What A Terrible Place To Fish!

[Kyle]

Sorry it is kinda late, but this is the first chance I had to post.

Left from STL on Monday night and arrived at Tan Vat arround 7. This is the first time I have ever fished the Current. Wound up catching three 2 browns and 1 bow. I had never caught a brown before so you can imagine my excitement. Caught one on a red San Juan worm, one on a rusty midge and one on a sneaky pete. The one on the pete had hit my float the cast before so I decided I was going to out smart him and it worked. Nice 15 inch brown right at dark.

Here is a funny and almost tragic story:

I packed up and head into Salem. I get all the way to the intersectioin of 119 and 32 (I think it is) and realize that my flyrod is not sticking up beside me in the passanger seat of my blazer. I had left it sitting on the roof of my car when I pulled out of the Tan Vat parking lot. I turn around and drive all the way back in a cold panic. Right before the low-water bridge on the county road there lays my rod in the middle of the road! You can imagine my relief.

Anyway disaster avoided and I get to the place I am staying in Salem. I head back to the river around 5 am and get there just before light. I put a streamer and start casting and stripping. Nailed 4 in about 15 min. 3 brown and 2 rainbow. I decide to walk up to the "rock garden". (Quite a hike might I add.) I caught 3 more browns up there when the sky gets dark and I decide it is not safe to be on the water. I head back to the truck to wait it out. After the thunder and lightning had passed I headed down to Baptist Camp and caught 2 cuttbows there on San Juans and one more bow. The fishing had slowed and it was about 2 so I packed up and headed home.

I had a absolute great time fishing the Current and now finally know what all of the fuss is about. 11 fish in about 2 days for my first time I thought was pretty respectable and my first brown and cuttbow. I only saw one other fisherman the whole time I was there. Very relaxing and I will definately be back as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading eventhough it is kind of long.

Kyle

ps. only one pic of my first brown because of the rain and no water proof camera.

[Troutfly69]

Sounds like a great trip! Makes me wish that I hadn't let the weatherman scare me off and made the trek down on Monday morning. I was just afraid I'd show up to a flooded river after a 5 hour drive. That's what I get for listening to the weather predictions!!

[tinner]

I was down there a couple of Sundays ago and the san juan worm was knocking them dead. Besides one fish on a psycho prince all others were on the worm.

[ozark trout fisher]

The Current is my favorite freestoner in the ozarks........................ By the way, probably not a cutbow you caught. There are some rainbows in there that appear to be cutbows, but they aren't. The closest cutthroat fishery to the Current is the White River tailwater in Arkansas.

But as you figured out, the Current is a world class rainbow and brown trout fishery. Glad you caught some nice fish, sounds like a great time.

[Kayser]

I'll second OTF's opinion- probably not a cuttbow. Probably just stream-born rainbows with really good colors on them. Fun to catch nonetheless.

Rob

[laker67]

I'll second OTF's opinion- probably not a cuttbow. Probably just stream-born rainbows with really good colors on them. Fun to catch nonetheless.

Rob

Probably a hatchery born and raised and then released, with thousands of other, Arlee or missouri strain rainbows. But speaking of cutbows, some snake river cutthroats would be a nice addition to our trout waters. Along with some of those monster triploid rainbows. Missouri, right now, has the "midget" of all rainbow trout strains.

[ozark trout fisher]

Probably a hatchery born and raised and then released, with thousands of other, Arlee or missouri strain rainbows. But speaking of cutbows, some snake river cutthroats would be a nice addition to our trout waters. Along with some of those monster triploid rainbows. Missouri, right now, has the "midget" of all rainbow trout strains.

I've suggested the idea of putting cutts in our streams before..................

It would really help diversify our fisheries. I think Taney would be the best bet for both cuts and triploids to do well, but I could be wrong.

I also think cutthroats would do very well up in the catch and release area at Montauk.

[laker67]

I've suggested the idea of putting cutts in our streams before..................

It would really help diversify our fisheries. I think Taney would be the best bet for both cuts and triploids to do well, but I could be wrong.

I also think cutthroats would do very well up in the catch and release area at Montauk.

You are absolutely right about the cutthroats. Keep suggesting it. Anywhere that rainbows do well, cutthroats will thrive and grow big. As far as the triploids in taney, don't buy no wimpy rod. It would put arkansas in the back seat wearing" cheap sunglasses".

[Kyle]

You are absolutely right about the cutthroats. Keep suggesting it. Anywhere that rainbows do well, cutthroats will thrive and grow big. As far as the triploids in taney, don't buy no wimpy rod. It would put arkansas in the back seat wearing" cheap sunglasses".

From what I have heard they will not stock any new species or new rivers untill they figure out what is happening with the Hellbender. Apparently their numbers are dropping like crazy.

[ozark trout fisher]

From what I have heard they will not stock any new species or new rivers untill they figure out what is happening with the Hellbender. Apparently their numbers are dropping like crazy.

I've heard the same, but honestly, with there already being so many trout in the Current River system, I doubt if a few more put in there will make much of a difference, especially cutts, because they tend to be drift feeders that go after bugs. Brown trout would really be the only kind of trout that could be a real threat to hellbenders I would think (and of course browns are already well established in the Current), but I could be wrong. Several hundred thousand rainbows, and about 10 thousand browns are stocked each year into the Current, so I seriously doubt a few thousand more will hurt anything further.

And at Taneycomo, I don't really think hellbenders are even I factor, although I could be wrong.