ozark trout fisher

Yeah... If you use one of the egg patterns (preferably small and beaded) they sell at the park a few feet under a strike indicator, and fish it in the faster riffles of the fly area, you will catch fish. This sounds odd, but I doubt if you will need any other patterns whatsoever. Traditional flies just don't take that many fish in the park usually, although there are a number of exceptions. You can also cast 1/128 white micro jigs-also sold at the park, on a fly rod, and catch a lot fish. Just let it bounce along the bottom, and jig it up and down a bit. You don't need very good casting skills to be successful, if you can drop the fly 20 feet in front of you you'll be fine. Use a small leader. 7x is the norm for trout park fishing. Also, the short catch and release stream, and montauk lake produce well, especially if your after a trophy. But the fish are more educated and difficult to catch than in the regular fly fishing area. Have a good time. Montauk is a special place.

You are a troll. Plain and simple. I have been on this forum for over a year, trying to provide what little information to folks that I know, and on this thread I was honestly trying to be helpful. Of course I had to slip the joke about the Panther Martin in the end, because I do usually spin fish, but you will notice in the rest of the post, I gave advice on fly fishing.......... The Current is not your secret little gem. Face it. Every trout fisherman in the state knows about it, and probably fishes it. To come on on your first post and go berzerk isn't cool. That's all I'm saying. lol MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING GOOD IN THERE! GOT YOU ALL WORKED UP. TRUTH HURTS DOESN'T IT And this, my friend, is exactly what you would expect a troll to say. You were just trying to get people worked up, and I guess you succeeded. Congratulations.

You are a troll. Plain and simple. I have been on this forum for over a year, trying to provide what little information to folks that I know, and on this thread I was honestly trying to be helpful. Of course I had to slip the joke about the Panther Martin in the end, because I do usually spin fish, but you will notice in the rest of the post, I gave advice on fly fishing.......... The Current is not your secret little gem. Face it. Every trout fisherman in the state knows about it, and probably fishes it. To come on on your first post and go berzerk isn't cool. That's all I'm saying.

Seriously, thought what is up with the unusually high number of trolls on this site lately??? To come on on your first post, and for lack of a better way to put it, go on a snobbish, totally incoherent rampage, could be nothing else. If you don't have anything worth saying to say, then you don't have to type anything. Not very creative either, I might say...................

Opinions vary.... I appreciate the intelligent,. and well thought out response................................................................... (sarcasm?)

Thanks for the tips. There may have been times in my past where I could use this...... Tiny treble hooks (ie Powerbait hooks) are by far the worst in my opinion. There a bit harder to get a good grip on while tying than other hooks, and I have had a few sour experiences with them, especially the time that I got two of the three hooks stuck in my finger................. I now use single hooks for Powerbait fishing.

Yeah. That can happen on Ozark streams from time to time. I saw a similar, but much worse sight while wade fishing Little Piney Creek. But I won't get into that here. I will say it thoroughly ruined my day.

I was told by the MDC that I could pretty much take clients wherever I wanted to on MDC land, but we couldn't actually exchange money there. For example, we could put in, and take out at a public access, but we would have to move off it to actually settle up. I am aware that you need to have proper permits to guide in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways... Does anyone know how hard those permits are to come by? Sorry, I know this is kinda off topic.

I still don't see a lot of evidence that the MDC lied on this one. Based on the example of brown trout stocked in the Current River, it would seem that trout survival in the Niangua would be very low, explaining the said "discrepancy". Think of it this way... The Current has very protective regs, the Niangua does not. The Current River has favorable water temperatures all summer long, and the Niangua does not. Bait is legal in the Niangua, but not in the Current. The point is, if the survival rate is 25% after a few months in the Current, I would doubt it is even 10% in the Niangua. I agree that the government lie a lot in general, the DNR's lies about the ecoli problem in LOZ being a prime example. Also, I believe the MDC makes their share of mistakes, (one of them being absolutely no help on the Crane Creek issue), but I just don't see the evidence here. The math works out for me. I don't see a problem.

I've got a question for ya'll... I've considered the possibility of, in a few years doing some part time guiding on a few area streams for smallies and trout (not the White River, or any other impounded stream). I would be running the trips out of a drift boat (unmotorized), and I was told by the MDC that I wouldn't need any license whatsoever. Is this true?

It can be like that in the wintertime... In the heat of summer, you can still take trout, but their a lot more finicky.

Yeah... If your looking to fish dries, tiny tricos in the morning will be your best bet. Their really tiny, and the few times I've tried to fish that hatch I've had a difficult time. I just don't do well fishing dries that small. But if your into that kinda thing, you can take a few on top that way. Woolly buggers and similar streamers always take more fish for me down there, when I'm fly fishing. Of course a good old Panther Martin Spinner will outfish any of these.

Of course the law is not some backwards attempt to ban fishing.... But it is a mistake, and it needs to be fixed.

Your not kidding about the smallies being squeezed in... It seems 100% of the water is either super shallow riffles or dead, deep pools. It's odd about the spotted bass. I can't believe how fast they can take over smallmouth bass water. It's a pretty sad deal.

Definitely less idiots out there then than summer. But you should still see your fair share. Highway 8 to Meramec State Park is where you'll see the most people. But that's also the best trout and smallmouth water, as well as the prettiest scenery. Tis a tradeoff.... Honestly, if your looking for true solitude, I would do another river, any other river actually. The Bourbeuse or the Big River are overlooked, but have good bass fishing, with not near as many people. Still, by late September, you may find a bit of solitude on the Meramec if your heart is set on that river. Starting early in the day is definitely your key to avoiding a lot of the people.

Political posting is banned on this forum Tippett7. Just sayin' Totally ridiculous. They have done a little research before passing the law.

Wow... This is really bad. It seems as if there are quite a few people that just don't care about our streams. The attitude of those planning this is basically "We'll do whatever costs the least in the short term, no matter the impact on the environment". It sickens me. It is people like those who want this reservoir, that could ruin everything this country is about. THEY ARE SO SHORT SIGHTED.

Wow.. A seven pound rainbow is really a fish of a lifetime. Congratulations.

I doubt that Bennett Spring only has 1600 trout per mile on opening day.... I believe that I read in the book Ozark Blue Ribbon Trout streams that Bennett Spring usually held-over more than 8000 trout per mile on average, so personally I doubt that's the case. I don't know if the MDC is telling the truth. But I wouldn't be so quick to assume they are lying, when it seems proof is a bit lacking. Remember that 1600 trout per mile stocked does not mean the river will hold that many,except for right after the stocking. A good number will die soon after stocking, and fisherman take care of a lot too. My guess is if they stock about 1600 per mile, the river may only hold about 300-400 per mile a few months after the stocking. Stocked trout have pretty bad survival rates in Ozark streams compared to other areas, especially if its managed as White Ribbon.

Let's be 100% honest with ourselves here.... The White River is totally an unnatural trout fishery. The debate is not about what is best for the river, but what is best for the fisherman. I don't believe extended catch and release is best for the average fisherman. If we were honest with ourselves, we would see that doing what's actually best for the river would involve tearing down the dam in the first place. That would be the only thing that would really help the river be more natural. I am not saying that we should do this (I would actually be strongly opposed to it), and trust me, I am very glad they stock the rivers with trout. But I am just saying any discussion about improving trout fishing on the White has nothing to do with what is best for the river. It is purely for our benefit. With this point made, I would say that, considering that most likely the majority of those who fish the Norfork and the White River use bait and keep fish, it would not be best to extend catch and release areas. This is my opinion, and I'm willing to debate it.

Also, all bass caught appeared to be purely smallmouth. No spotted, largemouth, or smallmouth/spotted bass hybrids were caught or seen. Very different from the Union area, where it seems the majority of the bass caught are spots or largemouth, although I do catch a smallmouth down there from time to time.

Defintely. I even catch fish on down there (both in and below the park) on egg patterns in summer, when fish shouldn't even be keying in on them. But they should work particularly well in the fall. Also bring the normal nymphs, woolly buggers, leaches, and dries. Streamers are also good, as the bigger browns down below the park tend to focus on minnows as opposed to bugs.

Left the house at about 10 this morning... Was planning to just go to the Mayers landing access like usual (just upriver of Union), but decided instead to drive an extra half hour to the Mill Rock Access. I was glad I did. This is the first time I'd ever been this far upriver, and it looked totally different, way more like a typical ozark stream than the stretch I'm used to fishing. When I got rigged up, I decided to start of by fishing the deeper pools, because the riffles were really shallow in the area. I tried that (fishing with a nightcrawler along with a split shot) for about an hour, and caught only a couple sunfish. Finally, I decided to try one particularly shallow riffle downriver of the access. The water was less than a foot deep, but I fished there for about an hour, and caught three quality smallmouth bass, along with about 20 sunfish. I was shocked to find the bass holding in this water (the exact place I caught the biggest of the bass was only about 7 inches deep, I checked later), but the technique produced a few bronzebacks. That's all I needed to have an awesome day. The catching was slow, but the fishing was great. It's a really pretty area, with a a bluff just above the riffle I was fishing. The water was the typical color of the river this time of year, a bit stained, but pretty shallow and very fishable. The river flow was perfect for wading, but I wouldn't suggest anyone try to float it. You might be able to make it work, but there would be plenty of dragging. It was really just a nice day to be on the river today. The high was less than 80 degrees out here.

I know the Bourbeuse pretty well. It's all pretty shallow, so wading shouldn't be much of a problem at all. Any stream stretch you pick will probably be pretty easy to wade. There's plenty of access. It's not a well known stream for some reason, but the fishing can be pretty darn good for bass, catfish, and sunnies. I haven't been there in almost a month, but I may give the lower river a try this weekend. It's not a stream you'll hear a lot of people talk about, but don't let it deter you. The fish are definitely there.

I know the Bourbeuse pretty well. It's all pretty shallow, so wading shouldn't be much of a problem at all. Any stream stretch you pick will probably be pretty easy to wade. There's plenty of access. It's not a well known stream for some reason, but the fishing can be pretty darn good for bass, catfish, and sunnies.