I Love Bennett Spring

[aweber1455]

It seems there's been some frustrations lately about the way Bennett is fishing and being managed. It's a good example of how useful this forum can be for anglers talking and sharing their opinions with each other. Here's what I think about Bennett. It is what it is. You have to keep realilstic expectations about your experience beforehand. It's all about managing the crowds and keeping a positive attitude. Hundreds of thousands of people come to this mile and a half stretch of water every year. That is a hell of a lot of angling pressure per square foot. The middle of July is simply not the best time to be there if fish catching is your top priority. The 100 degree heat and massive crowds make the trout wary and finicky during the day. It's certainly possible to catch them now, but in a couple months once schools start back up and the weather cools, fish catching really improves during the day. Fall, Spring and Winter are the times to be at Bennett in my opinion. Fall is my favorite. Last September I had a couple days where I'd catch 40 trout in a couple hours. Not a ton of places in the world where that's possible. I can still picture one beautiful rainbow that had to be 8 lbs smash my scud as I sat there shocked and then immediately breaking my tippett knot when I set the hook way too hard. After my line broke the giant fish shook his head a couple times and bolted downstream. I'll never forget it. I stood there for a full 60 seconds looking around hoping somebody else had also witnessed this with me but there wasn't a soul around. There are always giant fish somewhere in Bennett, but it takes some luck and a whole lot of perserverance to run into them.

I think that the majority of trout are caught and killed within a couple days of being planted in the stream. But a Bennett trout that has been hooked 2 or 3 times and still survived is a changed creature. They are smart. They have beaten the odds and survived the gauntlet somehow. They know what hooks look like. They know how they're food really looks, tastes, and moves. I can't tell you how many times a trout has hauled butt across the current to investigate my gut imitation fly, only to briefly sniff it with its nares and turn away disguisted. A trout that has been swimming around in Bennett for a couple weeks and not ended up in a frying pan is a worthy adversary.

Fishing has been harder the last couple of years, no doubt. I think there was a massive hatchery die off related to low DO levels that's resulted in much smaller fish. That is the reality of aquaculturing, My response has been to use a 6'10" 1 weight finesse rod when possible. A 10 inch trout fighting in the current on this set up is really fun. A 15 inch trout fighting in the current with this rod is a challenge. My favorite flies are midges, scuds, sowbugs, san juan worms and gut imitations. Fast water is the most critical aspect for me. The odds of catching a fish in swift current are much higher than in slack water. They are forced to make a quicker decision and have less time to scrutinize your presentation. If you can find a shoal of 5 or 6 active trout it's even better. Their competitiveness kicks in and their inhibititions fade if they're in an actively feeding group.

I know the average size of fish will eventually improve over the years. The new hatchery is very impressive, but it takes time to grow these fish. People maybe take for the granted the amount of time and energy it takes a trout to reach a good size. And once the new hatchery has a few years under its belt, my belief is that Bennett will have days that fish like the good ole days. Fisheries can often be cyclical in nature. I know one thing though. I'll always love rainbow trout and I'll always love Bennett Spring. Just not quite as much during the dog days of summertime.

[Wayne SW/MO]

There have been a lot of changes at Bennett, some good some questionable. One big problem that is no obvious is that fact it is only about half a s deep as it was 3 or 4 decades ago and they say the spring outlet is less also. It is what it is and I'm not confident that it will ever improve, but holding the line could be considered a win. The MDC has done a much better job then DNR in the overall protection of the focus of the park, trout fishing.

[NoLuck]

Aweber,

What you are talking about is potential. I don't think anyone on this forum has questioned the potential of Bennett What everyone is concerned about is the lack of quality fish. I don't need to catch a 5lber evry time on the water but it would be nice to catch some decent size fish. I fished Montauk yesterday and the size of fish there is way better than Bennett. There has to be a solution to the temporary lack of size. MO has how many hatcheries in MO?? It seems to me that they could do a swap with other nearby hatcheries to mix up the sizes a little. JMO.

I still catch tons of fish there. The problem is all the fish are about 1/2 of what the size they should be. All of the good holes that used to hold fish are filled in and where there is a hole there are 4 times as many people around them. I like faster water myself so no big deal to me but, when the once or twice a year angler sees you hauling in fish they tend to think, that must be where they need to be fishing. Then you have 6-8 people trying to fish in a small run where you need to get a good drift with some length to it to catch fish. The highbank hole is the prime example. When I was younger I would always wonder why nobody hardly ever fished that stretch of water. When you did see someone that knew how to fish they were catcing fish in that stretch. Eventually people caught on and were forced out of the nonexistant deep pools af water that held fish in big clusters. You even have people lining the banks now in the highbank stretch because of this. 10 years ago you never had this. They dont even hesitate to walk in on you and cast right where you are trying to fish. This is a people issue, but it is the result of not having places for these types of fisherman to fish because of lack of pools and access to the water that holds fish. I mean hell, why don't they just open the hatchery to fishing if the want it to be this easy to get to a place to fish. Put a sidewalk the entire length of the stream down both sides. This is the type of people that the trout parks want fishing there anyway. They spend money on their fishing stuff there at the stores in the park. Flyfisherman tend to bring their own stuff and don't spend much money other than things they just forgot to bring.

Don't get me wrong I like Bennett a lot. I grew up fishing there 3-4 times a year. It was crowded then just as it is now. If they dredge people get bent about that but if they let the holes fill in then you have less pockets of fish holding water for novice anglers. It's a balancing act that to me, it seems like they gave up on. Money is somewhat of an issue I'm sure, but these places are cash cows from my opinion. The money is being spent now in an obvious place, the new hatchery facility. But after that,they need to get on the ball and fix what is wrong with Bennett. All they would have to do is listen to the people that love the place and care about it. Not the people that come there once a year and spend a bunch of money in their stores.

[laker67]

Bssp will never be what it once was. Aweber, I can tell by your comments that you are an experience angler and successful at bssp. I grew up fishing bennet and learned alot about fish and how to catch them. What made bssp the premier trout park were the numbers of big fish and the opportunity to catch one. I have talked with the current hatchery director, and I know for a fact that he does not like lunker or sight fishermen. Up until the time he took over, it was possible to find 30 to 40 big fish in the creek on any given day. That came to a grinding halt. The numbers and the quality of stocked fish went on a downhill slide. He was responsible for initiating the 4 fish limit. IMO, things will not change while he is in charge. His attitude has put an economic stress on shops and motels in that area. And some have folded I am sorry to say.

[Idylwilde]

A few spoil it for all! I think is what they are saying about the lunkers and sight anglers.

[NoLuck]

How so??

[Idylwilde]

White or any jig outside the mouth. Need I say more?

[NoLuck]

That is more of a problem of Montauk. I've seen it first hand there and told them about it. It's not fishing. Targeting a big fish and finding out what makes him bite is another story.

[laker67]

White or any jig outside the mouth. Need I say more?

This is why I take so much offense when someone starts badmouthing sight fishermen, and I am not saying you are because I have read several of your posts. I am pretty sure you know the score. Most just assume that these fish are not being caught in fair chase and a sportsman like manner.

[Idylwilde]

Your right laker67 that is what I was meaning " a few spoil it for all".