ozark trout fisher

I agree. Thank you

Thanks.

Buckshot, I don't even know what to say LOL

As the car crawls down the old, dusty road, I am filled with anticipation. Around the next corner, I will be able to see the stream. There it is. A ghost-like fog hangs over the clear, rushing water. As I leave the car and enter the fresh, crisp world of a spring day, I have a feeling this is going just what I need to get my mind back in a position to face the world at large. I slip my waders on, rig my rod, and begin the short walk to the stream. When I arrive, I reach down and put my hand in the stream. Yes, this is the cold, clean water that I have come to know and love. I quietly wade upstream a few hundred steps, until I reach a pool of beauty beyond describing. A fast riffle rushes in at the top, and the water becomes slow, deep, and a perfect hangout for an elusive wild rainbow. I take a few casts into the pool with no result. Then on the next cast, I feel the sharp pull of a trout. The fish takes a hard run to the other side of the pool. Then it takes the air, and shakes its head with the fury that only a wild trout can show. After a few minutes, I tire the fish, and bring him to the net. The pink stripe coursing down it side is pecked with small black dots. This is truly a perfect fish. I rejoice for a moment at my catch, and slowly and gently slip him back in the water. It was truly a thing of beauty. After a while I decide to take a break and rest. I leave the stream, and find a nice clearing near the water. As I lie there, I feel the simultaneous rush of cool wind and warm sun. I hear a bird singing its song, and with the rushing stream in the background, I feel a perfect, natural happiness.

Ahhh the Bighorn. The home of the 5 mile long train of rafts....... Big trout though

The Green is pretty tough to beat... I used to fish it down just upstream of where it enters Colorado. The fish and the fisherman aren't as plentiful as up in Zone A, but there are enough around to be worthwhile, and it really is one of the most beautiful areas around. Plus you can't beat 10,000 trout per mile.

Well, I know this might cause some argument, but at least it might be more of the good-natured type. So, what's your favorite trout stream in the country you've actually fished, all things considered... Doesn't include your "home river". Personally, I'll have to go with the White River in Colorado. Big native cutts, low fishing pressure, great scenery, and good access. Pretty hard to beat.

Yeah, keep the greens out... They have ruined the lake where I do most of my warmwater fishing. The MDC sampled it, and found the bass to be "extremely stunted". They cited green sunfish as the primary reason. So I would try to keep them out, but like Brownieman says, they have an uncanny way of making it in to seemingly isolated waters even when not stocked.

One thing about Flatheads, is they don't tend to reproduce well in ponds. They might grow really large, but you'll have to keep putting them in every year. Sorry I can't help you with a place... I don't live anywhere near the James. Good luck though, as well as with the crappie. As a side note, for crappie you might ask some guys with farm ponds if they'll let you on their place. It might well be their pond is overpopulated with crappie (or some other fish species you'd want to stock your pond with) and they would be just fine with you taking a few bucket-loads home. You might post a question on this, or some other forum asking if someone has a farm pond with a bunch of crappie, that wouldn't mind if you brought some home to stock. Once again, good luck. I hope you're able to get some fish for that pond.

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either. But I would hope if this thing got a little closer to actuality, the MDC would step in. In the past, (at least compared to fish and game agencies in other states I've lived), the MDC does seem to actually care about the fisheries in Missouri, and might be willing to try to save Crane if it really came to it. I certainly hope so. If not, TU will be our last line of defense on this.

That's true. There also can't be any species present at the time of stocking that the MDC deems "undesirable". Don't know why, but that's just the rule. Also, with catfish, you'll have to keep stocking them each year. Usually, they don't establish good breeding populations in ponds, and need annual stockings. After one stocking, the bass and bluegill should take care of themselves with natural spawning. By the way Buckshot, if I knew a good place for you to gather up some crappie for the pond, I'd help you out. But unfortunately I live in the other corner of the state than you, and I don't target crappie. I hope you find a good place to gather up a few for the pond though.

Yeah, there's no rule about opening your pond to anyone if the MDC stocks it. Unfortunately, I don't think they do not stock crappie (and I get the impression that's pretty far up on the list of species Buckshot wants stocked), so you'll have to get them from a commercial source or some other waterway. Now thinking about it, I guess I don't see anything wrong with putting a limit of fish caught from a river into a pond, it's really not all that much different than taking them home to eat, so I say go for it (run-on sentence there, I know). It would take a while to catch enough limits to have enough for a good stocking though. But it would be a lot cheaper than buying them. But yes, for bass, crappie, and catfish, I would reccomend you have the MDC stock them for free. There's no harm in it anyway

I like conspiracy theories when they are based on sound logic... And this one is. Interesting outlook.

The trout are definitely there at the Current ( I think the last time they shocked the Blue Ribbon area they brought up something like 500 trout per mile, one of the better numbers in Missouri), but they can play hard to get from time to time. It's odd. Sometimes I'll go down there and catch a whole bunch, and then the next time, with seemingly the same conditions I'll get down there and only catch a couple. I guess that's just fishing though. Also, with the river as high as it is based on your pics, that would complicate things further. Just one thing to know... The Current isn't normally like that. Usually, it's pretty small and gin clear, totally a different river than you found it yesterday. Normally by Fall, the Current that far upstream isn't really much more than a creek. It's a pretty little thing, ain't it?

That branch of the Gasconade you are speaking of is Roubidoux Creek, a major tributary to the Gasconade.... That's interesting though, I had always thought Roubidoux above the spring was devoid of fish.

Agreed. This thread ain't going anywhere good, I can promise that. No political posts are allowed, and this topic is most certainly political. I believe it should go.

Yes, some do. But for some reason, I've always heard the healthy ones move upstream, as opposed to being moved downstream. It seems counter-intuitive, but I believe it's true. For example I've found various big-river species (catfish, carp, white bass, etc) move up into tributaries when they flood. I'm not sure smallmouth react the same way by moving upstream, but they might. Honestly, I bet most of them will just hold steady behind a boulder somewhere on the bottom until it recedes.

Yeah... It is amazing how they can survive on a creek, that for example runs 50 CFS normally, and suddenly spikes to about 15000 or 20000 CFS. It just shows how well adapted these fish are that most all of them can survive. I guess they just hug the bottom where current is least. I do know flooding does cause negative effects on fish during the spawning season, which explains year classes that are either missing, or almost missing on some streams. I know of a few examples where I suspect that occurred, because their simply aren't many small fish the next year. Then the next year, if there are less spring floods, there will be plenty of small fish, but very few two year-old (aka small, but not young of the year) fish. But that's a different issue entirely, since no fish I know of spawn this time of year.

How'd it go?

Wow.... Some of your posts are extrordinarily creepy.

Went to a pond in warren county today... It's on public land, but it's kinda small, and I would hate to say the name of it here. I know the pond pretty well, I probably fish it ten or so times a year. It's a really deep, clear pond, about 5 acres, tailor-made for fly fishing. So that's what I did. I used #8 Olive Woolly to take a pretty good mess of bluegill, and a few 10"-12" bass, nothing real exciting. But the fish are still hitting flies, which was the main thing, and it was a lot of fun.

Trizkid, the river will be fine by tomorrow unless we get some unexpected precipitation. At 265 cfs, it's in pretty darn good shape now. It'll be a touch high and discolored, but that just serves to make the fish a little more frisky. It's amazing how quickly the headwaters of the Current rises and falls... It seems like it's almost never out of commission for more than one or two days. Unless I'm wrong, that's a sign of a healthy watershed.

Yes, but look at the name of the topic. Enough said.

Yeah, I don't know the Finley in particular, but I know of a few streams that flood massively from time to time. It doesn't wash the fish downstream almost ever, except as Chief said maybe a few small ones. Smallies are surprisingly tough, and they are adapted to survive these kind of floods year in, and year out. So in other words, when the water comes back down, the fishing should come back to normal almost right away.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..... The Little Piney is running about 3000 CFS at Newburg. 500 is the very highest that is really fishable at all. Honestly, I doubt if any river system in the state will be fishable this weekend. Once again, really sorry about that. I know how it feels. But it is a very pretty area, and you should go check it out. Wade fishing would be all be suicidal at these flows though. Same with floating. By next weekend though, the Little Piney should be in fishable shape. It drops fast. I just checked the USGS water levels for trout streams in Missouri. If you're willing to drive the extra half hour, at 435 CFS and dropping, Montauk is at least marginally fishable, and by the middle of the day tommorrow might be looking good. Even where it is right now, you could catch some fish. Like I said, it is just a bit further down than Little Piney, but I just thought I should tell you if you're really desperate for some productive trout fishing, that's gonna be your best bet.