Fishing Report Upper River

[jdmidwest]

I can see Sam's point, I have been there too. Years ago, a client of mine came into the shop that spent alot of money with me, was going to fish the upper Current. I tied him a few of my goto flies. He came back the next week and wanted a few dozen more. He dropped his fly box in the river and lost everything, so I tied him a few dozen more and others too. On and on till one Sunday I drove up and fished the area myself. I had a hard time catching anything and could see the fish turning away from the fly. On Monday, the guy came into the shop and told me how many fish he caught on Saturday in the stretch I fished on Sunday. It was alot more than I saw that trip. He wanted 3 dozen more, I tied them a little different.

He guides on the White River system now, I wonder if he ever learned to tye flies?

[Phil Lilley]

Sam has reported for OA for several years- way before the forum started. He's done an excellent job.

Everyone who reports has to pick his words carefully... not to give up anything you don't want to for whatever reason. Look over your report and make sure it's what you want to put out there. Think about how people are going to react to it. If you're teasing people with a mystery fly, you might be teased back.

[Gavin]

FWIW, we were just having some fun with Sam. Personally, I think very highly of Sam. He's a great guy. I've met him on the river several times and correspond with him via email on a pretty regular basis. I'd recommend his services to anyone who wanted to learn how to fish the Upper Current.

If there is any "secret big fish fly" on the Upper Current its called hard work. There are lots of big brown trout on that creek but you really need to know the river and work at it to catch them.

-Float & Fish the river often

-Learn were the big fish live

-Pick your spot and get there first(or fish at night)

-Fish Alone

-Sneak up to your spot

-Tie on something that will interest a big brown trout

-Make your first cast count

Cheers

[Al Agnew]

Well, Gavin, guys have written BOOKS on trout fishing that didn't give any better advice than what you just put down in seven simple sentences!

[ColdWaterFshr]

Yeah, I was teasing, and I'm sure Sam's a good guy and a good guide.

Still, I don't like the idea of guides and clients on rivers like the upper Current. I've always bristled at the idea of hiring a guide on ANY water, just seems like a short-cut, a stale, almost canned adventure, and its all in the name of convenience. Paying for secrets and tips. You really want to catch a fish so bad, that you don't want to spend any time researching, investigating, solving the puzzle on your own, so you hire a guide?? Just seems kinda lazy. And it turns fishing into a business transaction. On waters I don't know, I'll take my chances with bad advice from locals at coffeee shops, pool halls, and greasy diners. That and a little dumb luck oughta be good enough.

Alright, crucify me!

[Al Agnew]

I agree with you to a point. I've had quite a few guides, mostly deals where I needed the guide to take me down the river in a drift boat. Some were good, one was super, a few were bad. The super one, we went back year after year and he became a very good friend. Sam knows who I'm talking about.

Would I hire a guide for a wading trip on a river like the upper Current? Nope. But that's because I THINK I know enough about what I'm doing that I don't feel I need one. And in actuality, I don't really operate very well with a guide anyway. The perfect guide for me is one who pretty much lets me alone until they see I'm having trouble, then makes a gentle suggestion as to what I need to do, and then lets me alone again. But, there are a lot of anglers who, for whatever reason, feel they need a guide. A lot of them really DO need a guide. Even a little stream like the upper Current can be pretty intimidating to the inexperienced angler.

And a good guide like Sam can do a lot to foster good conservation practices and appreciation for the resource. In my opinion, that may be the most important job a guide has. It isn't, and shouldn't, be all about catching lots of fish at any cost.

[fishinwrench]

Yeah, I was teasing, and I'm sure Sam's a good guy and a good guide.

Still, I don't like the idea of guides and clients on rivers like the upper Current. I've always bristled at the idea of hiring a guide on ANY water, just seems like a short-cut, a stale, almost canned adventure, and its all in the name of convenience. Paying for secrets and tips. You really want to catch a fish so bad, that you don't want to spend any time researching, investigating, solving the puzzle on your own, so you hire a guide?? Just seems kinda lazy. And it turns fishing into a business transaction. On waters I don't know, I'll take my chances with bad advice from locals at coffeee shops, pool halls, and greasy diners. That and a little dumb luck oughta be good enough.

Alright, crucify me!

[3wt]

Good to see everything was meant to be light-hearted...I thought i was witnessing a lynch mob going after the forum leader.

I myself have never used a guide. I prefer to figure things out for myself in most aspects of life, and consider fly fishing to go hand-in-hand with that philosophy - in fact, most serious fly fisherman that I know learned the art from just going out there alone for a while, armed with pointers from friends and books, and figured it out.

But that's tough to do for folks that can only get out to the stream a handful of times a year. When I started fly fishing in, I could only get out ~2 times per summer for a few days at a time. I would always bring my old spincast with me just to catch a few fish, because I sure wasn't slaying 'em with my flyrod. I luckily spent my college years at Rolla, in the heart of MO trout land, and could hit the water a lot more often and learned how to catch fish.

So...I can see using a guide to get a good start on a new river. Not everybody can shoot down to the stream after work for a couple of hours.

Also, I would hope that a good guide would be able to quickly assess a client's ability and needs; whether they need only to be pointed in the right direction or if they need their hand held.

If you look closely at the pictures on Sam's sight, you may get an idea of his magical mystery fly...that is unless Sam's going to unveil the secret any time soon.

[Phil Lilley]

One of these days I'll hire Sam- would love to fish with him. Just need to find the time.

[superfly]

Fortunately or unfortunately at this time in my life I have a job. But I have spent a lot of my free time learning MO's trout waters! The past few years I have went out west to fish and hired a guide both times. Yes I had a great time and caught lots of fish. But want I gained most from the guides was an education on fly fish. I have been able to apply those experiences to my home waters. I guess what I am tring to say is kep an open mind you may learn something. And the last I checked an education is not free. I don't know Sam but would like to say thanks for helping those who need you and for the reports! Keep them coming.