2009 Missouri Trout Odyssey--Day 3

[Troutdude]

Enjoyed the video, Thank you! As far as I'm concerned, any trout fly fishing porn is a welcome sight for sore eyes.

[drew03cmc]

I love the video and the work that goes into it, just offering up a bit of criticism. Anywho, nice work Brian.

[Chief Grey Bear]

"Hickory Creek is a dung hole. I won’t even begin to sugar-coat it. There are no fish in that stream, unless the hatchery truck comes and dumps them in there. And when that happens, all the “trout fisherman” come out of the hills to load up the freezer and as quickly as the fish were stocked they are gone. In two trips, we never even so much as saw a fish (although I think Wise got a take there last year). To be super blunt, I don’t really care if I ever lay eye on the town of Neosho, Missouri. It is just too darn hard to get to, and there isn’t much trout fishing to be had there. In short, Hickory Creek ranks up there with the Urban Trout Program in my book. Nothing more than a stream grocery store. And with that we turned our backs on Hickory Creek and headed toward Roaring River State Park."

I wouldn't get too upset about it guy's. Just remember who it is providing the commentary.

[ozark trout fisher]

I don't know the first thing about Hickory... Never seen it, never fished, whatever.

But I hear people talking trash about some of my favorite streams quite a bit, and I know I don't like it. What makes a good stream is relative, so one guy's dung hole is another's favorite stream. I know I've enjoyed every stream I've ever fished anyway, and I sure wouldn't judge one in and hour or two. One of my favorite creeks skunked me 3 times before I caught a fish, but I now I've learned it a bit and I love it. If I'd just given up after the first or second time and never gone back, I know now I'd be missing out. Just a thought anyway.

I really did enjoy the video, and I apologize for piling on.

[Brian Wise]

Guys, seriously thank you for saying what you think, good or bad. I personally take no offense from anything that has been said and like I said above we didn't have to catch a fish to completely and thoroughly enjoy being on any given stream....I personally didn't enjoy Hickory either---I don't know if I would have put it as colorfuly as Matt did in the report but it isn't a stream I would pursue, if I lived closer maybe.

I guess you can look at it this way, on this trip we take we see 20 trout streams (21 this year) and out of those 20 all of them have their own little thing that will catch you even if that stream is not your favorite....I will be the first to give Hickory Creek a "holy crap I can't believe how GIN CLEAR" the water is (the hole on the upstream side of the bridge in town and almost directly under the bridge is deep and you could count the rocks if you wanted to) which is seriously something cool to me considering it runs through a town.

The purpose of this trip isn't to get intimate knowledge with every stream we fish and we for sure don't claim to be experts on any of them (minus the North Fork of the White and "expert" is probably a little steep on that one too ), it turns out after doing this trip now for 2 years we have a more intense appreciation for the the state as a WHOLE, the trout streams that we are lucky enough to have in this state are CRAZY AWESOME and stepping foot on all of the (except Stone Mill) in 4 or 5 days is one whale of a good time and I hope and pray that someone else decides to do this trip to maybe understand and physically see what we have gotten to see in the last 2 years.

Thanks guys!

Brian

[ollie]

Being the one who started the Hickory Creek Streamteam I find your assesment of the creek to be one of crap! Does it have it's problems? Yes, but for you to call it that is very upsetting. My biggest trout at 24" had come out of that little shi#hoe as you put it. When people bad mouth a stream they really don't have any business fishing it if it's that bad in their eyes. We are trying to bring awareness to our creek and the negativity you provide is just that IMO. Please never contact me to fish Hickory or Capps cause you do not have my respect. Stick to guiding on your our stream and don't come over this way please. Now if you read my earlier comments on Hickory creek you would read about the same things as it being a toilet of Neosho, but that is when I realized that something needed to be done. I live only 3-4 blocks away from the creek and now I see it in a whole different light. I DID something instead of complaining about it.

[fishinwrench]

I can't believe thier comments on Hickory are drawing fire like this, is there no tolerance for honest opinions and straightforwardness among fishermen anymore ?

Ollie, people visit Lake of the Ozarks and the Niangua and comment towards the negative routinely. I love both of those bodys of water, and overlook alot of things, but I can't deny the reasons why alot of people get those impressions. While it sucks for me to hear negative feedback about my home waters, I have to just suck it up and say... "Yeah I know...but we're working on it".

Maybe they could have only mentioned the clear water and created something positive to say, regardless, But what good is a candy-coated report ?

[drew03cmc]

I can't believe thier comments on Hickory are drawing fire like this, is there no tolerance for honest opinions and straightforwardness among fishermen anymore ?

Ollie, people visit Lake of the Ozarks and the Niangua and comment towards the negative routinely. I love both of those bodys of water, and overlook alot of things, but I can't deny the reasons why alot of people get those impressions. While it sucks for me to hear negative feedback about my home waters, I have to just suck it up and say... "Yeah I know...but we're working on it".

Maybe they could have only mentioned the clear water and created something positive to say, regardless, But what good is a candy-coated report ?

In your eyes, that is an honest opinion and being straightforward? Perhaps they should have said, "We have yet to be able to figure Hickory out. The clear water and high pressure could be putting the fish down," or something along those lines. No, they blatantly called it a $#ithole. That is low. How about what you mother used to tell you, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything." I guess these old rules of tact have gone out the window, and it is fine and dandy to call something that you have spent less than a day on a $#!thole.

Wrench, I cannot believe you are ok with this. There are streams you like to fish and those you don't like to fish. Does that make one better than the other? Does that make one a ____hole? No.

The whole situation could have been handled with a little more tact and respect for those who have put their hard earned time, money and energy into improving the stream and fishing.

[Matt Tucker]

Wow. Didn't think that many people paid attention to the blog....

Opinions are like buttholes....everyone has one. Me liking Hickory Creek is kind of like loving your ugly kid. It is your kid, so you have to love it. As a stream that is about 4 hours or so from St. Louis, I just didn't see the appeal and didn't really feel like saying...."oh it was a pretty little trout stream with likely fish habitat". Think of the gas money i saved a few people. I reminded me of a couple of Lake Michigan tributaries in Wisconsin in terms of size and trash. Would you guys have rather I put that? To be rather blunt, I am starting to feel that way too about Lake Taneycomo; the crowds are ridiculous (even at night now) and compared to just 5 years ago it has the feel of a big trout park (at least near the dam). Every trout stream in the state though serves a purpose.

As far as putting much weight in my critique of any stream, yeah...I don't know that i would do that either. As graybeard quite elegantly put....consider the source (just a guy with a site that has really only spent about 3hrs there over two years.....but i do know what else is out there having spent time on all of them except for StoneMill).

Those are just words, if you really want to get out and form your own opinion on the stream I sure encourage you guys to do that. I am pretty certain that if you drive over an hour to get there (Hickory Creek) you will be sadly disappointed considering that Crane and Capps are within and easy drive and offer a lot more in terms of fish and scenery. Unless of course the hatchery truck just pulled in and dumped a bunch of dinks there and that is your thing, then you may have a blast. Just get out and fish.

All in all, it wasn't my intent on offending anyone, just recanting my first and second impression with one of the twenty trout streams i saw over 4 days. That is all.

--Matt Tucker

[Chief Grey Bear]

To be perfectly honest, I don't read your worthless blog. After reading that you enjoy taking pictures of your friends steaming poop on the banks of Roaring River, I quickly lost interest. Someone had sent me that quote.

I have to laugh though. How funny it is that a little shithole stream kicked your butt. Twice. Maybe you are not the high caliber fishermen you make yourself out to be.