Lower Wire 4/6

[Andrew324]

Decided to fish lower wire to prove to myself that there still were some trout there. Lower wire is my favorite area, and the biggest fish I've ever caught from Crane came outta there before the flood one year ago.

I focused heavily on the larger water to the back....and those fish were there. First cast landed a nice 12-13incher. Walked slowly in the grass watching, and I could see many fish that I spooked. Perhaps 30 minutes later I targeted a slight riffle in some deep water and out came the best fish of the day, a good 15-16incher. Moved up the stream and saw a guy looking for morels, but I didn't see any today.

The rest of lower wire was productive with some smaller trout, but the holes which get fished a lot didn't produce much. I did chat with I guy who mentioned that he was doing some trapping for the otters, so hopefully that will help out. I did fish the park and brought in several more fish but nothing noteworthy.

[pruett417]

Nice fish! Sounds like all in all a pretty good day.......

[OKFlyFisher44]

Nice job Andrew! Glad to hear that the lower wire road fished good for ya! Lots of good water down there, no doubt. Bet the creek is pretty low now?

[Andrew324]

Thanks Chance. I'm now very inspired to try some new techniques on the slack water there at Lower Wire. After chatting with Pruett I'm willing to give this water some of my time.

Here is a link to a nice 20+ inch fish I got on camera in the park. This fish was in a foot of water. Water very much like the water we are talking about here at Lower Wire. It's not amazing footage, you guys will know its a big fish. Its not long footage and is best in 1080p

[Bamboozle]

"The rest of lower wire was productive with some smaller trout, but the holes which get fished a lot didn't produce much."

There are two themes we see again and again in these posts:

1) Guys posting pictures of the nice fish they have caught and

2) Guys commenting on how much pressure the public sections of creek seem to get.

This is kind of summed up in this report.

It's of course up to individuals to make a decision one way or the other. But it does seem to me that by posting these pictures (and videos) we're only going to increase pressure on this resource. People see that indeed there are big trout in Crane Creek (the general reputation is otherwise) and decide to give it a go.

Discretion is one of the great traditions of fishing. The more discreet we are about Crane Creek, the better the fishing will be.

I don't mean this in any way to single you out Andrew -- but I've just seen several posts along these lines in the last little while and thought I'd mention it.

Anyway, let the excoriation of Bamboozle begin!

[Justin Spencer]

I caught two 25 inchers there last year, and one in Mill Creek, not to mention the big trout at the mouth of spring creek in Bryant. Don't always believe everything you hear, but at least one of these is true!

[ColdWaterFshr]

Hi, my name is Bert from Sesame Street. I never have fished Crane . What color of powerbait they biting on? All I have right now is orange sherbert - I bought that 'cause my names Bert. And can me and Ernie drive our 4-wheeler down the creek from the park to the low wire road? Its a Yamaha XBA with a big ole muddin tires on it, so it can go pretty deep. I enjoyed the video and showed it to all my pals, but even Cookie Monster would not believe that fish was 20+.

[pruett417]

Again and again we hear displeasure relating to posts regarding fishing at Crane Creek, I think we all have our own opinions about it. I'm one of those that can only assume that the vast majority of people that pack up the rods in the trunk to drive to Crane for the first time to have a go at the big fish they seen on or heard about on the Ozark Anglers Forum will more than likely pack up the same rod with frustration and amazment on just how difficult it is to fish there. There is no doubt that publicity impacts a resource, but what we have to also realize is that Crane has a large amount of public access, is mentioned in almost every publication talking about trout fishing in the state, and it is known nationally as a gem of a fishery. It's no secret, not even close.......no one is slamming anyone nor is this an attempt at belittling anyone, I'm just trying to be real.

[Bamboozle]

Hey Pruett:

Well spoken and thought out as always. I certainly didn't feel slammed etc.

While I basically think everything you said was right on target I would only say that even the guys who fish once and give up are adding pressure to the resource. And if their numbers are augmented by what we post here then what we post here is an issue.

To expand on your scenario look at it this way:

1) Guy reads about CC in some magazine or guide.

2) Guy Googles it

3) Guy arrives this forum

At this point if the guy finds posts about fly selection, catching flies in limbs and even a few good days fishing he might make the trouble to come down. But lets face it a picture is so much more powerful than words.

So if he finds pictures like some of those that have been posted over the last few days my feeling is he's way more likely to come down.

In my opinion more guys coming down = more pressure on the resource = diminished quality of the resource.

Just to come back to my first sentence: I think often on this and many other forums the shrill, the rude and the knee jerk often rule. In this response to my post, Pruett, and in general you're a notable exception to this and that's a real asset to the forum and, at the end of the day, to the creek.

[OKFlyFisher44]

Again and again we hear displeasure relating to posts regarding fishing at Crane Creek, I think we all have our own opinions about it. I'm one of those that can only assume that the vast majority of people that pack up the rods in the trunk to drive to Crane for the first time to have a go at the big fish they seen on or heard about on the Ozark Anglers Forum will more than likely pack up the same rod with frustration and amazment on just how difficult it is to fish there. There is no doubt that publicity impacts a resource, but what we have to also realize is that Crane has a large amount of public access, is mentioned in almost every publication talking about trout fishing in the state, and it is known nationally as a gem of a fishery. It's no secret, not even close.......no one is slamming anyone nor is this an attempt at belittling anyone, I'm just trying to be real.

That pretty much sums it up right there. Crane is not a freaking secret. Everybody that has trout fished in the Ozarks knows about it more than likely. And it's reputation for being TOUGH, snake infested, hard to navigate, etc always comes up way before any talk of big fish does and it always will because it's true! I don't know why everyone is getting their feathers ruffled about anglers posting fishing reports. I have fished Crane for the past 5 years and 9 times out of 10 I am the only one on the water. I only fish it on the weekends too.

Do I believe there is more pressure now than there used to be? Well duh! More and more people r getting into the sport and are wanting to explore other fisheries besides Taney, Roaring River, or whatever. But I also believe that 75% of your typical weekend warrior fisherman will come to Crane, get their butt kicked, decide it's not for them, and head back to their favorite honey hole at a stocked fishery. Or they will catch a few of your run of the mill 10" McClouds with their 9' 5wt rod they almost broke 10 times just getting to the creek, call it good, and probably not come back cuz it was too much trouble to catch some dinks.

I can understand and appreciate everyone wanting to "protect" the resource but keeping a couple of fishing reports off a forum isn't the way to do it I believe. But maybe I am wrong? I understand the logic but not on a regionally and nationally known fishery like Crane. If you wanna protect the resource, keep buying fishing licenses and trout permits so MDC can buy more public land, donate to TU, or just let people know why ur in Crane when u r getting food or gas so that the locals r reminded of the resource they have that is bringing revenue into their town so maybe they will help protect it themselves.

I don't know. Maybe I am wrong but that's just my 2 cents. This is a dead horse and I finally got sucked into beatin' it.

Ok, off the soap box for me...