TroutRinger Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 First time fishing at the golf course this evening. Got in the water at 7:15 and headed downstream. It was oppressively hot and humid, but it was worth it. Caught four smallies with the two largest being around 12-13". Caught them both on craw pappi style baits 10 ft and 3 casts apart. The first one hammered the lure immediately and fought extremely hard taking drag and all. The second was much lazier. Also caught a handful of sunfish. I was out at about 8:45. ...On a side note, saw a lot of different creatures in the river. Two 2-3 foot gar, a big snapping turtle, several VERY large suckers, and some species of snake (didn't care to get close enough to identify it). Pick of the slightly smaller "big" smallie "Of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy." "There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Admin Phil Lilley Posted July 22, 2011 Root Admin Share Posted July 22, 2011 I played that course for the first time last week (and did quite well)... what river is that? Nice- lots of running water and good holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutRinger Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 That's the James River. I wish it wasn't so hot so I could fish earlier and walk farther. First time there but I know from others that the best holes were further down stream. "Of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy." "There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutRinger Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 One thing I forgot to mention. I experienced something I cant ever remember experiencing wade fishing before. The water was overall warm but occasionally I would step into an area where I could feel six or so inches of very cool water on my legs. I mean significantly cooler. Much like the thermocline on a lake or when a spring enters a river. The cold water was not always on the bottom either, even in only a couple feet of water. I kept trying to gauge where the cool water was coming from and going to figuring fish would be holding to it, but it was so intermittent that I was not successful. Most of the streams I have wade fished before have been fed by cold water springs so maybe I'm just not used to this? "Of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy." "There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBreth Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 There's a lot of springs and seepage (karst topography) in the Ozarks - it's very common to be wading and find a much colder spot that you can't identify where it's coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Agnew Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 The area just downstream of a gravel bar will also have considerably cooler patches of water that has seeped through the gravel bar. On a small creek below a private lake that I occasionally fish, the water coming off the top of the lake can be up close to 90 degrees in a heat spell, and I've seen fish stack up in water just deep enough to cover them on the downstream edge of a gravel bar because the water there is cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hef Posted July 27, 2011 Members Share Posted July 27, 2011 Where can I get access to the river from the golf course? Are there certain places that the golf course allows access or do you have to "sneak" in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzarksRiverman Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I was wading the Finley last weekend and found a big seep. The cool thing was that where it was coming up from, the mostly gravel creek bottom turned into a big patch of sand & silt. I stuck my foot down in the sand and it was extremely cold--not bad on a 100 degree day. There wasn't any fish holding in that areas though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Jones Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Ringer answered my PM and mentioned that he'd had no problem parking at the course. He also related that no one else he knew has either, but that you must leave before they lock the gate for the night. On that note.....anyone know what time they lock the gate? "Thanks to Mother Mercy, Thanks to Brother Wine, Another night is over and we're walking down the line" - David Mallett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimG Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 I always figured the James would be to big to wade fish. Are there many bends in this streach that the water gets above chest high on the shallow side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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