report 7-2

[Randall]

the current is still fishing wonderfully. i fished the morning trico hatch and busted the fish on a size 26... which was still about 2x the size of the natural. i took a neat pic comparing the two, but i'm still on a public computer and i can't load them up

after the hatch, fishing got tough. caught one rainbow about 16" and quite a few little guys. took one of my smallest fish ever on a hopper... still had parr marks- again a neat pic. saw a few pigs but i just don't know how to catch those monster browns in smooth skinny water.

[Thom]

Randall:

Where are you fishing the Current. I have gone in at Cardiac Hill but that is quite a hike for me with my bad knee in and even worse back up the hill.

Is the area behind Marimac park accessable or are you refering to the area at the end of Montauk.

I live down the road from you towards St. Louis in Ofallon.

[3wt]

I can't speak for randall, but there are 2 easy access points just outside of Montauk. The first is called Tan Vat - take the road out of the park (the one that is accross the river from the campgrounds) until you see Eagle's Park campground, turn right, you'll be right on the river. The next is Baptist Camp - pass up Tan Vat and keep driving a couple of miles up the hill. Turn right when the road turns into a paved road (I think theres a sign). Drive down the hill and you're there. No hiking involved with either access. For my money the better fishing in close wading distance is down from Baptist, but it's been a couple of years since I've fished Tan Vat.

[brownieman]

These accesses are the obvious...heavily used.

There are other access points but you have to earn em...well...right of passage I guess.

Some of the least pressured public water in the state I reckon...don't know if there is such a thing these days...

[mhall02]

I fished the Baptist Camp access downstream on the 5th, caught a number of tiny brown trout 3-5", does the state stock them that small? Caught one nice one around 16", no rainbows and I didn't see a soul except at the parking lot, nice day!! Fished the next day in the park, see my post under Montauk Park for that summary.

[Terry Beeson]

...saw a few pigs but i just don't know how to catch those monster browns in smooth skinny water.

What were you casting to them? You might have to pitch a dry and let it drift right up their nose several times before getting a take. If there is no hatch or they are not "midging" you may have to go down with a streamer and do the same thing... right under their noses... Big browns are known to be lazy and like a "no effort" meal at times. Kind of like... well... ME!

[Randall]

thom,

the current is below montauk park. i fish at tan vat usually, wading upstream to the rock garden and downstream to and past baptist. the areas are fished fairly heavily, but i have no problem walking to get away from crowds. cardiac is on the meramec, and it is called cardiac for a reason.

mhall,

mdc just stocked a bunch of small browns. there are plenty of big fish in there, but you gotta catch a bunch of the little guys first seems like.

terry,

i put everything in my box in front of those fish. i even gave them nice long breaks by leaving the area and coming back later. of course, i couldn't buy a strike after the hatch ended that day.

[brownieman]

thom,

the current is below montauk park. i fish at tan vat usually, wading upstream to the rock garden and downstream to and past baptist. the areas are fished fairly heavily, but i have no problem walking to get away from crowds. cardiac is on the meramec, and it is called cardiac for a reason.

mhall,

mdc just stocked a bunch of small browns. there are plenty of big fish in there, but you gotta catch a bunch of the little guys first seems like.

terry,

i put everything in my box in front of those fish. i even gave them nice long breaks by leaving the area and coming back later. of course, i couldn't buy a strike after the hatch ended that day.

I've seen guys that know how...unethical as can be but you too can get your name on a lunker board...and have bragging rights.

Use something that doesn't float, light colored that you can see well...drift the bait right in his mouth if he sits still enouph, well... there you have it...not a foul hook if you get em in the mouth...TOTAL BS...but it happens more than you'll know. Pretty stinkin pathetic imo!!

I suspect this would not be possible if these were real wild trout...whatdayathink?

[Terry Beeson]

B-man... you got THAT right... that's not the way I want my fish. If I have to do something like that to catch fish, I'll just stay home.

I landed a fish the other night that I was ready to photo and post until I saw the fly in his gill plate... He was released and not eve mentioned in the report... It happens... But you will NOT find me snagging, using power bait, or slipping crawlers on the end of my fly...

[Randall]

and i thought the point of fishing was to get the fish to eat a pretty hook... guess i'm just gonna have to break out the #baseball treble and make the hook eat them.

seriously though, i can't stand that unsportsmanlike crap. just my opinion, but isn't the point of fishing the possibility of failure? why fish if success is guaranteed... where's the fun? also, somebody correct me if i'm wrong but isn't the strike the exciting part?

if you really stop to think about it, catch and release fishing is a retarded game... you trick a fish into eating a pretty hook, then pull it in so that you can get your pretty hook back, let the frightened fish swim away then try to make it happen again. the fight may be fun, but its the take that should be rewarding if you really think about it. my opinion... take it how you like.