ozark trout fisher

I always do that too...I'm just talking about the somewhat more subjective nature of a fishing report. It's kinda hard for the USGS reading to be wrong unless the gauge is fouled up. On an unrelated note, that can happen. I went fishing on the Bourbeuse River towards the end of the summer a couple years ago when the gauge at Union read 2.5 cubic feet per second. Where I was fishing nearly 70 miles upstream, there was at least 30-40 CFS of water flowing.

I think if you rely 100% on anyone's fishing report (or fishing advice) you're going to get disappointed pretty often. You always have to take these things with a grain of salt-after all it's fisherman who are providing the reports, and you know what that means! The only real way to figure out how the fishing is going to be is to head down to the river and find out for yourself, which of course is how it should be.

I have fished the upper Current below the park in some pretty high flows (I will fish it up to 400 CFS), and it is definitely a different experience, considerably more adventurous and unproductive than usual when the water is up like that, but it is sure fun in it's own way. I say go. Don't get me wrong, there have been times in those kind of situations where I haven't caught anything, but it has still been worth the trip. My way of looking at this kind of thing is, if there is any chance whatsoever that you might catch a fish, you should definitely go and give it your best shot, otherwise you'll be regretting it the whole weekend as you sit at home. Worst case scenario you'll end up getting skunked in some of the most beautiful country you could ever hope to be in. Bright orange and yellow egg patterns are pretty good bets when the water is up and off color. But then they are also good bets pretty much any other time too.

Egg patterns always seem to work on that river. It actually gets to the point where it's kinda weird. Even the fish that are 5 miles below the park and should know better go crazy for them, and all year long too. Not only that, but there are times when you really just can't catch them on anything else. It's not complaining, I'm just as happy to catch them on an egg pattern as an Elk Hair Caddis, but it's the only river I've ever fished that is like that. Anyone have any theories on why?

I didn't say it sucks. I have caught good fish out of it...As a matter of fact, as far as numbers and size of smallmouth, it's as good as most of the Ozark streams I know. It's just the horrible crowds in the summer, and also the fact that it is not nearly as remote as most of the Ozark streams I like to fish. I didn't say it wasn't a good river. I just said, that in my opinion, it doesn't really measure up to streams like the Eleven Point, Current, or Jacks Fork in terms of the total experience, and that's a statement I'll stand by. If your opinion is different, more power to you! I mean Smallie, your post isn't even remotely honest. I sure didn't say it sucked, (I believe I said "it's a good river in its own way") and I actually like the Meramec, especially in the area around Vilander Bluff and way upstream above the spring.

If you haven't done the Current that is a must-but you should do that either on a weekday or the off season to avoid crowds. I think it is the most scenic river I have ever floated with the possible exception of the Eleven Point (another Missouri stream you should put on your list). I'd suggest floating the Current anywhere from Baptist Camp up near the headwaters to Two Rivers at the confluence of the Jacks Fork. That's 50 miles, and there are at least 5 good one day floats on that stretch. There are plenty of springs (my favorite is Welch Spring a couple miles above Akers) and bluffs, and the country is wild. Plenty of good gravel bars to camp on too. The first 15 miles of the river is trout water, after that it's goggle-eye, bass, and pickeral. The Jacks Fork is another to put on your list. It's very similar to the Current except with somewhat less crowds, and it's all bass water. It may be the wildest river in the state in its upper reaches. To be honest I'd put all those rivers far above the Meramec. The Meramec is a good river in it's own way, but does not compare favorably in my opinion to the rivers of the deep Ozarks. The exception is above Maramec Spring, where you have to work a lot harder to float the river, and the country is quite rugged and remote. That part of the river can be as fun as any Ozark stream and the fishing isn't bad either.

Here's my top 5 (10 would take too long) based on what I've fished. I've not fished nearly as many places as Al Agnew, but these were some of the best. I do not claim that these are anything like the best fishing destinations in the country, they are just my favorite from personal experience. 5.. Bighorn Mountains, North central Wyoming I fished this area in June a few years back, and I was just absolutely blown away. This isn't big fish country, but the plentiful native cutthroat combined with the scenery and wildlife puts this right at the top of my list. I primarily fished the North Tongue River, but also quite some smaller tributaries. There were lots of mid-sized cutthroat and some brookies that were easy to catch, and the country is beautiful. There are more wildflowers than I have seen anywhere else up there, and the mountain country is probably the prettiest I have ever seen. But what really got me was all the moose I saw. The first evening that I was fishing, I heard a huge crash on the opposite bank of the river and saw a cow and her calf barreling through the brush. That got my heart beating pretty fast! Another time a moose walked right into the campground, which was a little unnerving, although very cool too. 4. William C. Whitney Wilderness, Adirondack Park New York You don't think of wild country in New York, but in this wilderness area, our party paddled for three days without seeing any other human beings. It is absolutely stunning northwoods country not far from the Canadian border, and it is completely just left alone. We went on a three day paddling trip through the park, and it was more to see the country than to fish. But the fishing was about as good as you would expect in a bunch of north woods lakes that rarely get fished. We hooked into everything from smallmouth and largemouth bass, to rock bass and native brook trout. One of the bigger smallmouth bass that I have ever caught came on that trip, fishing a Rooster tail spinner in the deep water of a lake that probably only gets fished 5-10 times a year. Just a few casts before that I had hooked and lost what may have been the biggest brook trout I have ever seen. Enough said. 3. Bitterroot Valley, Montana Great small stream fishing for cutthroats on the tribs. I once hiked miles up a little tributary of the East Branch until it became not much more than a trickle, and caught good sized cutthroats all the way up. You have big brown, rainbows, and cuttbows on the main river. Some of the most beautiful country in the lower 48. What else could you ask for? 2. Big Hole Valley, Montana I spent five days renting a Forest service cabin on a little brook trout feeder of the Big Hole, and that was some of the most enjoyable time of my life. The little stream roared out of the Pioneer Mountains, and was mostly a very fast pocket water stream with some small brookies scattered in. But we found one beautiful stretch of meadow water that is my mental picture of what a western trout creek should look like. And of course the brookies were bigger and more numerous there. Oh yeah, and there's the Big Hole itself. One of the most famous rivers in the country, and I never fished it once. I don't really regret it either since I had so much fun on that little creek, but I would like to try for the grayling. 1. Current River You've got the slicks where the water boils during the hatches, the riffles where you can just about always pick them up on nymphs or eggs, and the deep pools with the 5 pound brown trout. Further down you have some of the region's best smallmouth bass fishing. But more importantly, you have arguably the best scenery in the state, and the bluest, prettiest, biggest springs. It may well be my favorite trout stream.

My bucket list is long, but here is part of it. 1. Alaska, fishing the Klutina and other rivers for salmon. Those were the waters that my father spent most of his life fishing and I have heard so much about them, but never gotten a chance to fish. 2. Wilderness fishing for cutthroat on Montana's South Fork of the Flathead 3. Henry's Fork in Idaho 4. Brook trout in Labrador 5. Catch a 20" brown on a #24 or smaller dry fly here in Missouri 6. Yellowstone River during Hopper season 7. Lower Madison in the fall (streamer fishing for big browns) 8. Fluvial Grayling on the Big Hole River (I have fished in Big Hole country before, but I never did go to the reaches where the grayling were. I realize they are few and far between on that river, all the more reason it would be awesome to catch one.) 9. Ausable in Michigan during the Hex hatch 10. Hit a Montana River during the peak of the Salmonfly hatch

After too many years of not fishing any of my old favorite rivers, I finally have a trip back home planned. For those who don't know, I spent five years in Colorado, and came to absolutely love it there. Fortune brought me here to Missouri (which I thought was a bad thing at the time, until I learned about the Ozarks and came to love it here just as much). Still, my heart has been calling me back west in an unimaginable way, and this year I am finally going to make it out there. I managed to get off work for a week in August and will be headed out there to fish my home river, the Yampa, and as many other rivers, lakes, and ponds that I used to fish as I can. August will be a little tough for the high desert reaches of the Yampa that I like to fish, but the trade off should be some pretty good high country fishing in Routt National Forest and in the Flattops Wilderness area. Also I will probably do a little fishing for the big rainbows and browns on the tailwater portion of the Yampa that stays cool through the year. Anyway, I haven't looked forward to anything this much since I went to Montana a few years back... Three months is kind of a long time, but this should be worth the wait.

I don't have any really solid suggestions on the whitewater rafting thing (I'm from a lot further west in Colorado than where you are going, and its not something I ever got into). That said, spring run-off is when I believe the whitewater season is at its peak. An outfitter will not take you out if it isn't safe...They are not keen on the possibility of getting sued. I wish I could give you better advice on that, but that's about all I know. In any case, you'll want to talk to someone who knows a lot more about whitewater rafting than me before you book something. Good luck on your trip. I'm sure you'll have a great time out there, spinning rod or fly rod.Truth be told the fly fishers that gave you a dirty look your last time there probably had just bought his expensive set up at one of the local high-end fly shops and didn't have much clue how to use it. People who are just out there to fish, chill out, and have a good time don't act like that. It's always the folks that feel they need to prove something.

You won't encounter any legal problems if you fish spinners, spoons, cranks, or other non-soft-plastic artificials. If there are any fly fishing only stretches of public water in Colorado I sure as heck don't know where they are, and I lived there for 5 years! As for the grief, who cares? Spin fish if that's your thing, and don't listen to anyone anyone that gives you crap about it. Personally if I were going to go out there I'd fly fish, but if you want to spin fish then that is by all means what you should do, no questions asked. It doesn't matter what some possible snobs may say to you, and I will not rule out the possibility that some jackwagon may confront you, especially somewhere like the Blue RIver. Bring size 0 Mepps and 1/32 ounce Panther Martins, preferably of the dressed variety. Those will be your best lures and you might not use anything else the whole time and do well. I don't like Rooster Tails on mountain streams because they tend to ride too high in the water column. Gold and silver blades both work well. Forget spoons and crankbaits on those mountain rivers, although you cannot beat a little cleo spoon for stillwater fishing out there. They often won't work properly in the fast currents that you'll be spending most of your time fishing. The exception is in the deeper, slower pools.

I'm looking forward to the summer and improved stream fishing conditions. But I have had some excellent fishing this year so far, some of the best I've had. Mostly it has been stillwater fly fishing, but as a rule that has been awesome. The lake right by my house is still nice and clear and the fish are biting really well. I actually love fishing in the rain. There is just something about the stillness of it that somehow makes it special. I got out today for a few hours and the fishing was quite good despite (or because of) the weather. I caught green sunfish, redear, small bass, the whole deal- all on a #10 Olive Woolly. Fun stuff.

Note to self: Stay away from the Current River on August 27. Nothing personal whatsoever, I just don't ever fish in a group of more than two or three people if I can help it, and I am not big on competition with much of anything anymore, let alone fishing.

You don't have to buy the trout permit for catch and release in the Blue Ribbon area... But I do anyway, and it is something that you may think about. I consider it a very small donation to the agency that keeps the trout in the river.

Well said. It's true...A fishless day on somewhere like the Current or North Fork beats the heck out of a day stocking the freezer at the lake. Don't get me wrong, most of the time when I am out fishing, I want to catch lots of fish, and preferably big ones, but when I am in a certain mood, there is just something about fly fishing in moving water that just gets me almost right down to my soul. I won't probably never understand what that feeling is. It probably has something to do with being plugged into nature, one of the few things that truly is so large so great that is beyond our comprehension. Whatever it is, I am not being overdramatic in saying that those kinds of moments save my life. It just has a way of putting everything else in perspective.

Yikes! Just when I really think I know that stretch of river it goes and changes on me. Mother nature has a way of doing that though.

Let me preface this by saying that I wish that no levees had ever been built in the first place. Even with levees, the idea of living in a flood plain is very simply a bad idea. But I do think that if you have to choose between washing out farmland, or washing out urban areas, you have to choose to flood farmland. This position is actually pretty uncharacteristic of me on this issue... It just makes me sick to watch people building in places like Chesterfield Bottoms for example (I know they are not affected by this flood being on the Missouri River, but it's just a matter of time). When you are betting everything on a levee that certainly will fail at some point down the road, you don't qualify as an intelligent person in my opinion. Still I can't quite make the leap to the point where I am willing to destroy the homes of so many thousands people just to save farmland. I am an environmentalist, and some would even consider me a radical one, and on many issues I think that human beings need to make a lot more sacrifices than we currently, are, and if we could go back in time and not have large settlements in flood plains, that would be ideal. I agree with flytier, the long term solution is to have everyone move out of those areas and then blow the levees for good. But to the degree that is possible, we need to not do that at such short notice-that would be something that would take a matter of years to be accomplished properly without completely hanging the residents out to dry.. It's sometimes good to take radical positions on these kinds of issues, but you do need to have a little empathy at the same time. I do not want to see these peoples' home's destroyed.

I have a tendency to be a curmudgeon about tournaments, but then again I think I am more visualizing B.A.S.S. type events and everything that surrounds that than what you're talking about. It's still not something I would personally have a lot of interest in participating in, but I guess I really don't have a problem with it at all. Just try to do your best to let folks know what is going on so it won't be a surprise to too many folks that go down there. Hope it works out for ya'll.

Congrats, and great report. It's good to see someone is getting out on the cricks...Schedule's been crazy this year and I've mostly just been pond fishing, with the exception of a couple awesome trips to the Current. I am envious but glad to hear someone is getting out there and having an good time. That fish on the fourth pic down is a real beauty. A small stream trout that size is one to remember for a long time. I liked the scenery pics too, that creek is sure a pretty little thing. I want to get down there so bad but I don't foresee the chance coming soon-I'm having a hard time getting away for long enough to fish the rivers within an hour of my home, let alone one on the opposite side of the state.

25 teams of 2 people would crowd the Current so badly that pretty much anyone who wasn't involved in the tournament wouldn't have much of an opportunity to have an enjoyable fishing day. The Current is a very small stream in the Blue Ribbon stretch, really just a creek...We're not talking about the Lake Taneycomo here. It's one thing to have a great big tournament up in the park where really bad crowds are already the norm, but that is really gonna have a negative impact on other folks fishing the blue ribbon stretch of the river then. No matter how much info you put out on this there are going to be people that are going to come down entirely unaware of the tournament, and be disappointed when the river is far more crowded than usual. I apologize for kinda being a debbie downer on this but it's just something you might consider. But hell, you're raising money for charity, so maybe I shouldn't be down on it. As a matter of fact I know I shouldn't. I guess despite myself I just feel a little too possessive a national river and maybe I have had one too many trips to a lake or a river buggered up by a tournament or derby or something. But I guess when it comes down to it I hope ya'll have a good time with your tournament and I hope you're successful with raising your money for charity.

It started off as a rough year for me too for fishing...I had very little fishing until about the end of March. I have been able to change that since then though, although most of my fishing has been of the stillwater variety this year.

Some of my most enjoyable moments fishing over the years have been while angling for the lowly bluegill. For a fish species that is far too often written off as only fit for kids dangling worms off a dock, the little critters are sure fine sport. Of course like most people, most of my bluegill fishing over the years has been done with an ultralight spinning rod, a bobber, and a container of worms or crickets. When I started to fly fish pretty much exclusively, I really thought that bluegill fishing would start to become less and less important to me, until finally I just didn't go after the little guys at all anymore. But as it turned out, the exact opposite thing happened. Almost immediately, I learned that bluegill are one of the most fun fly rod fish on the face of the earth. A good sized bluegill fights much harder than a trout or a bass of the same size, and they can put a very respectable bend in a light fly rod. But what really got me hooked on bluegill fishing is how much fun it is to dry fly fish for them, something that I've been doing every evening for the past four or five days. At the risk of offending some of the trout or bass purists on here, I would make the statement that there is no higher sport in fishing than standing on a still, tranquil pond at sunset on a warm evening, casting out a small dry fly, and simply letting it sit until a bluegill disturbs the placid water with a splashy rise. Of course it is not difficult to catch fish this way, but there is something about the inherent stillness associated with it that I think is just more therapeutic than many other forms of fly fishing. The half-light of the evening,the graceful casts through the windless air, and the long but not empty spaces between the fly landing on the water and the fish taking allows me to me to feel a sense of perfect clarity, a feeling of being completely in the moment with all other thoughts pushed entirely out of my head. This is really one of those kinds of fishing for me that has very little if anything to do with the actual act of catching fish, and more about slowing down and plugging back into the natural rhythms of the world for an hour or so, when most of my life is far too fast paced and hectic. I guess it probably seems a bit odd to put in this much thought about just a couple evenings spent fly fishing on a woodland pond. But I also suppose it's a little bit odd to essentially devote your life to the pursuit of fish, and I've done that too, so whatever.

Pond fishing is where it's at now for sure. I got out both last night and tonight. Last night it was raining pretty hard, but I actually had the best bass fishing that I've gotten into this year. The lucky fly was a #8 Beadhead Black Woolly. Tonight, the weather was nicer and I decided to stick to dry fly fishing, with a Dave's Hopper (I realize that it's not hopper season yet but the bluegill don't care.)It was a clear, calm, warm evening that just made me think it would be a good night for that. I didn't catch as many fish as last night, and they were all sunfish, but in all it was a lot more fun. I love catching them on top.

You might consider the fact that CWF was making accusations with absolutely no evidence towards Chief and the rest of the folks involved in this thing. Maybe you are letting some of your past disagreements with Chief Greybear color your opinion on this incident (which admittedly would be a pretty easy thing for just about anyone on here to do... ) I do not understand the accusations of wrongdoing based on what I have seen and read here.

This thread is the first time I have heard the account in full. And I am more convinced than ever that I did the right thing signing this petition, though apparently some feel otherwise. I have strong feelings against folks that try to control navigable streams.