Aaron J Scott

Since I'm still in my infancy with this whole fly rod thing, what should I know about hitting our trout streams in the winter? I don't mind getting out in the cold for a while and would rather spend a nice winter day out on a stream than in front of the TV. Any tips, techniques, locations and fly suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I've been on lake shore clean ups (tootle around the lake on a jon boat in the winter picking up dock foam) and its sickening how much stuff goes into the lake. My family lives not too far from the Niangua arm and it's long been a quieter part of the lake, but it still doesn't keep people from chucking (or maybe just neglecting – who am I to assume) junk in there. I remember finding a foul-smelling chunk of foam up on the bank. It was soaked and extremely heavy, despite the fact that it was well above the winter lake level. I looked up above it and saw a pipe dribbling out green and brown stuff. Took a good hot shower immediately afterwards. Somewhere in there is my favorite fishing pole from when I was a kid, no thanks to one of my friends.

My luck was no better. Spent a chunk at Barclay and then went up to Bennett. Had one good strike when I wasn't even trying! It was a beautiful day, and spending it out on the water, fish or not, was waaaay better than my typical Thursdays – deadline day.

I'm about to head up to bum around Niangua for the day. If you see a blue Prius at the Barclay or Bennett accesses, give me a holler. Luckily, I'll have hooked up before then, but most likely, you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Happy New Years! I hope the crew is having a good time at Taney.

Well, there you go! Yeah, that was definitely before my time. I know my dad has said that they used to stock the stream, but I assumed it was pre-dam days. I forget that the state didn't acquire the land until the late seventies and someone would have done something with it up until then. Is that Herbert as in Mrs. Herbert and A Bear Video, etc.? I believe they still have a house over by the entrance to Minnow Brook, near the Sallee's old farm. And I'm not sure if Russell is the same Foster, but the Fosters owned my family's land prior (or shortly prior) to my grandparents buying it back in the sixties. Anyway, that is very interesting. Thanks for filling me in.

Thanks for the clarification. I was on an assignment shadowing Annie Busch (the recently retired director of SGCL) a few months ago and she talked about having joined MOBIUS and trying to get other area libraries on board. I assumed that, by virtue of the Consortium, the other Ozarks libraries would have access to MOBIUS. Back to trout streams – after being back home for a few days at my parents' farm, next door to Ha Ha Tonka SP, I just had to wonder what kind of trout stream the branch below Ha Ha Tonka Spring would have made if Bagnell Dam not been built. It's output is up there with the rest of the springs that feed most of Missouri's trout stream, but it makes a pretty brief run before dumping into the lake. I bet I would have gotten into all of this a lot earlier if I had a stream I could walk to. Of course, that's a pretty big if, and a lot of other things would be different if the dam wasn't there.

Sooo, apparently there is a fourth revised edition published in 2005, too.

I saw a post mentioning this book in another thread, so I looked it up on the SGCL online catalog and they have multiple copies of both the first and second editions in Springfield. (Click here for a list of books from Chuck and Sharon Tryon.) I read through it the same day and I know I need to get my own copy. For someone still new to the sport, it's a great reference for locations and hatches. For those of you outside of Springfield, or if your library doesn't already have it, you might be able to get it through MOBIUS, a regional inter-library system. I think the library systems listed on the Coolcat.org catalog system are all part of the program, but you should check with your library to make sure. BTW, the copy I borrowed from the library is missing several separate chunks of pages – obviously good stuff, too, like part of the Blue Ribbons streams list. Hence the need for a copy of my own. Also – I don't know if Chuck Tryon is still around (there is a very touching message about Sharon passing away prior to the publishing of the second edition), but if he is, I hope that a third edition is planned. I would love to see the updated information on publicly accessible trout stream, maybe new photos in addition to the nice illustrations, etc. – I'd even help with typesetting! (And publication design, and photography, and whatever else.)

Also: the best blackberries I've ever had were up around the spring at Boze Mill.

It's not quite roughing it, but I have some very fond memories of camping at Boze Mill. I went down on a church camp float a couple times back in junior high, and on one trip we ran into all kinds of fun. Like when one of the locals threatened one of the campers by saying he'd throw them in the spring and no one would ever find the body. Or when another local – who was obviously homesteading, having pitched a pretty elaborate campsite – frightened some other campers by toting a rifle around and bathing (in the primitive, buck naked sense) near our camp. After talking to him, our crew got suspicious and so my dad and my pastor got in the canoe – after sundown, mind you – and floated down to Riverton and called the sheriff's department from Hufstedler's. Turns out they had multiple warrants on him, so later they came out and picked him up. And our crew, being the good chruch-going kids that we are, helped break down his campsite. Not sure how much of that wound up in an evidence locker ... It's an incredible shame that I haven't been back there. My dad and I have, in the last two years, twice failed to get a trip scheduled. Now that I have a greater interest in rivers and their inhabitants, I'm anxious to get down there.

I've only had problems with Japanese beetles on my basil and strawberry plants, but they seem to have disappeared recently--maybe with the heat? Nothing has touched my tomotoes, and the only thing I've done is plant marigolds in the container with them. The one downside of growing tomatoes in containers is they suck up water faaaaast. I have to water them about twice a day any more. BTW, does anyone have a good Japanese beetle pattern? I relish the idea of a big trout smashing into one of those stoooopid bugs.

Man, that looks delicious. I grew cukes one year and had so many that I eventually gave up making salads out of them and just ate them raw. I love cucumbers. Wish I had room for an actual row garden! All I have right now are in containers--but my tomatoes are still looking pretty good.

I got down to Bennett Springs Access a little after six last night and there were still people laying around in the water by the canoe launch, so I turned around and headed over the Barclay CA and pretty much had the river to myself. Went back to that gravel bar near the bend on the east side of the CA. Had a few hits but still didn't land anything. I know they were there--I could see flashes of white all over the place from them feeding, but hey, I'm still figuring stuff out--only my third time out with a fly rod. Maybe next time! I fished until dark and headed back to the car. It was a beautiful night! When I got back to the parking lot, I saw a few locals had set up by the canoe launch to do some sucker fishing. They said that three or four days prior, someone had caught a couple of lunkers over by the overhanging tree that's across from the launch. Maybe I'll try over there next time.

Ha! That's a very good question. It's been years since I've been there. It was quite a treat for my little brother and his friend to go eat in a cave, so we went out there ever so often. But that was eight or ten years ago. Here's a site with some contact info that might help: Roadside America: Caveman BBQ

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably head up there tomorrow afternoon and try to hit one of the accesses around 6:00. It's partly an experiment to see how much decent fishing I can get in if I leave right after work during the week and still be back at a reasonable time. But it's mostly me still getting the hang of this fly tackle.

If I were to head up to the Niangua tomorrow (probably Barclay CA again) Sunday afternoon, how late do you suppose I'd have to get there to avoid most of the floaters?

No, I did not catch anything, but that's probably not an indicator of poor fishing conditions. It was my second time with a fly rod in my hand and my first time out by myself. I figure now I was fishing about half as deep as I should have, so I'll have to try again soon. Can you recommend any good spots in Barclay CA? I think I might make it a routine stop because it's about as far away as everywhere else (outside of Crane Creek and Taney minus traffic) and not too far from the family farm (especially by the way the crow flies – about 15 miles). I only fished around the bend in the river from that "authorized vehicles only" access off the the east of the main parking lot. Seemed like there should've been fish around there, but couldn't come across any beginner's luck this time around. I'll figure it out soon. What all is at Blue Spring? Is it a spring that spouts out of a granite wall? I was talking to someone recently who described going to a private banquet at some place near Bennett that is co-owned by Todd Parnell, Drury University's new president (and also involved with JRBP and UWRBF). Any ideas what that could be?

As you can probably see, I'm Aaron J Scott (despite being of the Y generation, I've never been much for online handles). I'm in Springfield, originally from Camdenton -- grew up out by Ha Ha Tonka SP, so if any of you have been down there, you've probably seen the family farm. I just got into fly fishing earlier this year – Michael at Backcountry (new frontman for Three Dog Night?) set me up, guided me out on Taney for that fish you see to the left – and, though I'm still really rough and have a lot to learn, I totally love it. I skipped church and went down to Niangua yesterday morning and, despite not landing a single fish, I still had a great time. (Wasn't fishing deep enough, I'm guessing. Will have to try again soon.) Off the river, I'm a photographer and graphic designer (and illustrator, occasionally). If any of you read the Springfield Business Journal, I take the bulk of photos for the regular weekly edition (on top of laying it out and drawing a few things when time permits). And then oftentimes I go home and do the same kinda thing, especially with this local band that's gained quite a bit of popularity called Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. If you like any kind of rock from classic stuff like the Beatles or the Beach Boys to more modern independent stuff like Pavement or the Shins, you might give them a listen. I was looking around for Niangua reports the other day and was glad to find such a comprehensive site on fishing these parts. I run a similarly minded Web site for independent music in SW Missouri called MOrawk.com. If any of you are looking to join a metal band or want info on punk rock house shows, you'll find a home there. (Seriously, there is quite a bit more than that. I kid.) I wish it were more comprehensive and I've always had bigger plans for it, but working fulltime (and then some) kinda gets in the way. I'm looking forward to weeding through the forums, blogs and articles on this site. Phil, you've put together quite a community here!

I went down to Barclay CA yesterday morning and, as I was leaving, I noticed a sign for a Dallas/Laclede county bail bondsman right outside the NRO entrance. That got me pretty tickled. FWIW, the first floaters came through around 10:00 and the party didn't start arriving until about noon, which is when I broke down the rod and headed back to my car. I had the river to myself for about an hour and a half, which was nice.