ozark trout fisher

I enjoy your reports-you like me love fishing for small wild trout, and I like the pictures a lot. Keep them coming. There are folks who will bash you on here. Do not worry about them, and don't stop posting reports.

Highway 63 is upstream from Lane. I would suggest you fish at Lane Spring.The pull-off for the Lane Spring Access is just about 200 yards short of where 63 crosses the river if you are coming from Rolla, so you'll know if you've come too far if you cross the creek. The gate is closed this time of year, but there is a place to park and you'll only have to walk a few hundred yards to the stream. This will take you to some of the best trout water on the creek, and is what I'd recommend. Up around 63 can excellent if the conditions are right, but generally you'll find more consistent fishing from Lane on down. But by all means experiment, because all that water can be good, even upstream from 63. Also, as mentioned, if you fish up from 63 you may run into some private property issues. Whether or not you want to try that anyway is up to you and I can't in good conscience recommend that, because then if you did run into trouble it would be partially my fault. All said, since there are generally fewer fish up there, it might not be worth it to risk it, but that's your call. Or the other option not mentioned would be to park at 63 and work your way down. But I would just fish at Lane Spring. One more short note. Don't forget beadhead Hare's Ear Nymphs in #16-18 if you are going anywhere near Little Piney Creek. They are, in my opinion the only nymphs/wet flies that you really need for the LP.

Well for all you crazies that go down there for opening day, it looks like the weather is going to be nice for ya'll-mid-50s and sunny. I hope you have a good time- but you'll be able to find me on some secluded Blue Ribbon water that everyone has forgotten about for the day.

I wouldn't worry about it either. It would be an entirely different animal if it was a stream that wasn't listed in the MDC Reg books... And if it wasn't generally well-known among Missouri trout fisherman already. But it is-it's been mentioned in at least two books about trout fishing in Missouri. And quite a few online articles too, a couple of which I am not in the least ashamed to say are mine. And the stream continues to hold up very well, with no signs of any sort of decline-in fact the MDC says the trout population is increasing. However, I would say that giving directions to the exact hole where you hooked into or caught a nice fish is not a good idea. There is such a thing as too specific.

One thing I find extremely odd is that in the Meramec basin, where the MDC actually publicly encourages you to keep all the spotted bass you can catch up to the limit of twelve,I'm pretty sure you are still not allowed to kill them during the closed black bass season. Why is that? If the MDC is trying to get rid of them, wouldn't it make sense to be allowed to catch and keep them while they are spawning? Seems like a pretty good way to help reduce the population. Does this make since to anyone else on here?

Amen to that. No matter what happens to the trout stocking around here, we always will have smallmouth, sunfish, catfish, and plenty of other species to fish for. I have been guilty of being something of a close-minded trout purist in the past, but with more time spent on some of our amazing native fisheries here in the Ozarks I have been cured of that-and now would venture to say I prefer native species such as smallmouth bass and goggle-eye to non-native trout-for the simple reason that they are native, and truly belong here. That's not to say I don't still have a soft spot for trout, but it has allowed me to be able to see that they are not necessary for the Ozarks to be one of the most unique fishing destinations in the world. That is why the possible cuts/closures of federal hatcheries isn't worrying me that much-so long as it does not affect the re-introduction/restoration of threatened or endangered native species.

Pretty fish. I love those small wild rainbows. Blue Springs is a well known spring creek... Not a secret at all and I don't see any harm in posting reports about it as long as you don't give specific location info which I don't see in this report. There are at least four accesses on it and three miles of public water...And according to the MDC nearly 300 trout per mile- so its not like the fish population is so fragile that a couple extra fisherman are going to do it in. I don't see the danger in posting a report about it.

I've heard about that too. But if things keep going the way they are, more vital things than federal hatchery trout are going to have to be cut...Whether or not the federal government "has to" provide the trout. Mainly, if it comes to cutting hatchery budgets, I hope they cut the stocking of non-native trout before they cut the production of more ecologically important species such as the ones Outside Bend mentioned. We absolutely cannot stop the the restoration of endangered and threatened native species, but if worse comes to worst we can do without hatchery trout, or at least so many of them. It's a bad position to be in for sure. But didn't we all kind of see this type of thing coming? I know we all love our non-native trout (look at my screen name) but we have to look at the big picture. And the native species just seem a heck of a lot more important to me.

I totally agree. With the exceptions of the tailwaters that would have almost no fishery without the hatcheries, I would be just absolutely fine if not another trout was stocked in the Ozarks-let there be wild populations where the habitat is suitable, and let them disappear everywhere else. But I think I am so far in the minority there that it's kind of a moot point and I won't argue it.

That is correct. There is no cell service within 10 miles of any body of water that holds fish... And not within 30 miles of the Current River.

No doubt about it. But I think more more native and wild fish will be better in the end. That is with the exception of the tailwaters where natives will never be a significant part of the fish population again. That will be where the devastating effects of possible hatchery closures would take effect. Right now I am more glad than ever that I am a freestone fisherman, because I don't foresee good times ahead for federal hatchery dependant tailwater fisheries. I honestly hope that I am wrong, but I guess we'll see. I am not the most fond of the tailwater fisheries, but I understand that many love them and for that reason I don't want to see them negatively impacted. But I just am not sure it can be helped.

I have the feeling that the days of so many millions of trout being produced by federal hatcheries will be coming to an end-unless things turn around economically. Even if the hatcheries aren't affected this time, if these economic times continue, we are going to see a drastic reduction in the number of federal hatchery fish we see. And that may be a blessing when it comes right down to it. Less hatchery fish and more native/wild fish. Missouri trout anglers had better be happy that most of our fish aren't federals- at least outside of Taneycomo. With our state trout program being self-sustaining or nearly so, we should be safe for the time being.

I also forced things to get started today. I went down to one of the local ponds and managed to catch my first warm-water fish of the year- a pretty nice mess of bluegill. They were still in pretty deep water, but they were willing to bite. Just a few days ago, the pond was partially frozen, and today I was out there with a container of worms and an ultralight collecting the ingredients for a fish fry. Not a bad way to spend a late winter/early spring day.(water temp is still too cold for fly-fishing to be productive, so I'll make no apologies for the bait fishing )

Well, some folks have been complaining about the argumentative/non-fishing nature of some of the threads here, so here's one that's a little less likely to go that way. What's the coolest trout stream you've ever fished (or smallie stream, or anything else). Not necessarily the most productive water you've ever fished, but the one that was the most unique and interesting to fish. For me, I'd say the Boquet River in the Adirondack Mountains-a stream that not hardly anyone, even the locals, seem to think of as much of a trout stream. It's a stream I've fished several times over the past few years when I've been up that way, and it's just an incredibly cool little stream. Fishing-wise, it's really nothing all that special, but I think it is the prettiest river that I have ever run across. The first time I saw the river was three years ago on my way to head down to fish at an a public access on Lake Champlain. Where I first saw it, it was flowing through a tiny town called Wadhams, where it flowed over a ten foot rock ledge waterfall. When I saw it, I forget all about Champlain for the day, found a place to park, and started fishing right below the waterfall. The river was small there, maybe about the size of the upper Current around Montauk, but it was a raging, deep, dangerous looking pocket-water river that you wouldn't want to get cross-ways with. There was no wading there unless you had a death wish-just hopping from bankside boulder to bankside boulder. Among the super fast water, there were really large, slow pockets below the larger boulders, and I was able to catch a bunch of brown trout that while small, fought harder for their size than any others I encountered. About a week later, I decided to try the North Branch of the river, way up in the mountain headwaters. At the pull-out there, it looked totally unfishable, flowing incredibly fast over a smooth shale bottom. But when I got up stream about a quarter mile on the rough trail that followed the stream, this raging little mountain creek opened up into the deepest, greenest, most luxurious pool that I have ever seen on any stream. The kind of pool that just has to hold an eight pound brown trout, no matter how unpromising the rest of the river looks like. Well, there were no eight pound brownies at least that I found. But there were pretty much unlimited numbers of native brookies-small and stunted but jewel-like, and that was almost as good. After I caught and released plenty of fish in that pool, I went upstream looking for another pool like it, walking for almost a mile. In that distance, it never opened up into any kind of fishable water again, except in one other pool almost identical to the first, where I caught about the same number of brookies about the same size. Those were the only two pools in any otherwise long and completely barren stretch of river, but they were just full of fish... Weird. Here is a picture of the pool (this is not my picture, but it is the same pool... I found out later that the pool where I caught all those brookies is kind of a famous swimming hole locally) http://webbox.lafayette.edu/~reiterc/hikes/adir/2006/06/wpict1587_1591_trim.jpg I fished the Boquet again several times last year when I was up there, but my little secret trout stream just wasn't the same. The water was just too warm, and even though I fished some of the same places, I never caught a thing. But I'll never forget my time on the Boquet three years ago, and I sincerely hope I get the chance to hit again someday when it's on.

I just can't wait for things to get started. Of course I spend time on the real Ozark creeks (Blue Spring, Little Piney, Huzzah, etc) but I also enjoy the close to home stuff, which for me is Warren county. We're not really in the Ozarks here just north of the big muddy, but it looks and seems like the Ozarks in the river hills, and some of the creeks are nice spring-fed,clear streams, and can be really fun fly fishing for bass and bluegill...Access of course ain't easy with all the streams unnavigable and flowing through private property but luckily a few of the landowners are willing to let me fish, and that gives me some really nice close to home flowing water fly-fishing. I'm so excited thinking about it-it should be good here in just a couple weeks when we start to get a couple warm rains and I'll be either on the local ponds or the local creeks almost every evening until late October.

It's winter. Most people don't have much to talk about in the fishing department. So everyone is arguing with each other. And another point. The tone is just different here from other forums because there is such a wide variety of users here, from St. Louis city folk and people who live way out in the boonies. There are tournament bass anglers, there are fly fisherman and trout purists, there are bait fishing catfisherman, there are "catch and release only fisherman" and there are "catch and fry" fisherman. That diversity is what causes the friction on here, but it's also what keeps things interesting.

I'm not too familiar with the White, only having fished it a few times, but I can tell you if you're not experienced with fly fishing or trout fishing, you definitely want to start off with light spinning gear. Trying to tackle a big river like the White with very little fly-fishing experience is something that is going to be extremely frustrating and probably end in a fishless couple of days. Don't get me wrong, I've been in the same sort of situation when I was just learning to fly fish and learned the hard way... That said, I've spin-fished the White several times, and I've always done well. 1/16 ounce Mepps Spinners and Little Cleo Spoons in silver and gold have worked. And of course Powerbait, which is a guarantee but not exactly glamorous fishing-still there's nothing wrong with it and if it was my first time trout fishing that's what I'd do. But as I said, I am not really a tailwater fisherman and I only have the most basic experience on the White. And you'll want to use 4 pound test for trout fishing on any of the Ozark rivers. And use small hooks for Powerbait fishing if that's what you do-that's one thing first-time trout fisherman often get confused on. No bigger than #8. I often like to give the White River fisherman on here crap (calling it a tailwater ditch and such) but really it's a very nice area down there and I'm sure you'll have a good time.

As I said earlier, I take quite a few scenery/stream pictures. If you are interested in seeing them, I post a lot of them on my blog. Frankly, I often have difficulty posting them on OAF because it says the picture size is too big, so I've just taken to posting them on my blog instead to save time.

I got out yesterday afternoon on the upper reaches of a Missouri River trib near home that holds some largemouth bass and bluegill. Just casting practice though-it was high and muddy with snowmelt, and there's no chance they could have seen the fly even if the water wasn't so cold they would be pretty much dormant...You know warm-water fishing is going to be tough when you have to walk through 2-3 inches of snow to get to the stream. But it was still nice to get out with a fly rod. It's been too long. In a couple weeks I may be able to go out there with some hope of success.

I am with troutfiend. Never put your hands inside the gills of a fish. I'm not saying it kills them everytime, but why take that risk when there are other, better ways to hold the fish? The thing that bugs me is I so often see guys on T.V. gilling fish and handling them roughly in other ways too. Such a bad example. I can understand a newby who doesn't know any better gilling a fish, but not an experienced fisherman. Why mess with such a fragile part of the fish? If you're gonna release a fish, just do it and be done with it too. If you must take a picture (and I'm not at all saying there is anything wrong with taking a picture now and then at), handle it gently and preferably don't take it out of the net. Personally, I usually only take pictures of fish if I am going to kill them, because I don't like to have them out of the water for any extra time if I'm letting them go. The only problem is that some folks (Eric 1978........) will give you crap for not having photographic evidence. Small price to pay for knowing the fish will survive-and stream/landscape pictures are more fun than "grip and grins" anyway. But if you don't need a picture, there's no reason to take the fish out of the water at all. Just reach in the mouth real quick, remove the hook, and let it swim away without ever picking it up. You know for sure they'll survive that way.

I agree with you all mostly on that... Middle of the day is the way to go for warmer water temps. But if it's the same as it is here in East-central MO, I wouldn't be doing any mid-day creek fishing now-or doing any creek fishing at all. They are all muddy with snowmelt and only getting worse by the day- some are getting pretty close to jumping their banks.

That pretty much sums up how I feel about it as well. What happened to folks just wanting to quietly take in their surroundings? The greatest thing about fishing is that it's one of the few times where I get to concentrate on one thing, and one thing only for a period of time-with not much else to interrupt that. It's a time to get away from all the stresses of daily life. Cell phones just don't belong anywhere in that equation, unless you have to be on call for some absolutely crucial reason. Folks just don't seem to have too much respect for their natural surroundings these days... Taking boom boxes on float trips, having obnoxious ring times go off along the stream etc. If nothing else, those sorts of things scare away the wildlife for those who may actually be interested in such things. Just chill out and enjoy where you're at. You'll get back to the real world soon enough- you might as well get away from it for a few hours while you fish.

I really can't argue with you on that point. That sort of reminds me of the two gentleman on the Catch and Release section at Montauk last year who were loudly discussing the pros and cons of the Health Care bill while I was trying to concentrate on enticing a 3 pound rainbow to take my scud imitation. (I'm scared to even mention the health care bill on here, but I think it goes without saying that I am not trying to start a political thing... )

All the small creeks around my house are getting really swollen and muddy with snow-melt which is something that usually doesn't happen around here. We had 4-8 inches of snow on the ground before it really started melting fast yesterday It kind of reminds me of what happens to the rivers and streams in the Rocky Mountain West in the spring when the snow melts-only on a much smaller scale. That might not be the case further south where there was less snow on the ground though. But if it is, the large amount of cold snow-melt water in the creeks is going to slow any start to warm-water fishing considerably.

I think you all will get your ice-out soon enough with the temps they're predicting.