Troutnut69

Been reading reports on here and waiting for an opportunity to make it down that way to give it a go. Finally got the chance on Wednesday so Joe and I headed South to see what trouble we could get ourselves into. Didn't arrive early enough considering the calm , sunny day on tap but still managed to catch plenty of fish. Only managed two hybrids and might have lost another one , but considering that I was handicapped with the flyrod (not to mention my lack of fishing skills) I didn't think I did too bad. Caught quite a few small crappie , whites and a few small drum just for an added bonus. I don't think any of the crappie were keepers , or if they were just barely , I let everything go anyway so it didn't matter to me. I enjoyed it , wish it would have been cloudy for maybe a little better action on the hybrids but you take what you can get. Look forward to giving it another shot next week if all works out. TR with pics on the blog.....Jeff http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Man , that sure makes a guy wanna go fishing! Nice story and some beautiful pics...

Got out this past weekend and chased a few carp in between yardwork and chores around the house. The fish are pretty much all over the board right now as far as the spawn. I've seen some areas with mostly spawners and other bodies of water where they havn't started yet or are already almost done. This up and down weather pattern has the fish as confused as I am I think. Managed to find a few willing players who wanted to eat instead of procreate , nothing huge but enough action to keep me sane until the next trip.... http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Sounds like a job for an extendable tree trimmer!!

Thanks for the comments guys , it was definitely a great time and I can't thank Justin enough for putting us all up for the weekend. I agree Sean..I'd love to hit the water with you sometime.

Got a few pics up on the blog from the big weekend down at Justin's. It was a great time as everyone has already said in the last post. For those of you that didn't make it , the pictures don't do the weekend justice but you'll get the basic idea. We didn't land anything to compare to Chances big fish but we caught lots of fish and had a great time. It was good to meet those of you from the board that did make it down. http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Beautiful fish man!!

As everyone else has said , had a great time Justin. Really appreciate all of the work you did to make this happen (I know it was supposed to be a weekend off for you but everytime I turned around you were working at something!). Already looking forward to the 2nd annual Sunburst Ranch DriftBoat Conclave.

Jason hit the nail on the head...find the feeding fish and then don't worry so much about what fly you're using. Everyone has a favorite and they all work at different times and different situations. Presentation is KEY...A carp in shallow clear water won't hang around if you make an errant cast like a trout might , he's gonna be in the next county before you know what happened and he's probably taking most of his buddies with him. Check out this guy's blog for fly pattern ideas , you can find some of his own creations plus others from some of the best carp fly fishermen out there. http://www.flycarpin.com/ My favorite carp fly is a pattern along the lines of a backstabber (Jay Zimmermann carp fly). I like to tie them in olives and blacks with small red dumbbell eyes and some rubber legs as well. Good movement , hook point up , soft landing , proper sink rate for depth of water you're fishing...these are the things you want to consider when choosing the right fly for the situation. Jeff

I was thinking about bringing some bacon wrapped asparagus for the grill on Friday for a side and a couple dozen homemade hot wings we can throw on the grill for an appetizer.<br />Since we have a kitchen to use I can throw together a batch of cheesy corn and maybe some cornbread to go with the fish on Sat night.<br />Justin , if you know of anything else you need just let me know. I'll be hitting Sam's Club and the grocery store this afternoon so I can pick up anything you want. How about paper plates and utensils so we don't have to mess with dishes? Just say the word....Jeff

Sounds good...I'll bring along something to throw in the mix as well. Looking forward to it. Jeff

Justin...Where's this place at in relation to your campground? This isn't the place with the new concrete takeout that I've floated to a couple of times is it? I plan on being there Friday morning sometime and spending some time fishing. Do you guys have any plans for evening meals or is it just fend for yourself each night? Thanks.....Jeff

Not sure how many folks on here are really interested in flyfishing for carp , but it's become somewhat of an addiction for me lately. It's still early so I've been doing lots of on the water scouting with some occassional success mixed in from time to time. Got out the other day for a couple hours and found a few willing players...hard to beat a 10+ on the five weight (when you live in Kansas anyway!). http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Nice Fish!!

After being stuck at home dealing with a vehicle breakdown the past couple weeks I finally got to hit the road last week. The forecast just looked too inviting to stay home AGAIN so Joe and I packed up the truck and headed out Wednesday morning. Our first stop was one of the Blue Ribbon streams that I hadn't fished in way too long. I have to say it's pretty hard to beat the scenario of a man..a dog..a small trout stream..and a sixty degree sunny day. Needless to say we enjoyed ourselves. After finishing up a day there we headed over to Taneycomo to pitch a tent for the night and hopefully fish the ditch on Thursday. For once the generation cooperated and we got low water and excellent fishing. Fishing a midge with a small scud dropper it was pretty much a fish every drift for most of the day , the fishing was just stupid easy. Nothing of any size but a very enjoyable time on the water nonetheless. Full TR on the Blog...Jeff http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Hey Brian...I'm planning on coming down Thursday night and crashing somewhere so I can get a float in on Friday. I'll have my pontoon but would be more than happy to hop in a drifter for the day (I'm not too bad on the sticks) if you're looking for some company. Shoot me a PM if you're interested and we'll work out the details....Jeff

I really need to get away but am questioning whether it's worth my time to head South for a daytrip. We've got close to a foot of snow on the ground here in KC and I was wondering what the conditions are like around the Springfield/Branson area? Are the smaller creeks in the area blown out from recent rain and snow events or are they still fishable? Thinking seriously about hopping in the truck in the morning and heading that way depending on what I hear. Thanks for any info.....Jeff

Last time I camped down at the State Park (in December) I had three horses wandering around the campground each morning , the same black one you saw with two others. I was the only person in the campground so there wasn't anyone around to bother them but I just figured they were owned by a local park ranger or someone in the area. I did get a couple of pics before they headed out but not sure if I saved em.

"do worse at work and you'll have more time to fish"...that's a sig line right there if I've ever seen one!! I had to laugh.

I'm gonna try to make this shindig if you got room for a worthless Kansan! I'll bring down my pontoon but would be happy to spend some time on the oars if someones got room in their drifter. Sounds like a great time Justin , it's been too long since I've been down your way.

With a couple of nice days on tap to end last week I decided to begin a quest to end the carp drought of 2013. Joe and I headed out Thursday afternoon to check out a little creek and finished up the two day quest on Friday afternoon at a small county lake. I wish I could say that the fish were everywhere and the fishing was easy , but they weren't and it wasn't. With a little persistence and a lot of luck I found a few willing players and even managed to get a couple of them to smile for the camera before setting them on their way. For me it was a great start to the 2013 carp on the fly season...Jeff Full TR on the blog http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Made my annual trip down to BSSP for the opening day festivities last week. I gave up fishing the park several years ago but still enjoy the company and there's enough other water close by that I can always find a spot to get my boots wet. Made a couple of floats on the Niangua and visited one of Missouri's Blue Ribbon trout streams during the four day trip , all in all a good time was had by all. Full TR on the blog....Jeff http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

I think in certain instances the legs help draw some attention , at other times I don't think it makes a bit of difference. I do like that color combo and the same fly with fire/tiger legs. I've had good luck in off-colored water with both of them.

I've seen it both ways. Sometimes they inhale the first thing you plop down in front of their nose like they havn't eaten in a week...and other times they can be the most discriminating species I've ever had the pleasure to chase. Just ask anyone who's done much flyrodding for carp and you're sure to hear about both kinds of days in equal measure.

I'm pretty sure the warming water in the backs of that shallow cove is what got them active. Like I said , the very next day under cloudy, cooler conditions there wasn't a fish to be seen. I know they were eating something because I watched several fish tailing around in the mud , now I just have to figure out exactly what and try and match it with my fly for next time. You can bet I'll be getting out and checking on the situation a little more often on those warm sunny days.