ozark trout fisher

Wow, this is really messed up. Who would fake their own death just for money? It makes me wonder what this world is coming to. And all the people that tried to find him, that were sincerely worried.

Wow, that is right on. I must admit I am not a fly fisherman, but the feeling is the same. Everyone I know constantly asks me why I am always fishing, (one year I kept track, I fished 102 days a year). When I took up fishing ten years ago, I was just after the fish. Now I realize that is not why I go anymore, but I go just for what I see around, the sound of the stream, the wildlife around me, and just everything else. My favorite stream (right now), is Little Piney Creek, a stream that I have never even caught a trout from just yet. But really it is more than all that, and that is the part I can't describe, the reason why every day when I wake up, I either go fishing, or wish I could go fishing. I may never figure out the reason.

I know this topic is way old, but I just saw it and HAD to reply. I live in this lake community you mentioned, (I'm pretty sure, based on your screen name, and the description of the lake), my uncle regularly caught pike the first four or five years after they were stocked, I know it is true, because he has shown me pictures. The biggest he ever caught was a 29", and the lakes had a 30" minimum, so that kind of made him mad. It seems like muskies would have been a better pick, as they survive in a nearby Busch Wildlife Lake, but based on the fact that they were caught for several years after stocking ended, they must have been able to tolerate high water temps. I haven't heard about the Lakers, but it seems that the may have survived a few years, given that the lake is 60 feet deep, and has several springs submerged in it that could have provided necessary cold water and oxygen to make it through the summer, at least if the Lakers could find these underwater springs. But I seriously doubt they could reproduce. I have heard rumors of people catching pike out of this lake in the last few years, but I don't really believe that them. Yes, smallmouth were stocked here in the lake, according to someone I talked to that used to play some part in managing the lakes. They didn't make it though, I heard it was mostly because of the lack of shad or shiners being present, and competition from other species, but warm water could have played a roll as well. I will say that I have seen some bass swimming around that did appear to be smallmouth, so I believe a few did survive and reproduce, but not enough to be significant. But I have never caught one, and I fish for bass in the lake probably 100 or 150 days a year, so I would think I would have caught one by now if they really exist.

I need to get down there. I have made it to the fly-fishing section of Montauk, but never to the trophy area.

I agree. Anyone bait fishing in the Blue Ribbon Area just doesn't care about the fish population, and is quite selfish, especially with the White Ribbon Area available to them. From what I know, it is probably the best wilderness river in this part of the midwest, and everyone should do what they can to preserve it. I also second the idea of making the Blue Ribbon Area a catch and release section. It would eliminate what some people consider "fudging the length limit" which is nothing better than poaching in my mind.

First of all, the bad news first. I hook no trout. Now the good news. Some smallmouth, and suckers were caught, and I did see a pretty good number of rainbow trout alongside the suckers and smallies, but they were just a little to scared to bite. I tried to be as stealthy as possible, even to the point of getting down on my hands and knees to fish likely pools, but they just didn't want my 1/24 ounce Panther Martin. I will say that the biggest trout I saw was 7". I knew I would find trout, because there are 290 per mile, a lot for a creek this size. But I also knew they would be wary, and they were. Man is this creek full of suckers and other minnows. The trout are not going to go hungry ever.

Al Agnew is right. The trout areas can be tough, and while you can catch smallmouth and goggle in any of the trout sections, they are not the place to go if you are looking for steady action. For that purely, like Al said, and I said earlier, the Bourbeuse is a great option. It is not too clear, and nothing too special, but the spotted bass are super easy to catch, and the bag limits are liberal, because they are considered an invasive species. There are also also smallmouth and catfish, along with tons and tons of panfish there, goggle-eye and crappie included, although most of the panfish are longear sunfish. While this doesn't matter to most, suckers also seem to be everywhere, and are pretty game for those fishing with nightcrawlers. The only negative is that due to slow water, you will have to paddle. There won't be many other people though.

I was just curious if anyone had been down there lately, and if so is it fishing alright? I am thinking about heading down for a few hours tommorrow, and maybe try marabou jigs or something. By the way, marabou jigs are considered flies by the regs aren't they? Also, I may make it down to the river, is anything biting there? Edit: Instead, due to less driving distance, and the desire to see a new stream, we are heading to Blue Springs Creek in Bourbon. What can I expect?

I hestitate to ask this because this site is already great, so forgive the suggestion. I was just wondering if maybe there would be enough support for a forum on the Bourbeuse. I fish there regularly, but I'm not sure if other people on this forum fish there, so it's just a suggestion. It is a pretty solid bass, catfish and panfish stream.

Sorry, I just read this. yeah I agree that I was pretty sure there wouldn't be anything biting. I was just looking for a nice day on the river. I don't know what it is about the Bourbeuse for me, it's nothing terribly special, but I just really like it. I guess it might be because its so uncrowded. At any rate, it was a good day fishing, the catching was just not so hot.

I was just joking, when it comes to catching fish on bait I may be the worst bait fisher ever. I also fly fish, and I am most certainly the world's worst fly-fisher, period. I still try though. I hope I didn't offend you in some of my earlier posts.

Oh by the way soggyfeet, I never said I was among the best bait fisherman out there. But of course I am. :D

This is my reccomendation. Meramec River Easy, easy floating, no problems at all. Maramec Spring to Scotts Ford is rainbow and brown trout water. Scotts Ford to Meramec State Park is great smallmouth water. There is tons of access, it should work well. Lots of paddlers too. Edit: Besides the Meramec, other good rivers you might want to consider are the Bourbeuse for smallmouth and spotted bass, as well as sunfish and catfish. That is even easier to float than the Meramec. The Current River is good for it's first twenty miles for trout, and the rest is smallmouth water. Very scenic, and almost all the land is public. There are a few class II rapids here, but I am a novice paddler and can handle them without any problem whatsoever. If you are looking for a good largemouth bass river, the lower section of the Gasconade would be good. The upper section of the Gasconade is prime smallmouth bass water. The Niangua, upper first ten miles below Bennett Springs is trout, goggle eye, and smallmouth water, below there, all the same species except no trout. Hope this helps. Oh by the way, every stream I mentioned has lots of sunnies and goggle-eye, you shouldn't have any trouble there.

I with that I agree to disagree.

I'm afraid I am going to have to respectfully disagree with that point. The bait-fisherman who kill released fish are those who hook on dough bait, put their rods in pole holders, and sit and wait. Deep hooking is likely to happen in that case, resulting most likely in the trout's death. However, for those of us who drift fish nightcrawlers or such, and always have a have the rod in their hand, waiting for the slightest twitch to set the hook, rarely deep hook the fish. I consider myself both a catch and release fisherman, and a bait fisherman, and at least ninety percent of the trout I release are not deep hooked, and are released completely unharmed, at least as much so if I was using a fly. I have no problem with setting aside areas for artificials only, catch and release only fishing, If I had my way, the Eleven Point's Blue Ribbon section would be catch and release, artificials only, and the white ribbon stretch would have a tougher length limit, which would make up for the occasional fish that was deep hooked. Maybe like a 12" or 14" minimum in the White ribbon area. These are just rough ideas though. I do agree with you in that there would be no way to not allow the sit and wait powerbait anglers, and not allow those of us who drift fish, and are less likely to gut hook trout. But if you know more about the river, and the trout population is being dropped from bait fishing, ban it by all means. I like to bait fish, but not to the point that I would be willing to ruin a trout fishery just so I can do it.

I am getting really hung up on the bad attitude towards bait fisherman. It IS a legitimate way to fish, and if done properly, hardly ever hooks a trout deep. Like I say, just set the hook quickly, and there will be no problems with hooking deeply. And bait fishing is not just for kids. Period. Just because it is effective, possibly more effective than fly fishing, doesn't mean that it should be against the law. Just to make it clear, I am all for keeping the Blue Ribbon Area artificials and flies only, but the White Ribbon area should remain open to bait fishers. I am not in favor of banning flies in the White Ribbon area, so why should we eliminate bait? It is a classic put and take fishery, and in most such fisheries, bait is allowed.

I would second the recommendation of the Jacks Fork. It's a beautiful river, gin clear and full of smallmouth. I forgot to mention the Eleven Point. Good trout fishing from Greer to Riverton, year-round, and good smallmouth fishing above and below this section. The first five miles will hold some wild rainbows. Below there, all the trout are stocked.

Wow, I am probably way to late. Just in case you are planning to take the trip next summer or something, and haven't gone, here are some trout streams that probably fit the bill. Little Piney Creek Great year-round stream. The trout are mostly wild, but there are some stocked rainbows throughout its length. It fishes best in the spring, fall, and winter, but you can catch them even in July and August pretty well. It is located near Rolla Missouri, close to Highway 44. Stealth is absolutely required to have any chance. During the spring it can be floatable, but it is mostly a wade fishing stream with decent access. Fish between Highway 63 and Vida Slab Bridge access for best results. Spring Creek/Mill Creek A lot the same as Little Piney, only a few miles away. You would want to combine fishing these streams with Little Piney. They are purely wild trout streams, so obviously they hold trout year round, but there are not as many as in Little Piney. Purely wade fishing streams, with good public access. Tough, Tough fishing here for ultra wary trout. Current River The Current below Montauk State Park is an excellent trout stream, full of wild and stocked rainbows, as well as some huge brown trout. There can be a lot of canoes in the summer. Great trout fishing twelve months a year. Meramec River The Meramec below Maramec Springs provides great fishing for rainbow trout, brown trout, and smallmouth bass. Like the Current, It fills with canoes on summer weekends. Mostly a twelve months a year fishery, can be slow in July and August. Crane Creek Home of the McCloud Rainbow trout, this is a wild trout stream, one of the best in the country. Tough spring creek fishing awaits you in this tiny stream, stealth is of the utmost importance, more so than what is on the end of your line. Good access. It always fishes well, even in summer. Southwest corner of the state. Blue Springs Creek Another great wild trout stream. The trout population is high, and fishes well year round, except during droughts. The fish are very spooky, basically the same story as Crane. Mostly tiny fish too. Good access. The stream is located near highway 44 in Eastern, Missouri. Barren Fork Creek Can't reccomend this stream, because there aren't a whole lot of trout around. But if you are looking for a challenge, you got it here. Not much else to say, except you will find just a few wild rainbow trout. There is some access available. Capps Creek This is largely a catch and keep stream, but the brown trout stocked, (which have a 15" length limit) provide steady action. There are always some resident rainbow trout around too. Good access, located in the Southwest corner in the state. There is lots of good hiking in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest, specifically on the Ozark Trail. But Missouri has no hike in trout streams. Sorry I'm so late doing this, I hope it is still helpful.

Today I fished at the Mayers Landing access to the Bourbeuse River. I was using live bait, and got completely skunked. The river was mostly ice free, and I did manage to see a huge flathead catfish, but I couldn't get him to hit my nightcrawlers. It was a really nice day all in all though, on one of my favorite rivers.

I was just curious if anyone knew if the Meramec around Pacific is frozen up? Also if maybe someone could tell me if there are any kind of fish in the river that might bite this time of year?

Maybe the best idea would be to stock brown trout alongside the rainbow trout in the White Ribbon area, keep the same regs on rainbows (4 any size), continue to allow bait, and impose a 15" length limit on the brown trout that would be stocked under this plan in the white ribbon area. This would allow good catch and release fishing for browns, with the chance to keep a trophy, and good catch and keep fishing for rainbows. Then have a winter catch and release, artificials only season. Maybe a good compromise eh?

Yeah, I agree, JD. What I said was a wayyyyyy overreaction on my part. Sorry about that Soggyfeet. I just got a little riled up, no harm right? Also kinda feel bad about getting off the subject a bit. I believe Brian is correct, given his experience, about making it Red Ribbon from Turner to Whitten, maybe artificials only there, and allow bait in the White Ribbon area from Whitten to Riverton.

Soggyfeet, please don't stereotype. Yeah, you can gut hook trout on bait, but if you are careful to set the hook, it is very rare. I mostly baitfish, and I only deep hook maybe one in ten trout. The people that gut hook trout really peeve me, because it is the very behavior that gets more and more of our waters shut off to bait fisherman, but don't think all of us, or even a good percentage of us do that. Blanket statements like yours make me feel like you believe that fly fisherman are somehow better than bait fisherman, and I don't really appreciate it. I agree that some waters should be closed to bait fishing, but I believe that your statement is as a whole, inaccurate, and downright offensive.

Just a question. You mentioned trout. Do they live there year-round, or is it just a wintertime fishery. I thought I had heard something before about some trout being in the pool below Powersite.

Yeah that's a bummer about the "trollers". Kinda surprises me there are any in the area........ Otherwise, I agree the area is a great place to fish. Have only hit Little Piney, but it is a beautiful stream with some big fish, good fishing for rainbows, and even better smallmouth bass fishing. I really want to hit the other streams you mentioned too, just haven't gotten around to it. I just like this part of the Ozarks in general too. It is a lot different from the area down near Eminence.