jdmidwest

Montauk Lodge and State Park are open on the weekends for sure, maybe thru the week. They have rooms and cabins, a store, and food. Reed's Cabins outside the park. Licking has motels and food about 20 miles away and is where I usually stay on winter trips. Salem has the same. Fishing is great in the river below the park as always. The river is running good this year due to all of the rains so wading/crossing may be difficult in places. Google any of the above for more info and phone numbers to call. Mountauk has camping w/o shower houses till the last week of Feb.

In our local lake in Jackson, they stock a few lunkers for sport. I think the local TU chapter buys them and has them stocked with the rest. It is catch and release only till Feb 1, then they encourage fishing all of them out. Trout can survive higher temp water, they just quit feeding. I doubt if they have any holdovers, but nature has a way of adapting.

I've seen a trout eat a cigarette butt like it was a big drake spinner! They eat anything that will fit in their mouth. My favorite pattern on the Spring River in Ark. is a snail bead head pattern. Stomach contents of the fish down there have high numbers of the cone shaped snails in their stomachs and the stream is full of them. It is not past believing that they feed on small fresh water clams or mussels. Mussels or clams only need fine gravel.

That explains the lunker from last summer, I knew he looked out of place. It has been several years since I have had any contact with a fisheries biologist in that area. The last one I spoke to was at a TU meeting in Cape Girardeau. It was the guy who thought about putting browns in 11 pt, can't remember his name. As far as the stories go, I have had the honor of learning the 11 pt from a good friends father who was full of them. He used to stay at the cabins that were along the hill going down to the old cemetary by the 19 access. You can still make out the foundations in the winter. We would wade the river from the spring down past the cemetary to cedar bluff. The west fork of the island was my favorite. My favorite story is about the crazy woman that used to fish around there. He tells a story that he run across her one winter morning at the spring confluence fly fishing in the nude. Back in the 80's and early 90's, 11 pt was almost a weekly trip. We would load up the gear and meet at Wood's or take a canoe and have him move the truck. Nowadays, I only seem to make it 10 days a year, more or less.

Beware of a fishing guide offer also.. Tried Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com? I know how you feel. I am divorced and tied here in BFE job hell till she gets older and then I sail out of here to the land of milk and honey. I have had several good job offers out of state, but I can't leave my kid alone till she can fend for herself!

Brian, I don't know how long you have been fishing the 11 pt, my experience dates back to the early 80's and my fishing partners on 11 pt date back to the 50's. Since the monthly stocking of the entire area between the spring and Turner's ended and the drought of the last few years, trout numbers and quality of fish are way down in that area. In recent years, our best trout have been below Whitten with the exception of last summers 32" rainbow I landed slightly above Whitten. Which, by the way, is probably still in there. Recent bonus stockings have helped, but it is still not the same. It has been a while since I have seen a flood like this one so maybe it helped.

Chain pickerel are fine eating if you fillet them right. They feed mainly on other fish so the flesh is like walleye or sauger. They have a row of Y shaped bones along the back above the lateral line that need to be scored before frying in hot oil. It usually cooks up the bones so you can eat them. But they are alot better released so they can be caught again......

Try a Shad Rap SSR 5 in Crawdad or Gold color. Runs shallow, not on top like the Rapalas. Try a Little Cleo spoon in gold or red/gold.

The regs are designed to discourage bait and soft bait. Trebles are fine. We fished Greer Spring to 19 parking lot last Superbowl weekend. We caught and released 20 smallies in the 12" to 20" range on shad raps that day in about 3 hours in 30 degree weather. We did not pick up any trout in that section. What used to be premium trout water is reverting back to what it was naturally, a smallmouth stream since the monthly stocking of the Blue Ribbon area ended. Less competition from the stockers on the forage is my opinion. The best water for smallmouth is above Greer Spring or below Riverton.

Dano, the only thing I could see to be critical of the zebra midge is that it is a "minimalistic fly". Not enough material to constitute a fly in the true sense of the word. Basically a hook with a bead, thread and a wire. But under most regs regarding a fly it meets the specs. But it imitates a form of aquatic insect, so it works.

No reason to wear a bag just because you use the Y2K, it is a stimulator fly like alot of others. Alot of flies are tied to stimulate the strike and do not resemble any of the natural trout foods. Many use the Glo-ball with sucess, most variations do not resemble any natural food. How long has it been since you have seen a chartreuse trout egg? There are those out there that walk on water and have no need for waders that think that flies have to imitate an insect in some form or another. I suggest that you stray away from those types of individuals, they have lost the fun of fishing...

I always wade out to a spot, tie on a big white streamer so everyone can see it coming. Annouce out loud that "I always wanted to try this fly fishing stuff since I saw A River Runs Thru It", and start Shadow Casting. That usually clears out enough of an opening.....

The are the brownish tan color. They blend quite well with SE Mo mud...

You mean JON did not come up with the idea????

I agree with Terry, you can't go wrong with Orvis breathables. I have owned a pair of Silver Labels since 2000 with no problems outside of a broken buckle. I have a pair of Pro Guides that I bought in the spring this year. They are a little heavier and stiff but have a hand warmer pocket which makes them better for cold weather. The Silver Labels are used fishing and duck hunting. I wear them in the spring and fall floating in the Kayak also. They have taken alot of wear getting in and out of kayaks and blinds. I think the neoprene booties will give out long before the goretex will. Best money I ever spent.

Just another prime example of mis-information on the world wide web. He probably guides in a trout park somewhere! I noticed his website does not give any info as to where he is from..... He needs to learn how to use a spell checker also, John is mis-spelled...

Shhhh. Enough people know about the river. I would like to see a trophy area above dam 3 or from dam 3 to the first island to increase the size of the fish. There have been big browns in the past, I saw one take a stocker rainbow at the end of dam 3 island. Needless to say, he did not pay attention to my size 12 beadhead nymph. Since the muskies have been stocked, the numbers of brown, cutts, and brookies have declined to near nothing.

LMW, you would have to check the tread diameters to see if they will match the new camera. I bought a Minolta Dimage 2 years ago before they sold out. Great little camera with alot of SLR features. The lens diameter is more like a camcorder than a standard SLR so lenses and accessories are few. I was able to come up with a few filters to fit it at Creve Couer camera shop in STL. Digital is the way to go, you can touch up your own photos with a program like Photoshop Express and have them ready to email or print. And, best of all, you can delete bad shots without having to pay for prints. Canon makes great digital SLR's. Most of the photographers I work with locally use them.

Fleece then wool on the really cold days. I paddle the yak with neoprene, but when fishing my hands sweat with neoprene then get cold. Fleece and wool wick the moisture away retaining the warmth. Beware of cotton rag type gloves that look like wool. Cotton soaks up water like a sponge and you might as well just keep you hands in the water. Thermax is good if you can find them also. Silk wicks moisture also.

Although camping is great in the spring, summer, and fall, I prefer to camp at a local cheap motel in the winter. The trouble with most campgrounds in the winter is the shower house is closed. I use a tent or a popup camper without that luxury. I usually drive to the destination on Sat morning, fish all day, then go to a cheap motel for the night with a nice hot shower and a warm bed. I don't have to hassle with the camp gear and extra fuel costs, and spend more time on the water. With off season rates split between 2 people, it is almost as cheap as camping. I even take a single burner stove for cooking the evening meal if there is no restaurants close.

Looks like it will work. I use the little craft balls that look like mini eggs for the head from Walmart. Push them on first, use chenille or estaz for the body and a saddle hackle, them marabou for the tail. The work great, especially in murky water. Tie in a piece of krystal flash in the tail for a little more flash.

Gavin, it probably was not luck. MDC are stocking the area below Cedar Grove 12 months a year now instead of 8. They stock the same amount of fish divided by 12 as they used to stock March thru Oct. I met with the new Hatchery manager last fall and he filled me in on all of the new management procedures. A couple of years ago they started a Dec. stocking on the 11 point river also. I stumbled upon it by accident below Whitten and was catching fish like crazy which was unusual for that time of year. We would always catch several, but that day it was every other cast. Little things like this will keep our sport interesting all year round. Most of the locals have not caught on to the later stockings yet.

Why don't you check out Walmart or Ebay. You should be able to find waders for less than $100. Walmart carries a pair of goretex stockingfoot for around $100. Rubber or neoprene should be less, although I have not shopped for waders in the last 5 or 6 years. I bought a pair of Orvis breathables and I can't seem to wear them out. They are tough as nails.

Where did you find the diamond braid? I have not seen it in years, I tied a mean woolly with a peacock color diamond braid.

Any light or Ultra Light action Graphite rod in 5' to 6'6" range. St Croix, Loomis, and Bass Pro make some good rods for trout. You will be using lures less than 1/2 ounce for the most part, the rods will have a rating for the ounce size recommended on them. Any spinning reel, I prefer Shimano with the trigger bails. Once again, the reel should be for the 2 to 6 lb. test range. Spin fishing up near the dam in low water would be tough. You will probably need to go down to deeper water or try it during generation.