ozark trout fisher

It's fine. It's not really anything special but it's not bad either.

Just one thing to remember if you do the float from 6X to Ross... There is a huge blowdown all the way across the channel at one point down there. You'll have to drag through. It wasn't particularly difficult in the low water we have now, but it would be a lot more technical if the river was a bit higher.

I just got back from my first trip on the Big Piney. I floated from Slabtown to Ross, but that's a two day float. I believe there was an intermediate access, a private access used by canoe rentals- 6 crossings I think. You could float down to Ross from there or from Slabtown down to there. I think that Rich's Last Resort near the Ross Access rents canoes but I'm not sure. The Smallie fishing was great. Deep diving Rebel Teeny Crawfish caught a bunch of fish, as did Rooster Tail Spinners and Baby Bombers. Target the areas where riffles dump into pools and where ever you see boulders or fallen trees-just the typical smallie habitat. The smallmouth population is just incredible on that river- I think you'll have a good time. If you do float in the stretch between Slabtown and Ross, be aware that it's a Special smallmouth management area. I think it's 15 inches and 1 per day, but I didn't check too closely into that before I went because I release them anyway. Good luck.

Sounds like you had a nice time on a nice creek. Thanks for the report. Blue Springs Creek is always tough, but especially so when the water is low. But if you're sneaky enough, there are some surprisingly nice trout to be caught. I consider a nice fish on a creek like Blue Springs to be the pinnacle of the sport, so I really enjoy the admittedly painstaking challenge it takes to catch those fish. Nothing else really compares-I'd rather catch a 12" wild bow on a dry fly from Blue Springs or Little Piney than a 24" hog brown from the upper Current.

I'm guessing the water temps are getting a bit on the high side down there. Dry Fork is probably dumping in some extremely warm water. That might have something to do with the slow fishing. As for fall fishing- that's my favorite time of year to fish it. That is the one season of the year for me that the Meramec is really a lot of fun-just wait for the first cool rain of fall, and head down, and you'll have some really good fishing. When it's as hot as it is now, the only really good trout fishing is between the spring and the Dry Fork confluence. Of course you'll have plenty of company up there though. By the way, nice fish. I bet you did better than most folks are doing in this heat.

I've never really had much trouble with gut hooking fish on soft plastics or other artificials really, but the trouble comes when you have multiple treble hooks. I have had a lot of trouble hooking fish really badly with these kinds of lures. I don't usually hook fish deeply with artificials, but when you have 3 or 4 hook barbs in a fish, it's going to take a bit to unhook it, which seems like it may raise the fish mortality rate. And sometimes the fish will get one treble hook in the mouth, and another in the eye, gill, or some other sensitive area. I can't decide if that's just normal collateral damage and just part of the deal, or if it's something I should do something about (like quit using lures with more than one treble hook). But as of now, I still do use those kind of lures, so I can't really say it's wrong without being a hypocrite - but it is something to think about. I'll admit that I have released smallmouth that probably didn't make it on several occasions, and it's a pretty sad feeling when it happens.

I agree completely with all of those ideas. The removal of the rock dam would be extremely beneficial to the Red Ribbon area as well... I think it would result in a lot more rainbows down there. For me, Meramec is sort of a 2nd class trout fishery right now, both the spring branch and the river. The potential is there in both waters, but overcrowding and mismanagement really hurts things. I would go one step further on Maramec than you- I would remove all of the rock dams and return it to it's natural state, adding some more boulders here and there to give the fish places to hide from the current. Besides returning a formerly nice creek to it's natural state, it would remove most of the pressure from the sit and wait bait guys. The biggest problem with the Red Ribbon area is overcrowding from floaters in my opinion (that may or may not have a significant impact on the trout population, but it can sure make it miserable to fish during the summer), but the rock dam at the lower end of the spring branch really hurts things too. Also, as several folks have already pointed out, the river is extremely susceptible to high water, and can remain unfishable for long periods of time. That issue we of course can't do anything about. Until then, I will continue to fish the Red Ribbon area in fall and winter, but it's hardly worth it in spring (almost constant high water), or summer (crowds). In it's current state, Maramec Spring is pretty much useless all year, although I do occasionally like to try the riffle water up at the head of the fishable water during winter. Maramec Spring could be so much better, but I don't forsee the necessary changes happening anytime soon, and given our state's current financial condition, it would probably be fiscally irresponsible to do any of these things right now.

You're right. I thought they only did the lower stretch for some reason, but that's not true.

I have only used the Two Rivers Canoe Rental- But they seemed to be nice folks, and have pretty reasonable prices, so I'd recommend them. I think they only service the stretch from Eminence to their place at the junction with the Current though. The Jacks Fork is a beautiful, pretty gentle float river with plenty of excellent scenery all along it. Just be aware that you may run into a few "interesting" characters on the JF especially on a weekend. It is a party river below Alley Spring and you'll encounter all the problems that go along with that

Gas fracking is bad news. If it threatens the Ozarks, we all need to stand up and oppose it in any form. Not only does it cause water to be sucked from streams, but it could also cause more widespread problems. The ruining of our groundwater supply is one possible, and disastrous outcome. How many times can we let the oil and gas industry rape and pillage everything we enjoy and need before we stand up to them? Let's see.. Exxon Valdez, Alberta Tar Sands, the BP Oil Spill, and now this? We need to keep their grimy hands off our water supply.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun . I hope to get back really soon. Have fun on the JF! I saw maybe 7 or 8 other canoes throughout the course of two days, which was a lot less than I was expecting. It was really nice to pretty much have the river to myself for a couple days.

I floated the stretch from Slabtown to Ross on Monday and Tuesday, and I was pretty impressed by the scenery and the fishing. Things started off well, when on the first cast, on the first day, I hooked into a 12 inch smallie. That was pretty much an omen for things to come. Every pool that looked even remotely right produced fish. The size of the fish wasn't exceptional (lots of 10-14 inchers, quite a few smaller fish, and one 17 inch beauty), but the action combined with the beautiful scenery really made for a great day. I set up camp on a gravel bar about 5 1/2 miles below Slabtown, and fished that spot for a bit before setting up camp. It was a beautiful run where a fast riffle dumped into a deep, blue-green pool. The smallies were just stacked right at the head of the pool, and weren't the least bit shy about hitting the Rebel Crawfish that I was using. Once again, no monsters, just a lot of decent sized fish. Finally I quit fishing for the evening and made dinner. After dinner, I just sat around till the last of the light began to leave the river, tied on a black Jitterbug, and went back to fishing. I fished until about 11 P.M. I caught significantly fewer fish on the night shift, but they did average a bit larger (12-15 inches mostly). Anyway, it was a pretty interesting experience night fishing for smallies, something that I had never done before. The fishing stayed steady the next day, even though it was horrifically hot outside. Not surprisingly, the fish were hanging in the deep, shaded water during the heat, preferably with some current nearby. I didn't catch as many fish day two, but that was to be expected. I had done a bit less than half of the distance the first day, so I had to paddle quite a bit more. Still, I got the chance to fish quite a bit and caught a few nice fish. But the highlight of the second day was the bluffs for the last for the last couple miles before the takeout at Ross Bridge. It was truly some of the most impressive scenery I've come across on an Ozark river. I will be back soon. As for what the fish took- A Rebel Teeny Crawfish with a brown body and an orange belly worked best, in the deep diving version. I also had success on Baby Bombers and Rooster Tail spinners, as well as Jitterbugs at night. Also, for those who are planning to do that float, there is a huge blowdown all the way across the river about halfway between Slabtown and Ross. It made for an interesting little drag through there... It is interesting now, but it would be extremely treacherous at high water.

I think that trout need to spawn in streams that do not flood violently during spawning season. Blue Spring is a perfect example of a coldwater stream that usually doesn't suffer serious floods during spawning time and supports a viable wild trout population. Same with Little Piney- it often floods badly , but it has several small cold water tributaries that don't. Neither the upper Current or the Meramec have good spawning streams anywhere near the trout stocking points. The Meramec would have a fine spawning stream in Maramec Spring Branch, but unfortunately there is a rock dam at the lower end of the stream, and the rest of the river has been dammed up and channelized. But in it's natural state, I'm sure Maramec Spring would have been a fine spawning stream. I can't say that I have ever caught a brown that I thought was wild here in Missouri. Not to say there aren't any wild browns in MO, but I'd bet money there isn't more than a few swimming around. That said,I have caught a few rainbows that I am almost positive were wild from the Current River. They were all young of the year, and there hadn't been a flood the previous year during spawning season. There may be a correlation there. In fact, I have caught some larger fish that I believe to be wild (intact, white-tipped fins, and beautiful colors) in the Red Ribbon portion of the Meramec, but never young of the year. They probably swam all the way up from Blue Spring Creek or some other wild trout stream in the Meramec Basin. I think, of all of the possibilities, the Current is the most likely to someday support a viable wild trout population, because the spring-time flooding isn't that bad along the Current. I think part of the problem there is just the vast amount of stocked fish crowding out the few wild ones, especially in the upper reaches of Montauk State Park, where some of the best spawning grounds would be. It would be interesting to see how the fishery would turn out if we turned off the hatchery faucet throughout the Current River Basin, and took down all the barrier dams. Not that I'm saying we should actually do it, but it would be interesting to see. I bet it would eventually develop into at least a fair wild rainbow trout stream, but I could be wrong.

I think we will do the Big Piney instead. We'll run from Slabtown to Ross- a float that I'd planned early on this summer but got flooded out.

Thanks. If it's gonna be crowded we'll probably go somewhere else. Big Piney most likely.

CWD is definitely a concern, and that is why they stopped it last time, which was probably the right choice given the situation then. But they have now developed a live animal testing for elk, and that pretty much changes everything. I say they should go right ahead, but they should be careful to test the animals for the full range of diseases before release. But while I don't always agree with the MDC, they do have a pretty good record when it comes to re-introduction, so I trust they will do an excellent job.

Peck Ranch is awesome, and I am very glad that they are re-introducing elk there. They simply could not have picked a better area. I have spent more time there probably than anywhere else in the Ozarks, and I can say that having another native species restored-and such an iconic species at that, would make it an even better area. I really do hope that this is just the start- I would love to see them re-introduced across the Ozarks. But they could not have picked a better place to take the first step. I do hope that they can keep the locals from killing all of the elk right off the bat. Many of the folks in that area dog deer pretty much year-round in Peck Ranch CA and I am sure they would shoot an elk if they had a chance. Before they introduce the elk, they should be sure to make the punishments extremely severe for killing them illegally, as well as making sure they have plenty of boots on the ground for enforcement.

I was planning a North Fork trip, but for various reasons I can't make it down that far. So it's the Current instead. I'm planning on running the Baptist to Akers stretch in two days. Given the fact that I'm going to try like hell to get a couple of days off next week to avoid the weekend crowds, how much traffic can I expect to run into? Also, with the water being as low as it is, will that be a reasonable distance for a float fishing trip? I know I'll have to drag a lot towards the upper end, but I don't mind that at all.

Sounds like fun. You've got to love the old hopper dropper combo. I'm going to float the Current Mon/Tues, hopefully the fishing will hold up!

Once again, I appreciate the kind words. I feel I have been quite reasonable. I am a responsible fisherman, I will not do anything damaging to anyone's property, and I will help in any way that I can. But I happen to believe that navigable rivers are public right of ways and will continue to use them. You can either think I'm an butt or just consider my opinions for a moment. I never once meant offense to anyone. But I do have the right to state my opinion. Signing off now OTF

Thank you sir for the kind words. I do apologize for ruining our country. I figure if no one thinks you're an butt you're probably not standing up for what you believe.

I understand your position on the matter perfectly sir. You want to control all traffic through the stream that you own land on. If the stream isn't navigable, than you have ever right to do so. I simply do not believe anyone can own a navigable river, therefore (if the river you own land on is navigable) and I access at a public area, I don't have to ask permission to fish it. I'll be totally respectful to you, your land, and all of your property, and as I said, I'd be happy to pick up some of the trash that others have left behind. But I'm not going to ask permission to use a public right of way. I have plenty of time to ask permission, but I think it's more that I'm morally opposed to having to ask permission to fish a navigable river. It would be like having to ask the adjacent landowners if I could hunt on a Conservation area.

A friend and I are headed down to the North Fork, and I'm planning a two day floating/camping/fishing trip. We're wanting to target trout, especially the wild rainbows. What would be a good two day float down there? I was thinking either Kellys Ford to James Bridge or Blair Bridge to James Bridge. Also, any fly reccomendations or other tips would be great. The North Fork is the one really good Missouri trout stream I haven't had a chance to fish yet, and I'm really looking forward to it. Also, with the weather being this hot, will water temps be a concern especially as we move further in the Red Ribbon area? Thanks

If you would take pleasure in making my fishing experience unenjoyable even though I am not hurting a darn thing, then go ahead if you must. If you want to be the landowner that makes an attempt to cut off a public resource, then you can be one of those folks. Even then I won't smart off (past telling you what my understanding of the law is) and will generally be polite. I'm looking for a relaxing day of fishing, not a confrontation. But if the stream is navigable, I'm not going to leave. If you live on a stream that isn't navigable, then there is no reason for us to be arguing. Tight lines.

I got ya. I totally respect your opinion.