first time yesterday - at 12 noon, and only stayed until around 7:30. Thusly, we missed the best times to fish, but didn't do horrible for our first time there. We trolled crankbaits the entire day - Bandit 300 pearl/ blue back, and deep tiny wee-rs. Wee-Rs didn't do anything, but we picked up 3 keeper crappie (the biggest at 12 inches), 2 walleye (a 16, and a 17 incher), and a smallmouth. All in all, it was pretty slow, and fish were very scattered. We fished several different coves, and usually got the bite at the edge of the mouth. Walleye were in about 25 feet of water, and crappie were anywhere from 20 to 10. Very scattered. We found a little place that showed they were stacked up under the boat, but we only pulled 2 crappie out of there. I suspect minnows would have helped our cause. Catching walleye trolling again was pretty fun - reminded me of Canada!

Hey Al I think the only known naturally occuring population of largemouthXsmallmouth hybrids are found in Heaven River, Heaven. I've heard you have to know the landowners son to fish it though

Nice Trout! - I wish I wasn't stuck here at work - I'd be there with my nephew and his new Spiderman fishing pole

When I lived close to Kansas City, I used to fish the spillway of Harrisonville lake, when I wanted to relax. It was usually good for a few crappie and walleye. Is the spillway of Stockton fishable without a boat?

Hey Tim - Do you know if they do a few holes special for the kids to fish at as well, or will all holes be open to the "older kids"? I wasn't there last year, but depending on work might be able to make it this year w/ nephew.

Same here - I would fish dries all year at RR and Taneycomo if it were possible.

Wife and I fished RR in the afternoon for about 5 hours yesterday. Each caught 14. When we were using white power eggs, I would unhook wife's fish, and she would grab my pole and catch another one before I was even done. Fishing was that fast, for a period. (Berkley Gulp brand - the eggs tend to be more fragile, but more effective) Most of the time however, wife relaxed and read a book and I tried luck on fly rod. Slow day - I fish mostly dries. Caught one and lost about 7 on a barbless size 24 black ant, caught three more on a brownish crackleback, and had one on a brassie. Some guys at the top hole said they were having excellent luck on the crackleback. Looking foreward to lower, slower water and a good week of nice weather to hopefully get a good hatch. Then, lookout trout!

I personally don't take many fish home to eat. I'll take trout from Taneycomo on occation, and from roaring river (stockers from 3 of the 4 trout parks are basically food paid for by your tax dollars, but more fun to get than the McDonalds drive thru). As for this fellow below lake Springfield, - what a jerk! It is possible however (giving the benefit of the doubt) that he is ignorant to the rules. Still, it's a shame to harvest such fish. Oh - and according to the USGS, largemouth/smallmouth hybrids do occur. Can you imagine catching one of 4 1/2 lbs? Simple respect for such a fish should dictate release.