Soft Hackels Vs Large Trout

[3wt]

Defininitely lots of fish in tailwaters caught on sowbugs. Not many off, and I wouldn't characterize "most" of the trout water in Missouri as tailwaters.

My point was that saying you can catch big trout anywhere in missouri on a sowbug is a little biased towards tailwaters, since there are only a handful of them compared to the ozark trout streams.

And the beds of tailwaters are nothing like a natural bed. It's like having a 100 yr. flood 5 times a week. The effect on the channel and overal structure is emense.

My real point was the tendency of tailwater fly fisherman to generalize the minority of trout water (tailwaters) to be the norm. Trout behave pretty unnaturally in these odd conditions.

[laker67]

My point was that saying you can catch big trout anywhere in missouri on a sowbug is a little biased towards tailwaters, since there are only a handful of them compared to the ozark trout streams.

My real point was the tendency of tailwater fly fisherman to generalize the minority of trout water (tailwaters) to be the norm. Trout behave pretty unnaturally in these odd conditions.

Next time you go fish in any missouri trout water, pick up a handful of living moss. I would venture to say that the 10 to 1 majority will be sowbugs above all else. I have fished most of misssour's trout water and I have caught some of the biggest fish that each body of water is capable of producing. Sowbugs and scuds are the only flies that I tie. If I fish a bigger fly it is only because someone has given it to me. If you have confidence in a particular style of fly, then I say fish it. My confidence factor is in a sowbug. All of my ten pound and bigger fish have come on a sowbug or scud. 26 of those bigger fish have come from "non" tailwaters. So you can see that I am not biased to tailwater. Although I will admit that tailwaters are my favorite place to fish due to the difficultity factor.