Upper James Smb

[Gallagher]

Has anyone tried flyfishing for smallies on the upper James,....say from Marshfield area to Strafford. I've got a pile of different poppers & some dries I've been thinking of trying & wondered if anyone's had any luck.

Thanks!

[Bill Butts]

Has anyone tried flyfishing for smallies on the upper James,....say from Marshfield area to Strafford. I've got a pile of different poppers & some some dries I've been thinking of trying & wondered if anyone's had any luck.

Thanks!

Gallagher~

The upper reaches of many of our beautiful Ozarks streams are prospective havens for the walk and wade fly fisher. Even though you'll find a few locals on these little gems, they are usually fishing near the road accesses and don't venture too far from where they park. You will also avoid the masses of canoes, that inhabit the floatable sections, by concentrating your efforts on the upper, less navigable, sections. Wear some shoes that hike and wade well, and get off the beaten path. You will be amazed at the quality of fishing you will find.

Along with the upper James, very similar and productive wadable water is also found on the upper Finley, Pomme De Terre, Niangua, Osage Fork, Sac and Little Sac Rivers. The headwaters of all of these are on the plateau of Greene and Webster counties, flowing in different directions.

The best way to locate access points is to buy a De Lorme Gazetteer Topo Map (book) of Missouri, if you don't already have one. And, make some new friends and gain some new honey hole accesses by meeting some of the landowners (be sure to remove your sunglasses so they can look you in the eyes) that are usually agreeable to allowing access when asked FIRST.

Regarding flies, yes, poppers and dry flies will work well and be sure to include some low-profile hoppers. You shouldn't need many fly types, but be sure to include some weighted crayfish and some Clouser minnow-style patterns in river minnow colors like brown, tan, olive and black.

You should be able to fish most of the holes in these upper reaches with a floating line, but where you find good holding water that is over 3-4' deep you should consider a sink-tip line or at least a loop-on 7' fast sinking leader when you are fishing a crayfish or baitfish pattern.

Those little-fished stretches of Ozarks streaams are the most underutilized fly fishing resources available.

Solitude and great native species to catch.......what more could you ask for?

Good luck,

Bill

[Gallagher]

Great information Bill,..thanks! Reason I asked was, I have a family member that owns 70 acres in that area & the James runs right through a good portion of accessible area on his property, he as well as I have wanted to walk & wade fish upstream a day then go downstream another day, he only uses a spinning setup, which I also have, but being new to flyfishing, I thought it might be a fun challenge to try.

Thanks again for the tips, it's appreciated much!!!