jgentile

This guy is a long way from home. I caught him about 3 miles upstream of Huzzah Valley Resort, drifting a pink chenille "senko" streamer. This little rainbow came complete with claw/talon marks on its' back. And I thought that I would take a break from trout fishing. What was I thinking? Joe

I will wade the upper Current at a discharge rate of 300 cfs tops as long as I have a wading staff. At that rate the river is pushing pretty hard.

The title says it all. I was a little concerned about the water since we had those storms come through on Monday, but I called HV and they told me barring a major storm on Tuesday that everything would be fine. We loaded up and hit the road needing to pick up some new line for CJ's spinning reel. We stopped at the Wal-Mart in Sullivan and to my surprise their little fishing department had EVERYTHING on the list and then some! That place is loaded properly and even have a few necessary goodies for the fly fisherman. Back to fishing. We arrived at HV around 0745 and by 0815 were on the bus with 6 other fisherman By 0845 we were at Harpers ready to float. We decided to be the last in and gave everyone a good lead. Once we started fishing it was game on. Lots and lots of dinky smallies were the rule of the day, but they are fun nonetheless. Here is a pic of my baby boy with one of the many. The baits of the day were the Rebel deep craw (courtesy of the aforementioned Wal-Mart) small Rapalas and my size 6 supper bugger in olive. I was hoping that the fluke bite was going to work because I tied up this baby. Maybe next week It has neutral bouyancy and sinks/suspends just under the surface. Twitch it and it comes alive. I will have to try it out again when the bass come off the beds. All in all we caught a ton of fish and not only smallmouth bass. I believe we caught 10 different species of fish. Smallmouth, Largemouth, Pumpkinseed, Longear Sunfish, Bluegill, Goggle Eye, Chubs, Suckers and a variety of what I will call minnows. I am so looking forward to another trip down this beautiful little Ozark creek. We were so surprised that the water and beaches were so clean and devoid of trash/litter. Huzzah Valley is a monster operation and that place must be packed on the weekend. As I mentioned earlier, we were one of four canoes that put in around 0845. We had two more come up from behind us later in the day and a flotilla of canoes and kayaks as well. Maybe it is just early in the season. I think I will pass on any weekend floats here. But next Wednesday is looking pretty darn good! Tight lines for now. Joe

Outstanding! Not much more I can say. I must get up to WI myself, but I am afraid I won't return.

Thank you all for responses. PM sent to Corey. My son works out in the Charles so he is being dispatched to Bass Pro for the spinnerbaits. Should he pass on the soft plastics? Joe

My son and I are going to do some smallie fishing next Wednesday and are looking for a decent stretch to fish. I think it would be nice to grab a canoe for the day. We would like to spend more time fishing than paddling so I was looking at possibly Harpers to Huzzah Valley but neither of us have fished or floated this river. Even though we are going out on a Wednesday prior to Memorial Day I still want to avoid the aluminum hatch as much as possible. I would appreciate any suggestions for: Which stretch of river to float Canoe outfitter Tackle tips: I will be taking a fly rod. I have 2-6 wts available depending on what I want to throw. My Son will most likely take a spinning rig. I assume the usual culprits of Raps, Rebel craws, in line spinners should produce. If there are any suggestions for soft plastic baits please chime in with those as well. As always, I appreciate the input from this community. Best always, Joe

Found!!!!! Sam Potter retrieved the rod today and it will be re-united with the family shortly. Thank you all for taking the time to read this note. Have a great weekend all! Joe

Wednesday May 08, 2013. My son was rescuing his girlfriend as she was going for a dunking downstream of Baptist, just upstream of the "S" turn. He lost his rig. Sage Z-Axis 5wt, 9', 4pc. Ross Fly Start 2 reel loaded with Rio Gold. We would love it back if found. Thank you. Joe

Thinking about taking a break this week from the trout to chase some smallies. Looking for a short one day float that consists of more fishing, wading then floating. Are any of the rivers in good enough condition to safely float and wade right now? The recent rains have the Meramec and I would suspect its' tributaries blown out. I should say that I will be coming out from St. Louis. Any advice on which water to hit and the name of a reputable outfitter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance. Joe

dirt... thanks for starting this thread... ness, fly, buzz.... thanks for the tips. I am headed to BSC tomorrow. I plan to park close to the N bridge/overpass and work my way upstream from there. I've been practicing my bow and arrow cast and hope to keep my waders as dry as possible tomorrow to get into some of those wild 'bows.

I haven't fished from TV to Baptist this year, but I suspect with the recent rains you should not be dragging much if at all. From Baptist to Ashley Creek the river looks good, real good. I have been fishing that stretch water all January through Feb and last week as well. I suspect it is clear as well, but I have not been downstream of Ashley Creek yet this year.

You are going to need some waders to cover any ground. Access points would be the park/spring, cardiac, suicide hill then Scotts Ford. I do not suggest trying to wade too far downstream of Suicide. Always check the water levels before heading out. The Meramec rises quicker than most

It's gettin cold and I wanted to hear from anyone who has been out lately and had success. Is it midge time or is nymphing getting it done? deep pools or moving water? My wife wants me out of the house so she can get some holiday stuff done and has basically told me to go fishing! All the best, Joe

#6 Jimmy Rubber Legs is my favorite. I tie them up with with Danville "Coffee & Black" variegated chenille. I'm not entirely sure that it really is a good impression of a stonefly nymph, but it is an extremely effective pattern.

I have never seen soooooo many folks on the river before. However the Troutbust is and was a great time. Jim is the consumate host and his food hits the spot after a long day on the river. I only netted three fish, two brown's (one very close to 18") and a decent bow. All caught tightline drifting a large stonefly imitation. My son caught four fish, including an 19" rainbow. He was chunking slumpbusters, crayfish patterns and leaches. It was slow fishing but a great weekend.

Caddis hatch would be nice. I was at Baptist two weeks ago. Still seeing trico's in the morning. I was catching fish on a large brown Klinkhammer with a midge dropper. I/we will be down this weekend as well for the Trout Bust. Friday through Sunday for me. It is supposed to get real cold Friday night.

I feel comfortable echoing what Gavin said. Presentation, presentation, presentation is paramount to success. One good drift beats ten lousy ones. Set your indicator too short or too deep and you will go right through feeding fish. I personally like Pheasant tail nymph varieties and variation as well as hares ear nymphs along with biot nymphs. Bead headed or not, in a variety of sizes tied on a variety of hooks. If it looks "buggy" that dog will hunt. Scuds are always a nice to have again in a variety of colors (olive, orange, tan/olive are my favs). I also like to tie on an emerging midge type of pattern called the "dandelion". It is a midge with a long post and parachute that suspends in the film. It is easy to see and it works. This fly served me well this past tuesday, upstream from Baptist. I was drifting it by rising browns and had more than a handful of hook ups with this fly.

That's what you guys were doing. I was out with my youngest son on Tues and saw Sam's truck at Baptist and the MDC truck. Nice to hear the river is in good shape. I'm glad we didn't run into you all while you were discharging electricity, lol!

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to film, edit and present on this forum!!!

Thinking about heading out tomorrow or Wednesday. With the recent cooler temps and rain I was wondering if I would see a drastic change in the feeding patterns. I'm thinking about bringing out the streamer rod and pounding the banks with Slump Busters and other assorted, larger streamers. Any input is welcome and appreciated. Joe

Grats Shooter! There is only one thing better than catching a fish on a fly and that is catching one on a fly you tied yourself. Me thinks a vise and some mats are in your future this Winter. Tight lines, Joe

Thank all. I appreciate the input. Joe

I concur with Mike. The only thing I would add is that there is or at least was a good and extended streamer bit for me as the Trico hatch started to develop. I have been throwing a large size 6 Jimmy Rubber Legs/Stonefly nymph and swinging it off the banks. Have fun. Joe

Hello all, With fall coming I am going to start fishing BSC as it is sooooooooo much closer to home than the Current. I've been there once with a spinning rig many years ago (no luck) so I have a pretty good idea of how small this water is. This said, my only visit was without a fly rig so I need some suggestions. I do not want to take my 9'0 5 weight and the 6 weight streamer rod is out of the picture as well. I was looking at a Beaver Meadows 5'0 2 weight as an option. Here is a link: http://www.jprossfly.../beaver_meadow/ Do any of you who regularly fish this water think this is a good option or is it too small. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Tight lines for now! Joe

I dropped into Reed's this past Tuesday. Kelly is really excited about the event and it seems to be gathering a good head of steam. I know that Cookie and more than a few of the Troutbusters will be in attendance. If I can squeeze in the entire weekend or even just Saturday I'll be there as well. Great cause!