Ozark Sweetwater

Caught on a double deceiver yesterday. It came to the net fairly easy according to Brock.

You pick the words. My friend and fellow guide Brock ,with a beast he put his client on. 36.5 with 24in girth in 25mph wind and bluebird skies, go figure.

Flood gates are closed but they are running water through the conduit at the same CFS. (7200CFS this morning) Total flow is 30817CFS. I wouldn't look for the flows to slow down until they get below top of power pool.(659) I'm thinking they will want to get it in the 650 range before they back it off, to be ready for any spring rain. Then again, you never know what they're going to do. The streamer bite has started to pick up a little. Especially in the late afternoon to dark. On cloudy overcast days, concentrate on the hard banks, hitting the small pockets of slack water. On sunny days try hitting the flooded grass and shallow inside bends.

Gates opened up a little more today.

I can't say tearing them up but some nice fish have been caught. The streamer bite has been hit and miss. There has been a lot of boats on the water doing the same thing and hitting the same spots so, I think that has affected the fishing some. Persistance has been the key. Get out early and stay late. Most of the eats have come within 1 or 2 ft of the bank. Weighted streamers thrown into little slack pockets along the banks have been producing for me lately.

I don't think they're going to close them anytime soon. Word is that they are opening more gates today or tomorrow. I believe it's going to be the equivalent of another gate. Which will bring the total flows up to the equivalent of 11 gates. The river is and still will be fishable . You have to hit the slack water and flooded grass and water on the inside bends. I have seen quite a few wade fisherman at White Hole, Wildcat Shoals etc nymphing with some decent success.

It's tempting, but doesn't go to far in paying for the new motor.

I have a 2000 Yamaha 4 Stroke 15HP short shaft for sale. Low hours and in great condition. New carb kit installed last year. $1500.00 Send a pm or an email to jeff@ozarksweetwater.com

Currently we are sitting 13 ft above power pool. I would expect generation over the weekend. Probably 2-3 units. I would try the streamer tip on the 7 wt and bang the banks with streamers. With the 5 wt try some nymphing with a San Juan worm or egg , midges and caddis pupae. Hoppers are starting to show up so if there is at least 2 units running try throwing some hoppers right along the bank.

Are you talking about Wrench or the walleye? Haha!

Here's a few of mine...

Trout will thin out below Mountain Creek, I've caught trout lower but very few and far between

Douglas is a new company started by Jim Murphy. Murphy started Redington and then went to Hardy and now has started Douglas.

I like it, watching Amy catch fish, is a whole lot better than watching you.

A used one is going to be very hard to find however, I could sell you me demo. Just give me a shout.

As Wrench and Wayne mentioned, I'm the rep for Towee for Missouri and Arkansas. I would be happy to talk to you about the boat and take you out in it , if you would like. Please give me a shout. All of my contact info is on my website. www.ozarksweetwater.com

I know some people who were at the auction. He is supposedly going to keep it as a campground and not raise lot rent etc. From what I understand the consensus is, that a lot of promises were made but it's a wait and see deal.

The Landing! Give Justin a call.

That makes sense to me and I do agree on the canoe rental gig for sure. I've always heard gripes but it was always regarding Bennett and not Roaring River, so I was just wondering.

Not really, but I have seen people griping about him and I just never understood the reasoning behind it. I don't have feelings either way, I was just wondering. My family has had a place down there for years but the only time I fish Bennett is a couple of times a year with my FIL and maybe once or twice during C&R season. I do spend a lot of time on the river guiding and just fishing for fun. I have met Jim a couple times but I do not know him well. I know that he runs Bennett and Roaring River and that he owns Bennett Springs Inn, but that's the extent of what I know of him. As far as I can tell he's a business man working to make a living. I could completely be wrong and I'm not trying to argue one way or the other, just curious. I've heard people say that he's to blame for the size of fish, changes in the regs of the different zones, etc. I've never understood that argument because he has no control over any of that. .

Just out of curiousity, what's the issue with J.R ?

No problem.

When clients ask, what is the best month for big fish? The answer is February, for two reasons... 1. The browns are coming off the redds and are fairly aggressive 2. You have the best chance at consistent higher flows due to power demands from the cold. This year I believe they will be off the beds a little early because the spawn started a little earlier this year. The browns spawn throughout the river so they will be around. Just remember that opening day is the 1st of Feb, so if it isn't insanely cold , there will be a lot of traffic on the river. If it's wadeable water and not too cold, it will be a complete zoo by the dam and around Rim and Wildcat for sure. Cotter to Rim is a good float but don't discount Wildcat to Cotter, Rim to Buffalo City, or the Dam to Wildcat. If the flows are up and you are streamer fishing, you will cover a lot of water fairly quick. Covering the sink tip question, I will always use some kind of sinking line or sink tip line. I prefer the SA Streamer Express or the Rio Outbound Short, anywhere between 200 grains all the way up to 500 grain.I typically will only use unweighted flies unless the fish are very sluggish, then I will use a weighted fly to jig it around the structure or to get the fly down in very high flows. (20,000 and above) My go to rod is a 9ft 8wt for the majority of my streamer fishing. It makes throwing big flies all day a lot easier. Now in regards to what flies to use, the lower the flows, the smaller the flies. On 3-4 units and up most of what I'm throwing are 4-7in articulated stuff. Double Deceivers, Drunk and Disorderly, Sex Dungeons, Zoo Cougars etc. The Zoo Cougars will always pull fish, no matter the flows. They won't all be browns because the bows and cutties will chase and eat them as well. The leader to use for these is just a 3-4ft piece of 10-20lb flouro. Vary your retrieve and see how the fish react. Sometimes you can't strip it fast enough for them, other times that want lots of pauses. You just never know and it can vary hour to hour. When it comes to streamer fishing, you have to get into the mindset that ,I may not catch a fish all day but you never know when that fish of a lifetime is coming. An easy way to keep yourself from giving up is to only bring streamer gear in the boat. That way you can't give up to quick and pick up the nymph rod and start staring at indicators. LOL Good luck and if you have any questions, give me a shout. If you're interested, Dally's Streamerfest is going on Jan 31. His shop will be full of streamer junkies tying flies and talking techniques. Brian Wise, myself, Alex Lafkas, Chad Johnson, Mike Schmidt, Chris Willen and more will be there. It's a good time and Matt Tucker will be there cooking BBQ.

Mine are in the mail. Sorry for the delay.

Kind of forgot about this... Sorry, I will get them in the mail on Wednesday. Once again, sorry for the delay.