Quick Question

[fisher19]

I might be heading down tommorow and didn't know if you could use roostertails and jigs. I will mostly be fishing with flies but just wondering if it would be worth taking a spinning reel or not. Any help is apperciated thanks! Good luck fishing.

[timsfly]

I always pack one, might not need it but I always have one handy.

It might be useful at crane but you'll need a short spinning rod, under

5' is best or at least for me it is, if you are very careful, I'm

sure you could get by with a longer spinning rod.

[jefly77]

Roostertails and all other hard lures are legal on Crane and I do quite well with them. I use a 7' spinning rod and I manage just fine on Crane, although there are times when it is hard to cast that long rod. Good luck!!

[fisher19]

Well I made the trip for a couple of hours yesterday and it was a blast. I started out with the fly rod and had some hits, just to slow on the hook set. I ended up catching one that was about 8 inches. So then i swithced to the spinning rod and caught 4 in about thirty minutes. Most of the time they would hit the jig as it was falling. Two of them were rainbows about the same size as the first one, then i caught some wierd looking fish that i have no clue what it was. It looked like a sucker but had a mouth like a catfish, not sure what it was though. Then i caught a fish that i would never have guessed to have caught in any creek in missouri, it was a muskie about 12 inches long. I couldn't believe it until it opened its mouth and i saw all the teeth inside. Anyways it was fun to catch, it put up a pretty good fight. Anybody else caught or seen one in there? Thanks for the advice on the spinning rod, it was well worth it to take it along. Can't wait to make it down there again.

[mhall02]

No muskie in Crane, but there are pickerel, kinda like a mini muskie. Check out the link below:

http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/mofwis...aspx?id=0100123

They don't get much bigger than 12-18 inches. The other fish was probabally a creek chub or one of the other chubs.

http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/mofwis...aspx?id=0100029

Sounds like you had a good time!!

[redbird]

Where did you fish? I was down yesterday too, but I started in the park and worked my way upstream until lunch. After lunch I fished down from the ball fields for a couple of hours. It was my first time down and I got the big skunk, but saw lots of fish and had a great time trying to sneak up on them. They sure are spooky. I wish I would have gone with the spinning rod and not worried about the fly on my first trip. Live and learn. What a pretty creek!

[fisher19]

The muskie looking fish was the pickerel, I talked to a buddy today and he told me thats probably what it was and the other one was a chub, but i don't know what kind.

Sorry that you got skunked redbird. I stayed in the park area the whole time and went down under the bridge a little ways but didn't catch anyting down there. I think I might have saw you car what were you driving? Ya it was a pretty good time, at least for my first time anyways. Can't wait to go back and catch a big one!

[redbird]

I drove a white 99 cutlass. When I started in the park I worked my way upstream away from the bridge, then after lunch I went to the far end of the ball fields before getting on the creek. I was hoping with the approaching weather they might be a little more turned on than they were, but maybe it was my fly tying skills. I am a stubborn one though, and will probably continue to force feed them my flies until I can get one to eat one. Then again I could pick a less wary group of subjects to try them on too. Im thinking of trying out Roaring River the week after next with my son.

[fisher19]

Ya, I saw you I was in the white dodge parked down by the park. They say they are catching alot at roaring river, but they are starting to get line spooky so use a 6x or 7x tippet and you should catch them. Some of them are really good size ones too. Good luck.