Fishing Report

[Sam Potter]

I was able to get down to the river for a little while today and really had a pretty good outing. I saw a couple of other guys on the stream, but I never did see them with a fish on. One guy was drifting a red plastic worm. I politely informed him that plastic baits were strictly prohibited on Blue Ribbon waters. He said that it wasn't natural bait, it was artificial and it should be Ok. I told him that I was an authorized guide with the National Park Service and that I was 100% sure that plastic baits are explicitly prohibited in this section of the stream. I told him it was listed on the yellow posted sign and that he could read it for himself. He said he thought it was OK to fish with the plastic worms, because he had seen other fishermen fishing in the exact same place using them. After a few more minutes of discussion he thanked me, switched over to a spinner and continued on down the stream. I continued up the river to a couple of holes that I knew, from past years, would be holding some winter fish. I stopped at a little run that dropped off into a nice hole that had plenty of cover. I was only able to catch one little bow there so I started to work back down to the truck. I really had a couple of other holes in mind, the run was just a starting point. I quickly worked through the shallow sections, knowing that I was probably wasting my time, but I needed the extra time to get my cast down. I slowly worked down to the first hole I was planning to fish and could see several trout holding on the bottom. My second cast produced a good strike, but I missed it. The fourth or fifth cast connected and after that I had a pattern. I was throwing a #10 Mohair leech with a single size 6 split about 8 inches up the line. They were taking the fly on the swing or sometimes following it and hitting after a couple of short strips. I was mending the line two or three times on each cast, to give the fly time to sink close to the bottom. I weight my leeches so I knew I didn't need a lot of extra weight to get them down. I don't use extra weight if the current is slow, or the water is less than 4 feet deep. I managed to land 11, lose 3 and break off 3. Not that the fish were that big, just several rocks for them to get into and cut the line. Pretty good fishing for a little over 3 hours, especially for winter fish. The river was very clear, and just about normal. OH I forgot to mention that I saw a bald eagle. It is always a great day when I see an eagle. For you older fishermen you know what I am talking about. When I was a kid we never saw eagles. It wasn't until about 20 years ago that we would see one occasionally. So yes, I get excited when I see them. I'm sure you younger fishermen appreciate them and enjoy seeing one, but for most of you under the age of 30 you have always seen them and don't realize how rare the sightings were 50-30 years ago.

"A bad day fishing is still a great day"

www.Tightline.Biz

[rmueller]

Hi Sam,

I enjoy reading your detailed reports. What is your take on "rubber-legged" fly patterns? Is this considered a legal fly per Missouri definition? I often fish rubber-legged nymphs (stones) and dries (hoppers) on the Current with success. My opinion is that the rubber legs are not "soft plastics bait" or "soft plastic lures" and are attached to the fly. Your comment is appreciated.

Ryan

[Sam Potter]

Hi Sam,

I enjoy reading your detailed reports. What is your take on "rubber-legged" fly patterns? Is this considered a legal fly per Missouri definition? I often fish rubber-legged nymphs (stones) and dries (hoppers) on the Current with success. My opinion is that the rubber legs are not "soft plastics bait" or "soft plastic lures" and are attached to the fly. Your comment is appreciated.

Ryan

Ryan,

Rubber legs on flies are legal NOW in the state of Missouri. Rubber legs on flies did not use to be legal. The regulations changed last year. Even though several types of flies were tied with rubber legs, like stones and hoppers, according to the old wildlife code they use to be illegal. I like rubber legs on hoppers and tie several different colors and sizes.

[rmueller]

Ryan,

Rubber legs on flies are legal NOW in the state of Missouri. Rubber legs on flies did not use to be legal. The regulations changed last year. Even though several types of flies were tied with rubber legs, like stones and hoppers, according to the old wildlife code they use to be illegal. I like rubber legs on hoppers and tie several different colors and sizes.

Thanks for the clarification.

RM

[catman70]

Speaking of poaching...it seems like I always see empty bait jars at the first bend when walking downstream from sewer hole to Tan Vat. Don't know if they're washing down from the park during high water, but that's probably unlikely. Someone should place a game camera on a tree in the vicinity to help apprehend the culprit(s). I don't have a camera nor do I live close by or else it would have already been done.

[Gavin]

Catman, no doubt that some poaching occurs on the Current, but most of those bait jars probably came out of the park. I participated in a stream team cleanup betweem the Montauk and Baptist Camp a few years ago, and most of the trash we found was between the Park Campground & Tan Vat, we hardly found any trash between Tan Vat & Baptist. Cheers.

[catman70]

That's comforting. It seemed an odd coincidence that bait jars would wash up on the inside of a bend which is arguably the best hole in the stretch.

[Sam Potter]

That's comforting. It seemed an odd coincidence that bait jars would wash up on the inside of a bend which is arguably the best hole in the stretch.

[Al Agnew]

Hey Sam, good report. Last time I was on the Current, I watched a pretty disreputable looking character doing his best to snag trout. I was kinda happy to catch 3 nice ones just upstream from him...didn't see him get anything!

I'm glad to find this site. Gavin, glad to see you're hanging around, too.