Two Questions

[drew03cmc]

1. Is the drive from KC worth the added time it takes to get to Montauk as opposed to say, RRSP or BSSP? And along those lines, what is the best way to get there from KC?

2. What is the best place to fish in the park, as well as a basic assortment of flies to have with me. I fish a 7.5' 3wt rod. Please help me out here. Thank you!

[mcp633]

I think the drive is worth every extra minute it would take to get there from KC. Of course, I drive there from Jefferson City which is about two hours. I believe your best drive would be to shoot over to Columbia and straight down 63 to Licking and then over to the park. The fly only area is my favorite spot to fish in the morning. Nice stretch of water and not much crowding. You will definitly need to go with 6X tippet. the water is really low and extremely clear now. I hit the cable at the end of the park in the evening. Not much use in trying to get in there in the morning or afternoon, but hit the shady spots along the far bank after 5:00 PM. It doesn't look like it would hold fish, but it does. Glo-balls in several different colors are always a good bet. Check out this link, good reports 2x a week.

http://www.reedscabins.com/

Hope that helps a little.

Kyle

[Bob A]

Hi Drew. If you're going to the expense and time to travel down from KC, I'd definately recommend Montauk over BSSP. The crowds at BSSP are terrible, not to mention the carnival-like atmosphere during this time of the year. I fish BSSP a lot myself but mainly during the catch-release season which can be very enjoyable. Bottom line: I wouldn't recommend BSSP to anyone during the height of the vacation season. Think you'll have a more enjoyable time elsewhere.

Bob A

[Greg]

We live 2 hours from Montauk and 1 hour from Bennett and RR. Montauk is my favorite as well. For me if I am going for more than a day it is well worth the extra travel. Bennett is 2nd and RR last. My primary reason I don't like RR as well is that there is not much water that you can wade in.

I really like Montauk. There is a wide variety of water types and it is a fairly natural setting. But I like Bennett as well. I think the experience at Bennett depends on when you go. Saturdays and holidays are always the worst as far as the crowds. I never go on those days. But Sundays particularly Sun afternoons can be OK. And through the week even in the summer (except holidays) the crowds are not usually bad at all.

I have found the fishing at both Bennett and Montauk to be consistently very good. The flies that work for me at either place are small beadhead nymphs, egg patterns, cracklebacks, and wooly buggers.

Good luck,

Greg

[fireman]

Drew,

well first let me say hello. I fish montauk about 4 times a year. i have been fishing it for many years. as I think montauk is the best of all the missouri trout parks dont forget about fishing out of montauk. there is some of the best fishing there for browns and rainbows. montauk is a great park in itself. good camping, cabins, hotel, and restuarant/store. also there is playgrounds and the hatchery for the kids. now on the fishing, great fly fishing in the park with a catch and release area and a keep area. later if you would like to fish the rest of the park there is plenty of areas to fish with a fly rod or spinning rod. by all means i am only a novice at best at fly fishing. still trying to learn the presentations on each different flies. if you have kids there is also great areas for them to fish as well. swimming is not allowed in the park but there is swimming outside of the park about 1 mile down the road.

now for the drive from KC. dont know how long it takes from KC to montauk (est 4 hrs 45 min) i wonder why you choose montauk instead of lake taneycomo in Branson MO. dont get me wrong but taneycomo is alot better fly fishing and it offers all types of activities there. have you been to taneycomo? if you havent i would stay at lillies landing as it is the cleanest and necest of all the lake resorts ive seen and been too. great prices too. im not saying this because this is his site but it is the best. i have a travel trailer and refuse to take it down there as lillies offers just as much as the campgrounds on the lake and i dont have to pull the stupid thing.

so if you would like let me know when you might be at montauk and myabe i will be there and we could hook up or at least i could show you a few spots.

anyways i hope this helps you out. our next scheduled trip to montauk is sept 26- oct 1.

fireman

[3wt]

Montauk over Bennet any time. I've never actually been to RR.

As far as Montauk vs. Taneycomo goes, well that's really apples and oranges. Montauk's range is from a medium river to large spring creek in stream size. The one time I've been to Taney, it was a barely wadeable large river, and reading the water is completely different. Not to bad mouth it, but if you're used to smaller trout streams, you would probably need to spend some time at Taney with somebody who knows the stream.

If you're taking a long weekend, I would HIGHLY suggest a Saturday through Teusday over a Thursday through Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays at Montauk are usually desolate, leaving you and the fish.

[mizzouflyfisher]

I used to fish Bennett Springs at least 20 days a year. I now fish it less than 6. The hatchery has had some serious problems the last few years and still hasn't quite recovered. I hear the situation is fixed, but results are slow coming. Means there aren't as many fish and size is horrible. Montauk is definitely the way to go. Plus the trophy water below Montauk is 10x better than the trophy water below Bennett.

Mizzouflyfisher

[Kayser]

There is no trophy water at Bennett: it is an "anything goes" area. The current river just below montauk is amazing, with small browns being the most common, then coming park escaped rainbows and then trophy fish right behind. Between the park and tan vat, there are a lot of trophy fish, but early morning/late evenings are best for fishing for these fish.

Other than that, Montauk has a lot more stream available to fish, and the fish are very willing to take an ant pattern if presented right.

Montauk over Bennett anytime, but I go trout fishing whenever I can.

Rob

[brittsnbirds]

Kayser- How bout you e-mail me with your "ant pattern".

Thanks