jdmidwest

Montauk is more of a "remote" destination than many of the other areas mentioned. Most of the Park visitors come from areas like St. Louis that have great fly shops. You don't just stumble into Montauk and decide to fly fish and need a rod and reel. A successful fly shop needs a steady income to stay alive. Montuak would have to make its living March thru October unless the catch and release season is extended there like at Meramac. I hail from the Cape Girardeau area and we have nothing that resembles a fly shop. I shop mail order or drive to St. Louis for all of my supplies. At least the store at Montauk is carrying some of the basics to keep you going if you need something. As for the comment about no one at the Montauk store knowing anything about fly fishing, I hope they don't read this forum and get offended. Some of those guys fish it more than anyone else and know the insect cycles well. They just tire of getting asked what type of glo ball to use or what flavor of cheese are they hitting. Take a few minutes and ask the old guy what fly he suggests.

I am amazed at the negativity regarding the Spring River. Apparantly the only time anyone goes is on Saturday or a Holiday. Almost any place is a drunkfest on Saturday or a Holiday. I have been on the Spring River several times this year and have a great time fishing. Float camps don't start dumping in canoes till after 8, the drunks hit the river at noon, then after that it is over. Most of the traffic is past Riverside Campground by 4:00. Any other time is Great for fishing and the fish are plentiful. Campgrounds empty out by noon on Sunday. Everything is quiet through the week. And, there is law enforcement on the river on Saturday and Sunday. They are Ark Fish and Game agents and they are undercover in Old Town Kayaks. They are there to enforce the law and you will not know who they are till you are checked. Great bunch of guys. If you want a good time, take a day off during the week and go. Besides, the float crowd is only May thru August, the rest of the year is for fishing. October floats on the Spring River can be real productive. The river is stocked throughout the year except for icy roads and snow when they can't run the trucks. The only thing that has run me off the river while fishing was a horizontal snow that created a white out condition. Get out and fish and quit bitchin......java script:emoticon('', 'smid_21')