Even A Slump Ain't Bad...

[Al Agnew]

So my wife is in Peru. Left Saturday a week ago, won't be back until next week. I had planned to do a LOT of fishing while she was gone. Float some new water. Do a solo three day trip. Take my dad fishing one day.

Well, given the intermittent thunderstorms, high water, hot weather, and the demands of the business that Mary usually takes care of, my plans haven't been working out. I've gotten in two days of fishing, one day with cwc on the Gasconade, and yesterday with my dad on Current River.

And I'm in a slump. We caught maybe 30 or so on the Gasconade, with none of them much over 13 inches. And yesterday dad and I could muster only 15 or so, again with none beating 13 inches. No big fish even seen. Heck, no fish much over 13 inches even seen.

Cwc and I put his jetboat in at the Hwy. 42 bridge and fished both upstream and downstream. Habitat in this section of the Gasconade leaves a little to be desired, in my opinion. Too many long, dead frog water pools, too few deep riffles and runs. The spotted bass were thick, which I was sorry to see, since I'd had reports of spotted bass still being in reasonable numbers on the lower Gasconade. We tried everything, and nothing much worked consistently. It was partly to mostly cloudy for a good part of the day, so the heat wasn't unbearable. A thunderstorm came close and we had a couple of short hard showers.

But...a good day on the river with a good friend. I'll take that.

Yesterday Dad and I put in at Logyard and ran upstream to Blue Spring, spending much of the day drifting back down. What dismayed me about the day was the number of boats. Usually Mondays aren't crowded. Several serious anglers pounding the river. Lots of campers at Logyard and across from Blue Spring. A few joyriders. I'm beginning to think that the fish on this stretch of the Current are simply too well educated. Almost every fish we caught came from the kind of unlikely spots that few other anglers would bother fishing. All the good spots produced nothing. Couldn't even hook a pickerel, although I had several follows and swipes. Another cloudy day that kept the heat down.

But...a day with my dad is always good. And I still marvel at the breathtaking beauty of this stretch of Current River.

Sometimes the catching isn't all that important. Sometimes even the fishing isn't too important. There are always other rewards if you're open to them.