ozark trout fisher

Indeed, this guy is well within his rights. Taking two fish in a week ain't a problem. It's the people who keep two or three or four fish every week for a long period of time that cause the problems. When I was fishing the blue ribbon stretch of the Current almost on a weekly basis there for awhile, I'd see some of the same guys stringing up fish trip after trip. That's what gets me a little angry, though of course there's not much one can do provided they're 18+ inches. So yeah, this guy didn't do anything wrong, and in fact appears to be a pretty darn good fisherman. Those good sized browns in the Blue Ribbon stretch take some skill to catch. That said, I guess there is just a certain sensitivity about this after what happened last summer on the upper Current.

The thing that really gets me is this...40 odd years ago we were able to put forth the money and effort to successfully get a man on the moon...And there was no real point to that one, except for winning the "space race" and otherwise satisfying our own curiosity. And yet when it seems pretty obvious to most scientists that the collective well-being of humanity could be on the line, we're somehow unable to put forth the resources to make any significant, widespread progress on transitioning to alternative energy to reduce CO2 output...Mostly because either a majority or a sizable minority of American citizens aren't willing accept the prevailing scientific opinion that it is even a problem that needs our attention.

You might try further down the river a bit closer to Union. I floated that area about a week ago, and we did have to get out and drag through some of the riffles... That said, the drags were mostly fairly short and not particularly strenuous, really not much worse than what you're going to deal with on any Ozark stream right now. The biggest difficulty down in the middle/lower reaches is that the access tend to be spread out, so you'll be trying to cover double digit miles or at least close to it. I'd maybe look at Mayers Landing to Union. That float is a little over eight miles, which is about as short as you'll find anywhere on that river. That's a pretty manageable distance, even on the Bourbeuse in low water.

It'll be a lot of work up on that part of the river. Be ready to get out and drag through most of the riffles. Not saying you shouldn't do it...It very well could end up being worth it, but I'd try to get an early start and pack light. Good luck!

Well, this guy clearly is a pretty good fisherman. Next time though, tell him to leave a couple in the river for everyone else....

Complex? LOL I'd say this is anything but complex. The scientific evidence is very clear, and easily available, that CO2 emissions and temperature increases are highly correlated. If people choose to think that this happens to be a coincidence then it's difficult to move forward with this discussion.

Well, I'd say that post sums this up pretty well.

One misconception that needs to be cleared up: the elk are not being limited to Peck Ranch, so you don't need to worry about them being confined to a 20,000 acre conservation area. The elk restoration zone is no less than 346 square miles, or well over 200,000 acres...an area approximately ten times larger than Peck Ranch. Some elk are going to range out of there, but despite not being a biologist, that seems like enough room for a decent elk population to thrive. Just look at a map of the area around Peck Ranch...The VAST majority of the land around it is either tied up in other massive conservation areas like Rocky Creek, or federal land contained in Mark Twain National Forest or Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Some elk will wander onto private land and there will be some complaints and bumps along the road, but I don't personally foresee a widespread problem. I wish we could see them introduced into the entire Ozark region, but until that day comes I am glad to see them being reintroduced somewhere in the state. Something is better than nothing. I don't want to be rude Feathers and Fins, but I do think I'll ask again whether you've been to that area. If you have, you wouldn't be calling it a zoo, and if you haven't you should at least visit it before you pass judgement. If this can work anywhere in Missouri or Arkansas, it should work there. And we have already seen positive results in Arkansas.

I enjoyed your report...spending a few hours out on the river even when the fishing isn't great is still a heck of a lot better than the alternative!

Okay, sorry for the misunderstanding.

Certainly they will. But no need to make it worse.

I agree with you. The water temps on my last trip were just fine for smallies in the low 70s, but it won't take much more of this crap for the fish to get pretty stressed out. The fish are already almost exclusively hanging out in well shaded areas where there isn't much sun on the water, even a lot more than usual. Very few fish in the riffle sections that don't have good shade, even in areas that have been good to me in the past. Probably a sign that they are looking for cooler water. This will also be true, probably even to a greater extent for trout. It's time to at least bring a stream thermometer and please don't fish if it's at or above 70 ...especially on the Blue and Red Ribbon streams. They generally won't survive release in those conditions.

We're supposed to get some real rain on Thursday. Hopefully it will be enough to bring the rivers up a bit.

They do catch good fish, I can promise you that. I have with some regularity caught fish up to 17 inches on them, including a solid number of 14-15 inchers on my last outing. But yes, those 14 and 15 inchers were sandwiched between dozens of small bass and sunfish. I guess it comes down to whether or not you think that's a good thing. Personally I enjoy catching fish a wide variety of fish, both in size and species. I especially love catching the longears, just because I think they're the prettiest fish native to Ozark streams, and the Rebel Craws bring in plenty of those. And who doesn't enjoy catching a few fat goggle-eye in between the smallies? I have no issue saying that's a big part of the draw for Rebel Craws (and Mepps, Rooster Tails, and other similar types of lures), at least for me. For me, fishing Ozark streams is a whole experience, not a single-minded mission to catch as many and as large of smallmouth as possible. The more types of interesting, and in some cases beautiful fish I can catch and release on a given day, the better. Especially when I can do that on a type of lure or fly that will also take quality smallmouth.

Glad you had a good day on the creek. I do really believe that the Vida Slab stretch should be considered a floatable stream and in theory there shouldn't be any legal difficulties wading there with or without permission...But if you are talking about the pits upstream from the 63 Bridge (there are several places on the LP that would meet your description) it's marginal at best. If I was fishing above 63 I'd definitely be asking first. The trout fishing is pretty spotty upstream from Yancy anyway, as there's just not really enough spring water up there to keep temps down in the summer. I encourage everyone to tread lightly as possible on the Little Piney trespass issue that has come up a lot as of late. You should certainly not hesitate to fish a stretch of the creek if you believe that you are legally in the right, but just be as responsible, polite, and as "invisible" as possible. The Little Piney is a fragile resource that has been abused a lot more than it has deserved by gravel mining, cattle, and poaching, and I think that it's possible that certain landowners are wanting to protect it from more of that-even though I believe some of them are going about it entirely the wrong way.

Smallmouth fisherman who won't use Rebel Craws, and fly fisherman who won't touch egg patterns.... I will never understand either, but to each their own. LOL

Well, you've got to at least try them... Anyway, I don't think that Rebel Craws are some kind of magic lure, by any stretch. And don't get me wrong, I have several other lures (and flies) that I have a lot of confidence in when I'm smallmouth fishing...Including Shad Raps, Poppers, Jitterbugs, and marabou jigs, or black and olive woollies on the fly rod (I don't use soft plastics at all unless absolutely nothing else will work, ever since I've read about some of their potential ecological implications.) But on the other hand, I do think it's important to have one "go to" lure that you can turn to. And for me that's the Rebel Teeny Craw. And they're not just smallmouth lures either. Before I got started pretty much exclusively fly fishing for trout, the Rebel Craws were one of the best lures for them too...And they are dynamite for goggle-eye and longears as well-even caught gar on them. Along with the Mepp's Spinner, I don't know of a better searching lure for targeting multiple species.

I took a look at your magazine and I really enjoyed it. Welcome to the site!

I appreciate that you are considerate of floaters, and don't buzz right past them on narrow riffles, because that can get very dangerous. I don't mind jetboaters on bigger rivers where floaters can get out of the way easily, but on small, twisty streams with lots of recreational floaters they seem like a recipe for disaster. Some of the 11 Pt is big enough for canoers and jet-boaters to coexist, but a lot of it isn't. And despite the relatively few times I've been on that river, for whatever reason I've had more hairy experiences with inconsiderate and downright reckless jetboaters than I have on about all other Ozark streams combined. It's just not big enough, especially up in the trout water, for all of the jet traffic it sees, combined with the moderate number of recreational floaters. It's why I don't go there more often than I do. Besides the safety factor, there's nothing that will ruin the fishing in a good shoal faster than a jetboater doing laps back and forth and causing all kinds of wake.

Well scratch that! Much of that part of the state is currently in the process of burning down, including right along some of the streams I'd planned to fish. I very well might still give it a go if this doesn't become more widespread, but I will be taking another good, hard look at the northern lower peninsula. See what I meant when I said the plan was as set as "it would ever get"? When the weather is as wacky as it's been this year, nothing is certain. I'd decided to go either north or east this year, in a large part to avoid the wildfires that are expected with the low snowpack out in Colorado...So far it isn't working out so well!

I don't think I've ever heard more disagreement about one lure as I do about the Rebel Teeny Craw. Some smallmouth fisherman absolutely couldn't do without them, and rely on them almost exclusively throughout the warm months, and others wouldn't be caught dead with them. I am solidly in the first category, as I'm sure you all know. I've relied on them heavily ever since I got into smallmouth fishing, and I can count on one hand the trips that they haven't produced well during the summertime. I am a big believer in finding a lure or fly that I have almost complete confidence in, and using it until it becomes clear that it is the wrong choice for a given day...then try other things if the need arises. But anyway, I feel like starting a friendly debate here, so what do you all think about them?

But elk belong here every bit as much as quail. They're both native species. It's true that quail are in trouble, but elk were extinct. Why should quail be considered more important elk just because they have managed to survive a little longer in this state without reintroduction? Remember that deer and turkey were nearly extinct, and in essentially the same position as Missouri elk in the early to middle part of the 20th century before the MDC stepped in. I think that most of us are glad that they were reintroduced. The truth is, both elk and quail need our help (and more specifically the help of the MDC and landowners.) I don't even remotely approve of the MDC's decision to shoot this elk, but the reality is that they are reintroducing a native species, and even if it's in a more limited manner than I would like, that is still a good thing. And the MDC is doing just about everything they can to help quail make a comeback. But like Chief said, the single biggest problem with that is the lack of cooperation on the part of many landowners. The vast majority of our state is in private hands, and if people can't be convinced to take even minimal steps to manage their land for quail (and these same practices are very beneficial to many other kinds of wildlife and game species) then what can a state agency do about that? I don't think a great deal, unfortunately. Finally, if anyone truly worries that Peck Ranch and the surrounding area will become a "petting zoo", I encourage you to visit that area over the summer and see it for yourself. It is wild country, probably to an extent not found elsewhere in the state. Those concerns are unfounded, I think.

Yeah, I do like how close together they are. It really simplifies things.

I put in at Reikers Ford, and took out at Mayers Landing. It's 11 miles. Truthfully, it's not really one of the better smallie floats on that river, and there's considerably more poor habitat on it than many other reaches of the Bourbeuse. That said, it's the one I'm by far the most familiar with, so I can usually catch more fish there than I would on other more productive reaches. I struggled to figure out how to reliably catch smallmouth on that stretch of the river out at first, and it took plenty of time and some pretty unproductive trips finding the good holes where fish tend to concentrate. But they are in there; it's just that the habitat doesn't support the same numbers as some parts of the river further upstream. One benefit of the relatively lower smallmouth densities is that it keeps the fishermen away. You're usually more likely to see someone along the river setting a limb-line for catfish than chasing smallies. There's a reason for that, but still... Normally this would be a one day float, though sometimes a little bit long if the water is low. But I had a couple days off so I just took it really slow. Both of the accesses just a few miles outside of Union.

You all remind me why I quit reservoir bass fishing. I don't mind ignorant fisherman who just don't understand proper etiquette, but I sometimes don't deal well with those who are blatantly rude. It got to the point where I just wasn't enjoying myself much anymore...You don't find as much of that on small, secluded rivers and streams, for whatever it's worth.