First trip to Current River

[DainW]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the OAF and was just hoping to ask for a little advice. I'm planning on making my first trip to the current river this weekend (I realize it will probably be crowded, but it's a 3 day weekend what am I gonna do, stay home?). I live in Oklahoma City and my go to spot is the lower mountain fork river but the forecast calls for rain all weekend and with water levels as high as they are at the lake, it's just a matter of time before they open the floodgates up and blow the river out. Since almost every tailwater I could think of to fish within a 6 hour radius of okc is in the same situation, I got to doing some research and the current river looked like a really nice option. I think I'm gonna try to stick to the blue ribbon area. I'm sure the park itself will be a mad house this weekend. Plus the idea of fishing to trout that were stocked that day isn't all that appealing to me anyway (I'm strictly catch & release). I did have a couple questions though:

-Will I need to buy a trout tag to fish this area, or is that just for the park? Am I ok to fish with just a Missouri license?

Does the entire 9 mile stretch hold good populations of fish? Are there any areas that you would recommend starting at? I wouldn't ask anyone to hotspot for a first time poster, I realize that's in bad form, maybe just a hint as to the best public access spot to start at.

-Are there any hatches that I need to be aware of this time of the year or any fly patterns you'd recommend? I'm pretty well stocked with the standard eggs, worms, midges, smaller mayfly nymphs, and a few stonefly patterns. I've also got a few sculpin style streamers I was thinking about throwing if we get some cloud cover. Is there anything else that you guys would recommend? I've heard glo-bugs are really productive on this river?

Thanks ahead of time. Any advice is greatly appreciatiated. I'm really looking forward to exploring a new river, and from what I hear the current is beautiful. Oh one last thing I think I read a post that said wadeable flows are below 300 CFS right? Doesn't look like it's supposed to rain much between now and then, but there was some rain today right? Will the river have cleared up by the weekend?

[Gene K]

You only need a trout stamp if you are going to keep trout. So, a MO license and you're good to go.

You can catch fish throughout the blue ribbon area.

You're good to go with what you have for flies - yes, maybe some glo bugs. There's a lot of threads you can lookup on flies.

Access spots: Tan Vat, Baptist, Parker and Cedar Grove (where the white ribbon portion starts). There's also a few parking spots near where the park ends and the BR begins, but I suspect those will be filled quick this weekend.

River should be back in decent shape by the weekend.

Have fun!

[Fly guy]

Are you wanting to float or wade? Yes you will need a trout tag.

[Gene K]

You only need a trout "permit" to possess (or winter parks / tannycomo): http://mdc.mo.gov/regulations/trout-regulations.

"Daily Tags" are for the parks.

But WTH - it's $7 big ones...

[DainW]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm actually planning to wade this trip, but considering coming back for a float trip later on in the summer or fall.

Did I read right that it's predominantly brown trout in this stretch? I think I saw something that said the only rainbows are fish that swim down from the park?

[DainW]

Also, what about the white ribbon stretch, how's the fishing down there?

[Fishingmill]

I've only waded from Tan Vat to Baptist. It's a decent walk there and back. Mostly rainbows, but I've caught several browns.

[brittsnbirds]

Dain, you didn't mention mini-jigs. Various colors; white, peach, blk/yellow, john deere, celery, and any other color you can imagine. Also change up the head color black, white or gold. Assuming you are using a fly rod.

[DainW]

Ok so I did a little more reading last night and I'm thinking starting at Tan Vat and walking downstream. Any idea how far Tan Vat to Baptist is? I don't mind walking. My experience has been that 99% of the other fly fishermen on the rivers I go to stay as close to the parking lot as they can. I prefer a little more solitude and usually a short walk will get you some.

Also thanks for the advice on mini jigs. I always forget about those for some reason, but they're very effective here as well. I actually tie up an olive jig with a pink marabou tail that's been pretty good for me.

[Fly guy]

I usually fish Baptist up to tan vat. The parking is better at Baptist. Tan vat can fill up quick on the busy weekends. You can wade up to tan vat take lunch and wade back down in a day and not be rushed. Make sure you bring some midge patterns juju baetis and zebra are what I tie for the area usually red, black, grey, tan, and olive.