Where Are The Fish?

[ozark trout fisher]

First of all...There are NO native wild trout in MO waters. I believe that there may be some of these fish that were originally STOCKED are naturally reproducing in the streams though.

But, what IRKS me is someone trying to belittle someone for their passion of trout fishing REGARDLESS of what type each person partakes in. I simply pointed out the OPINION that I saw less fish than in the past. NOWHERE... did I ask for a lesson on what type of fishing should be enjoyed by all of us by someones beliefs. Bennett Spring is what it is. I like it just as much as i would like fishing elsewhere. Is it a crime for a person to want to catch more fish???? SHEEEESH

If I didn't know better, I'd say someone is trying to defend someone who's in charge of whats been happening at Bennett with the lack of stocking. People take fish out and they are not putting the amount of fish in that they need to sustain a put and take fishery. If there is such a shortage of fish, why don't they reduce the daily limit to 3 fish then?? I could care less how many they let us keep as long as there is still fish left to be caught. But if people are taking 4 fish out and they are only putting in 2 then it doesn't take an accounting wizard to figure out where its going. The MDC seriously needs to take a second look at how this recovery to the hatcheries is being handled.

I like trout fishing and the comraderie that goes along with the experience at Bennett and the other trout parks. Of course I could always like a little less crowd though just to give people a little more elbow room. When I go fishing, I want to catch fish. I guess theres something wrong with that thought process.

Rich

Like Tgard, I don't really think they should change the trout parks either. I was just saying it would be interesting to see what would happen. And I do like to catch stockie trout, I certainly have nothing against it. As a matter of fact, on Sunday I am, (water conditions willing), going to try to do just that at Montauk. I wasn't belittling anyone I don't think, just saying I prefered the wild fish. You may not, and that's great. A trout fisherman is a trout fisherman, no one kind better than another. If you fish for comradirie, that is a great reason. It may not be the same reason I head out, (although sometimes it is) but it is still a plenty fine reason to go fishing. And I think everyone agrees that when we go fishing, we want to catch fish, so no argument there And no, I don't think there is anything wrong with you thought process. To each his own I say

In the end, I think it would be disastrous to change our trout parks to wild trout streams. Think of how many people would be upset. It would also leave out disabled people, because if I am not mistaken the trout parks are the only trout streams in Missouri with handicapped access. It would also be bad for kids, because trout parks are the best way by most standards in this state to introduce new people to the sport of trout fishing. And last and probably least, it would upset those of us who kinda like to bait fish, because they are most certainly some of the best places in the state for us. Despite what I said earlier, am going to agree NoLuck and say that Missouri already has plenty of wild and trophy trout streams, we probably don't need to switch the trout parks over. Oh, by the way, sorry if I kinda hijacked this thread. It was never my intention, but I do tend to get off topic at times.

[drew03cmc]

OTF, we kind of did hijack it...oh well, it happens.

Now, I want you to think of this. How many fish did the state stock at Bennett before C&R season? Do you figure those fish into the figures the accountant can figure out? Also, how about holdover fish? Are they figured in? No. The stream has many holdover fish every year, but honestly, the park is there for put and take fishing. The parks are great places to take your 1wt fly rod and some 6x tippet. Swing a soft hackle in the riffles in Zone 2 at Bennett and have fun with 10" rainbows.

Maramec, in its current state has no gravel riffles that can support redds. If they refilled it in with gravel, and knocked down those dams, there would be many benefits. Better fly fishing access, more browns in the park, more smallmouth in the park all year, and they could even leave a few pools over a few feet deep for bait slingers to soak bait in.

Roaring River is ideally set up IMO, and with the deep pools, you can soak bait, swing streamers, and fish dries.

[Kyle]

Just got back from Bennett today. I, like many here, am not all that intrestred in fishing the trout parks, but I was taking my girlfriend trout fishing for the first time. I know that putting people on fish is the best way to get them intrestred so what better place that

Bennett because in past years I have had many, if not most, days of 25+ fish. It rained most of the day Saturday and we only fished for a couple of hours. I caught 4 and she caught 1 (which was a very nice 15 incher). We had to work hard for our fish. I agree with some on this post that seem to think that there are less fish in the stream. It is fairly easy to tell when one looks under the bridge in zone 2 or at the granny hole above the dam and there are very few instead of the usual giant black mobs of fish. The parks are a great place to introduce someone to the sport and I agree that the fish numbers should be high. If people catch fish and think they are too small they will throw them back, but it is better for a newbe to catch a bunch of small ones that to only catch one fish all day.

Kyle

[fishinwrench]

According to Weavers report they are only going to stock 12 inchers this year, at a rate of 2 per estimated tag sold. And stocking for all the other trout management areas will be cut WAY back I'm sure.

It would be a good idea to release decent sized fish and only keep the 12inchers if someone wants a few for dinner. Just thinking that those few extra bites aren't worth it during times like this.

[NoLuck]

I was there from about 2:30pm saturday and Sunday till about 2:30pm. I did catch fish but, when I looked around there was a long time between seeing a fish caught. I think I ended up catching close to 15 fish Saturday and maybe a dozen or so Sunday. I didn't get to the stream Sunday till almost 9:00am so I can't blame anyone but myself there. Saturday eve there were some people catching fish. Under the arched bridge is where I saw the most fish of anywhere. I also saw 2 fish in that hole that went close to 10lbs+. There were a number of decent sized fish there but, nothing like the numbers in the past. I couldn't walk the trail in zone 1 because it was closed. I really wanted to walk it to see if there were fish along the bank on the deeper side of the stream.

I also walked through the main hatchery across from the park store to see what was in there. Looked to me like most of the fish in there were really small outside the ones in the weeded up section that looked like a more natural setting for the fish. I believe that that flood that washed out the hatchery really set them back as far as numbers. 2009 will go down in history as a rough year for trout fishing with a healthy stocked stream. What needs to happen is for the people to take this matter into their own hands. People should stop taking as many fish out as they have in the past. I have not taken 1 fish home this year yet. Last year I only took home 15 fish all season. None of those fish were for me.

The only way this is going to get better faster is to stop taking all the fish you are allowed to take out. But, good luck trying to convince people of that.

Rich

[Casey Self]

Me and a couple buddies were there over the weekend. They did seam to cut off hard at a certian point. We still managed to catch a decent number of fish switching our flies very often. Seemed like you would catch 2 fish on one fly then they would completly cut off, switch to somthing else pick up a couple more fish. However after fishing Roaring River the past 3 weeks I was very impressed with the size of the fish at Bennett, We landed several 2 # fish.

[bassfishingmaniac]

I was there weekend before last and fishing was very slow (5 fish on Sat and 2 on Sunday). I have fished Bennett off and on for many years and have always considered anything less than 15 to be a bad day. Locations where I usually see 40 or 50 fish you only see 4 or 5.

So here's my point: Let's keep the quality and numbers of fish up to past standards as it was intended to be. If money is a problem then charge 4 or 5 or 6 bucks a day for the tags and truck the fish in from their other hatcheries (or purchase private) if needed. The $3.00 tag is nothing compared to the gas, lodging, food, tackle, etc it takes to go down to Bennett and not catch fish. I would gladly pay 6.00+ to catch more or bigger fish. Heck, at this point I am not even going to bother going to Bennett till they get it resolved. I'll spend my money going to Taneycomo, Springrise, or the White... or just concentrate on Bass fishing.

[fishinwrench]

Aww c'mon now, don't boycott Bennett. Times like these are when those finely tuned skills you've spent years perfecting come into play. I assure you there are still plenty of fish in there.

[drew03cmc]

I was there weekend before last and fishing was very slow (5 fish on Sat and 2 on Sunday). I have fished Bennett off and on for many years and have always considered anything less than 15 to be a bad day. Locations where I usually see 40 or 50 fish you only see 4 or 5.

So here's my point: Let's keep the quality and numbers of fish up to past standards as it was intended to be. If money is a problem then charge 4 or 5 or 6 bucks a day for the tags and truck the fish in from their other hatcheries (or purchase private) if needed. The $3.00 tag is nothing compared to the gas, lodging, food, tackle, etc it takes to go down to Bennett and not catch fish. I would gladly pay 6.00+ to catch more or bigger fish. Heck, at this point I am not even going to bother going to Bennett till they get it resolved. I'll spend my money going to Taneycomo, Springrise, or the White... or just concentrate on Bass fishing.

It's called fishing, not catching. There is nothing to be resolved. It was a bad year in the hatcheries. Deal with it or stay home. I am sure one person not going there will not hurt anything. You caught 7 fish. That is more than a lot of people catch in a year, but hey, who am I to speak? For someone to be upset because they can't catch 20 fish a day, is a little ridiculous.

Why do you want to pay to catch fish anyway? Go chase some wild fish. Get away from the hatchery managed streams.

[DoveTail]

Bennett gets hammered so hard with all the fishing pressure, the trout are harder to catch there compared to the other parks. Roaring River does have some very nice sized trout, probably due to less pressure where Bennett has a lot of put and take - more take. There are still some big trout in Bennett, just the other parks seem to have more you can hook up.