ozark trout fisher

I tend to agree that the Current is about as productive as any stream it's size can be. I have done a lot of fishing in Western water, the kind of rivers that Missouri anglers dream about, and I can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to find a river just about anywhere that averages about 100-150 CFS of flow and has as many large trout as the Current. I don't get many of the really big ones, but that's because I'm usually either using dries, small nymphs, or egg patterns-and not the streamers or plugs that you need to really get at the big big browns with. But I do see them and I know they are there-even if I didn't believe the electro-shock reports. If it isn't good enough, then I think it's time to change your expectations or else give up trout fishing. Because it doesn't get a whole lot better for big fish and lots of them short of a tailwater.

Not all trout areas in the state. You can find solitude and good trout fishing if you're willing to look in the right places.

On top, little cork poppers, Dave's Hoppers, and Royal Wulffs will all get it done. But not for a couple weeks yet-the fish are still all being caught subsurface at least based on my experience. I have been doing well lately for bluegill and redear on local ponds with #12 Beadhead Olive Woollies and Beadhead Prince Nymphs of the same size-twitching them in slowly along the bottom with a 12 foot leader tapering to 6x to be precise. But the 6x is unnecessarily light and I am only using it because I have a few miles of the stuff on hand for trout fishing. This coming cold snap will put a lid on the warm-water fishing for a few days, or at least make it a lot tougher. But it will get back going soon when the weather warms back up into the upper 50s and 60s.

You are certainly right in saying the heavy fishing pressure makes the fishing more difficult on the Current, especially below Baptist Camp where there aren't that many park migrants hanging around. Those fish have seen every fly known to man and can be pretty careful about what they eat. That can be a curse if you want but I see it as more of a blessing. When I want to fish for trout that are not selective, then I will fish somewhere where the fishing pressure is less-like on one of the wild trout creeks. But when I want a challenge for difficult trout I like to fish the Current. I love having to go through my fly box, trying everything, until I find what the fish are wanting. That's more than half the fun on a relatively difficult fishery like the Current below Baptist. And if the fishing gets too tough, you can always tie on an egg pattern. You can just about always catch a couple on one of those, and often a lot more than a couple. I'll stick with the Current as my favorite trout river here in Missouri, with the possible exception of a certain wild trout creek. If nothing else the scenery down there is plenty to keep me coming back. That makes the trip well worth it even if I never so much as see a trout. That is just who I am as an Ozark stream angler and I will make no apologies about it.

Thanks for the report and pics. I went down to Blue Springs a few times last year at this exact time-just as the flowers were blooming and spring was really coming on.It's just a magical time to be on that creek, not some much for the fishing as for the scenery. I don't know of any other Ozark trout creek with so many wildflowers lining the banks.

I only trespass when I want a nice stringer of wild rainbows. (Just kidding-for the record I never trespass intentionally and I have never killed a Missouri wild trout on purpose) I think it is very much up for debate whether Crane is navigable or not. What Troutbum479 is doing may well not be trespassing at all-you should be more sure of the facts before you pass judgement, Parachite. You don't have a full understanding of the law more than anyone else on here does. Maybe you need to give it a little more thought before publicly accuse someone of committing a crime. And that is certainly what you are doing.

I got a copy of Stars Upstream by Leonard Hall a few days ago and read it. It is one of the most interesting books on the Ozarks I've ever read. It's really kind of odd to read the account of the Current and Jacks Fork River while they were not yet protected by the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and they were still at a considerable risk of being dammed up-it's hard to imagine what the Ozarks would be like without those rivers running free and relatively pristine. Certainly not everything is perfect in that neck of the woods now, but this book does sort of put some things in perspective-it could have been so much worse. Not only that, but it's beautifully written and captures the spirit of what is good about the Ozarks as well as any literature I've read. Any Ozark fisherman has to read this book.

I have used them extensively in the past. There is no more effective way for catching smallmouth bass than bouncing a nightcrawler along the bottom of a deep hole-or for goggle-eye, bluegill, catfish, drum, or anything else for that matter. I kinda gave that up a little bit ago though.

It sure would be-but some people don't like the indicator because it kinda ruins the casting motion, especially the larger ones.

All this means that the bass should be biting very well soon-not yet though, if personal experience is worth anything.

There are other ways. Watching for a flash in the water that may be the take of a trout, or waiting for the line to twitch. Indicators (okay, I'll call them bobbers) aren't the only way-although they may be the easiest and most effective way. And I agree with Bman-they can help tremendously with getting a good drift.

I'm just kidding. Sorry about the diffulties and I hope you can get down there soon. The delay might be just what you need to get the water levels back down to where they need to be. Good luck and I hope you all catch a bunch whenever you do make it down there. You may walk into a good caddis or olive hatch and get some on top if you can get the water level below about 150 CFS-above that it will be all nymphs or streamers. Right now at 339 CFS it's right on the border of being fishable at all, even with nymphs-you could probably catch a couple but it'd be difficult. The nymph fishing gets really good when it drops to around 250 CFS.

I enjoyed the video. Thanks for posting. That's sure a cool little creek-the only thing prettier than it are the fish that live in it.

The fish are all dead. Little Piney got diverted to Phoenix Arizona to help supply drinking water there.

I find it hard to argue with that. I have been guilty of it before, but I'm getting better. Honestly...

Stream access topics are probably best for me not to get involved in. I do not ever intentionally break the law by wading non-navigable streams through private land (because I am honestly not sure what a navigable stream is, and I don't think anyone is) but I often rely on "gray area" on streams that may or may not be navigable and have good sections of trout of smallmouth bass water that flow through private land-and maybe Crane would fit into that category-not having fished it I don't really know. Just throwing that out there.Although regardless of the legalities, you always have to be careful of half-crazed trigger-happy landowners-most aren't like that, but a few are.

I would suggest reading through all those links that Flytyer posted. They'll be more helpful than anything that I can tell you. But I'll give you a little of my own advice anyway, hoping that it might be helpful to you in some small way. A good really basic nymphing rig is to use something like a #16 Beadhead Hare's Ear Nymph on a 10' leader with a 6x tippet,no strike indicator, and no split shot or other added weight. I am going to recommend that you start off with down and across nymphing. This is the first technique of fly fishing for trout that I learned, and while this is not the most effective technique, it will work and get you into some trout to give you some confidence before you go on to more complex nymphing techniques. Pick a riffle or run that is about 1.5-3 feet deep, and flowing and a medium to fast speed. Cast directly across the stream-not upstream or down. Let the fly drift downstream until it is directly below. Always keep the line tight by stripping it in at the same pace as it drifts downstream, and you will feel all but the lightest strikes. When the fly has swung around and drifted pretty much directly downstream of you, strip it in a few inches, and let it drift back. Do this a couple times and then strip it all the way in and cast again. This technique does not allow for a truly natural drift, but it does kind imitate the process of an emerging nymph, and whether if its for that reason or not, it will often work. Indicator nymphing is a little more complex (although it is not overly difficult to learn) requiring mending (mending means the process of lifting the fly line and moving it up or downstream to help get a dead drift) and quite a bit of attention to detail. On the contrary, this down and across with no indicator method is extremely straight-forward. You will feel all but the lightest of strikes (and in most other methods of nymphing, detecting the strike is half the battle)and mending skills aren't completely necessary, although they are helpful. Good luck! Nymphing will open up a lot of doors for you as a trout fisherman. And just remember that the only way to really learn anything about fly fishing is to get out there and do it-articles, advice, and tips can only go so far.

I did too. For the first couple months or so that I started fly fishing for trout my sole nymphing method was the down and across swing; that doesn't usually give you any kind of a dead drift but also lets you feel a strike easily.Although that's not my main nymphing method anymore, it's actually not that bad of a way to go, and plenty of trout can be caught that way. Frankly I never tried any other way until I decided to try indicator nymphing one time down on the Current and got hooked on that for awhile.

I voted "no indicator". I have really been working hard on nymphing techniques where an indicator isn't necessary, and that's how I prefer to nymph. But really I can't answer that question definitively, as it entirely depends on the situation. I like to go without an indicator when I can, but when I am nymphing in really deep or turbulent water I will use them. When I use them I usually just go with small stick-ons that don't get in the way of real fly casting too much. Or better yet, I'll just use something like a #12 Para Adams or a Dave's Hopper instead, and maybe actually catch a few fish on the "indicator". I will resort to full on "chuck and duck" with a big indicator and split-shot if I have to, but I like to try everything else first.

Are you guys still trying to argue with this guy? Awhuber is almost certainly trolling this thread, and doing a good job too. Read his last post "You can haul more moonshine." I don't think that leave a whole lot of doubt. I say this from experience, as someone who often likes to stir the pot a little for fun... To the chagrin of many on a recent Montauk Park thread. And if he isn't just messing with you, well then I'm not sure I would bother arguing anyway...Sometimes there just ain't no point.

I didn't notice this for a little bit... Posted this thread and almost immediately forgot all about it. It was a little bit of ribbing in good fun and nothing more... And now that I read it it does sound a little bit condescending, and I don't blame some folks in the least for thinking I'm a jackass for posting it. But really it was just meant as joke, and I have nothing against the folks who get out for opening day, there's nothing wrong with it and I hope they all had a good time. In short, I'm an idiot and I apologize.

For wade fishing on the Meramec, I like the water level at Steelville to be at or below 700 Cubic feet per second if I am fishing between the spring branch and the mouth of Dry Fork Creek and I like it to be below about 550 if I am fishing below the mouth of Dry Fork Creek (which is about 1/2-3/4 of a mile below the spring). The Dry Fork pumps in a lot more mud than the rest of the upper Meramec basin combined, so if water levels are up you'll definitely want to fish upstream of that. I'm not sure about trout fishing upstream of Maramec Spring, as I've only fished there for smallmouth, but you'd have to imagine there would be some trout that would migrate up there during the cooler months, so it might be worth a try. For your second question, wind can be a factor on Little Piney, but rarely is it a big enough problem to shut you down-it can make life difficult of course, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Mill and Spring are brush-choked little creeks a lot like BSC and I don't think you'll find wind to be a problem there.

It sounds like you're doing fine. As I understand, Crane is a pretty difficult spring creek, quite a bit tougher than Little Piney, Mill and the other Gasconade valley trout creeks that I spend most of my time on. I need to get down there sometime soon and see if my wild trout fishing techniques that I've learned on those creeks is adequate for tougher water.

So did I. When I saw the name of the thread, I was expecting to see a regular knock-down drag-out. But thanks for the report. I enjoyed it.

I'm not familiar with Crane itself, but I fish a lot of similar streams, and generally in faster deeper water I'll just add split shot as opposed to going to a heavier fly. I find on those little wild trout creeks, the bigger, heavier flies generally cut down pretty heavily into the numbers of fish you catch. So I find its often better to use something like a #16 Hare's Ear with a split shot or two than to go to something like a conehead woolly-but I've never fished Crane and it may be different there.