Mdc Fishing Report Errors

[FlyFishinFool]

The MO Dept of Conservation publishes the MDC Fishing Report email on a weekly basis - has anyone else noticed that occassionally the reports for some areas are absolutely WRONG?

This week's (5/26) MDC Fishing Report says that at Bennett Spring State Park the spring stream is near normal and clearing. Now I was fishing there last week and the BSSP stream was nearly a full foot above normal level (still falling from being even higher) and was so dingy you could not see your feet on the bottom in front of you. And since I left BSSP has had even more rain, and according to the USGS water data the BSSP water levels have gone up even higher.

I tried to report the obvious bad fishing information to the email link included in the report, but keep getting a bounce-back saying my email has been rejected, so I do not know who to let know about this really bad report. Maybe someone from MDC reads this forum? or perhaps someone here can forward this information to someone in the MDC?

Bottom line, I do not know who writes the fishing reports, but they need to actually get out on the stream. I highly suggest the MDC have someone local submit a report in the future, since some of the current reports are totally inaccurate. I wonder how accurate all the other MDC reports are? Just my suggestion.........

[Guest P. owensby]

It's lauaghable ! I read it purely for my amusement and I try to challenge myself for fun to pick up on all the error's. One of these days I'm expecting a trout report on the Big River but have not seen that as of yet,lol. Still waiting though!

[Gavin]

Why bother with that, just questions here.

[David Unnerstall]

I always assumed the information did come from someone local. If so, that is where the problem lies and not MDC.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Its not who writes it but who provides the information. More often then not it is a local vendor who is in the area and in contact with fishermen. I suspect the Bennett contact is Jim Rogers.

[jdmidwest]

All species slow, bluegill fair on worms.....

Arkansas actually has fishing guides or shops report the fishing there weekly, but you still get the same thing.

[ozark trout fisher]

I think if you rely 100% on anyone's fishing report (or fishing advice) you're going to get disappointed pretty often. You always have to take these things with a grain of salt-after all it's fisherman who are providing the reports, and you know what that means! The only real way to figure out how the fishing is going to be is to head down to the river and find out for yourself, which of course is how it should be.

[flytyer57]

I think if you rely 100% on anyone's fishing report (or fishing advice) you're going to get disappointed pretty often. You always have to take these things with a grain of salt-after all it's fisherman who are providing the reports, and you know what that means! The only real way to figure out how the fishing is going to be is to head down to the river and find out for yourself, which of course is how it should be.

Of course, checking the USGS gages will help too. Always check them before heading out so you don't end up finding the stream blown out, or too low to float when you get there.

[ozark trout fisher]

Of course, checking the USGS gages will help too. Always check them before heading out so you don't end up finding the stream blown out, or too low to float when you get there.

I always do that too...I'm just talking about the somewhat more subjective nature of a fishing report. It's kinda hard for the USGS reading to be wrong unless the gauge is fouled up. On an unrelated note, that can happen. I went fishing on the Bourbeuse River towards the end of the summer a couple years ago when the gauge at Union read 2.5 cubic feet per second. Where I was fishing nearly 70 miles upstream, there was at least 30-40 CFS of water flowing.

[Kayser]

Gotta love the stream gauges. There have been a lot of times I've looked at the gauges and adjusted my plans to hit a different stream. Or told me which flies I needed to tie up- small and finesse or big and ugly.

Rob