tgard27

Do you think that TU would be interested in this story? God I would hate to see something happen to Crane.

I think that this situation had more to do with me not paying attention and thinking that since I was away from KC that I could let my gaurd down. I hope the times aren't changing so much that crime starts to become a problem in the future for trout parks. I work at a golf course in a suburb of KC and have noticed that vandalism and crime are a problem in our area. In the last year we have had numerous vandals, one 450 dollar driver stolen and I found a .38 special on the course in a Crown Royal bag. This is one of the nicer public courses in the area and we still have problems with crime. The main thing for me this weekend was that my girlfriend had fun. She caught fish on the spinning rod using jigs, one a 19' rainbow out of the C&R zone. I think that I have found a fishing buddy in her. Travis.

Finall y got away from KC for a couple days. The stream looked very good to me and we caught a nice lot of fish. Found a new favorite fly, Renegade in sizes 18 and 20. Had tons of hits on them but only landed a few due to my lack of fishing lately. I've heard some rumors that they were stocking small trout but you couldn't get me to believe that. Also had some luck with soft hackles, olive and yellow in sizes 16 and 18. Had a down note in that someone took one of my fly boxes, a green cabelas box loaded with all ofmy nymphs. I'm really glad that I tie my own but also dissapointed in that someone would do that. I left the box on my vest and walked down the bank about twenty feet to meet my girlfriend. Oh well, gives me a good excuse to hit the bench. Travis

Pessimism is the number one reason why things that should be changed stay the same. Talking about ideas and kicking them around never hurt and when our tax money from licenses and tackle that is purchased in Missouri goes to this fishery then I think that we have an interest in this place that is worth listening to. I think that Bennett will be hurting financially when people realize that Taneycomo and other similar fisheries offer better fishing, can be less crowded and aren’t too much of a further drive. I tell you one thing, I’m not the greatest fly fisherman but I don’t suck either, and I have never had success at Bennett like I have at other streams and fisheries. It puzzles me that Bennett doesn’t have a C&R zone. Travis

Man would I love to attend. Unfortunatley I have Law School starting in August so I have limited time this fall. But I will be out a few times, especially if the Browns make thier run this fall. Travis

Let me get them together in a more organized layout and I will post them in a new thread sometime by monday. I thought that this thread was real enjoyable in that we discussed some issues and realized that we were'nt all that far off from each other. I like Bennett and it was never my intention for anyone think that I had a hatred for MDC or Bennett Springs. I think that this place can become more proficient. Travis

"Frankly, I fish 95% catch and release in the red, blue, and white ribbon areas," Same as I do and I think that its a wonderful way to fish. "when I go to a trout park, I come back with a stringer of fish." Thats why you pay your three dollars and I have no problem with that whatsoever as I do that occassionally. "If other people want to fish with flies, and catch and release, that's fine (there's even a catch and release area just for folks like you)." Not at Bennett and that is my point. I think that this would be a nice addition for a trout park, a trophy area if you would, come and see if you can snag a lunker. "I don't see why people have a problem with the way I choose to fish, and want to make 2/3 of the trout park catch and release only." I have no problem if someone wants to go to a trout park and catch and keep. NONE! But I think that MDC can do a BETTER JOB WITH WHAT THEY HAVE! Its not the average fisherman who I am concerned of, ITS THE PEOPLE WHO RUN IT! This is how people get misled, and I'm not trying to bash anyone here. I went to Bennett, had a rough day and have noticed that I have more and more rough days at bennet than I do anywhere else, including blue ribbon streams like Crane. Hey, if I can catch trout at Crane I should have an idea of how to fish a trout park. Not trying to be rude or cocky, but there is something going on at Bennett and I don't understand why. I know that stream conditions change and you have to adapt, to me this is the fun part of fly fishing. But, when I notice dead fish and less fish than normal I think it would be safe to assume that something unusual is going on at Bennett. I have all the luck in the world at Roaring, Capps, Taneycomo and at least a few fish most everytime that I go to Crane. But for the amount of fish that they are supposed to stock in Bennett I have absolutley no idea why I struggle, and notice others struggling so badly. I think that its great to go to a trout park and keep fish and there is no way on earth that I would ever want to see 2/3 of Bennett turn into catch and release only, but it would be nice if there was some section that would be catch and release. I think that it would be a great idea as obviously the amount of fish that are going to be stocked this year will be less than the amount of previous years. Finally, I'm not tryng to make anyone feel that they should dislike Bennett or that Bennett is any less enjoyable. If you love this place, then you should keep loving it. There is something to be said for someone who can find happiness and I am no one to take that happiness away. I worry about a trout park that is only 1.5 miles long and can have up to 180,000 anglers every year. The mere pressure that this stream receives is enough to hurt the fishery, but I think that the overall atmosphere is still an enjoyable one. Travis

THanksguys, I;m going to check it out and get started. Travis

I know that this is out of place but I thought that it would be of interest in the Kansas City region. Has anyone been to James A Reed in the last couple of months. I have noticed alot of dead fish lately, not that they are lining the shore or anything bu they do concern me. Today I was on Bodarc lake and noticed a dead Hybrid Striper that easily tipped out at 15lbs. This thing was sad and alarming at the same time. I'm going tomarrow and might take a picture if someone thinks that I'm telling a fish story. I'm really wondering if there is a problem with this area, like a fish kill or something going on because I've been noticing more dead fish here than I am used to. Anyone else noticed this lately? Travis

Hi. I'm thinking about taking up Czech Nymphing but I need some help/info. First, is it Productive in MO trout streams? What rod setup and line do you use? I think that I can take care of the fly part, but this looks like a cool way to fish and it gives me something to try the next time that I am on a stream. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. Travis

Rich it seems like you had a hell of a day . I didn't start fishing for trout until a year and a half ago and I think that Bennett has fallen greatly since then. I’m not the worlds’ greatest fisherman nor am I an established critic, but I can tell when something has changed. I don't buy that a 10 percent decrease in stocking is to blame as I was there in April and noticed more fish of greater size than I did last week. The numbers don't add up as not all of these fish are being caught and I'm not noticing people walking away with 20 fish on there stringers lol. I'm also not noticing near as many big fish in the stream, there are some but I think there is a dramatic decrease in big fish as compared with a year ago, maybe the rains had something to do with this or maybe I'm developing cataracts at age 24. The point is this: this isn't the first complaint about Bennett that I have seen on this board and I doubt that it will be the last. I don't notice near as many complaints about Roaring (I don't pay attention to Montauk's post). If it was a stocking thing I would think that Roaring would have as many complaints, maybe I'm wrong. I just noticed that the things that I did in the past didn't work at all on Thursday and that I wasn't the only person struggling. Needless to say that Bennett is a beautiful place and pleasurable area to spend a day or a week in. Travis.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that is disapointed with Bennett. Needless to say that I'm not going back there for a while. I like Roaring better than Bennett, I never have been to Montauk but its on my to do list. The thing about Bennett is that it feels too congested. I know that its a trout park and that it will be crowded beacause of this, but I think that the large amount of people in the small amount of space hurts this fishery. Come to think about it, I never really have the success at Bennett that I do at Roaring, probably user error on that. If i could change one thing about it, I would make zone one a catch and release only. That might help with the pressure that Bennett recieves. Travis

I would think that it was a typical crowd, maybe a little less than usual. Almost no one was on the top in zone 1 in the afternoon, but still a decent crowd. If I had to do it again I would have brought more flies with flash in them. Travis

The thing that I noticed was the lack of fish. I know that I like to give people a hard time about this subject but I feel that it's a relevant point. There seemed to be less fish on thursday than there was in april, the last time that I went te bennett. Not to say that there were no trout, but that there was alot less trout than I expected.

Went to bennett today, first time that i have been out in a month. Either I was really rusty or fishing was very tough. Water was cloudy and fast. I only caught three trout, my worst ever at bennett. I tried just about everything and nothing seemed to work. The fish didn't seem to hit hard and I had a few jump off. No real hatches although there were a few fish that were rising. I only saw two people that were doing well, two guys below the bridge down stream of the outlet were ripping up the water catching one every cast or two. No good news from my end although I had fun. Looking to get out next week to Capps.