Springfield NewsLeader

[Phil Lilley]

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...EWS01/603020360

Fishing tradition resumes with a blast

Eager anglers line up shoulder to shoulder as trout season begins.

By Steve Brigman

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-LEADER

ROARING RIVER STATE PARK — As the first blush of dawn began to paint the eastern sky, rods bent and fish leapt. All was well with the Missouri trout-fishing nation.

It was 6:30 a.m. when horns sounded at the state's four trout parks, ushering in Wednesday's opener. The anglers stood shoulder to shoulder, representing all ages and skill levels, eager for that bite from the big one.

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Kenny Sharon of Diamond got such a bite.

"He's going on the wall," Sharon said of his 3 1/2-pound rainbow. "I told the guy who showed me how to catch it that I would name it after him ... Terry."

The presence of Terry on the walls of the Sharon residence is likely to urge Kenny and his 14-year-old daughter, Cassie, back for their third opening day. After all, it not only means a day of fishing, but permission to skip school. Cassie wasn't at all worried that her teachers might read in the newspaper of her angling expedition.

"A lot of them skip to go fishing, too," she explained.

Perhaps the Sharons would make opening day a tradition, as Fred and Misty Butler had with their family. Fred was fishing his 13th opening day and had Blake, 8, and Miranda, 9, along on their third. Two-year-old Dylan, who sat in his mother's lap, will have some catching up to do.

"It's a good tradition to get started so that I know when they grow up at least one day a year they will hook back up with Dad," Butler quipped.

For many present, fishing was but a small part of the day. The camaraderie, carnival atmosphere and just getting outdoors were more important issues.

"You are around a lot of people who would like to catch fish, but that is not their main objective," said Anne Tunnell of Springfield. "If you come down and you don't catch fish, you are only missing the icing; you've got the cake."

No lack of icing for Miranda Butler, who in her three years of attending has developed into quite an angler.

"This is the third year that she has out-fished all of us," her father said. "I don't know if she is the best fisherman, but she is the luckiest."

Miranda may just end up like Linda Redford, who was sitting on a nearby bench with a friend. Redford will be fishing on this year's professional Women's Bassmaster Tour. Though the Blue Eye angler is a bass fishing specialist, she is sure to make the trout opener each year.

Still others stood in the shade and shared stories about the big one that got away.

"It hit, and I was letting it play," Tunnell told friends. "Then it tail walked and said, 'not this time.' But I've got four pretty good ones."

Some didn't even fish. Connie Adamson of Monett held the leash of her 10-month-old poodle, Mickey, as her son and his friends fished.

"It's his first fishing trip," Connie joked about her pooch. "He hasn't caught anything, but he is having a good time."

Groups of thickly clad figures huddled around campfire barrels as in the past were not part of this year's opening day. The record warm temperature prompted many to wear shorts.

"Usually you want to catch your fish and hurry to go get some coffee," Redford said. "But today I thought I would just stay and see who is catching what."

Also different this year, the Roaring River had a bit of new look.

"Man, you come to this place this year and it's like, 'I don't know if I've been here before,'" Redford said. "With all the improvements, it's really wonderful."

New walkways and rails have also been added to help handicapped and other people access various sections of the stream.

By 9 a.m., bumper-to-bumper traffic wound through the park, fishermen with limits headed for a late breakfast and fish bound for the skillet. Still, the banks were lined with hopeful anglers.

"At midnight we had about 1,100 tags sold, and typically we'll double that," Badgley said. "This morning at the buzzer we had 1,600 sold, so we will probably have 2,200 to 2,400 throughout the day."

Between 4,000 and 4,500 fish were released into the stream from the hatchery for opening day, including 50 "lunkers" of at least three pounds.

"There are some out there that are quite bit larger than that," Badgley said. "Of course, some have made it through the catch-and-release season. There are definitely some fish that are over 10 pounds in the river right now."

The trout season runs until Oct. 31. Fish are restocked at a rate of 2.5 fish per tag sold on the previous day.

"You can enjoy your time and have a real lot of fun," Blake Butler said. "You see a lot of people here, and you get to catch fish."