Numbers on the Huzzah

[briant]

Has anyone else fishing the Huzzah lately noticed a decline in the number of fish your catching or have I just had a few slow trips this year? 

[405z06]

i know you said "lately", and I haven't been on the Huzzah for about 2 months, but I hit it more this Spring than I had ever fished it before and it quickly turned into one of my favorite streams. The floats I had on the Huzzah in May and June were for the most part phenomenal.

[Smalliebigs]

I would second what 405z06 said. I used to float it a lot more in the 90's, until the last year and have done really well twice and last Friday just tore them up on the Huzzah.....no giants but quite a few up to 18 but I know there are some 20's in there. I would say that creek has held up very well over the years considering the amount of traffic that it has. This year specifically it has had several high water events which will change the dynamics of that creek. That creek fishes better when it is about a foot high and stable flow.....hit it then and your are good. If it is dropping fast or has been for a couple of days the fishing will suck and that goes for any river in my experience....stable flow is huge for aggressive fish.

 

[briant]

Good to hear! I know the Huzzah gets a lot of pressure and I normally do very well like you guys are saying so I must have just hit it on a few off days. That's fishin' for ya. Nice lookin' fish smalliebigs!

[405z06]

Good to hear! I know the Huzzah gets a lot of pressure and I normally do very well like you guys are saying so I must have just hit it on a few off days. That's fishin' for ya. Nice lookin' fish smalliebigs!

Yeah, it's probably just poor timing. It's funny how that happens...the first couple of times I float-fished the Huzzah, I get whooped, and for years i avoided it. There is a report I gave on this forum of the fist time I ever floated the Huzzah, It was the first trip that I was ever skunked. I didn't catch a single smallie. Not even a Googlie. The water was skinny and gin clear. But the Huzzah is truly great, especially in the spring, imo, and I had just hit it at a bad time. Crappy luck.

The same thing happened the first time I floated the Meramec from Scott's Ford to Indian Springs. I think I caught 2 smallies that entire trip. And I avoided it for years. Then a few years ago, I tried it again and became my favorite stretch of river that season. 

The first time I floated from Slabtown on the Piney was dreadful. Then I tried it again and It became my favorite float for a couple of years.

The only river that I have ever sworn off and not had to acknowledge my error in doing so is the Bourbeuse. And I'm sure that would be a mistake if there wasn't but one outfitter on the river. 

[Gavin]

Timing IS a huge factor. Would rate that higher than skill. No dig Bigs you have passion and skills, nice fish BTW. Can float a stretch and catch a ton one day, fish it the next and catch little. There is some reason to it but you gotta go when you can. Mother Nature does not abide by our schedules! Better to be out and enjoying what you do. It's great to have a jackpot trip, but the rest are still fun! 

 

 

[Al Agnew]

The first time I ever floated the Huzzah, I caught very little, but that was because I'd grown up fishing Big River, which is usually somewhat murky.  I was intimidated by the ultra clear water of the Huzzah, and was convinced I had to change my tactics, use ultralight gear, small lures, etc.  The second time, same thing, and it even got reinforced when I hooked and lost, after a long battle on ultralight and 4 pound line, a 20 inch class smallmouth.  I didn't fish it again for years.  When I did, I decided to just use what I'd normally use on murkier water--casting tackle, larger lures.  I cleaned up on nice fish.  That was the trip that really turned around my philosophy on fishing very clear water.

Since then, I've done a lot of floats on the Huzzah over the years--usually two to three trips per year.  Except the once or twice I floated it later in the autumn, every trip has been fair to excellent.  I even caught some nice fish one summer Saturday when we were just floating with nieces and nephews and I brought the fishing tackle along as an afterthought.  The one trip I did on it this year was excellent fishing.

It's dependent upon water conditions in the spring, though.  Some years it seems like there are fewer fish in it because of lack of high water or poor timing of high water in the spring when a good portion of the fish are wanting to move up into the Huzzah out of their wintering pools on the Meramec.