jah

Hoping and praying for the best for you and your family. Stay safe....

I was scheduled to go down Saturday with a buddy of mine, but I checked the gauge first and saw it over 3,000 cfs at 4 am . I called down there to see if it was flooded in the park and the lady told me they evacuated the campground Friday and weren't allowing any camping Saturday. She said that it was "back in its banks" Saturday morning, but that was before the gauge shot up again. Crazy! Hope everyone made it out too....scary. Jim

Gentlemen- I am a trout fisherman who hates the taste of trout. The streams may also be blown out this weekend, and I have been given a free pass by my wife to fish. I would love to catch a mess of crappie to filet for the family, but I have no boat nor any interest in renting a boat. Where is the best place I can go to catch a limit of decent sized crappie that I can filet? Jigs or minnows? I live in the St. Louis area, so any lake in the area is fine for me. Thanks in advance for any and all help!! Jim

Nice job Gavin! Nothing like making memories with the family, rain or shine....leave some fish in there for me. I'm coming down tomorrow...

I believe that if someone interferes or harasses with a person fishing within the banks of a stream or river that has been accessed in any legal manner, including but not limited to a public access administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation, then the harasser/interferer should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The state of Missouri has laws in place to keep this from happening and yet it still happens all the time. The only way to stop this type of harassment and intimidation is to punish the law breakers. This stream, Shoal Creek, has obviously been deemed navigable by someone in the higher powers of the states government, or the MDC would not have put a public boat launch on the stream in order for the public to navigate it. I, Jim Hermann, a resident and taxpayer of the state of Missouri, demand that something be done in order to correct this wrong doing and to insure that it does not happen again.

Awesome report again!

How many of you guys use florocarbon on the Current River? Do you honestly think it makes a difference? If you do, I'll kep using it. But man, it's freaking expensive. I have been using it for years, but with two little girls now, the budget has been shifted to diapers and wipes. So...is it a waste of money or not? Thanks in advance for your opinions (please say it makes no difference---my wife will thank you!) Jim

Exactly! Well stated! I agree with Gavin. He didn't say people could NOT catch big browns---he said that it would be by accident for many. I fish the River once a month at least, and I include myself in this group, and I'm not ashamed. If I do catch a big brown on the Current (and I have a few 4 pounders, which is big for me), it's just icing on the cake. I drive 2+ hours to enjoy a beautiful river and to catch as many fish as possible. Targeting big browns doesn't help me catch as many fish as possible, so if I do get one, it is by chance, just as Gavin said. I use egg patterns a lot, and not many big browns fall for them. The majority of the people that I speak to on the river focus on quantity, not quality. That doesn't equate to big browns in most situations. What a great river, though!

Awesome fish!!

I don't keep fish usually, but my mom has been begging me for some trout. I'll remember not to post pictures when I fish in Montauk in the coming weeks, because, gasp, I'm going to keep legal fish for her. Lighten up, Francis! (to steal a line from Stripes.) Great report, great fish, and I hope he/she tasted good.

awesome...I fell for this hook, line and sinker...I admit it!

I stand corrected! I was off by a few 'teenths' of an ounce! Jim

Al- What color LC jerkbaits do you think are best for trout? Thanks in advance! Jim

I would try the maribou jig route. Tie on a 1/8 oz maribou jig, cast it out, let it sink, and then "jig" it up and down on the retrieve. AKA FishinCricket Method. Also, buy some small crawdad colored crankbaits, throw them out there and vary your retrieve until they hit.

Thanks Gavin! And it is my first striped shiner to boot....

Thanks for all the well-wishes fellas. As most of you know there's nothing like being a dad. Craig and Tom at Hargroves have a pink flyrod that I'll be buying in the near future---actually I'll be buying two. One for my wife, who loves fly-fishing, and one for my 3 1/2 year old who loves to go up to Hargroves with me. She saw the rod case and begged me to buy it-- Back to the fishing report----no caddis that I saw. I saw tons of midge clusters (at least I think they were midge clusters---I'm not that great with insects yet). Not one single fish rose the entire day I was there---except to take a peek at my pink thingamabobber.

I was lucky enough to fish the Current twice during my spring break. That was not expected seeing as how we have a 5 week old baby girl. My wife knew I needed to get out, so I took advantage of her generosity. It was the day after the massive cold front, and I had been virtually skunked 5 days before at Baptist Camp. I caught 2 stockers in the high water 5 days earlier. The water was still up, but had dropped considerably. My goal today was two-fold. Immediately get into fish and make the drive worthwhile. Then, after catching a few, target big browns. I succeeded with goal number 1, but failed with goal number 2. I used an olive wooly and an egg dropper and immediately got into fish at the access hole at Baptist. They struck hard, and I caught equal numbers on both flies. The fish that hit the wooly slammed it, and I used it only because so many of you offered me tips on my last post...so thanks. I brought about 20 or so to hand in about 4 hours, and I missed about 10-15 more. This was remakably different from my previous trip. When I was targeting browns, I tied on big streamers and dropped a Don's crawdad off the bottom. The rainbows slammed the crawdad, but I could not get any browns to hit. I was purely "chucking and ducking" for the brownies, but to no avail. Anyone know what kind of fish this is in my picture below (the one with the egg in its mouth).

I failed to mention that I did use an olive wooly as my point fly as well. I'm just not a good streamer fisherman. In all fairness, I've never really tried. Is it more effective to strip them or dead drift under an indicator? Thanks for the advice! Jim

I was able to take advantage of my first day of spring break by heading down to Baptist Camp today. The water was up about a foot or so and dingy....not muddy, just very off color. And it was MOVING! I was able to wade fish all of my normal spots, but I know that stretch pretty well, so be careful if you don't know it well. I caught 2 fish in the 3 hours that I fished, both stocker rainbows. Both came on an egg pattern called a "hot egg" from Big Y Fly company. Man, it was tough. Here was my setup and the flies I used: 7 ft furled leader, 3 feet of 4x floro to my lead fly (stones, eggs, princes, Pat's, Circus Caddis,) 5x floro tied to the bend of my lead fly and I used san Juan worms, hot egg, soft hackle, psycho prince, caddis larva) There were loads of caddis coming off at about 1 pm, but I didn't see a single mayfly. I just couldn't get my rig down quickly enough because the water was moving so fast. Is it dumb to use big stone fly patterns at this time of year? Would they even be interested? I ususally do great on them in spring and summer, but are they not winter flies? They were the only thing heavy enough to get my rig down, though.

Great topic as I was just thinking about posting this same question. I live right by Tilles Park in Brentwood. Think there are any trout left in there? I'd also LOVE to bank fish for crappie. Where is the best place? As far as your post for bluegill, I love Lake 27 at Busch wildlife for that. Every cast will get one for you. They are small, though.

I'm interested only in that I am pulling for Lucas May, the catcher. He went to Parkway West, where I coach baseball and teach, and he's a great guy from a great family. He's my absolute only interest in the Royals.

Is the advice of "staying out of the water" applicable only to Taney? I remember fishing Taney and the trout are right at your waders, but when I fish the Current, they NEVER do this. Why do they do this at one stream and not another? I've always been confused by that, so I'd love to know why!

Thanks for the sight fishing tips!

Bman- Nice job! I read a lot of your posts, and it seems like you sight fish a ton. Can you share any tips with me? I rarely, if ever, sight fish. I think it's mostly because I don't know how. I'm sure it's not as easy as "just look for them". Do you sit and watch one spot for a while? Or is it really as simple as "just looking for them"? Thanks! Jim

Thanks Leonard! This is how I will spend my snow day today! Thanks to all who replied....