Skeeter ZX190

I have Korkers Devils Canyon boots. They have the BOA system and I love them. They have the removable soles so you can have felt (where it's allowed) rubber, or studs. I only use them 20 to 30 times a year. I've heard that the BOA system can fail, or the removable soles can come off, but I've had no problems.

That fish is probably thinking "you got me this time. Next time I break your rod"!

Spent a couple of hours on the Current between Baptist Camp and the Parker Access. Ended up catching 8 on the euro. 4 rainbows and 4 browns. Biggest brown was 16 1/2 (prettiest brown I think I've ever seen) and the biggest rainbow was 15. Most of the fish came on a Pat's rubber legs. I got all of my bites in the fastest water. Weather was beautiful but a bit windy. Water is low and VERY clear.

I didn't spot one in the pictures, but are you selling a rotary vise?

I don't claim to know much about fly fishing but this hopper pattern worked well with a dropper on my recent trip to the Black Hills. It's called a Top Shelf Hopper.

I use an Umpqua U106 hook. It has an extra long shank and a bend in it. From the top of the antenna to the tip of the tails, I'm right at an inch and a half with the size 10 hook.

I go smaller. Size 10 and 12. Black coffee chenille and copper brown sexi-floss legs. I use a 3/16th tungsten bead with some .020 lead wire raps.

Hiked in from the parking area just outside of the gate since they have the campground closed. I started euro nymphing at the beginning of the year and talked my wife into giving it a shot. She's never fly fished so this was entirely new to her. She ended up catching 2 and lost another one. They all came on a Pat's rubber legs (thanks Gavin, you had recommended a pat's to me a couple of years ago). Water is low and very clear. We didn't fish very long but it was a great time.

Might be going up to Buffalo or Sheridan Wyoming next week. Anybody ever fished up there and do you have any recommendations on certain areas or streams to target?

I bet that was a blast on a fly rod.

Is that 2nd fish a white, hybrid, or striper? No broken lines and more of a torpedo shape makes it look more like a striper.

Rik Hafer's book "From Northern California to the Ozarks of Missouri" does a pretty good job of dispelling the idea that Crane Creek still has the original strain of McCloud trout. He has stocking records that show trout were stocked in Crane Creek after shipments of California McClouds had stopped.

With this extreme heat were having, do the blue ribbon streams reach a temperature that could stress the trout or do they have enough spring fed water to keep them in a comfortable position? I've never fished any of them in the summer but was curious since some states implement hoot owl restrictions in the heat of the summer.

So I finished Rik Hafer's book "From Northern California to the Ozarks of Missouri" and in there he mentions that in the late 1800's that brown trout were stocked in Missouri streams but that those endeavors failed and it took some 70 years before the introduction of brown trout into Missouri streams was successful. It's my understanding that the only fishery to have brown trout naturally reproduce is Lake Taneycomo. It is also my understanding that in other streams like the Current River, the brown trout spawn, but the eggs don't survive. Can anybody point me in the direction of published information or studies that detail the history and reasons why brown trout don't naturally reproduce here in Missouri?

I thought maybe you were employing the "Hank Patterson" school of photography! 😀 If you're not familiar with Hank Patterson, look him up on YouTube. Funny funny stuff!

Would it be possible for the COE to get the normal level a lot closer to my house. $4.00 gas is killing me! 😁

I wouldn't know where to start. Are the bass still holding out in deeper water where they were spawning before the lake rose, or are they going to be up in the trees and bushes? I have really enjoyed the challenge of trying this euro-nymphing. I've been to the Current River 5 times since the beginning of February. First time I caught 7 fish. The next trip 5 fish, then 15, then 30, and now this last trip it was 37. I really believe my bass and crappie fishing experience has helped with euro-nymphing. Distinguishing between the subtle differences of a bite or just bouncing along the bottom.

I don't specifically remember seeing Spencer Turner's name but I'm sure it's in there. He is listed in the bibliography referring to several articles, one of which the author accessed on Ozark Anglers!

I did really well, for me anyway. I caught 37. I would say half and half as far rainbows and browns. Nothing bigger than 14 inches. Quite a few in the 7 to 9 inch range. I think they stock it in the spring so I would say most of those smaller fish are from this year's stocking. I'm using a euro rod and I keep it simple. I usually go with two flies. The anchor fly is a size 12 with a tungsten beads and lead wraps. The other fly is usually a size 16 scud or nymph. Pink squirrel, pheasant tail, hare's ear, Pat's rubber legs, etc.

Last Tuesday I went to the Current River. I started at Baptist Camp and headed downstream and then worked my way back to the parking lot. Got back to the parking lot around noon so I stopped to eat a bite before continuing my trek upstream. There was a gentleman there and we talked for quite awhile about the Current River and the other trout streams in Missouri. We talked about MDC's Trout Slam challenge and where we stood in trying to complete it. It was a very enjoyable conversation just talking about trout fishing. We said our goodbyes and I headed upstream. When I got back to my truck about 3:00 pm, there was a book on my windshield. Inside it was signed by the author, so I'm pretty sure I had been talking with the author earlier that day. The book is called "From Northern California to the Ozarks of Missouri, How Rainbow Trout Came to the Show Me State", written by Rik W. Hafer, and published in 2021. I'm halfway done reading it and it is fascinating. To think that trout in Missouri came to be because of an experiment trying to establish pacific salmon in not only Missouri, but many other states east of the Rockies. I was at the right place, at the right time to receive such a blessing. Fishing and a history lesson!

Corps of Engineers is forecasting it to reach 11 feet high in a couple of days. That could change if it rains more tonight.

Put in at 10:00 am at State Park. Headed up the Tebo (barely) and went back in a big creek arm on the north side. Water temps were 59 to 60. Water clarity was probably around 2 feet, so pretty clear for Truman. I brought home 12 crappie (10 males and 2 females). I didn't keep anything under 9 1/2 inches. Biggest was 11 1/2. Caught them all on a 1/16th ounce jig. White, or chartreuse and white. Caught them all in less than 4 or 5 feet of water. Between the crappie (keepers and short fish), the white bass, perch, and bass, I caught around 35 fish total. And it wouldn't be a fishing trip if I didn't catch a drum. Was back at the boat ramp at 2:00 pm.

As is the case with any lake in Kansas, wind, wind, and more wind. Not much to block it out there. Spawn should be over by then unless winter continues to hold on. I would stay on the lower end toward the dam. Milford has a good population of small mouth and walleye. Rocky points and banks.

I didn't see any. The Current received over 3 inches of rain Thursday. It came up fast but has been dropping. More rain and snow in the forecast for this week. I am not familiar enough with the Current to know at what level you can't safely wade. It's running about a foot higher than when I was there on the 8th. It is slowly dropping though.

I need to get down there, but I suppose water temperatures are still down around 40 or lower and I really struggle when they are that low. Plus the wind was pretty strong yesterday in southwest Missouri.