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Fishing Report January 31

The rivers were in great shape to fish at the end of the week and this weekend. HOWEVER... if you were driving down here from up North you were in for a surprise if you had not checked the weather for this area prior to leaving. Lots of snow down here with minimum about 4 inches and up to 8 inches in places. The temperatures dropped down into the teens and the wind was pushing 12-15 mph. Just the right combination for a couple of OLD FOOLS to be out on a stream. The weather may have been bad, but the fishing was excellent. The water had just the right color for stripping streamers and these two old fools had a tremendous day.  The forecast is for some warming the first of the week and then more snow, and ice with dropping temps by the end of the week. If you want to get out on the water I suggest you do it the middle of the week.

Two Old Fools                                                Frozen Waders

Fishing Report January 24

As I write this the rivers are dropping and will continue to drop over the next week. They were, if you didn't already know, up and running hard as of Sunday. Saturday afternoon and Saturday night it rained pretty hard and long here... enough to close the middle section of the Current River, raise the Little Piney 6 feet, push the upper Current over 600 cfs and raise it to over 3 feet. The upper Meramec, at Cook Station, jumped to over 8 feet with a normal flow of about a foot and half and an incredible cfs of 3,000 when it is usually about 40. 

Good thing I got my line wet on Saturday. I did get a little damp around my shirt sleeves, but I knew it was going to be a wet day so I was prepared. I have mentioned before that I prefer to fish when it is cloudy or better yet a light misting or light rain. I caught fish all day Saturday, in the rain. Not hatchery trout, but wild trout. Nice wild trout. The ones that usually just feed at night or when the conditions are what they were on Saturday. 

Wild 19 inch rainbow male in post spawning colors.                                            Wild 20" rainbow female, post spawn

Don't forget to renew your fishing license before the first of March..

"A Bay Day Fishing is Still a Great Day"

Fishing Report January 13

I would like to tell you that I was able to get out this past week, but I didn't so I can't. Temperatures were mostly in the single digits or low teens during the day and around or little below zero at night. Needless to say, we have not had this type of weather for a very long time. BUT it did allow me to get out on the ice and drill a hole. Something I have not done for about 3 years and then it was too thin and I had to abandon my attempt when the ice starting cracking. The ice, this week, is about 6-7 inches and that is more than enough to be safe. I didn't catch any fish, but I may not have been in the right place. They don't move much when the water is this cold, so you have to be where they are, or you drill a bunch of holes until you find them. My drill is not motorized, so I didn't drill a bunch of holes. BUT I did have some good help on the ice...and an extra 120 pounds to test it for me.

Fishing Report January 3

When the sunlight got up high enough to hit the water the olives started to come off. The wind was blowing, the snow was falling and it was about 17 or 18 degrees, up 10 degrees from when we started at 8:00 AM. The surface temperature was 50 degrees, which I'm sure will be the highest it will get this week with forecasts of highs in the single digits. This is about as cold as it has been for a long time. Expect to get ice in your guides and scrapes on your fly line this week. The olives did come off yesterday and yes we fished with dry flies. It was a perfect Baetis day... miserable if you weren't prepared for it OR if you happened to get wet.

Fishing a rise                                                                                            Keep them close to the water for releases

Fishing Report December 21

It was a little on the cold side yesterday standing in waist deep 42 degree water, but the fish were there and the bugs were there so of course we were there. All in all it was a good afternoon. Brian said it was the best day fishing he has had in a very long time. And I was happy that I could help out a little with that success. The midges didn't pop yesterday, but there were some olives on the water and I would guess that most of the fishermen we saw didn't realize it. The four hours that we fished, we only saw one other fisherman with a fish on and he was using a spinning reel and a spinner. Forecast for the week is looking pretty good with snow coming by the end of the week. If the temps get up, the bugs will be there, so keep your eyes open. Bonus yesterday was seeing two eagles... that is always a good day.

Fishing Report December 11

Not much to report.... my computer has been down for almost three weeks and I have only be out a couple of times since then. Traveling for Thanksgiving and shopping for Christmas and visiting for some early Christmas gatherings has pretty much limited my time on the water. There are some caddis on the water during warm days and you can usually find midges coming off about 10:30 or 11:00 where the sun hits the water. Water temps are getting down to about 50 right now so bring a little more for layering. Air temps are in the upper 20s and low 30s, which can be dangerous if you happen to get wet. Always remember to bring extra clothes, a source of heat and it is a good idea to fish with a partner in the winter.

Fishing Report November 19

The local streams are running high and the springs are putting out a great deal of water, so wade fishing this weekend will be a challenge. The upper Current River was closed two days this week and still remains high. As we head into winter type weather and the water temps begin to dip into the 40s, it is always a good idea to have a fishing partner and make sure you have extra clothes in case of an accidental fall in the stream. Hypothermia can set in pretty fast in wet clothes. Use a wading staff and check the bottom before you step in a newly developed  hole or into some soft gravel up to you knees. AND don't forget that it is still Firearms DEER SEASON. 

Midges came off only fair today and with the water up and pushing the fish didn't sip them as they usually do this time of year. I caught a few today on #18 softhackles and a few on eggs, but all the fish I caught were small. There were some caddis popping, but not enough to get the fish chasing them. 

Fishing Report November 12

The streams are still up a little and running cloudy. Fishing has been Good, not great, but good. Cover a lot of water and hope that a hatch occurs. There was very little bug activity the three days that I was out this week. I picked up fish with a variety of flies with none of them being better than the one I had on. I fished some streamers, and drifted some nymphs. The largest fish I caught this week was a 21X13 brown which is about 4.4 lb.  Trout Parks open for catch and release on Friday and don't forget... DEER SEASON FOR FIREARMS starts Saturday so make sure you wear some type of hunter orange IF you have to be out on a stream over the next ten days.  

Fishing Report November 5

The local streams are still running high, but dropping each day. Fishing on the Current is reported to be only fair today. Expect to work for them. The upper Current River and Mill Creek should be OK by the weekend, but I would assume that they will both be running cloudy. Streamers and egg patterns or san Juan worms are still the way to go right now. If you are throwing nymphs go up a couple of sizes so they can find them easier. You will also have to add a little more weight than normal. The larger rivers like the Meramec, Eleven Point and North Fork, may not be down to a fishable level until next week. Remember that the trout parks are closed until the 13th of Nov.

Fishing Report November 1

The last week and a half of October I was on a Steelhead trip so I couldn't give you a fishing report for this area. The middle of this week the local rivers blew out with some very heavy run off. It may take a few more days for them to get back to a somewhat fishable level.  The current river at Montauk rose to about six and half feet. The Meramec almost got up to 17 feet, 5 feet over flood stage. The little piney went up 11 feet to 14, with a lot of damage. Please be careful wading especially in dark water and it is always a good idea to have a wading staff and fishing partner in high water.  Also keep in mind the deer hunting seasons. This past weekend the youth firearms season started. It is a good idea to have some kind of hunter orange piece of clothing like a hat or vest if you are moving through the brush along the stream. If you have to fish, fish the softer water along the edges and make sure to get down. Egg patterns or streamers work well in dark water this time of the year. 

Fishing Report October 14

The streams are still up and running cloudy. Fishing has been fair-poor depending on what stream you are on. Go to darker colors and bigger flies when the streams are up and running muddy to cloudy. If you are patient enough and keep switching flies until you find one that works you will catch some fish. I managed to get this beautiful 21 inch male yesterday, and 7 other small ones, but it took some time and work to find the right fly. If you are headed out this weekend it would be a good idea to get a report on river conditions prior to making the trip.

Fishing Report October 8

I helped the MDC with the annual Electro shocking and sampling last week. I know that is wasn't what fishermen wanted to see when they saw us coming down the stream, but it is a necessary procedure to maintain a study on the quality and quantity of the fisheries.  I believe that the MDC has done an extra ordinary job of creating and maintaining some of the finest trout fishing in the entire mid west. 

The streams are running a little cloudy this week with good bug activity. The Tricos are thinning out, but still being fed on in the mornings. Good news is that you don't have to get there at dawn to catch the spinner fall. The tiny olives are increasing each day and caddis hatches have been good to very good. Try a size 18 or 16 in tan. As the browns start to do their thing please avoid casting to fish on the redds. Most of them are not feeding anyway and the odds of foul hooking them increases and foul hooked fish are difficult to land. They are expending a great deal of energy this time of year and extreme stress can actually result in killing them. They will lose a considerable amount of weight over the next few weeks and their energy levels will be very low.  If you concentrate on the water down stream from the redds you will find several fish and fish that will readily take your flies.

Water conditions are not looking good for the coming weekend. The weather forecast is for 3-5 inches of rain over the next 12-24 hours and temperatures in the mid to upper 30s for lows and mid 50s for highs. If the forecast holds true the smallmouth fishing will drop off considerably from its current level of Slow. And the trout fishing will also have considerable change.

Fishing Report September 19

As the leaves start to turn to brilliant autumn colors the trout also respond to the change of the seasons with their fall colors. This was a busy week with some nice fish landed and some nice fish missed or lost. The water is very clear and it requires precise presentations with long thin leaders for success. Avoid lining the fish you are after. If you do, it will stop feeding and head for cover or hunker down and wait for you to leave before it starts to feed again. Hoppers, ants, beetles, caddis, tricos and various nymphs have all contributed to fish in the net this week. Sometimes it took hours to get the right fly to the exact location for a take.  As the season turns to autumn don't forget your camera and miss an opportunity to get a great photo of an Ozark stream against a backdrop of brilliant hardwood leaves or the magnificent colors of a beautiful trout or a tremendous sunrise on your way to the stream.

Far too often fishermen bring their fast pace life to the stream and attempt to fish the same way. I realize that most fishermen only have a few hours to enjoy their time in the outdoors and they want to make the most of those precious few hours BUT how much is missed with that type of a pace one only knows. The brilliant sunrise on the way to a stream, the song of the birds, the dive of a kingfisher, the chatter of squirrels the occasional muskrat or mink and the rare sighting of an otter osprey, eagle or beaver. With clear water that isn't moving fast and tumbling over logs or rocks to disturb the surface slow down, walk slowly and use all your senses to observe insects on the water and in the air. Watch for that rise ring or movement in the stream that gives away the presence of a fish that you may have a chance to fool. A fast pace on the stream will limit your fish in the net and most certainly will limit your chance of catching a large fish. 

Fishing Report September 11

Early and late still seems to be the trend this week. The tiny Trico spinner falls have been heavy some days and average some days, but so far there hasn't been light days. Light spinner fall days will indicate that the hatches are starting to decline as we head into the fall months. The fishing slows down in the afternoon until the caddis start popping. If you find the right location you may get in on some very good caddis action in the late afternoon. Terrestrials are a good choice in the afternoons with a dropper to give them a choice. The browns are starting to get their fall colors and you may be lucky enough to pick up a brightly colored male. Plan a float to enjoy the beautiful Ozark scenery and discover why Missouri is the home waters of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Fishing Report September 1

Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times to be on the water right now. The Tricos are going strong in the morning and the terrestrial activity is good in the late afternoons. The Caddis activity is picking up well about 3:00 and continuing until dusk. A few cinnamon caddis have been seen, but most of the caddis activity is the little sister, olive size 16.

Smallmouth fishing this week has been very good with great success on top water all day. Large hopper patterns and Sneaky Pete sliders have worked well.

Fishing Report August 18

If you enjoy fishing with size 28 flies the Tricos are really coming on strong. Afternoons switch over to caddis or terrestrials and in the evening wait for the caddis popping. The water is clear, but not crystal clear. You still need to be slow, patient and stealthy to find the big fish. 

This past week a couple of newbees to fly fishing caught their first trout on a fly rod. 

Fishing Report August 8

Wow has it been two weeks since my last fishing report? I have been busier than cat on a hot tin roof.  Well here goes.... The Meramec river has not been fishing well this summer. I have had several former clients email me to ask me what is going on... I don't have an answer, but I do know that my wife and I floated it a couple of weeks ago and we didn't see very many trout. We did see several smallmouth and some of them were probably about 3-4 pounds. We also saw a lot of big drum and lots of suckers.

The Big Piney is fishing well for smallmouth and goggleye, but we have not caught any over 18 inches... which is a very nice smallmouth. The fishing has been better early and late in the day and of course on cloudy days. Earlier in the week I fished about two hours and caught 14. Yesterday two clients fished a half day and probably caught over 20 smallmouth, goggleye and sunfish, with the largest a nice strong 15-16 incher.

The Current river trico hatch is still not what it has been in the past, but getting better by the day. The difficult part about fishing this hatch is the size of the fly... it can be very challenging to cast it, see it and know when a fish has taken it. The early morning FOG also plays a part in finding and seeing your tiny #28 fly on the water. The number of fish in certain sections of the stream are very low with others being very high.. but I would rather have a good even distribution than find them in bunches. When you find several in a hole they are always rainbows and I prefer to fish for the browns, unless the rainbows have been holdovers from previous years or stream born fish. This was Cindy's first fly fishing trip and I'm sure she will remind her spouse, often, about the 18 brown trout she caught her very first time out.  There were some caddis and some chasers in the morning, but it was minimal. 

This was a Huge reward on her first fly fishing trip.

Fishing Report July 12

Tricos were there and the fish were feeding on them, but not in great numbers. The caddis were flying and they seemed to be the best chance for hook ups. We also drifted some nymphs and fished some soft hackles, but for some reason the fish were not interested in very much that we tried. The caddis worked the best in the morning but that also slowed to a crawl by the afternoon.

  Pam's first trout on a fly rod, and in a difficult fishing condition with the Fog.

Fishing Report July 9

We have been doing well with top water flies, like popping bugs, hair frogs and foam frogs for smallmouth this week. And occasionally we pick up a largemouth, which I realized I had no photos of on my web page.. so here is the first one. Early morning and evening have been the best times when it is a bright sunny day. Trout fishing has also been better early and late in the day. Short report this morning..  I have to head out to the river for an all day trip.

Fishing Report July 2

As the streams begin to clear, fishermen will have to become a little more stealthy in their approach to the water they plan to fish. Taking your time and finding a feeding fish can be rewarding. Polarized sunglasses, a slow quiet approach, and a good presentation allowed me to hook this 20 inch rainbow late yesterday afternoon. The fish was feeding on something, because I could see him swing out from his holding spot and pick up some food about every minute or so. All I had to do was figure out what he was feeding on. Kind of hard when you can't see the food source, but I guess I had the right fly because he took it on the 3rd drift. 

I was hoping to get in on some Trico and Caddis action, but the bug activity was pretty slow where I was fishing. I managed to pick up some small browns and a couple of small rainbows on Caddis dries. The action was pretty slow, so I decided to go to another spot on the river. The change in location paid off. 

There are Tricos in the air, but they are scattered and the numbers are still not high enough for some good dry fly fishing. The Caddis action has been slowing down as well, so I have to resort to my least favorite type of fly fishing...drifting a nymph below an indicator... I can do it for a little while, but I get bored watching an indicator. I enjoy casting a fly too much and to me that's what fly fishing is about... casting a fly.

Fishing Report June 24

The streams are running above normal and the water is off color, but that hasn't stopped the bugs from doing their thing. Did well yesterday with caddis ovipositing in the AM. They were not everywhere, so knowing where they are is a big factor. If you can find the right location you will be rewarded with some good dry fly action. The Tricos are not doing well yet, which is and is not a surprise. There are some nice swarms, but scattered and the fish are not sucking the spinners  for very long. In the past we could count on fishing the spinner fall the month of June, but that was when the water levels were low for several years. In the past two years the water levels have been high and I think the extra amount of flow has taken a toll on the tiny Tricos and pushed them back. But I am not an entomologist so it is just my theory. 

Hefty brown on an Elk Hair

Fishing Report June 18

This has become the fishing report for our area this spring : HIGH WATER again for this weekend  We had about 3 inches of rain this week and with the ground already soaked from last week there wasn't anywhere for the water to go in the ground so just about all of it ran off into ditches then creeks and eventually the streams. Some of the streams went up 6 feet in 3 hours and they are still running high. The Meramec was a little over 3900 CFS and it normally is about 300. The Big Piney is running about 1400 and it is normally around 250.  The Little Piney is normally about 100 and it was around 770 this morning. The Gasconade, a large river for this area, is normally around 1500 and it was over 12,000. The measuring station on the Current River, above Akers, should be about 270 and it was running over 1,100.  With water flows from 7 to 10 times above normal, fishing the local streams for the next several days is going to be very difficult if not impossible on some of the streams. 

Fishing Report June 10

HIGH WATER again for this weekend.. I have rescheduled more clients this year because of high water than I have in the previous 3 years combined.

Fishing Report May 31

Area streams are still running a little above normal and cloudy to a little muddy. With all the high water recently, I think the fish have eaten well because most of the takes we have been having are not eager with the exception of a few. When the fish have their bellies full they are not real aggressive hitting your flies, unless it is  a response strike, like you get from a smallmouth guarding a nest. Check the water levels for the stream you are planning to fish, prior to making a long trip and finding out the stream is not fishable. Fortunately for us in this region, there are several streams to choose from, so we can always adjust our planned trip. Sometimes the alternate stream ends up being a great decision, sometimes it doesn't. Lots of high water can slow down the fishing and lots of high water can change your favorite fishing hole. That is one of the nice things about fishing  streams, they are always changing.

We were not sure if this guy didn't heed the flash flood warnings and fished without a partner, or fished with a partner and the fishing was so good his partner kept on fishing while he got swept away. OR he decided if he was going to go this would be just as good a place as any and better than most ... OR he walked into a hole that someone was fishing and the fisherman had had enough of inconsiderate fishing etiquette and decided to teach this guy a lesson...OR ..... you get the idea, it could have been a number of things or reasons.  Anyway this is how we found him and left him to rest in peace.

"A Bad Day Fishing is Still A Great Day"

Fishing Report May 20

I really don't have much if anything to report today... but I wanted to share this photo with everyone that visits. We were walking out of Mill Creek on Monday, through some thigh high grass and plants when I froze in my tracks. One more step and I would have stepped on this little fawn curled up and barely breathing, trying to stay as still as possible and not be noticed.... If momma was around we didn't see or hear her. We took 3 photos, backed off and left the tiny thing alone.

Fishing Report May 14

 The Current River, as of  Thursday the 14th, is Closed to boating until the river can be cleared from the violent wind storm that when through the area last Friday. Experienced floaters have learned that it is always a good idea to check with the National Park Service prior to floating the river following storms. The headquarter office in Van Buren is: 573-323-4236   http://www.nps.gov/ozar/planyourvisit/levels.htm 

Hundreds of trees, mostly the very large trees, some probably at least a 100 years old were up rooted all around Montauk Park, Baptist access and Parker access. The Intercounty Rural Electric workers, Mo-Dot, Montauk Park and the National Park service have been working some very long and hard hours clearing the roads and power lines.

The area streams are still running cloudy and higher than normal, but the fishing is picking up. Early in the morning and evening hours have been the best. You will need some heavy flies or add some weight to get to the bottom to pick up the most fish. There has been caddis activity with action on top as well. Watch for risers, if they are coming up and swing a soft-hackle or drift a caddis.

"A Bad Day Fishing is Still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 8

The streams are running very full and most are not fishable right now. Exceptions would be the smaller creeks and the headwaters of the rivers. I would expect the springs to be spitting out huge amounts of water for the next couple of weeks and don't expect it to be clear for at least a week or two.. Not completely a bad thing if you like throwing big flies and streamers. Be very careful wading and a partner that could help you out of a situation would be a good idea. I am not one to carry a wading staff because I find mine at the river, but this would be a good time to have one with you if you plan to wade and fish.

"A Bad Day Fishing is Still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 1

All area streams continue to run over normal flow and cloudy. The smallmouth are full of eggs right now and starting to nest. The cooler temps have kept the water temperatures down and the smallmouth have not yet jumped up into that all out aggressive mood. If we can get some warmer weather to warm up the water just a few degrees the smallies will kick into full gear.

Trout fishing has been good to excellent depending on where you fish. The streams are pushing pretty good, so be cautious wading. Caddis patterns and woollies are doing well along with nymphs like copperjohns and hare's ear. The beadhead prince and san juan worms are also taking fish.

First Smallmouth on a fly rod and his first trout on a fly rod both on the same day on different streams. What a Great way to start fly fishing....!

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 22

The Current river is running a light green color right now. Not quite milky but will probably start getting to that stage in a couple of days. The spring is kicking out some serious water after all the rain we have had. It usually takes several days for the spring water to clear up after we have had 2+ inches of rain. I thought it would be a milky today, and almost back to normal by the weekend, But I was wrong. I had to use lots of weight to get my flies down, because that was where I was catching fish... swinging streamers on the bottom.  I only caught about a dozen with the largest one at 16 inches.  Not nearly the size that I was expecting.  BUT I did get some great photos of  huge patches of Blue Bells and I was lucky enough to find some Ozark spring gold... Morels!  Are we not so very lucky to live in the great and beautiful Ozarks?

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 21

I, and 14 other volunteers, spent Sunday morning and part of the afternoon helping the MDC plant 4,000 of the planned 6,000 trees and shrubs at the Bohigian Conservation Area. It rained all day and we pretty much looked like soaked rats by 4:00 that afternoon. Groups involved in the tree planting were the Roubidoux Fly Fishers Club, Ozark Fly Fishers Club, and Mid-Mo TU.

If you have been watching the USGS stream reports you know what the first part of the week looked like "blow outs". Actually I will post the report tomorrow night, but I didn't have anything to do right now so I thought I would sit here and tell you that the rivers are probably going to be very close to normal by the end of the week. Right now they are still running a little high, but the water color should be excellent for streamers. I'll let you know tomorrow.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 15

Fishing has been pretty good this week. Good caddis hatches in the morning and evening with Hendricksons coming off in the late afternoon. It is definitely bug season in the Ozarks with more and better hatches coming and the weekend attendance hatches increasing as well. Last weekend there was an excellent hatch of fishermen enjoying the fine weather so finding an undisturbed spot to fish was a challenge. Fortunately some of the fish cooperated and allowed us to play with them for a little while. This weekend is shaping up to be another great opportunity for an enjoyable time on our fine Ozarks streams.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

The Sparks had a good morning fishing dry flies on Saturday

Fishing Report April 9

It was the type of day that I like to fish. Slow drizzle all day and the fish were very cooperative. John and Rusty were trying their hand at fishing flies on the swing for the first time. With the excellent success that they had I'm sure it will become one of their favorite methods to take trout in the future. We didn't keep track of the numbers, but I would guess it at over 20. John had the largest of the day (sorry for telling the whole world Rusty) with a heavy 15 inch rainbow. John and Rusty have a great friendship that goes back 20 years. They are constantly digging at each other and it makes for a very enjoyable day on the water. I have said it before, fly fishing isn't only about catching fish, it provides an avenue for friendship and excellent companionship in a great environment. I really enjoy fishing with guys like this.    Keep an eye on the water levels over the next couple of days. Local rains have pushed some streams up, like the Little Piney, to unfishable levels.

  Great friends and a great day on the water... a little wet, but it makes for good fishing.

Fishing Report April 1

Fished about 3 hours or so yesterday on the Current. The river is up a little and pushing pretty good in the narrow chutes, so be careful crossing in areas that are over waist deep. If you have not been on the stream this year, remember that the river changes. Places that you were able to wade may be deeper now, especially during the spring when there is more water flowing.

The caddis were popping pretty good all morning with several fish chasing. I did not have my caddis box, or my dry box or any nymphs with me. I took my streamers and my 6 wt rod, because I like to throw my bigger flies when the river is up and running cloudy.  I end up paying for it with my shoulder, but a couple a Advil takes care of it. I didn't catch a lot of fish, maybe 8 or 9, but I did catch a couple of footballs that would probably go about 3 pounds. No browns, which surprised and disappointed me. That is always my main goal when I am throwing streamers, big browns with lots of big teeth. 

I was fortunate to meet a good friend of mine on the river and we fished together for the 3 hours. Dick fished with nymphs and leeches below an indicator. He hooked more fish than I did, but for some reason had a difficult time keeping them on. He guessed that he probably had 14 hook ups yesterday morning. So all in all we did OK.  In the end, is isn't important how many fish you catch or how big they are... Fly fishing is about the good friends you make along the way.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report March 29

I have been out of town on a steelhead trip this past week, so I don't have a report that is current. The week before I left I was on the water with a client and he and I did very well with my Hendrickson pattern in size 12.  They should be going much stronger by now.  Look for them hatching in the afternoon and early evening. I will find out for you this week. As we get into April, look for the craneflies to increase and the caddis popping in the evenings. The waters are warming a little each week and in a couple of weeks the smallmouth will start to become more active... great dry fly fishing is just around the corner.  I will have an up to date for you later this week.   Right now I am going to write up my week of fishing for steelhead in my Stories link.             "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report February 28

I certainly have not been keeping up with my reports recently. I have no excuses, but I did want to share with you a day I had, this week, on a wild trout stream in the area. It was a warm, cloudy, spitting rain day. If you have been a regular visitor to my site in the past, then you know that this is exactly my favorite type of day to fish. The catching wasn't great, but the solitude and the "fishing" was excellent. I used my normal pattern for this stream and this time of year, but I wasn't picking up the fish I normally do so I switched over to a fly I use at times when the action is slow, a stimulator. Yes I know that it is late winter and there are no big bugs on the water, but big flies get the attention of big fish and I have had some success with this fly in these exact situations. You know the fish are there, but for some reason they are not very active and need something to perk their interest. Even if they don't take, it is still exciting to see them rise from their naps to investigate this huge fly on the surface. I managed to catch a half dozen 8-10 fish, see some larger ones that lost interest and land a hooked jawed 18" male. Every now and then I get lucky and pick one of these guys up. It made my day complete.  Lesson here is to switch flies and techniques when you are not catching fish and know that they are there, even if it is a large dry fly in late winter.   "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report February 3

I was able to get out before the severe weather arrived and fish for our local wild trout a few hours on Tuesday. I had a very good afternoon catching about a dozen dandy little guys. Two were very respectable 13-14 inchers and I broke another one off that would probably go about 2 pounds... so all in all it was a very good afternoon. There were lots of black caddis in the air and also some midges. I also saw a Hendrickson come off... just the one. He must have been eager, because the rest of his buddies won't be around for about 3 or 4 weeks. I love to be able to fish where I can be one with the stream and not worry about seeing other fishermen, or hearing other fishermen... It is amazing how much more wildlife I get to observe when no one else is around. I'm not antisocial, but I do like to fish when and where is it quiet. Fly fishing is suppose to be the quiet sport, but I don't think everyone with a fly rod knows that. I caught all of my fish very near or on the bottom with my own version of a one year old sculpin. The ground in this area is saturated and any amount of rain we receive runs off quickly, so be very careful if you plan to be wading and there is a storm up stream. The creeks and rivers will come very fast. At least make sure you are on the side of the stream that your vehicle is on... I had a friend that had to swim the river one time to get back to his truck. When he got there the river was in his floorboard.. That's why they have the flash flood warning signs at the parking lots. They are there for a reason and believe me, they are for real. Just ask anyone that has been caught in a flash flood, like the people camping at Montauk Park.  Be careful out there, the streams are ready for a flushing and the water is still very cold.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report January 22

This month has been pretty rough on me so far. I had the Flu, caught a cold and the latest was food poisoning. I have been limited to three outings this month all of which have been successful. Two trips over to the Meramec and one trip on the Little Piney... I haven't been able to get down to visit my sweet current and I miss her dearly.

Midges have been my fly of choice for the Meramec. The hatches over there have been good to excellent on the days that I have been there this winter. I carry a variety of patterns and usually try different ones, if the takes are slow, until I find the one they want the one they want the most. Yesterday it was the black pupa, drifting about 15 inches below the surface. The time before that it was the tan emerger pattern in the surface film. One thing I have found over the course of the years, is that the Meramec is consistently inconsistent. We only had a couple of hours to fish Thursday, but I managed to land an even 10 and probably missed about that many. My misses seem to be multiplied each time I go down a hook size. The number 30 I used yesterday provided additional data for my theory. But I have also found that missing takes while using minuscule flies can result in the same fish taking the fly again, provided there wasn't a hook prick the first time.

My trip to the Little Piney was a fun day because I didn't see anyone all day long. I managed to catch a few fish, but I had to do a ton of casting between each one. I actually enjoy casting to challenging places and making the unorthodox presentations under limbs and over logs. Having been a basketball coach for 30+ years I have always been competitive and always taught my players the games within the game. So it is with my casting, there is the challenge to make the cast and play a game within the game.. I love fly fishing, I love the challenges and the skills it takes to become proficient, it is my passion.  Getting back to the Little Piney, I was able to catch most of my fish with a number 12 leech in dark brown/olive. This time of year, the tiny sculpins from last years hatch are about this size and I think they take the leech for the sculpin. Before you start fishing, check for bugs flying, or on the water. Shake some bushes along the stream to see if anything flies off. If there are no bugs, then observe the stream bottom for large numbers of minnows or crayfish. Taking a little time to make observations can mean the difference between hook ups or a day of practicing your casting skills... either way "A bad day fishing is still a Great day".

Fishing Report December 30

What a great day to be out on a stream, especially the end of December. 55 degrees, a little windy, warm sun on your face and of course lots of other fishermen enjoying the day. I didn't say it was a great day for fishing, just a great day to be out. I usually fish during the middle of the week to stay away from the crowds, but with the holiday season it allowed several fishermen the opportunity to enjoy a day on the stream during the middle of the week. Midges are still the fly of choice, but for some reason they didn't come off as well as they have been. The stream being up and running a little harder may have had something to do with it, I don't know. I used a #30 midge, in a few different colors: Black, olive and tan. I had the best luck with the tan. I picked up fish with the black and the olive, but the tan produced more. Takes were soft and slow, and I missed several fish. If I could see them take the fly I usually got a hook up, but not always a solid hook up. I could see them take it an spit it out before I could set the hook. I only had a couple of fish take it hard. I am experimenting with a couple of different patterns I have thought of, so it makes it fun to see if they work or not. So far they are doing OK, not great but acceptable. If you can get out this time of year, don't forget the midges. The midges around here are a lot smaller than the midges you see at Taney so ty them accordingly.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report December13

I was fortunate enough to be on the stream a couple of weeks ago when there was an excellent olive hatch. I managed to pick up several fish on emergers stripped slowly just below the surface film. The largest was about 5 lb and a second fish was about 3.5 lb. It is pretty rare when you catch a fish that big on a #22 fly. The midge hatch was so thick you couldn't open your mouth. The past couple of days have been spent on the Meramac river fishing the midge hatch over there. Pretty tough fishing to some very selective rainbows. A good friend of mine, Dave, came down to fish the Meramac because he had never fished it before. Thursday we spent a half day in Maramec Park. On Thursday morning the temperature was down to about 16 degrees, so it was pretty tough keeping the fingers warm. It did warm up to a blistering 35 degrees in the afternoon. Dave and I picked up some rainbows and I caught the most washed out brown I have ever seen. Dave was using his 1wt so he was having a time landing some of his fish, but it was great fun. We fished the river in the afternoon and picked up a few more with emergers. On Friday we spent the day on the Meramec river in various locations. Let me put it this way... "A bad day fishing is still a great day".

Fishing Report November 21

I was able to fly fish about 4 hours on Tuesday afternoon down on the Current. The water is very clear and down. The trappers have their trap lines out now, so please be aware of the areas marked with bright colored ribbons. You never know where the trap is located. It could be in the water or along the bank, so it is best to stay away from the area. The ribbons remind the trappers where the sets are located. They could have 100 traps set, so it helps to remember where they are. The trap line must be checked every 24 hours.

  Trap location ribbons.

I have been reading a book on fly fishing back in the early 1900s. It is interesting, to me, how they fished back then, so I wanted to try a couple of methods they used. I was able to pick up a dozen or so, but no size. More important to me was learning these methods.  I like to try to learn about anything that has to do with fly fishing and learning different methods helps me become a better fisherman. I have also been tying some of the OLD "wet fly" patterns and guess what? They still work. Which, again is more support of my theory that if it looks like food they are going to eat it. I strongly believe, that unless they are locked in to a specific hatch that is going on they will eat anything that looks like food.  The more hungry they are the more readily they will take the fly. I believe that the presentation of that fly is more important. There are probably a thousand different fly patterns to choose from today and the list continues to grow. Do the new patterns catch fish? Probably, but the old ones do too. I still catch fish with the patterns I learned to fish with when I was 17.  How many different flies do you have? I know that I have way too many. I am, when I fish this year, going to limit myself to two fly boxes per trip, starting this winter, and see how much of a difference it makes in my "catching". I know one thing, without those excess boxes to carry, I won't need a heavy vest to lug around. A lighter load is appealing, isn't it?  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report November 16

I was on a fishing trip all week and that trip is in my stories section, so I don't have a personal report for this area. I can tell you from my experience in the past that this is a good time of year for tiny olive hatches mid morning. Caddis will hatch all fall and will provide some dry fly fishing opportunities. There should be eggs in the water from the browns and the rainbows should be starting to drop eggs as well. I can relay a report I received from a close friend:

"We are still getting hatches of small mayflies and caddis but later in the day now and not as abundant.  I caught a few on dries last Tue but a rain shower
killed that flat dead in ten minutes.  Still did ok that day as it was dark and dreary and the fish were hungry.  I tend to associate a spinner fall with temps around 60F or so whenever in the day that occurs and I haven't fished this trip on any day that temp didn't happen but we still seem to be getting tricos when it does."

I would also like to relay a story he sent me about his experience with remote auto locking systems:

"I had an experience that last fishing day that I took a lesson from that I wanted to pass on.  I came across a couple camped downstream from where I fished.  I more or less followed a trail of soda cans, broken cooler pieces and other items on the bottom of the creek to a campsite at the bottom of the flat water along the bluff just below where I fished which was littered with their remaining stuff drying on bushes and trees.  After finding out what they wanted to do I spent
the rest of the day helping drag the canoe and belongings back to the Baptist launch load up and drive them to their Jeep at Tan Vat.  So far so good but here's the lesson coming.  Their car keys were in a waterproof box which was full of water.  The keyless entry was soaked.  They opened the car with the manual metal key but they had set the alarm which went off and couldn't be turned off without the remote device working.  The guy got the horn stopped but the flashers continued and the car couldn't be started with the key.  We played with it quite a while, taking the device apart and drying it thoroughly  during which the car battery went down due to the emergency flashers.   Finally I drove into Salem and got two new batteries for the gizmo and after he fooled around some more and
discovered it would work if held in direct contact with the receiving antenna by the dome light I jumped them with the truck battery and away they went back to West Plains.  I was glad to help them and had the time but it was a several hour ordeal and the woman was just about in tears by the time everything was resolved.

The lesson is for people who carry these remote keyless entry devices while fishing or canoeing.  Keep them absolutely dry at all costs and don't set the security system unless you really really need to.  Keep the keys in a zip-lock in your vest or waders.  Without the alarm everything would have been easy.  If you routinely use the keyless entry while fishing be sure to have the metal key along also or hidden on the car"  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report November 3

It has been over a week since I was last out on our great Ozark streams. But the last time I was on the streams the Elk hair Caddis in tan and size 18, was the fly of choice. The browns had other things on their minds so you almost had to force feed them. If the fly wasn't on the tip of their nose, they didn't have much interest. The rainbows were taking Tricos and Tiny Olives in the morning and the caddis during the day. We didn't fish a lot of nymphs, because they were willing to take dry flies. I didn't get out on our local streams last week because I was on a Steelhead trip. You can read about it in my stories page. 

Fishing Report October 12

WOW ! I can't remember when I have seen so many fishermen at the upper end of the Current River. Montauk campground was totally full and the overflow spilled in to Eagles Park, just outside Montauk Park...AND Eagles Park was overflowing.... We probably saw at least 15 other fishermen go past us on Saturday and the canoe and kayak traffic was heavy as well. It was a great day to be out on a beautiful Ozark stream, but the traffic was extremely heavy. If you were a fisherman looking for solitude, Saturday sure wasn't going to satisfy your desire. 

The fishing has been good, until Saturday, with tiny olives in the late morning and caddis the rest of the day. Dry fly fishing has been pretty good, but your presentation has to be right on. There are a lot of caddis hatching now, so emergers, dead pupa or dry flies have worked well when you can find fish and hatches at the same location. It may take a lot of work and tying on several flies before you are rewarded with a quality catch.... Matt worked all day for the fish below and finally hooked up by the end of the day.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report September 29

The streams are fishing well, but the springs are still running cloudy from the last big rains. The Meramec River above the spring branch is crystal clear and it clouds up after the Maramec spring enters. Caddis are in the air around 5:00 in the evening. Some are hatching and some are dropping eggs, but either way there is plenty of caddis activity. The Tricos are still hatching and falling, but the numbers continue to drop as we enter the fall months. There have been a few more olives flying so look for them to become the number one hatch in the weeks to come. The male browns are really taking on their beautiful fall colors so now is a good time to get a very colorful photo. Some of the rainbows are starting to act like they want to set up for their spawning ritual as well. 

Norm Crisp and I helped the MDC Monday with their annual fish survey on the Current River. It is an interesting and effective way to count the fish in the stream. Unfortunately for the fishermen that were on the stream Monday,  it didn't help their prospects for connecting with any trout. It is a traumatic experience for the fish, but they do bounce back pretty quick after they are clipped and measured, but I'm sure that they don't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day except hide and recuperate. The entire process covers the 6-7 miles from Montauk Park to Cedar Grove and it takes three days to complete. Every sport fish collected is measured and the GPS of each collection cage is noted.  All other fish, mostly suckers, are not dipped or counted. The results are analyzed back at the office and future plans are made for the management of the trout population in the stream. By the way, our new fisheries biologist for the Current River is David Woods. He is the young man at the front of the boat getting ready to dip the fish that are shocked. The dipped fish are placed in a large bucket in the middle of the boat. They are then transferred to the holding cages where they are measured and released.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report September 19

Well I didn't get to the river until Thursday afternoon, and it is very fishable. Running a little cloudy, but that is to be expected after the amount of rain we have had over the past two weeks. Fishing was very good in the late afternoon with a nice caddis hatch getting them into a feeding mood. I like to use softhackles when they are chasing emergers, drifting and swinging both produced for me. I didn't keep track, but probably caught more with the drift than the swing. The hatch I fished were size 18 in olive with mottled wings. However, this time of year always produces several different caddis, from the micro to the huge cinnamon, so it depends on where you are on the stream when they come off. Tricos are still hatching, but the numbers are less and less each week. Hoppers are good during the afternoon and late morning.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report September 14

The streams are still up a lot from the rains last week. The Big Piney is about 10 feet above normal and the Meramec is about 3 feet above normal. The small streams like Little Piney, Mill Creek and Spring Creek have dropped down, but are still running a little above normal.

Fishing has been very good recently, but I have not been out since the high water at the end of the week. Tomorrow may be a good chance to go, so I will probably post another report tomorrow night. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 25th

Fishing continues to be very good with the Trico spinner fall. Hatches have been excellent over the past couple of weeks. We are starting to see a few caddis with expectations of more to come as we head into the fall months. The key is to know where and when the hatches are occurring and where the feeding pods are located. Hoppers are really coming around with larger sizes, like number 6s. You can always use a dropper off the hopper to give the fish a choice with the hopper as a stimulator. The weather has been excellent and the streams have been excellent. They are running a little lower now, but that is normal this time of year. However they are in much better condition than they have been over the past several years.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Rick with nice thick body rainbow                                                         Isn't this a nice healthy looking rainbow?   

Fishing Report August 12th

For those of you that enjoy fishing with the micro flies, the Trico hatch is very good right now. You can count on the spinners to start falling a little after 6:00 and continue, on the average,  until about 8:30 or 9:00. If you can find the feeding pods and you will be able to get in some excellent dry fly fishing. We have had to drop to 8X and sometimes 9X on the very selective larger fish. If you have to keep in mind that they have been cast to all summer and it is not unusual for the larger ones to become difficult to fool by the end of the summer, especially in the slow flat water pools. We have also had to drop down to 30s at times for the very wary ones. You can catch them with 24s on 7x and 6x for the smaller guys, but the ones that have been caught several times and have been in the stream for a long time become difficult to fool this time of year and into the fall. Also a lot depends on the pool you fish. If it is close to the parking lots you can bet those fish have seen a ton of flies by the end of the summer.

Afternoon fishing is becoming hopper and dropper time. We are currently using #10 and #8 hoppers with various nymphs on the dropper. There are a few caddis hatches in the evening at various locations depending on the type of water.  About a Size 16 light yellow/mottled brown wings.

A very nice17.5 inch late afternoon brown... this was Warren's first time fishing with a fly rod. He said he is buying a fly rod and reel when he gets home.  

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report July 28th

I can't believe that it has been three weeks since my last report. This month has been crazy for me... up early - home late. Well the good news is that the Tricos are coming off better than they have all year. The heaviest hatches of the season are going on right now. If you like micro fishing and you like challenging fishing, and you like dry fly fishing then you will enjoy the Trico spinner fall. It can be very rewarding and it can be very frustrating trying to catch fish with a cobweb tippet and a fly so small that you can't see it when the glare is on the water and the fog is hanging all around you. But the bugs the trout are feeding on are that small. Catch one in the air and see for yourself. A #28 fly is larger than the real thing. When most fishermen come down for the first time to fish with me, they bring their 20s that they have purchased from a fly shop. When I tell them those are too large, they look at me like you have to be kidding.  Understand that most of the fish that feed on these tiny flies are not big fish. Most of the time the 6-12 inch fish are feeding on these. Occasionally, if there are a lot of bugs on the water the bigger fish will come up to feed on them. Every now and then we will catch one as large as an 18 and maybe once a year, a 20. Fishing in flat, slow water that gets fished a lot, will require a lot of patience. The fish have lots of time to study your fly and will refuse movement, or visible tippet, or flies too large. If you are lucky the spinner fall will last 3 hours or longer. If you are observant, you will see fishing picking them up long after the major fall is over. Look for them along the banks in slow eddies. The rise will barely be detectable, but there will always be fish sucking them down as long they are on the water. You may have to do a little hunting to find them. 

Brandon's very first trout, one of several he caught on his first fly fishing trip.           He caught this big rainbow the second day of his trip. I think he is going to make an excellent fly fisherman.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report July 5th

Same ole report... our bug activity has been way down compared to the last few years. There are some caddis hatches, well I guess I wouldn't call them hatches. There are some caddis coming off, sporadically and the tricos continue to be below average spinner falls. Every time I go to the river, I am hoping for one of those big falls, but it has yet to happen. Fishing, none the less, has been good. There are some nice rainbows in the river right now and a few big browns. I wouldn't call them big compared to the Taney browns, but big for the upper Current. Fish in the 3-4 pound class. 

One of the nice things I like about guiding is when I have two friends, husband and wife, a father daughter or father son combo. It is a nice feeling, for me, to see them interact with each other and enjoy each others company.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 23rd

I didn't realize that it has been a month since my last fishing report, but anymore I think you can get fishing reports from several sources so it isn't like fishermen aren't going to know what the fishing is like. The insect hatches are still not what they have been in years past, but that has been the trend this season. Fish are being caught on a variety of flies with nymphs and wet flies taking the majority of them. Dry fly fishing has just been so so. The Trico hatches are still very light and the caddis hatches have also continued to be light. Occasionally we would see a Cahill, but not very often.. The Brown Drakes were very disappointing this year and I would expect the Hex hatch to follow suite. Prince, Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, and Flashback Pheasant tails are picking up fish along with softhackles. Olive Woollies are doing Ok especially with some flash, like Krystal Flash, in the tail.  Water levels are about normal and the springs are still kicking out some milky water, but not as dark as it was last month. The streams are not crystal clear, YET, but they will be in the next couple of weeks, unless we get more rain, which we are forecasted to get this week. We have been using 7x this week and we have used some 8x with the pods that have been fished over a lot.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 26th

Fishing was very good yesterday with the cold front moving in. We caught several fish all day. Elle had never fly fished before and she had a great day for a first timer. We used woollies all day, with brown being the best color. We tried other colors, but they were tuned in to the brown.

Ramon and Elle had a great day with several nice bows in the net.

Fishing Report May 16th

The streams continue to rise and fall, but just a little less than they were about a month ago. Fishing has been pretty good this week when the weather cooperates. Still have not seen great numbers of bugs, but I would imagine the floods would have a lot to do with that. There are some tricos, light cahills, small yellow stones and a few cranes but nothing in numbers to get excited about. The rainbows continue to be the dominate catch with about a 15-1 ratio. Use a variety of flies until you find the one they seem to like. We have had good success with woollies in size 10, brown or olive. There are some very small stocker browns in the river now, so it is important to keep the barbs pinched down for easy releases of these naive fish.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

©

Fishing Report May 9th

I was having a pretty good day catching some very nice smallmouth two days ago, then the skies opened up and the lightning started. It was time to call it a day.. I had landed a nice 14 inch rainbow, a 17 inch smallmouth, two 15 inch smallmouth an eleven inch goggleye and a 12 inch smallmouth. It was pretty tough wading before the rains came but now it is not possible at all to fish where I was on Wednesday unless you are fishing from a boat. The trout fishing on the Current has been good lately, but you may have to work to find the holes where they are. The ratio of rainbows to browns is much higher than it has been in years past, even several miles down stream from the park. I have to attribute this to the floods this year. Get out and enjoy our Great Ozark Streams but still be careful with wading. There is a lot of loose gravel and sand that has not settled from the floods.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 25th

I do have some good news, finally. The Current River is running about 1.8 right now. It was at 2.0 earlier in the week.. what does that mean?  Fishing is pretty good right now and you can wade a lot safer. The fishing pressure has been down this week with the turkey hunters in the woods instead of on the water. Caddis are flying and we are starting to see the tiny Tricos. The Craneflies are going pretty good as well... Isn't it amazing with all the flooding that these bugs have been able to hang on. They might not be in the same location they were a few weeks ago, but they are still here. But then you knew they would be back, because they have for thousands of years and I'm sure sometime in their history the flooding was much worse than it was this spring.  Still catching fish on woollies and streamers and we will continue to do so as long as the stream is off color like it is. I still haven't seen all the water between Montauk and Cedar, but eventually I will in the next couple of weeks.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 12th

I wish I had some good news, but I don't. The flooding of our streams has hit again. This is the 3rd time in three weeks. I have not seen this much water in the rivers in a very long time. Don't get me wrong, I think it will help clean them out, but I would like to get in more than one day a week. Presently, I do not recommend that anyone wade the streams right now. They are running hard and normal crossing areas could be changed. You never know after this much water how the stream changes. Sand and gravel move a lot after high water. If you have to get in the water, make sure you have a wading staff or solid stick to help test the bottom and give you an extra leg. We fished Wednesday and had a very good afternoon. We had to use sinking leaders and add 1 or 2 #1 split shot to get the flies down quickly before the current swept them down and up. When we could get our flies on the bottom we caught fish. If you know where they are you can still catch several in one hole. They are still bunched up from hole to hole and probably will be like that until the stream gets back to a normal flow. Everything we caught were rainbows, not one single brown. I would say that by the end of the week the streams could be fishable again, but I may be wrong. With this much moisture in the ground it is going to take a long time to get back to normal flow.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 1st

The fishing was very good this past weekend if you found the fish. They seemed to be staged up in the same holes, maybe because they are still new to the wild streams and have not figured out that there are other places to live besides with the same pod they lived with at the hatchery. I don't know why they are bunched up like that but they are. Get down deep and bump the bottom. If you are not losing a fly every now and then you are not getting down to where they are laying. We had a little over 3 inches in our rain gauge over a 24 hour period. Some places had more some less. The streams are currently running very high and unfishable, unless you are at the very top of the headwaters. They will remain high the rest of the week and with the forecast for the end of the week they will not be fishable this weekend either, and they will probably be a lot higher than they are now. Check the water levels often if you are planning a fishing trip this week. You can find links to the USGS water level measuring stations for streams in this area, in my links page.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report March 27th

As you can see the rivers are still high and the water is still murky. The CFS (cubic feet per second) is pushing pretty good and fishermen should be cautious about crossing areas that they have normally crossed in the past. If you have a wading staff I advise using it on your next trip if are planning to fish the streams this weekend. If you don't have one pick up a sturdy stick along the stream and use it to help you crossing the streams. 

When sand and gravel move to new homes, due to high water they don't settled in for awhile and you will find yourself sinking in what looks like a solid bottom. This sinking plus the higher water and the increased flow could get you into trouble. After high water, especially as high as it was this past flood, will fill in holes that were there before and make new holes. Crossings that were there before may be gone and if you can't see the bottom how do you know you aren't stepping into a hole. That's where the stick comes in handy... test the bottom before you step. Be cautious in new water. We watched two young kayakers find out the hard way that the stream changes a lot after floods. They were having a good time until they rounded a sharp bend, in a fast chute, and a tree had fallen across the entire chute. They turned the kayaks over and had their yaks pinned against the tree for about 30 minutes. They were lucky they didn't get trapped under the tree. One of them had to climb up on the tree branches to keep from drowning, the first guy managed to get to the gravel bar.

Fishing was slow Wednesday for a couple of reasons. First of all, every fish that was caught was full of food... think about all the bugs and worms that wash down the stream after a flood like this. Every time a stone is turned over the bugs wash away until they can find another stone to crawl under. The entire stream bank was scoured on both sides washing away earthworms and terrestrial insects. Do you feel like eating when you are stuffed after a huge meal? Second of all if you don't put the fly exactly where they are, they have a difficult time seeing it, like they do in clear water. Will it be the same way this weekend, probably but it should be clearing a little bit everyday... so fishing should be getting better as the fish digest their food and the water clears so they can find more easy meals. Have fun, enjoy the streams and be cautious.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report March 21st

The rivers are HIGH and running HARD. I don't know if you have been paying attention to the stream levels this week, but if you didn't and drove to this area to fish you were pretty surprised when you got here. The Gasconade River, at Jerome, got up to about 31 feet and Interstate 44 was shut down for awhile. It has been a very long time since we have had this much water in our streams. I know the Little Piney Creek was up over 14 feet, the Upper Current River at Montauk was up to 10 feet. The Big Piney was up to 25 feet and the Meramec was up to about 28 feet... So did we go fishing today?.. yes we did. Did we catch any fish ?  Yes we did. One small rainbow, one shiner and lost two small rainbows... The rivers are pretty dingy, the water is pushing very hard and the fishing is very difficult. When there is this much water in the stream, the fish can be scattered everywhere, but generally they are going to be on the very bottom, along the banks or in some slack water.. just about anywhere they can get of the main current. The bottom and the stream bank slow the current down, compared to the middle of the flow, and it is easier for them to hold in those areas during heavy flows. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

It will probably take three or four days for the upper Current river to get back to fishable conditions. The water further down stream will take much longer. The Big Piney, Gasconade and Meramec may take a week or longer to get down to anything close to fishable water. If you are looking for a stream to fish this weekend, find a small one and go all the way up to the head waters and start there. If you can't find that scenario, you might as well enjoy the NIT and NCAA tournaments with a pizza and a beer and a chocolate Easter bunny for desert.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report February 27th

Sorry, but I have been so busy with my basketball program that I have not been on the streams since the end of January. As soon as the basketball season is over I plan to hit the streams hard to make up for lost time.  The Missouri Trout Parks open on Saturday the 1st of March. With the excellent weather forecast for Saturday I expect record numbers of fishermen at the parks. If you plan to attend one of the 4 trout parks in our grand state expect to be elbow to elbow this weekend. Please don't ask me if I will be there... I do not participate in historical opening day madness.

Fishing Report January 28

I finally got out to a local stream yesterday. I fished for about three and a half hours in the afternoon, with my only goal being to relax and enjoy an afternoon out of the cabin. It isn't very often that we get 60 degree days in January, so I image there were several fishermen on the streams yesterday. I went to a remote area with my intention to not see another person. I accomplished my goal for the day, I fished about 3/4 of a mile of stream in three and a half hours, used one fly, my favorite, (Nemes would be proud) and caught 39 trout. The trout were not very big, but I had a great time. I love to get back into remote areas, even if I have to hike a mile or so to get there. When I get back into those types of areas I always get to see plenty of wildlife. Those areas are timeless spots, quiet and peaceful, with only sounds of nature. The bubbling stream, an occasional hawk, birds and the wind through the trees. I love those areas, because you can truly get away from the human touch and be one with nature.

Fishing Report January 15

I found out why I didn't have any energy in late December, I had the flu. A couple of days after my last outing it started in and continued through the Holidays. I had a nagging cough for almost 3 weeks. I felt better after a couple of weeks but the cough wouldn't go away. I tried to avoid close contact with my team, but it appears to be spreading through my basketball team now. I have nothing to say about the fishing because I have not been since my last report. Basketball is currently taking up all my time. This is a great time to be on the water since there are very few fishermen that fish the winter months. If I didn't have my basketball, I would be out a couple of times a week at least.  "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report December 22

My basketball team has consumed most of my time and restricted my time on the water for the past month. We are taking a few days off for Christmas vacation so I should have some reports for you in the next week. I did run over to Maramec Spring Park yesterday and fished for about 6 hours. The fishing was very good, but the fish were pretty weak and not much of a challenge. None of the 30+ fish I caught fought very hard, and only two of them had any color to them. I did not see anything over 15 inches and I caught both of them. I only fished in a small area yesterday and did not cover the park. I had not been on the water for a long time and I just needed to get away for a few hours and stand in the water with fish to catch. I did not have the energy to do a lot of walking, so I decided to go to the park for some easy fishing. I had a good day, meeting a fellow Rolla fly fisherman, seeing an eagle and I saw a former client that stopped by to say HI. It is nice to have a place to go for just an outing as this and to have it close enough that I didn't need to make an all day event out of it. OH, I forgot to tell you what I caught my fish on. About 90% of them were caught on an olive caddis larva in size 16.  This time of year I usually put on an egg pattern, but I wanted to try some flies I created so the trip was an experiment with several other flies I had tyed up. The caddis was doing such a good job that I didn't give the others much of a swim. I guess I will have to go back over there and do a better job of giving them a chance. "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report November 19

Rusty's first fish on a fly rod.  It wasn't a big one, but the smile says it all.     Rusty's second one and more would come that day making him a happy camper. 

Fishing has been very good this week and the fish have cooperated nicely. They are very predicable this time of year with their feeding habits and location. Find shallow riffles with a nice pea gravel bottom and you will find all the fish you want to catch. Tie on a #18 egg pattern below an indicator and you should be in business. You just have to adjust the indicator to the correct depth. Another method I like to use is a double rid with a scud and egg combo. Or a caddis larva and egg combo. Give them two choices and you increase their menu, especially for those fish that have been hooked by other fishermen on egg patterns recently. If you find a redd, concentrate on the seam directly below it. I guarantee there will be fish holding in the feeding lane below the redd. I know it is tempting to try to catch the largest fish on the redd, but most of the time it is a female and if you catch her the rest of the fish have no reason to be there. Before you jump in with both feet, get your adrenalin under control and study the fish in and around the redd. The males will be swimming up to her, or chasing each other. They can be caught and they will return almost immediately after they have recovered. She is under a lot of stress trying to lay eggs, so leave her alone. If she is caught and gets stressed out more she will find a nice slow current to recover and may not return for a long time, or not at all. If that happens the rest of the fish in and around the redd will move on to another location and you will have to find another spot to fish. If you are fishing in one of the trout parks, you may be out of luck, because of the competition with other fishermen. If you concentrate on catching the males you could have a lot of fish on the end of your line and not have to move at all.

In the mid morning look for the olives hatching in a nice flat with medium to fast moving water. You can get in on some great dry fly fishing, but you will have to put on your magnifying glasses to tie on the fly. These are very small flies, about a size 24. The hatch may not last long, an hour or so if you are lucky, but if you like dry fly fishing it can be a ball. The midges will come off later in the day so keep your eye out for them.

I think Rusty has been away from his wife way too long.

"A Bad Day Fishing Is Still A Great Day"     

Fishing Report November 12

I did not get a chance to get out this past week, my wife had surgery and I needed to stay home with her. I will be able to get out this week and give you a report.

Fishing Report November 5

Surprisingly, Saturday was a very light day on the stream. We saw a few fishermen, but most of them were fishing within sight of the parking lot. Unfortunately it was one of those bright sunny days we call "blue bird days". The fishing was OK but not real good, but I expected it to be that way when I saw the weather forecast. The tiny olives (24s) came off about 9:30 and we had some good dry fly action for about and hour and a half with some stragglers toward the end of that time frame. You have to be in the right location to get in on the hatch, but there are times in the late fall and even in the early winter when it is an amazingly heavy hatch. If the weather turns nasty, with spitting rain or snow and wind then you can expect another Olive hatch, but these guys are a little larger, going about a size 20. We also saw some very small caddis, but I didn't catch one for identification. We never saw them hatching, but we did see them fluttering in the sunlight cutting through the trees. The white millers were popping just as we left, but not very many.

The egg pattern is still the fly of choice this time of year. If you can find a redd, we only found a couple, you can drift the egg pattern below the redd and pick up the trout that are feeding on the eggs drifting down to them. It shouldn't be too much longer when the rainbows will start to do their thing and the egg pattern will continue to be the fly of choice for the next couple of months. 

All in all it was a good day on the water. A little cool in the morning, but it warmed up to the upper 50s. The fish cooperated for the most part and we didn't have to do battle with other fishermen, except one fellow that came right in on top of us. Fortunately he moved on pretty quickly, and I didn't have to tell him about proper fishing ethics, although I should have when he first arrived. I regret that I didn't. 

For those of you that like to catch crappie, (the only fish we harvest) now is the time to find them. A friend of mine has a 12 acre lake behind his home that I only fish in for crappie, or huge bluegill. It is currently about 3 feet low and as clear as I have ever seen it. Yesterday afternoon I fished it from 1:30-4:30 and caught an even 50 crappie (8-11inches) standing in one spot. Once I got to 40 I was determined to try to get 50 before I stopped. It didn't take long. I actually walked the lake for the first 30 minutes making mental notes about large rocks in the water and sunken trees. This lake does not have a lot of structure so anything laying in the lake or on the bottom is an attracter. I fished the north shallow shore at first, knowing that this time of year it would be the warmest water. There were lots of fish there, but they were very spooky and finally left the area after I caught 4 large bluegill and a couple of small bass. I knew where a large tree was sunk near the dam and decided to go after some crappie that I knew would be hiding there. I started on the south side of the tree, made 4 casts and caught 4. Then it was one every other cast or so until I had caught 15. I moved to the north side of the tree made 9 casts and caught 9. Then once again it was every other cast or so. I decided to switch colors and caught 5 in a row.. When it slowed down I switched colors again and again 4 or 5 in a row. The bite was very subtle and they took it as it was settling toward the bottom. All I had to do was concentrate on the line for the slightest movement or sometimes it just stopped. For those of you that like to catch crappie on a fly rod, the tinsel fly in various colors, with blue and silver being the most productive for me, is the best one that I have found so far.

"A bad day fishing is still a great Day"

Fishing Report October 27

This report is actually from last week. I have been out of town on a Steelhead fishing trip this week. My Steelhead trip is in my Stories section.

Last week was pretty slow and again way too many fishermen on the stream to make it enjoyable for me. Just about the time I would find a nice hole to fish, someone would come along and spook the fish I was after. With the water low and very clear, the fish are very shy and spook easy. The browns have something else on their minds this time of year and it can be difficult to get them to eat your fly. They will take flies, but not aggressively. The Tricos are still hanging around, but their numbers are very few, and they are giving way to the tiny olives for the morning hatch. The fly of choice for this time of year is an egg pattern, with the smaller browns and rainbows taking the fly. I use a number 18 TMC 2488 for my egg flies and target the fish below a redd, just like I do for steelhead holding down stream from the salmon redds. Most of the larger browns are busy concentrating on their annual task of propagation so I leave them alone. Not that I am harming their reproduction, but they get pretty stressed out with the process and I don't want to add to that stress. I did hook up with a pretty nice male rainbow last week, that I took on a # 18 with 7X tippet. I didn't have my landing net so a very nice gentleman, Clint Trankle, helped me out by netting it for me and taking the photo. This big male was 28" long and had a 17" girth.

©

Fishing Report October 12

I did not fish the Current this week, discouraged from my experience with all the fishermen I saw last week. I plan to wait for colder weather to keep the fair weather guys at home. I fished Tanny this week, but the bigger browns have not come up yet. There are a few of the bruisers around, but the main push has not arrived. I fished all night with streamers, with very limited success. I didn't catch very many, but the ones I did catch were over 20 inches. I broke off two very large ones, which I never got to see and I couldn't stop them from running. I thought I had one of them whipped, but when I got it close it took off on strong run down the rebar chute and it was gone. 

We floated the Big Piney yesterday for smallmouth. It was a great day, weather wise. About 70 degrees, cloudy all day. The fishing was poor to say the least. We saw very few fish and caught less than that. We fished top water flies and poppers, bounced craw patterns, and threw streamers. Almost all of the fish that did hit, were soft takes. It was a disappointing day for catching fish, but a very enjoyable day with two excellent clients. Great conversation, and fellowship. Eddie and David are excellent casters, throwing their flies within inches of the bank, logs or rocks. We didn't catch many fish because of their inability to present flies, it was just one of those days that the bite wasn't on. 

Fishing Report October 5

I fished for smallmouth early in the week and trout yesterday. The smallmouth fishing was pretty slow, but I did manage to catch 22 rock bass. The smallmouth I caught were not large and there were only 6 of them for an afternoon of fishing. I also caught 4 largemouth bass and about a dozen sunfish. I caught almost all of the rock bass on top water, which is very strange for rock bass. They usually target crawfish and minnows for their diet. They will eat insects, but prefer crawfish. The smallmouth were caught with a crawfish fly I make, and a few of the rock bass also took the crawfish pattern.

Yesterday I fished the Current river and it was a very slow day for me. I unexpectedly found several fishermen on the stream, which is unusual for a Thursday, especially in October. I decided to go to a secluded section of the river to spend the day. The only other people I saw all day, were on horseback so I had the stream to myself. Unfortunately the fishing was not very good. Or should I say the catching was not very good. I didn't see that many fish, and the ones I did see were not interested in what I was throwing them. I managed to only catch 6 browns, 2 rainbows, 1 smallmouth, 3 bluegill and several shiners for all day on the water. I stopped by TanVat parking lot on my way home and there were still 4 cars in the parking lot... Too many fishermen for me. Unfortunately the weekend outlook does not look any better. The annual Rose Holland fishing derby starts today at Montauk Park. When I drove by the camp ground, last night, it was already almost full and it was only Thursday. If you are headed to the Current River this weekend, be prepared to share some space on the stream. 

Fishing Report October 1

Sorry I do not have a report for you... I have been on a fishing vacation out of state.

Fishing Report September 16

Well we didn't exactly tear up the smallmouth this week, but we did hook up with a couple of nice fish. The top water action was slower than the bottom bouncing, so I guess they were just not interested. Usually one or the other produces. 90% of the fish caught were on the bottom and the bite was pretty soft. A couple of nice fish were lost, but Dan managed to land these two 18 inchers. Two of the pods that I had scouted out were completely gone and I was very disappointed, because these guys traveled a long way to hook up with some nice smallmouth. I don't know exactly what happened to them, but I have my suspicions. I watched three guys one afternoon, fishing with crawfish, keep everything they were catching. Some of the fish were so small they were putting them in the minnow bucket. The section of the river they were on is a trophy area with a  minimum length limit. Why didn't I call the hot line and report them? No cell phone and no cell phone service. We fished a long section on Saturday and only managed to hook up with some smaller fish. A lot of walking and not a lot of catching. The smallies will go on a fall feed pretty soon as the temps start to drop, so look for good action as the leaves start to clutter up the water surface.

Fishing Report September 1

The last couple of weeks have been fair to good for catching fish. It seems to be a day to day off and on, but I have noticed that the fewer fishermen we see the better the fishing has been. We have been catching some nice smallmouth and I caught a couple of really nice browns last week. One of them was about 6 pounds and the other one was about 4 1/2 pounds. How do I know how much they weighed you ask? Take the length X girth X girth and divide by 800 to give you an approximate weight. Thursday I caught about 30 smallmouth, and Saturday, my client caught 3 or 4 with the same fly. The difference was the amount of canoe traffic on the water and Saturday was a bright sunny day compared to Thursday. The Trico hatches are thinning, but the fish are still feeding actively on them for about two hours, compared to 3 hours or more this summer. There have been some nice caddis hatches late afternoon to evening and we have been catching fish with caddis dry flies and softhackles. There are still some Hexagenias in the evenings if you are in the right place on the stream and you don't mind fishing in darkness.

One of the side benefits of being a fly fishing guide is meeting a tremendous diversity of people with a tremendous diversity of fly fishing skills. I have been very fortunate to meet people from all over the Midwest and as of yesterday from Germany. I had a client last week from Wisconsin and earlier this summer clients from Texas. Most of them come from St. Louis, and Kansas City, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and, like I said earlier, yesterday I had a client visiting St. Louis on business that was from Germany.  Some of my clients have very little to no experience and some of my clients have fished all over the world. You can see that the diversity of location, and background can lead to some very interesting conversations. I can honestly say that everyone of my clients have been good people and easy to get along. Some have been challenges, but each and every one of them, I believe, have had good experiences, at least they tell me they have.

The following pictures contain a couple of firsts. Jeff caught his first trout on a fly rod and Tom caught his first smallmouth.

Fishing Report August 20

We have been chasing smallmouth recently with a lot of success. No monsters but plenty of 14-16 inchers and an occasional 18-20. The hot weather has been limiting our time on the water to early and late in the day. Night fishing has been good to very good. The majority of fish have been caught on crawfish patterns from a size 10 to size 2. The larger fly restricts the number of fish taken, but at least most of the takers are good size. The smaller flies will pick up some Longear Sunfish, Green Sunfish and smaller smallmouth. We have also been taking fish on top with hoppers and spider patterns. Last Saturday afternoon I caught over 15 smallmouth on top, all with the same fly. They were not big guys, but plenty of action. The largest was about 16 inches. Earlier in the day, my clients caught a few fish, but the canoe traffic was very heavy and the fishing was very poor.

Last week two of my clients had a good day fishing, with a lot of hook ups and a lot of lost fish. They had a good time and they said they learned a lot. Next time we will try to keep the fish on long enough for a picture. We had our best luck very early in the morning with the Trico hatch, and with a fly and size hook they had never used before. The nymph fishing in the afternoon was very slow and the heat was very hot so we called it a day about 3:00.

Proudly displaying her new Sage outfit, and if you look closely, her father is showing you the size fish she caught, which wasn't true. She caught some nice trout and I believe more trout and larger trout than his. It was great seeing the father-daughter relationship between these two. They do enjoy each other's company.

Monday afternoon I fished about 4 hours in the heavy rain, so top water fishing was out. I caught over a dozen smallmouth, all on a #6 crawfish pattern that I ty. Tomorrow we are headed to the smallmouth water and Friday we are going after early morning trout. The weather looks to be hot the rest of the week so we better get our fishing in early in the morning or better yet, leave the house about 1:00 am, fish through the night and early morning...then head to the house to rest and watch the Cardinals move up on the Cubs in the National League Central.

Fishing Report August 8

I have not been keeping this report up to date lately, and for that I apologize to you faithful readers. I  have had basketball camps, and grandsons visiting, and of course fishing clients that has kept me hopping over the past few weeks. The fishing has slowed down this week, considerably. Up until the Heat Wave hit this past week, fishing was good, not excellent, but good for trout and smallmouth. Night fishing along with dawn and dusk has been the most productive. For trout, the Trico hatch has been consistent with a heavy spinner fall about every 3 to 4 days. The hoppers are producing good fish during the day, with a gold ribbed hare's ear dropper accounting for about 50% of the fish. If you use the combination, remember to keep your loops open and be patient with the cast. Getting in a hurry will get you plenty of tangles with a two fly system. If you are thinking about night fishing, sculpin patterns will net you some big results but the number of fish will not be high. There is also the Hex spinner fall that you can fish, but it takes precise casting to slurping sounds in the dark. Not recommended for the novice. The Smallmouth fishing has been good with crawfish patterns and large hoppers taking most of the fish. Early and late in the day is the best time to be on the water, with this heat. During the middle of the day concentrate on the shady areas and deeper water.

Fishing Report July 19

The upper Current River is still running nice and clear, with good volume, even after the 1+ inch (some farmers reported 3") rainfall. Fishing has been very good with a variety of flies taking good numbers. Early and late are still the best times to be on the water, but the middle of the day has also been productive, just a lot more casts between hook-ups. The hoppers are coming around and the fish are looking up a little more during the day than they were a couple of weeks ago. We have had good success with a double fly system. We have been catching 6 or 7 fish with the dropper over the dry. I would anticipate the ratio to go up as we head into August, and we start using hoppers as our dry fly of choice. 

 This was Barry's first time with a fly rod and overall he did a good job, for a rookie, landing 6 rainbows and almost netting a very nice bow after a long fight.

Barry's First trout on a dry fly

Fishing Report July 11

The tiny tricos are still going strong here. It seems to be hit and miss with the heavy spinner falls. One day it can be solid, the next day light. I haven't figured it out yet and to tell you the truth I haven't asked an entomologist. But have thought about it, that's all, just thought about it.
The hoppers are showing up, so if you want some afternoon fun bring along some #12 hoppers and fish the high banks that have weeds and grass along the stream. Combine the hopper with a prince/pheasant tail/hares ear/copperjohn or any other small #18 nymph of your choice, dropper. Some times they come up to look at the hopper and take the nymph...I like to use stimulators in the faster water. For you novices, it takes some practice to learn how to skip it, but it can be rewarding if the fish are feeling aggressive. The evening hours are starting to get some Hex activity, for those of you that enjoy fishing in the dark.
The river is very clear and the fish can see you coming, especially in the flat water. Longer, finer leaders are required...and gentle presentations. If you are slapping the water with your fly line, don't be surprised if you can't catch the larger fish.
"A Bad Day Fishing is Still a Great Day"
www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report June 28

This has been a very busy week for me, with lots of fish caught, but the action has not been consistent, except that most of our best fishing has been early in the morning. Monday was a very good day, with the cloud cover and especially the feeding fish. Tuesday was tough fishing and we didn't get the spinner fall that we had on Monday. Just enough fish every now and then to keep the interest up. Some nice size fish were hooked, but only one was brought to the net. The others broke off, bent hooks or just threw the hook. Wednesday and Friday was pretty good fishing again, with two large fish lost, but plenty of action with lots of feeding fish to catch, at least try to catch. The Trico spinner fall has been inconsistent in terms of numbers this week. Monday was as heavy as I have seen it, with fish feeding on them until noon. The next day and the rest of the week have been pretty light for this time of the year.???? I don't know why. We have had to get down to 7X and 30s over the heavily fished pools.

The upper Current River is running very clear, and with an excellent flow for this time of the year. The weather has been pretty good, not extremely hot or extremely wet. The bright sunny days make it tough for fishing, but if you work at it and change flies, until you find the right one, you will be rewarded. The Gold Ribbed hare's ear has been producing, and a parachute Adams accounted for the biggest fish hooked this week. I said hooked, not landed. The ticks and chiggers are bad this year, so take proper precaution. Caddis and a dropper have worked well during the day, giving them two choices. Remember to keep your loops open if you are throwing a two fly system.

Fishing Report June 22

I apologize for slacking off with my fishing report page. It has been non stop for the past two weeks and I am seeing myself coming and going. No excuses for not taking a little time to input a report or two along the way, but when I get home at night I just want to go to bed, to get ready for the next day. I have another trip for this afternoon, so I thought I better try to catch up.

One of the nice things about fishing, is that it provides an opportunity for good friends and family members to spend some quality time together. I have had close friends, husband and wives, fathers and daughters, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and brothers as clients. Fly fishing is the quiet sport, and it allows one to get closer to nature, to observe wildlife in their natural environment. We often see herons, eagles and osprey, muskrats, mink, squirrels, turkeys, deer, armadillos, groundhogs, and occasionally an otter. All kinds of songbirds and now that the touch-me-not are starting to bloom along the river, lots of humming birds.

The fishing on the upper Current River has been excellent over the past two weeks. Good numbers of fish in the river and some good size fish are being caught. A tribute to the new regulations a couple of years back and to the ever increasing amount of catch and release fishermen on the stream. There is still some poaching going on, but I have not observed as much this year as I have in the past. The Conservation agents and Park Rangers are doing a fine job and the new signs, in high use areas and the amount of signs, I believe, has helped a great deal.

We have been catching some nice fish, and good numbers each day on the water. The best times are early in the morning and late in the day. Don't get me wrong, we have caught fish all day, but the ratio of fish caught per cast, has been greater early and late. They are not feeding as aggressively during the middle of the day, especially on the Blue Bird days. On Cloudy days and rainy days, the fishing has been good, even in the middle of the day.

The Tricos are going strong and the caddis have been coming off in good numbers. We are getting some aggressive takes on emergers, during the caddis hatch, and we have even picked up some fish with streamer patterns. Sight fishing for fish that are high in the water column is a fun way to spend the afternoon. CDC caddis for the experienced fisherman work well, especially  for fish that have been in the river a long time. The larger fish can become selective and difficult to catch in flat water. The CDC rides very low and seems to do a better job on the larger fish. We use long fine tippets in 6X, especially in flat water. The Elk Hair would be a better choice for the novice, because of the high visibility. You will have a tendency to pick up some of the smaller fish, but occasionally you can get a larger fish to take in, especially in faster water. We have also been doing well with an indicator and a dropper or Elk Hair caddis and a dropper, to give them two choices. The Elk Hair and dropper can be difficult to cast for a novice, just because of the tangles between the two. A slower stroke with a bigger loop is required. We have had good luck with two stand by nymphs: a  prince or hare's ear in size 16 has produced good numbers of fish, over the past two weeks.

Fishing Report June 11

This has been a busy week for me. Lots of nice Smallmouth were caught and a few trout. The Smallmouth trips are increasing with more and more clients interested in expanding their fly fishing experiences. One of the nice things about fishing for Smallmouth, is that there are always other fish eager to eat your fly, besides the Smallies. Goggleye (rock bass), Bluegill, Longear Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Chubs, Gar, Carp, Drum...just about everything that swims in the river will eat crawfish or minnows. We had our best luck this week with crawfish patterns. We fished the Little Piney Creek and the Big Piney River this week for the Smallmouth. We fished the upper Current River for trout earlier in the week. All the streams in this area are looking Excellent and fishing Excellent. The water is in as good a condition as I have ever seen it this for this time of year.

Fishing Report June 2

I was on vacation this week with our family, so I have no report for you.... it was a family trip to Alton to pay respect to our departed loved ones. I was along as a chauffer and tour guide of the springs in the Eleven Point region.

Fishing Report May 27

We fished for smallmouth this week...no trout...if you are looking for a trout report. We did well in the head and tail of pools in about 4-5 foot of water with crawfish patterns. Lots of weight to keep them down in the fast water. The dumbbell eyes did a great job keeping the flies near the bottom. If we cast up stream enough to give the flies time to sink before the swing and twitched them on the swing we got great aggressive hits. Nothing big was caught, but there was plenty of action and if you have ever caught a smallmouth in fast water you have an idea of how hard it is to get them in. The rods get bent pretty good with a 15 inch smallmouth on the end in fast water.  The streams are running great water right now and the fishing has been excellent.

Fishing Report May 20

This has been a very busy week for me, so I apologize for not keeping the report up to snuff. The Upper Current River is fishing very well right now. The water is in excellent condition and the fish have been responsive. They are being taken on a variety of flies, but we had our best luck on the Hare's Ear this week and the Olive Woolly. The Tricos are going pretty good, but you have to find the right pools and pods that are feeding on them. There have been excellent Caddis hatches, and Sulfers coming off in the evenings. The fish of the week was a very nice brown caught by a client on Thursday afternoon. After a lot of work and changing several flies and adjusting the drift, the fish finally took the fly and the fight was on. This was, as most of them are, a bulldog brown that wanted the bottom of the stream more than the top. To say the least, there was one unhappy fish and one very happy fisherman when the ole boy slid into the net, the fish not the fisherman.

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Fishing Report May 11

I had a client that fished the Upper Current yesterday and had a fairly successful trip. He caught fish all day, but they were spread out over the entire day. Just enough and often enough to keep the hopes up that a big one was going to hit any moment. We found our fish in the deeper fast water all day. The river was still up and running a little off color, which is the way I like it. I think the fishing was a little slow because the stream has been up for a long time and the fish have been feeding well. We saw very little bug activity all day. Some caddis were coming off in the morning, but not in any numbers. An occasional little yellow stone would take to the air and I did see a couple of brown drakes. Overall it was a good day to fish and float. We only saw three canoes all day and that in itself makes for a good day on the water.

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Fishing Report April 17

Today was one of those days I wait for, River is up, cloudy. Didn't get the rain I expected, but it didn't matter, fishing was excellent. I saw an Osprey, a Turkey, a Mink, a pair of Prothonotary Warblers and I caught some nice fish.

Very Fat 18 inch rainbow, I also caught a couple of 17 inch rainbows and several 14-15 rainbows today. I caught 6 browns, including this 20" female above. There was also an 18, 2 15s, a 14 and a 12 incher from last years stock. I used one fly for all of my fish today, (actually 3, but they were all the same). I can't tell you what it is, but my shoulder is very sore.(a friend of mine compares it to throwing a sack of kittens). You veterans will know what I am talking about.

The fishing was excellent today. Every fish I caught, all 23 of them, have been eating extremely well. The Upper River is in Excellent condition right now. It is up and still pushing pretty good, because the spring is kicking out some serious flow. A couple of days ago I said it would be down to normal by Tuesday, but after today I would have to say it will take a little longer than that to get back down to normal. Maybe by the end of the week or Saturday or Sunday. The water color is still  milky, and will continue to stay that way as long as the spring continues to spit it out. 

Fishing Report April 15

Earlier in the week the Current River was running great, but the weather wasn't for the occasional fisherman, with the extreme cold. Fishing was fair to good, and we continued to pick them up on woollies and nymphs below an indicator. Bug activity was still behind schedule and then it started to rain again on Thursday, by the end of the week all the rain we have had recently had the ground soaked and there wasn't anywhere for the water to go, so it ran off. The Current River went up 2 feet Saturday and wasn't fishable. The rise peaked late Saturday and is on its way down. It should be back to normal by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Fishing Report April 7

The river has dropped back down to normal and cleared. Fishing has been very good. Even when we had the higher water, I was able to catch some nice browns on streamers. Prior to the heavy rains nymphs, like a hares ear and a prince, drifted below indicators were the best producers. Caddis hatches have been sporadic and we are starting to see some Craneflies, but not good numbers yet. The cold weather has set the bug activity back. I don't look for it to return to normal until we get some warmer weather by the middle of the week. BWOs are flying and some tricos should be flying pretty soon. You will see more BWOs than tricos in April, but for those of you, like me, that enjoy fishing micro flies the best fishing it is right around the corner...SO get out the magnifying lens and start tying up your favorite patterns in 22s-30s. I even have some 32s that I play with. You can get away with larger patterns, but you will not get as much interest and therefore fewer takes. Until then use the standard  nymphs in sizes 18-12 and enjoy the great Ozarks, even if you don't catch a bunch.

Fishing Report March 25

Thursday and Friday were excellent days for fishing. Nice temperatures, cloudy and a little rain. The streams were a little low and clear, but the fishing was slow. The fish that I could see were taking the flies softly and if the fisherman didn't see them take the fly it was too late to set the hook, by the time I relayed the message. The strikes that were felt were not strong and most of them short of the hook. We tried to stay away from the areas that normally can be crowded at times. Solitude on a quiet stream is a reward in itself, but it sure is nice to hook up every now and then. The larger fish that were hooked avoided the net and managed to release themselves. Long releases are OK, but a picture before the release is a whole lot better. The reports I received after the trip indicated that pheasant tails and gold ribbed hare's ear were the flies of choice....we tried both flies and only managed to pick up some little guys. Olive Woollies produced for us and produced those short strikes I mentioned earlier. 

Saturday was a change of pace for me. I had a couple of fine young men that wanted to learn how to cast a fly rod. We went to a local private lake for our fishing and fly casting lessons. Largemouth bass and bluegill were more than ready to take the woollies along the banks. The wind was a bit of a problem and of course the trees kept trying to eat the flies. Several of the bluegill were large, all of the bass were small. We concentrated on the fresh runoff water feeding the lake. The fish were stacked in the channels pretty well and eager for a meal. Both young men caught and released several fish. 

Fishing Report March 17

I had a little time this afternoon so I decided to go down to the Little Piney Creek and test the water. I had the stream all to myself until I was getting ready to leave about 4 hours later. It wasn't an afternoon of big fish, but it was an afternoon filled with action. I only used one fly all day and caught a good variety and several fish. The smallmouth were the most cooperative. Like I said, not big but they were fun. I caught about 12 or 15 of them. I also caught 4 rainbows, a dozen Longear sunfish, two Goggleye, two Bluegill and about a half dozen large Shiners. The stream was running a little low for this time of the year, and it was clear. The takes were not strong, but I attribute that to the temperature of the water. The smallmouth seemed to like the fly moving, with fast twitches, but the trout turned away from the fly with that kind of action. I caught them with a dead drift. I could see most of the fish I caught, so I adjusted my presentation and retrieve accordingly. I have two clients coming in the end of the week, so I will have a report for you on Saturday the 23rd.

Fishing Report January 7

Has it been a month since my last report? Guess what, I still don't have a trout fishing report for you. I have been busy with my basketball season and have only been fishing 3 times this month....for Crappie. Our weather has been unusually warm and the papermouths have been coming up close to the surface, where the water is warmer, making them easy to catch. This time of year, we should be fishing through the ice to catch crappie, not casting to the shore line. I have been catching them in a private 12 acre lake along the dam, about 3 feet deep, in the middle of the day. Fishing is especially good when the sun is high in the sky. Normally bad for fishing, a bright, sunny, warm day in the winter turns on activity. Yes I do own spinning gear, and yes I use it,  for pan fish and smallmouth bass.

Fishing Report December 8

The river is in excellent condition for fishing. It did have a significant rise with all the rain and sleet we had last week, but it looks great right now. Earlier in the week it was just about right for streamer fishing, but it has cleared since then and continues to have an excellent flow. I had a client in from Kentucky the first of the week that hooked up with a very nice brown in his first attempt at streamer fishing. He was very happy with the fish and the experience, despite the temperatures. He is pretty hard core when it comes to fly fishing and would be tagged, just as I am, obsessed !  It is about a 4 hour drive for him, but he feels like the Current River is the best wading river in the area. I would have to agree with him, the Current River is a wading fisherman's dream, except for the close cover. The trees along the stream get a steady diet of flies all year. I try to take the flies ( along with the line attached ) out of the trees and the banks when I find them. Not that I am that frugal about saving money on flies, but fishing line and flies dangling from them are hazards to wildlife. In a report I gave back in July I found a Wood Duck that had eaten a fly that was dangling from a limb on the water. Apparently the duck saw the fly swinging in the water and mistook the fly for an actual bug. The duck was released, but unfortunately I did not get a picture, despite the fact that I had a camera with me. 

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Fishing Report November 19

No Report this week. I do not get on the rivers during the deer season.

Fishing Report November 12

Thursday, was a clear, warm day and the bugs were everywhere in the morning. Tricos were dancing in the sunlight, tiny olives were fluttering on the water trying to get airborne and caddis were doing their egg dance.  There were some rainbows sucking the Trico spinners on the far bank and didn't have anything close to that size.  I left my tiny flies in the truck. I was trying out a 7wt Loomis that I had just finished making and I didn't have my micro box with me. I did however have my caddis box, so I found the smallest fly I had, an 18 tan and brown soft hackle. I greased the line and even put a little on the fly. I picked out the closest rainbow, they were all rainbows as far as I could tell, and dropped my fly about a foot in front of his nose. Unfortunately he ate a spinner just to the right when my fly drifted down to him. On my second cast the fly came close enough and he sucked it in. I was laughing to my self the entire time I reeled him in. This wasn't a picky fish, so I guessed that he had not been in the stream too long. When I got him in, he was missing a pectoral fin and he had a washed out color. The second fish down stream was closer to the bank and a little smaller. I probably made a dozen casts to him and he refused the fly every time he looked at it. This guy was picky and I knew that, with the fly I had, I should probably find another fish. 6 or 7 feet below the second fish was another rainbow, about the same size. I dried the fly, greased it up a little and made my cast. He swam about a foot to his left and took the fly. This rainbow was also washed out in color and about the same size as the first fish, around 11". I moved down stream to the next pod and picked up 3 more rainbows and a small brown, that was stocked this past spring.

I eventually found the fish I was looking for, a nice brown that was about 21-22 inches. After going through a half dozen flies I finally found one he was interested in, but it got by him before he could eat it. On the second cast with this fly he moved over a couple of feet and picked it up. I had him on for about 3 minutes until he wrapped me up around a rock and broke off. I ended up catching a couple of browns around 15-17 inches out of that hole and realized that I needed to get home, I had basketball practice in about two hours. 

It was a good morning, with lots of bugs and feeding fish. I will try to get out on the stream again, when the deer season is over. If you have to be on the water, make sure you have some hunter orange on.  The stream is very low and very clear, so move slow and keep your distance.

"A bad day fishing is still a great day"

Fishing Report November 5

Busy week on the stream and several fishermen on the water this weekend. The Current River is running very low and very clear and fishing success has been good to fair. The browns are ending their thing and the rainbows are getting in the mood. We even saw a male rainbow that thought he was going to pair up with a female brown. I have never seen this before, but I guess there is always a first. Egg patterns seemed to be the best fly to use this week, with streamers and soft hackles also taking fish. When the weather clears, the caddis start flying and the fish are more inclined to take the elk hair. The rain and cool weather has the Olives flying, but we did not see many numbers, not enough to get excited over, but there were enough for the fish to take them off the top so they will provide some dry fly action in the morning. There are two olives coming off right now. A tiny one that is pale olive and in a size 24, and a larger olive that is a dark olive in color and a size 20. The larger one seems to prefer the "Baetis type days" like we had this weekend.

This is a picture of a very nice Rainbow that a client caught yesterday.

"A Bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report October 30

The River is still running very clear and it is very low for this time of the year. Fishing has been fair to good depending on your fishing location and your choice of flies. This time of year the browns have other things on their minds and feed a lot less than normal. They usually don't go out of their way very much to get food, waiting for the river current to bring the food to them. We are getting a good tiny olive hatch in the morning and various caddis hatching throughout the day. They are not heavy hatches, so you will have to catch one to see what they look like, if you want to go through the trouble to match the size and the color.

With all the changes in the weather recently, it affects the type of hatches. During those cold, windy and rainy days the larger olive, size 20, will come off and the fishing will turn on. This bug seems to bring on a more aggressive feeding, so I love to be on the water when these little guys hatch. The "Baetis type days" are my favorite days to fish. Most fishermen avoid these days, miss out on some very good fishing, and leave a lot of water for me to fish. Days like this are not comfortable for the average fisherman and just the "crazy guys", as my wife calls them,  end up on the water. 

The colors along the stream are amazing, but will be gone very soon, so if you want to catch them you need to get out in the next week or so. In a couple of weeks the rifle season opens for deer. If you plan to fish during the hunting season make sure you wear some colors to make you distinct from a deer. Do not wear white of any kind, and stay away from the tans and browns. I know that most waders are in this color range, so if you have to be in the stream, outside of the parks wear some kind of florescent orange on your body. I personally do not fish outside of the trout parks, or Taney during the deer hunting season.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report October 6

The upper Current River is running very clear and just about normal, maybe a little low for this time of year. If you are fishing early in the morning the Tiny Olives are the predominant bug in the air, with some Tricos and small, #20-18, brown caddis flies mixed in. The Tiny Olives are going to be about a size 28-26 in light olive. and the Tricos are about a size 28-30. You can fish a couple of hook sizes up from the actual bug, if you make your imitation sparingly on the hook. Some of the fish that have been hooked and released a few times, may be a little more picky and actually look for the exact size and color. Fish that have not been hooked or not fished to very much will be less wary and take a larger presentation, and maybe one that isn't actually close to the real bug. Finding the right location to fish is very important, because these bugs do not just hatch everywhere. If you are fishing over deep water with a sandy bottom, you may not see them at all. During the afternoons, a hopper or stimulator with a dropper is proving to be an affective way to take them. A good report, from a reliable source, turned in early this week, was using this set up and caught some nice browns with it. Hoppers are still around and the fish will definitely take a large easy meal if it is presented correctly. You can't go wrong with a caddis emerger, or caddis larva as the dropper. The upper Current River has Caddis of all colors and sizes. If you are attentive to the bugs around you on the stream right now, you will notice a very large Caddis coming off every now and then in the afternoons that is a size 6-8. If you are fishing in the evening look for a brown/yellow caddis in size 12. 

This time of the year brings brilliant colors to the river, so take your camera for those fish you catch and make sure you take some pictures of the colors around you.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report October 1

Sorry guys, no report this week I have been out of town on a fishing trip up north. You can read about it in my fishing stories section.

Fishing Report September 24

No change in the fishing report this week over the past two weeks. The Tricos are still the best bet early in the morning, with some Tiny olives starting to show up. Caddis in brown and about a size 18 are good right now. You will see them along the banks in the foliage. The hoppers are good all day and there is a good Caddis hatch in the evenings. The browns are really starting to get brilliant colors, perfect for photos. The stream  is still clear and the fish are sill spooky in the shallow flats, but the weather this week has been excellent. I love the cloudy, drizzly days for fishing...not many people are on the water and the fish are more active. And the temps have been perfect.

Fishing Report September 07

We had a very good day this week in Montauk Park. Several fish were caught with the largest a 4lb brown. A very nice 3 to 3 1/2 rainbow was on but managed to lose the hook just before netting.
The river is very low and very clear. So if you are a sight fisherman, the water is perfect for you. Remember that the flip side is the fish can also see you much better.
The tricos are still coming off, but in fewer and fewer numbers. Caddis are good late morning and hoppers continue to be the best bet in the afternoon. The cooler temps and early shade on the water brings on an excellent Caddis hatch in the evening, starting about 5:00. They are about a size 18 in brown.

We fished the Big Piney one morning  this week and did well with hoppers and crawfish patterns. Nothing large was caught but we had the river all to ourselves and it was a great morning on the river.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 25

The Current River is very low and clear. Floaters are spending a lot of extra time getting in and out of their canoes  to walk them down the shallow riffles. The middle and lower section of the river would be a better choice for floating than the upper section. The Tricos are still your best bet early in the morning. They are coming off in good numbers, but the fish are getting a lot harder to catch by this time of the year. Even the little trout are more picky than they were a month ago. The more fishermen that fish to them the pickier they become. After getting hooked a couple of times they are more cautious about taking a fly that doesn't quite look like the bugs they are eating. The Tricos will continue to come off into September, but the numbers will dwindle and eventually there won't be enough to get the attention of the fish. Caddis are still the best fly to fish, when you can't figure out what the trout are feeding on. We are switching to a Caddis pattern like an Elk hair or CDC after the Trico spinner fall is over. Later in the afternoon we switch to hoppers and sometimes add a nymph dropper like a prince, pheasant tail or a rockworm. Fishing hoppers in the afternoon has been very productive, and a ton of fun. We have not caught a fish over 20", but there has been a lot of 12-15 inchers, with a few between 15-20. The cooler temps in the mornings has been a welcome relief, but it soon warms up and fishing in 90 degree plus afternoons doesn't seem that bad when you are fishing on the Current River.

" A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 13

The Current River is low and clear. The water conditions make it Great for sight fishing, but it also means the fish can see the fishermen better. If you are fishing in the shallow flats, keep your distance and use a long leader. I use a 5 foot AirFlo braided leader for the butt section and build the rest of my leader with tippet material. I use 0X to 7X depending on the water I am fishing. In the shallow flats my leader will be about 12 foot long, and I am making 30-50 foot casts.

My clients had good success this week with Elk Hair Caddis patterns. The darker, colors seemed to work better. Brown or Green produced better than the tan caddis. Size 16 was a better producer than the larger ones. I had one client that caught almost all of his fish on the same fly. He said he was going to retire the fly to a shadow box or mount it on a rock in his office. We did not catch any big fish this week but we did catch a lot of fish. Even my 4 inexperienced fly fishers caught fish this week. Tricos are the best bet early in the morning, hoppers are good in the afternoon, or a dry fly like an elk hair caddis. We did fish below an indicator a little, but it is not my preferred method, especially when they will take dry flies. 

One of the trips taken this week was exclusively for smallmouth bass. Although we didn't hook up to any larger fish, plenty of fish were caught. The crawfish patterns worked well, especially the flies that were not weighted. None of the takes were solid hits, the fish were hitting pretty soft, so sight fishing to them was more productive than waiting for the feel of the strike. If we could see the fly, and see the fish come up to take it, we had a lot more hookups. We also did well on the surface. Dry flies like hoppers, frogs, or spiders will produce in the shaded areas of the stream, especially close to the banks when the sun is high and bright

Fishing Report August 5

I did some smallmouth fishing a half day this week with very good results. I caught a dozen nice smallmouth, 12+ inches in three hours. I also caught 8 rock bass, 3 bluegill, one green sunfish, 5 longear sunfish and a chub. I caught all of these fish with hoppers, and crayfish patterns. I didn't get to fish much, because we were visiting our grandsons this week. I will have some trout reports for you in a couple of days.

Fishing Report July 22

It has been a busy week on the water, with lots of fish in the net, but some were not landed on the Current River. I fished two days at Bennett Spring this week with some very good friends from the Kansas City area,  and a half day on the Current. The other half of the day was with two eager fisherwomen. These ladies were excellent students and very patient with their new found hobby. Usually when someone learns how to fly fish, they don't start out with one of the hardest hatches to fish. But that is exactly what I did with them. We started with the Trico spinner fall and finished with elk hair caddis. Fishing the Trico spinner fall has frustrated some of the most seasoned fly fishing veterans, but these ladies managed to hook and land two browns each off of the fall.  When the bugs were gone we switched over to gold ribbed hares ear, and only managed to pick up one rainbow, which surprised me because we did well with that fly last week. After watching the fish react to the indicator, I had them switch to elk hair caddis and they picked up three more browns. All in all they had a good time, learned a little about casting, presentations, insects, locating fish, landing and releasing fish and just a touch of herpetology. 

I fished for three hours in the afternoon and caught about 15 small fish, mostly on CDC Caddis and a few on the X-Caddis. I prefer these flies, because they lay flat on the water. They are much more difficult to see on the water, but I have fished them long enough to be able to pick them out pretty well. They are not flies that I would recommend  to beginners. The Elk hair sits high, does a fine job and it is much easier to locate and follow by the fisherman. I stayed in a size 16 olive/tan all afternoon. I did not try anything else. When I can get them to rise to dry flies I don't fish any other way. To me it is the ultimate way to fly fish, so why do anything else, and carry all those other boxes around.

Fishing Report July 10

It was a great day to be fishing, except for the continuous rain all morning. It isn't often during the Month of July that we get continuous rain for hours. We will get occasional storms that blow in, but the rain is usually over in an hour or less. Today it rained for about 5 hours continuously, and it was raining when we left a little after noon. At times it was heavy, but mostly a good soaker. As you can tell by the rain jacket that Travis has on, it was indeed a soaker. He caught fish all morning, mostly on the good ole gold ribbed hare's ear. A tried and proven nymph for years, at least as long as I can remember. His largest fish of the day was a 16" rainbow. We would have used a dry fly for an indicator, but with all the rain it made it difficult to keep a dry fly floating long enough to be useful. Fishing was very good, the river is clear, but we did get some debris that started floating down when the river came up. It didn't come up much, but I could tell that the flow was increasing. If the ground would have been soaked the river would have had a good rise, but in July the ground is never soaked enough to bring the river up very much. Today should be an excellent day to be on the water.

We did experience a once in a life time event yesterday. We found a Wood Duck hen that had eaten a fly that someone lost in a tree. The hook on the fly was rusted, indicating that the fly had been in the tree for a long time. The tree was leaning over the water with the top branches touching the surface. It had dropped during the heavy water we had a couple of months ago, when the bank washed away from the roots. The fly line was wrapped around a branch and the fly was close to or on the surface of the water when the Wood Duck ate it, apparently taking it for a bug. The poor duck was thrashing around trying to get lose when I saw it. As we approached she dove under the water trying to hide from us. When I caught her, we found the hook had penetrated the end of her upper bill. I cut the line, pinched the barb down and let her go.  It was a great feeling watching her swim off.  The only regret I have is not taking a picture... I will never see it again in my life, I'm sure.

Fishing Report July 1

The upper river continues to run well and clear. The fishing has been very good with a variety of flies catching fish. The Trico spinner fall is starting a little after 6:00, but the pods are still spotty. If you can find a good pod you should be able to fish it for a couple of hours providing you don't wade into the middle of it and spook the fish. When you hook a feeder the rest of the pod will drop to the bottom for a few minutes, but they will return to their feeding if you don't spook them. The caddis are still popping sporadically throughout the day, with no major hatch occurring. The yellow stones are just about gone, but I see one every now and then. We caught some good fish this week, with a couple going 22+, but like I said before we used a variety of flies and really did not find a single pattern that was better than the others we used. We can catch the rainbows on just about anything, but we are after the browns, the larger ones, and that has been the challenge. I am starting to see some small hoppers, so I guess I will get out my #12s and begin to test them along the grassy banks. After this week, it can't hurt to try something else, to find a pattern that will out produce the ones we have been using.

It looks like a hot and crowded weekend. Share the water and respect the water someone else is fishing. Have a good weekend and enjoy the Great Ozark streams.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 25

The river is still in great shape, with a very good flow compared to the past few years. It is very clear, so try not to get too close to the area you are fishing to prevent spooking them. Move slow, and blend with the shade, you will be surprised how many more fish you will find.

We fished Wednesday and had a very good morning. I was really surprised how spotty the fish have been feeding on the Trico spinners. A friend of mine and I fished about 50 yards apart and he didn't see any risers. I fished risers for about 2 and half hours. I can not explain it, because he was in a area that has produced excellent dry fly fishing for the spinner fall, forever. We did catch some very nice fish, with the largest a 21 inch rainbow. My buddy also hooked, but lost a brown that was bigger than that. My largest fish was a very pretty 18 inch brown. We fished similar flies, and the fish were eating both.

There are still some yellow stones coming off, but not very many. There are several different caddis coming off in the morning, and every now and then we saw a light cahill. I wouldn't call them hatches, because they are sporadic and variable.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 16, 06

I was not able to get to the Current River this week. I had other commitments, but I did receive a good report from a reliable source. The river is in great shape for fishing with just about an average flow. Most fish were taken with Elk Hair caddis or a Copper John. Combining the two flies and fishing a two fly rig was very effective. Most of the larger fish were taken with the dropper.
Finding the right location on the stream, will help you avoid the aluminum hatch ( canoes ). The traffic is especially heavy on Saturdays, but with a little planning you can leap frog most of them and enjoy a peaceful day on the stream.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 8, 06

The river is running about normal flow right now, and still a little cloudy. It should get gin clear in the next two weeks, if we don't get any heavy rain. The side creeks, and small springs that are very unnoticeable along the stream are running good flows. So our water tables are back to where they should be for this time of year. 

Fishing has been good with all the little stocked browns in the river and with the rainbows that washed down from Montauk park in the last flood. There have been a couple of reports of nice browns of around 5 pounds taken. Unfortunately they were taken out in coolers instead of released. I'm sure that other fish over 18 inches have gone on stringers. Everyone is not a catch and release fishermen, and for most guys, a fish over 3 pounds, is a fish of a lifetime.
The tricos are coming on strong, but the fish are not on them yet...I presume it is because of the late stocking, I don't have any other explanation. I have never seen the fish not rise to this spinner. There are some caddis fluttering around, but not in great numbers. The yellow stones are slowing down and the light cahills are still here and there.

The aluminum hatch is going strong, so be aware, especially on weekends.

Fishing Report June 1, 06

The river is still running about normal, maybe just a little over average. We did get a small spike yesterday, but it is dropping about as fast as it went up. Typical of the upper Current River. Up fast and down fast, hence the warnings about flash flooding in this area. I had a client catch a nice trout last Wednesday afternoon, about an 18 brown that was taken in some fast water. He had a long hard fight getting the fish to the net. In strong water you have to be very careful about not horsing them out. The extra power of a swift current increases the force tremendously at the end of the line. Cliff did a great job keeping pressure on this fish and he was very patient. Notice the slight off color of this fish. When fish are in discolored water for an extended period of time, their colors will become faint. As the stream clears up the bright colors will return. You may have noticed this with other fish, such as largemouth bass taken out of muddy water.

The upper Current River is in excellent fishing condition, and the fish are returning to normal after the aluminum hatch this weekend. 

Fishing Report May 20, 06

The Current River water level is running just about where it should be for this time of year. The color is great and the fishing is very good. This is a great time to introduce a novice to the world of fly fishing for trout. There are plenty of stockers to keep up the interest and some nice fish to bend a rod. The extra high water last week provided an opportunity for the stocked rainbows in Montauk to make their way down stream. Although they are not legal size fish to keep, they provide a lot of fun, and they are eager to take a fly. It really does not take them very long to get tuned in to the insect activity in the river. I don't know if they see other fish feeding on the bugs and learn from them or if they just have a natural instinct that attracts them to the insects. I doesn't matter, either way they eat flies and provide enjoyment to fishermen throwing a fly rod. This weekend was kid's day at Montauk Park, so I'm sure that the stream was pounded pretty good today and will be again tomorrow. I would imagine that families will be camping out more and more during the week days as well, now that schools are closing for the summer. The tricos are coming off well in the mornings, the caddis are hatching in the afternoons and the little yellow stoneflies are popping during the day. A lot of bugs, a lot of fish and a lot of fun.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 10, 06

I checked the USGS river levels today before I left the house. It was a good thing I did, the Current River blew out today. It went from about 450 cfs to 3,000 in about 3 hours. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail telling me that he had heard that they evacuated the camp grounds at Montauk Park for safety reasons. I decided to fish the little piney creek instead. It took me about 10 minutes to drive to the creek and another 10 minutes to get dressed and walk to the hole I planned to fish. When I got there the creek was up a little, but with good color. I fished for about 3 hours, catching 6 rainbows and 2 smallmouth on streamers. They were not hitting hard today, I ended up missing 4 fish on soft takes. I was in the water about thigh deep when I started to notice the current picking up and the stream getting a little debris. It was time for me to move into shallower water. It wasn't too long after that the color started to change and in about 10 minutes the creek was up about a foot and it turned to a chocolate milk color. It was time to go home. I checked the water levels when I got home, and the Current had peaked and was dropping. It should be OK by the weekend if we don't get more rain. With the ground totally saturated from recent rains, any more rain we get will run off into the streams. The Flash Flood warning signs posted on the Current River are there for a reason.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 3, 06

Perfect fishing conditions, for me,  today on the Current River. When I arrived at the river this morning, I was excited about the level and the color of the water. Not to mention that it was a rainy drizzly day. The fish were very active today and hit a variety of flies. I was throwing some big stuff and probably had seven or eight missed takes for every fish I hooked. The smaller mouthed rainbows and small browns would hit the fly but not enough of it to get hooked. Throwing the bunnies, I caught about a  half dozen rainbows, and the rest of my fish were browns. The browns ranged from 14 to 18 inches. No big guys today, and with the water conditions the way they were I was disappointed that I didn't hook a 20+ fish. There was a fair caddis hatch today about 1:00 or 2:00. Good size, about a #14, brown. Probably the spotted sedge, but I didn't catch any to identify them. I was throwing bunnies today and really not interested in the minor caddis hatch. When the river is in this condition, I throw big stuff. I can fish the caddis hatches when the river clears and drops, but I only get to fish it a few times a year when it is in the condition it was in today. Unfortunately, I didn't check the water level before I left the house this morning and drove to the river with my 4WT. Not exactly the right rod for the type of fishing I was doing, but I didn't have a choice. Chuck and duck was going to be my method for at least half the day. When my shoulder wears out, I have to stop and change tactics. I probably caught just as many fish drifting a caddis emerger below and indicator, that I did throwing the bunnies, but they were smaller fish.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 25, 06

The river is back to just about normal for this time of year. It was just running about 50% before we received rain this week. We had about 3 inches in two days, but they didn't get that much south of here. The color of the river is just a little cloudy, not much but noticeable. We were expecting it to be more off color this morning, but it wasn't. Bug activity today, wasn't what it was 5 days ago, but the cool rainy weather may have something to do with that. The forecast is for more rain and a lot cooler.. down in the 30s tonight. The temperature dropped a lot this afternoon. We had a pretty good day, not great, but the weather cooperated, it stayed cloudy most of the day and we had the stream to ourselves until about 2:00. I would say we ( my good friend Tom and I ) caught about 20-25 fish today. We didn't find any one particular fly that worked all the time, but the olive/brown caddis emerger, size 16 seemed to do better than most. We caught them on caddis dry flies, softhackles and the olive emerger below an indicator. We even tossed some bunnies, but didn't catch a fish on them. The stream is in excellent condition to fish right now.

Fishing Report April 20, 06

I have had a death in the  family and it has taken me some time to get back to the stream. I had three clients this week and have a couple of reports for you. The Current river is very low, and very clear. I believe it is flowing about 50% of its normal flow for this time of year. There have been some caddis hatches and the crane flies are going well. The larger caddis brown/yellow is coming off about 7:30-8:00 PM and of course the Cranes are also popping about this time. I was told that caddis were also hatching in the morning, but I wasn't there so I can't tell you the size or the color. The ones we saw in the afternoon were very small, brown/purple about a size 20. The fish were not very active during the afternoon, but seemed to be getting after the bugs in the evening. I wouldn't call it real active, but there were, at least some rises, and splashes. There was NO activity during the afternoon. 

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

We fished the little piney creek and mill creek yesterday with limited success. The fish of the day was the first one hooked, but he broke off about 5 seconds into the fight. We fished with dry flies, mostly Adams, and some soft hackles. The bright sun in the afternoon didn't help and of course there wasn't much bug activity, except in the morning. If you fish the little piney, make sure you have some #18-20 black caddis. They always seem to be flying around when we go there. The little piney creek as well as Mill creek are very low and very clear right now. A low profile and slow approach will get you more takes than a walk right up on top of them as fast as you can go approach. The fish are very spooky in this low clear water condition.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report April 10, 06

Sorry, no report this week - personal reasons

Fishing Report April 2, 06

Sorry, no report this week - personal reasons

Fishing Report March 26th, 06

I don't have a report today for the Current River. I went to Taneycomo to fish with a friend of mine. I will have a report next week.

This report was sent in by a  friend of mine: 

A buddy and I went fishing last Sunday, 3/26, with my new canoe.  I mounted a trolling motor on the back so we motored up from Parker about 3/4 of the way to Ashley and floated/fished back to the truck.  The water was high and muddy, about 1.6 on the USGS website.  We threw streamers all day and each caught a handful of fish.  It was pretty slow. 

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

I moved two or three really large browns on white zuddlers but couldn't get them to commit.  We landed fish on olive and ginger mohair leaches, olive WBs, olive sculpins, and I caught a fish or two on tan-bodied caddis dries with dark wings, sizes 16s and 18s.  I only fished the caddis when I saw a rise and this was not very often

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report March 17, 06

The river is still up a little and a little cloudy. Excellent looking water for fishing, but looks can be deceiving. The fish have been feeding pretty well over the past week with the high water and we have a cold front coming in so for whatever reason they were not feeding aggressively today. I had several short soft hits and only managed to land 5 today. None of them were big fish, but two of them were wild or they have been in the river a long time Rainbows. They fought like crazy with several jumps, so if they were not wild, they were very close to it. I drifted some flies, but I did most of my fishing with streamers. I worked at it pretty hard today and the day got colder as it went on. The wind came up, so I was glad that I took my jacket. The weekend looks to be colder and Monday they are calling for snow possibilities, so fair weather fishermen take heed.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report March 8, 06

The river is up today, and running a lot of debris. There was an excellent caddis hatch in the afternoon, an excellent BWO and an excellent midge hatch in the afternoon. The fish were not paying a lot of attention to the bugs however.  I guess the water conditions had a lot to do with that. The fishing was a little slow, if you measure by the numbers of fish caught, but I did manage to catch some very nice browns on streamers. I didn't catch very many fish today, but I netted 3 browns over 20 inches. It was a lot of work and I covered a lot of water. 

Fishing Report March 6, 06

The river is very low and very clear. As I drove by the dam at Montauk I noticed that there was very little water coming over the dam. As low as I have ever seen it for this time of the year. The fish are spooky in this low clear water, so approach slowly, keep a low profile and wear clothes that blend with the stream bank. I didn't get on the stream until later in the day, but I managed to catch about 12 fish this afternoon. The  largest was a 23" female. The caddis were flying everywhere and the fish were feeding on them sporadically. There were a couple of different caddis. One was a small guy, about a size 18 with tan wings and a dark brown body. The other one was larger, about a size 16, with light brown wings and a green body. I believe they are called little sedge, but I'm not sure. I caught about half my fish on a close patterned emerger that I had, and half on some CDC 16s that I had. If I can catch them on dry flies then that is how I prefer to fly fish. The weather is going to turn warmer over the next couple of days and storms are in the forecast. I hope it pours for the next three or four days, because we need it and it would give me an excuse to get out my 6 wt. and throw some big ugly stuff.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report February 26, 06

The river is still running clear and about normal. It was a little cold this morning with the temps in the 20s. It did warm up to about 50 degrees in the afternoon. We saw several bugs later in the day when the temperature got up to 50. Two different caddis, one was brown with tan wings and the other was a dark brown/green with tan wings. Both were about a size 18. There were small black stoneflies size 16. Some very small mayflies, but I didn't identify them, and our tiny midges.

Fishing the deep water in the morning was not productive. We managed to catch a few fish in the shallower moving water. The largest fish was a nice rainbow about 15-16 inches, and a brown about the same size. There was some fair activity in the afternoon when the caddis started popping, but not  full fledged water busting activity. The next couple of days is suppose to warm up to the 70 degree mark, which will bring on some major insect activity, and get the fish turned on.

Thursday was a day for me to do some exploring, trying to find some fish for a couple of clients. I really didn't find a lot of fish, but did manage to catch a nice 20" brown. They were sipping midges along an eddy current in some slower water. A couple of guys came down the stream, walking a canoe and trying to fish. They walked right into the hole I was fishing, and that was the end of my dry fly midge fishing for the day.

Fishing Report February 13, 06

The river is running clear and normal. The only bug that I saw is our little midge, and there were very few of them. The weather has been cold with some snow and fish activity has been very slow. There is a weather forecast for warmer days and some sun this week, so hopefully we can see some caddis activity and get the fish turned on again, like they were a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a couple of bows with a Mohair leech and a couple of small browns with a #24 midge. I was having problems with ice in my guides early in the morning, but that is a problem often encountered with winter fishing. I still have not used that silicone dressing that I have read about to help prevent the ice build up.  Maybe next time. I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped and actually my heart wasn't in it at the time, my mind was on basketball and it was cold, so I decided to call it a day and go home to watch game films.

If you plan on fishing in this type of weather, make sure to have extra warm clothes in the vehicle and a means to create a fire. If you get wet, get out of those clothes and into some dry ones as soon as possible. If you don't have them, you better get somewhere warm quickly before hypothermia sets in. Shivering is an early indicator so pay attention to the warnings. No fish is worth the loss of a finger, or toe or worse. Winter is a good time to fish with a friend, for safety sake, and make sure you stay close enough to communicate with them. 

Fishing Report February 4, 06

No report this week, I have been involved with a basketball tournament and I have spent my time with scouting reports, analyzing film, playing games and practice. I have noticed that the Roubidoux creek was running a little cloudy and up about a foot or more this week. Perfect conditions for streamers.  Other area streams were running high on Monday and Tuesday this week, but are currently dropping back to about their average flow for this time of year.  A friendly reminder that February 1st starts a new fishing season in Missouri and your 2005 license is no longer valid. If you plan to be out on a stream, remember to pick up your 2006 fishing license. 

Fishing Report January 27, 06

I was able to get out on the stream for about 2 hours yesterday and managed to catch 6 nice fish. It was slow for about half an hour, with a few ticks on my streamer, but no hook-ups. I switched over to one of my favorite winter flies, a #10 olive mohair leech. I fish mine on a swing and short twitches. On the 4th cast I had one on for about 20 seconds before I lost it. At least it was progress, if only for 20 seconds. A half dozen casts later I had another one on and managed to release it after a good fight and a couple of leaps. Not a big one, but some action for what was proving to be a slow day. A few casts later I had another one, release it and continued to throw in the same hole. I spent about a half hour fishing in that one hole and took six fish out of it. The clouds started to dissipate, the sun was getting higher and the fish catching stopped.  I continued down the stream without success and decided to fish it back up with an indicator and caddis worm... no luck, not even a stop. I fished my way back up stream past the truck and realized that I needed to pick up the pace and fish back down, because I needed to leave in an hour or so. As I was working my way back down stream a guy stepped into the river ahead of me, about 30 feet below me, and started fishing. I will not get into my thoughts on that at this time, but I am determined to write a lengthy article on fishing etiquette in the near future. I have had this happen to me several times over the past couple of years and it is really getting on my nerves. I believe that there is an increasing percentage of fishermen today that just don't understand that it is rude to disturb the water in, around and where a fisherman is heading. I blame this on the fishing attitude of some of the fishermen in our trout parks, here in Missouri, and that there are fishermen out there that don't know any better, because no one has taught them. If we, as fly fishermen, do not say anything to these guys, they will continue to disrupt the water we fish and not realize that it is poor fishing etiquette.

Fishing Report January 19, 06

Sorry, no report this week, (so far). I have been extremely busy with my basketball season and I had some minor surgery, so I needed to stay in a "clean environment" until the incision healed. This weather is amazing for January, but I am worried about the water tables. We really need the moisture during the winter to help keep our tables up. Anyone that loves to be outside and enjoying the great outdoors has had an unbelievable winter to be out and about. I have seen a lot of "gig boats" this winter, so I assume that the suckers and carp have had a pretty rough time of avoiding all the gigs being jabbed at them this year. Without the rain and snow runoffs to keep the rivers dingy, the giggers have had a perfect winter for their sport. Warm nights and crystal clear water provide perfect opportunities for high rates of success.

Fishing Report January 9, 06

The great weather that we have had this past week has allowed some fortunate friends of mine to get out and catch a few fish. One friend reported that bead head nymphs were producing some nice fish despite the bright sunny conditions that make the fish very spooky. ( There are a lot more of eagles over the rivers in the winter and they love to eat fish).  A few browns over 15" were hooked with a couple netted. One that was closer to 20 managed to avoid the net and was released on a long line. The primary flies that the fish were eating were bead headed midge nymphs and red asses.  Fish were also taken on caddis worms and a few rose to caddis dries. The fisherman providing this report  had to leave the river a little earlier than usual Sunday, so unfortunately he missed what was probably a great caddis hatch in the evening.  When he left, the bugs were starting to hatch out of the riffles and fish were taking soft hackles pretty regularly.

Fishing Report December 29, 05

Fishing was a little slow today, but it was nice to be able to get out for a few hours. I managed to hook up with a half dozen average size fish. All on olive Mohair leeches in size 10. I like to use them in the winter when the water is clear. I fish them on the swing and a few short strips at the end. I know some fishermen, like Missouri's coldwater director, drift the leech below an indicator. I prefer to cast and strip it, because I really enjoy casting a fly rod more than throwing an indicator.

Two reports came in this week, from other fishermen, indicating that the fishing was also slow for them. They tried a variety of flies with limited success. The nice weather earlier in the week made it really nice to be out and enjoying the Ozarks.

Hey, I forgot to mention that I had the privilege to see a bald eagle today... 
"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"
www.TightLine.Biz

Fishing Report December 11, 05

A great hatch of BWOs and Midges, in December, on the Current River. The picture below was sent to me by Ryan McCarty. His girl friend took the picture yesterday in the fly fishing section of Montauk Park. All the little specks you see in the photo are bugs, thousands of them are surrounding Ryan giving him and his girl friend several hours of quality dry fly fishing. There are tremendous bug hatches on this river, and you can have a lot of fun if you are in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, yesterday, I was fishing several miles downstream from this hatch and missed it.

©

I was able to get down to the river for a little while today and really had a pretty good outing. I saw a couple of other guys on the stream, but I never did see them with a fish on. One guy was drifting a red plastic worm. I politely informed him that plastic baits were strictly prohibited on Blue Ribbon waters. He said that it wasn't natural bait,  it was artificial and it should be Ok. I told him that I was an authorized guide with the National Park Service and that I was 100% sure that plastic baits are explicitly prohibited in this section of the stream. I told him it was listed on the yellow posted sign and that he could read it for himself. He said he thought it was OK to fish with the plastic worms, because he had seen other fishermen fishing in the exact same place using them. After a few more minutes of discussion he thanked me, switched over to a spinner and continued on down the stream. I continued up the river to a couple of  holes that I knew, from past years, would be holding some winter fish. I stopped at a little run that dropped off into a nice hole that had plenty of cover. I was only able to catch one little bow there so I started to work back down to the truck. I really had a couple of other holes in mind, the run was just a starting point. I quickly worked through the shallow sections, knowing that I was probably wasting my time, but I needed the extra time to get my cast down. I slowly worked down to the first hole I was planning to fish and could see several trout holding on the bottom. My second cast produced a good strike, but I missed it. The fourth or fifth cast connected and after that I had a pattern. I was throwing a #10 Mohair leech with a single size 6 split about 8 inches up the line. They were taking the fly on the swing or sometimes following it and hitting after a couple of short strips. I was mending the line two or three times on each cast, to give the fly time to sink  close to the bottom. I weight my leeches so I knew I didn't need a lot of extra weight to get them down. I don't use extra weight if the current is slow, or the water is less than 4 feet deep. I managed to land 11, lose 3 and break off 3. Not that the fish were that big, just several rocks for them to get into and cut the line. Pretty good fishing for a little over 3 hours, especially for winter fish. The river was very clear, and just about normal. OH I forgot to mention that I saw a bald eagle. It is always a great day when I see an eagle. For you older fishermen you know what I am talking about. When I was a kid we never saw eagles. It wasn't until about 20 years ago that we would see one occasionally. So yes, I get excited when I see them. I'm sure you younger fishermen appreciate them and enjoy seeing one, but for most of you under the age of 30 you have always seen them and don't realize how rare the sightings were 50-30 years ago.

"A bad day fishing is still a great day"

Fishing Report December 3, 05

I have not been able to get down to the river this a week. My basketball season has started and I am pretty deep into that right now. We had a tournament this past week and I spent all of my time watching games, reviewing scouting films, practicing and putting scouting reports together. There have been reports that the fishing is good with streamers, especially when the river was up. That will almost always be the case, so watch the river gauges and plan to fish some big ugly things when it is high. I did have a report that came in today from Ryan McCarty. He and a friend caught some bows throwing small Sculpins.

During the winter months, the insect activity really slows to a crawl and the fish are more clued in to minnows or nymphs that have been dislodged from under rocks by fishermen wading, or animals in the stream. I usually do well with the smaller Sculpins in clear water or #10 Mohair leeches in olive or brown, which I believe the fish take for small Sculpins anyway. 

Be careful fishing in the Winter, hypothermia sets in pretty quick especially if you get wet. I wrote an article last year about winter fishing that may contain some helpful advise. You can find it in my stories section, or on the OzarkAnglers.com/ forum.

Fishing Report November 12, 05

While we were getting dressed two rifle shots rang out across the river and that was when we decided to stay in the river below the river bank on our walks up and down the river. Deer season is not a good time to be walking the river banks on the fishermen trails with tan colored Simms waders. Not a lot has changed over the past three weeks with the trout fishing on the upper Current River, except that the Tricos have really dropped off over the past week. There are still a few flying around and being eaten, but they are mixed in with the tiny olives when they fall and I think the fish just feed on them opportunistically when they are picking up the olives. There are some good tiny olive hatches going on in the mornings and yesterday they were the primary hatch of all the bugs observed. There are some small midges, (a lot smaller than the ones at Taney) in the air but not in great numbers. There was a good caddis hatch yesterday morning and fish chasing them. It wasn't a major hatch, but enough bugs to get the fish interested. They are about a size 16, with tan wings and a light brown / olive abdomen. A good friend of mine and I fished about a half day yesterday catching approximately 12-15 a piece on a #24 tiny olive spinner dry fly. When the spinner fall was over and the fish stopped feeding on them we changed tactics. Tom switched over to an indicator and a bead head copper john. I switched over to a caddis dry fly for an indicator and an olive and copper nymph for a dropper. I picked up 6 more fish with half of them taking the dropper and the other half the dry fly. The weather was good for fishing with the cloud cover and the light rain we had a mid morning. I was a little disappointed that the larger olive did not come off yesterday. The weather was just about right, except that it wasn't cold enough. They seem to like the cold, windy with rain or snow days. It is a size 20, and the fish go crazy over them. Oh well maybe next time, the weather is suppose to change this week with dropping temps. Now if we can get some rain or snow to go with that I will be headed for the river with my number 20 olives. I look forward to those Baetis type days when I will probably be the only fool on the river.

Fishing Report November 5, 05

The fishing report is the same this week as it was last week. Despite the rain earlier in the week the river is still very low and clear. Usually after a heavy rain Ashley creek will dump in some good runoff to give the river good color for streamer fishing and get the fish turned on into more aggressive feeding, but with the water tables as low as they currently are, it is going to take several days of heavy rain or a real gully washer. Reports in this week are showing good results with lots of fish to be caught. The early morning pattern is still tricos with tiny olives and some caddis. The midges are still increasing, but not the bug of choice yet. As the tricos tail out here in November, and the days get colder, the midges will continue to hatch and gain more attention from the trout. The caddis hatches are really going strong right now, with tremendous fish activity in the last couple of hours of daylight. 4:00 PM is a very good time to be on the water in the evening to catch it. The browns are not as active with their annual fall responsibilities and some of the males have dropped down into the deeper holes to recover and start replacing all the weight they dropped. Large offerings in the deep pools will draw good attention this time of year. # 10 Mohair leeches can be pretty affective in November, drifted through the deep pools. The deeper water, with the slower currents is a welcomed relief to the male browns from fighting the strong currents of October. The leaves in the Ozarks are at their peak, or just a little past peak this week. So if you enjoy the colors this may be the last weekend of the year to see them.

Fishing Report October 30, 05

This is going to be a short report this week. The river is running very low and clear and there are lots of fish to be caught especially after the last stocking of the year in Montauk park this weekend. The brown trout  in the river are spooky so approach the holes slowly and keep your distance. The Tricos are still coming off at dawn and the BWOs are kicking in about 10:00 or 11:00. The evening hatches include midges, caddis and sulfers.

Fishing Report October 22, 05

I am sitting here this morning writing a fishing report instead of being on the river with a client because he was a no show. The first no show I have had. I'm not upset about it, but it would have been nice for him to have called to let me know. I was up at 5:00 getting things ready for today and I could have slept in. It has been a very busy week on the river for me and I needed the rest. I guess the weather has a lot to do with that. Fishermen like this time of year and I do too. Lots of bug activity, the temps are usually just about perfect ( not this week though, it has been very hot for October ) for fishermen to plan a trip to the rivers. The last week of October it completely full for me so I will be dragging my poor old body around about a week from today. Maybe the no show was a blessing in disguise. 

The Current river is low and clear and the fish activity has been excellent. The Tricos are still coming off, not as many now, but enough to get the fish interested and feeding on the spinners.  The tiny olives are really going strong, but for some reason Thursday didn't produce any numbers. Just about the time you think you have it figured out mother nature throws you a Roy Oswalt curve. There was a  #16 brown/tan caddis coming off sporadically during the day, all week, with a very good hatch starting a couple of hours before dusk. The fishing were chasing them, so it is a bug they are use to seeing in enough numbers to fish it. 

The leaves are probably going to really reach their peak this week, so get out and enjoy the great Ozark hills and streams, because the woods will soon turn to a dull brown and gray with the weather to match the color. Great for steelheading, but unfortunately we are not blessed with them here in Missouri. 

Fishing Report October 13, 05

Sorry I have not had a fishing report for the past couple of weeks. I have been on vacation and doing some fishing of my own. My trip is covered in my stories page.

The Current River is running clear and just about normal. October has always been my favorite time of the year to fish. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are cooling off . There are bugs hatching all over the water making it a dry fly fisherman's heaven. This morning there were Tricos in the air, tiny olives were coming off and Caddis were fluttering in the sunlight. I took the picture below, this morning, just to show you how many bugs were in the air. They may be hard to see in the photo so I labeled them to show you where they are. I also saw some midges flying around early this morning and they will continue to increase as we head deeper into the autumn.

The Tricos are still hatching about dawn with the spinner fall starting about 9:00. The olives start coming off about 9:00 or 10:00 and they start falling a couple if hours later. You can fish micro dry flies until 1:00 in the afternoon. The secret is knowing where to find the bugs. If you find the bugs you can find fish feeding on them. I was able to catch several browns and rainbows this morning on Trico patterns and Tiny Olives. I fish # 28s with the Tricos and #24s with the Olives. The larger Browns have other things on their minds right now, so you may have to force feed them to get them to eat your fly. There are plenty of smaller browns and lots of rainbows to suck down your tiny little flies.

Get out and enjoy the great fall weather. Take a camera and save your memories on the river.

©

Fishing Report September 16, 05

I am sorry the report is late this week, but my computer has been down for three days. Well we finally got enough rain Wednesday night and Thursday to raise the stream and turn on the fish. We had some good rain Tuesday night and Wednesday morning but the rain we received Wednesday night and Thursday pushed enough water into the system to give us some good streamer fishing. I had a client out on Wednesday and was hoping that the storms earlier that morning would give us some good streamer water, but it just wasn't enough to give us the off color we like to have to throw streamers. The Trico hatch continues to provide some good dry fly fishing in the morning, with the spinner fall occurring around 8:30. There were a few fish still feeding on them at 12:00, but as usual not very many that late in the day. The Caddis hatches are getting better than they were earlier in the week. The best time to catch a good hatch is late in the day around 6:00. We have had them coming off earlier, but they are getting later. They are dropping eggs through out the day, so the fish are looking for them especially as it gets up into the evening. A few Millers have been seen at day break so a white caddis would be an early choice for a dry fly in size 12 until the Tricos start up. Hoppers are still the best fly during the afternoon. I like to throw a hopper and dropper during the day, unless there is a hatch going on. When the river gets up and off color, like it was Thursday and Friday get out your streamers and start chucking and ducking. You won't catch as many fish as you probably would with a SanJuan worm, but you will catch bigger fish and maybe a bruiser. The river is dropping now and the fish activity is starting to slow down from what it was Thursday. The weather, for me, has been perfect for fishing. Temps in the 50s and 60s, rainy, cloudy and just a little breeze. Enjoy the Harvest Moon weekend and the weather because it will be a great time to be out in the Ozarks.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report September 8, 05

The Trico hatch is still going on and will continue into October, but expect fewer bugs as we head into the fall. The report is pretty much the same as it was for last week. The spinner fall is starting about 8:30 and continues for a couple of hours. There are a few fish still feeding on them around 11:00, but it is for all accounts over by 10:30. There are a few caddis starting to come off now in the morning, but not a major hatch yet. Enough to throw an elk hair and draw attention if nothing else, to the dropper extending about 12-18". Hoppers continue to be the best fly during the middle of the day until about 3:00 or 4:00 when the better caddis hatch starts. The afternoon Caddis are small guys, not the micros, but small. Number 22 in tan/or light brown with brown wings. There is also a large caddis coming off about the same time but is much larger, maybe a size 6. It has a brown body and brown wings, but I have not seen a lot of them. The river is very low and very clear right now. If you are planning to do some floating be prepared to do some walking on the upper river. Fall is in the air and the fish are really starting to get those brilliant breeding colors. 

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 31, 05

If you are planning to fish the Trico hatch, you don't need to get to the river too early. Yesterday the spinner fall didn't start until 8:30, and it was a heavy one. I was able to fish it until 11:00. Even though the river was low and clear and the fish were very cooperative. With schools back in session now and most of the summer vacations over, I had the stream all to my self yesterday. When most of the fish have stopped feeding on the fall, you can almost always find a few fish here and there, usually in slower water, that continue to sip the spinners. Sometimes these are larger fish slowly cruising the backwater areas expending very little energy. It has been my experience that they almost always seem to be rainbows. I quit fishing at 11:30 and headed back to the car because I had some work that needed to be finished. I usually start fishing hoppers around noon and fish them the rest of the afternoon until the caddis start coming off around 4:00. The caddis hatches are starting to increase in the evenings with the best to come in a couple of weeks. September and October can bring some excellent evening hatches. There should be a lot of people out on the streams this weekend, be courteous and respect the water that another fisherman is fishing. 

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 23, 05

The heavy rains we have had over the past two days has really helped my yard, but more importantly it has helped the fishing. When I got to the river this morning it was up a little and running murky. Anytime the river gets off colored like it was today is a great time to throw streamers and that is exactly what I did all day. Now don't expect to catch a lot of fish, but the ones you do catch will be nice ones. I had a ton of misses today, because those little browns couldn't eat those #4 streamers. But I also caught plenty of fish including a 20", a 17" two 16"s, three smallmouth bass about 13" or 14", a half dozen browns about the same size and 1 largemouth. It was the first largemouth bass I have ever caught on the Current river. My shoulder is pretty sore this evening, but I expected it. It always gets sore after I have been throwing big stuff all day or all night. The river was on its way down and clearing by this afternoon and as it cleared the streamer fishing slowed down quite a bit. I switched over to a #10 woolly and started catching some small browns and a couple of rainbows before I called it a day.

" A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 21, 05

My wife, Sandy, and I took a little trip over to the Big Piney river today with the intent of catching some smallmouth bass on flies. Despite the blue bird day we had a fine afternoon and the fish cooperated a lot better than I anticipated. We tried to concentrate on moving water in the shade and that is exactly where we caught most of our fish. We did catch fish on the slow side of the stream, but not near as many as we did on the faster side. We also caught fish out in the bright sunlight, but again not as many as we did in the shade. We caught all of our fish on top water flies, mostly hoppers and spiders with yellow being the best color of the day. Sandy had a dandy 18 inch smallmouth take her hopper. After many long runs and three jumps we finally lipped it for a couple of pictures. This was a strong fish, and it was difficult for Sandy to keep it up out of the rocks, but she did a superb job while I paddled the scanoe over to the shallow side where the fish couldn't get tangled up in logs or rocks. Most of the fish were about the size of  the one I am holding and we caught a bunch of longear sunfish, green sunfish and bluegill all day long. Great fun on a fly rod. It is amazing that those little sunfish can even get the fly in the their mouths. We were throwing #6 3XL hoppers and spiders and they still managed to get their little mouths open enough to eat the fly. 

The Longear sunfish is one of the prettiest fish in our Ozark streams and always cooperative. They will hit just about anything that hits the water. We have caught them on 7" Rapalas, and there is no way those little fish were ever going to eat anything that big. They are aggressive and almost fearless. We have had them hit the same fly numerous times until they finally get hooked. Most of them are about 5 inches long, like the one I am holding, but we have caught our share of 3-4 inch fish as well as 7-8 inchers.

" A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 18, 05

The rain and cooler temps this week really helped the fishing. It was good before, but it was better during and after the rain. The temperatures made the afternoons a pleasure to be out. I personally prefer fishing in cool misty conditions anyway so I really enjoyed the days we had on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Rain makes it pretty difficult to find and follow a #28 dry fly on the water, so it takes more concentration than ever to keep it in sight while it drifts down to feeding fish. The rain and foggy conditions makes it easier to get closer to the fish you are after, but it also makes it difficult to see the fly. You need to get closer to the fish your after, so you can see the fly, but how close can you get and still not spook the fish? It becomes a trial and error situation and of course a lot depends on the fish and light conditions. I tried using some larger flies than I normally use, like #22s, so I could see them better, but the trade off was a lot fewer fish hooked and a lot more refusals. These fish have been fished to all summer and they are really becoming harder to fool. We were catching them with 6X earlier in the summer, but now it takes 7X or 8X. I told you in an earlier report this summer that a friend of mine was using #22s tied very small and caught fish. Those same fish will refuse it now. Catch and release does make fish more cautious and harder to catch the third or fourth time. I prefer #24s and 28s in the TMC 518 or Dai-Riki 125. The larger hook gap increases the ratio of hook-ups to misses.

Cloudy, rainy, nasty weather also increases your chances of catching larger fish during the day. They feed more aggressively and lose a little of that caution they have during those blue bird days. Streamers work better and always work better when the river gets a little color to it with some debris floating on the water. The river had a little color to it on Tuesday, but not for very long and the fishing was great with streamers. I use Bunnies, and Sculpins most of the time in various sizes and colors depending on the water I'm fishing. The darker the water the larger the fly and the darker the fly. The clearer the water, the smaller the fly and the truer to natural color, like tans and browns. Of course the color of the bottom is also a factor. If it is a dark bottom I use dark flies. Brown and tan bottoms, I use brown and tan flies. Sculpins can adjust their color according to the environment they are in. I have seen very light tan Sculpins on sandy bottoms and very dark, almost black Sculpins on black bottoms. 

Hoppers continue to be the fly to use during the middle of the day and into the late afternoon. We are using #8s and will start using #6s pretty soon. Light yellow and tan are working well right now and we also use some light green hoppers. Takes can be instantaneous or the fish may follow the fly for several feet before deciding to take it or let it float away. A dropper off of the hopper with a green caddis web builder produces fish, but you will also attract shiners and chubs with the dropper, especially if it has a bead head. Throwing a fly with a dropper will require a larger loop in your line so if you are a using a fast casting method the dropper rig may not be for you. The tight loop will cause a lot more "birds nests", so you will have to slow down and try to get a larger loop in your line to help prevent the tangles. It  isn't a rig I would suggest beginning fly fishermen to use.

I have had clients ask me about the canoe traffic and how it affects fishing. I always tell them that the fish grow up with it and tolerate it. I have caught fish at the tail end of a canoe before so it doesn't bother them as much as some people think. But I can tell you that I have never caught a big trout close to a canoe. The fish and fishermen prefer that there were no canoes to contend with, but during the floating season it is something you have to adjust to. If the canoe traffic bothers you, plan your trip so that you see a minimal amount. Start early in the morning, down stream a few miles below the put ins and move back up stream later in the day after most of them have left. Also fishing during the week avoids a lot of the canoe traffic, especially after schools resume at the end of the summer.  

It is going to heat up again this weekend, so use plenty of sunscreen and drink lots of water if you plan to be out enjoying the Ozarks.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report August 12, 05

Things have not changed much over the past few weeks. It is sill very hot and dry down here. The river is low and clear and the fish are still spooky in the shallow flats. We did get some small thunder storms in the area, but not enough to raise the river level. Tricos are still good early in the morning and we are getting a few more caddis flying, but not many. Hoppers are the fly of choice during the day. We have had good luck with pale yellow and tan hoppers in size 10. Light green with pale yellow has also been good.  Look for shady areas along high banks and try to get the hopper close to the bank. Avoid drag on the fly by mending your line up stream and occasionally twitch the hopper. Sometimes that little twitch will trigger a strike. We have had trout drift along with the hopper right at the their nose for three or four feet studying the fly. If it doesn't look right they drop back to the bottom and usually don't come back up for anymore hoppers. When they are studying the fly like that, occasionally that little twitch with get them to take the fly, but most of our trout are taken in a completely dead drift. 

We have been fishing the White fly hatch on the Meramec River at dusk. The hatches have been consistent but the number of flies have not been consistent. There are evenings when it is great and evenings when it is just fair. We are throwing #12 dries and swinging soft hackles. Both have been productive. I like the dries until it gets too dark to see them, then I switch over to swinging soft hackles. Remember to take a flashlight to get back to the truck and a clip-light or cap light to tie on flies when it gets dark. When the sun goes down, the mosquitoes are pretty bad right now on the Meramec, so take along a good insect repellant and remember not to get it on your fly line or your fly.  

Fishing Report August 4, 05

  The smile says it all.

Fishing a #28 fly to selective feeders isn't the easiest way to learn how to fish a dry fly, but it can be done. With the proper presentation, a well tied fly resembling the food source and with a little luck with the current, fish can be caught, proven here by a happy young man. For only his third time fly fishing, I thought he did a great job, especially with his patience. All in all I believe he caught 7 or 8 trout with an even mix of rainbows and browns. The afternoon fishing was much slower, but he hung in there despite his boots being too small and the fishing slow, never a complaint and always accepting helpful hints. He has the stuff necessary to become a good fly fisherman. Analytical, observant, patient, a great smile and a very supportive father, who I am sure will provide him with whatever he needs or desires to pursue this great sport of fly fishing. Today was the youngsters day to shine, tomorrow it may be dad, but if dad could have it his way his son would catch the most and the biggest every time they went fishing together. What greater joy is there than to watch your children succeed and see that smile that melts your heart. 

Fishing has been a little tough in the afternoons, especially with the heat and the blue bird days. The fish in shallow water are very spooky and sometimes swim away from a hopper that is cast a little to hard and splashes too loudly near them. The extreme heat and lack of fishing success will stress an experienced fisherman much less a neophyte. We have had our best luck early and late in the day. Three or four hours after sunrise and a couple of hours prior to sunset. Night fishing continues to be good for those brave souls that venture out with the bats. The Hexes are really coming off well at dusk and into the darkness. I very different style of dry fly fishing but it can be rewarding. Large bugs attract large fish, and there isn't a larger mayfly than the Hex. We are using a #6 Dai-Riki 320 or TMC 100 to tie up soft-hackles and dry flies. It is easier to detect the strike swinging the soft hackles, but when they start feeding on the spent spinners you will need to stitch to the dry. You listen to hear a feeding fish, try to guess the location and distance, if you can't see it,  and lift the rod when you hear the rise, always assuming it is your fly that the fish is eating. I can assure you that you won't have to worry about competition for fishing space when you fish at night. You will be surprised how many times a bat hits your line when your fishing at night. You get use to it. 

" A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report July 27, 05

The cooler weather and the rain was a welcomed relief for this area. The fishing was good yesterday and better today. The Trico hatches have been a little lighter than usual, but the that just leaves more time to throw ants and hoppers. A very good combination for this time of year is a hopper and an ant for the dropper. It has been an excellent combination for me over the past two days. If you have never fished with ants, give it a try. You will be surprised how far a fish will swim over to pick it up. I use, just like I posted a couple of weeks ago, a #19 black ant and it has been an excellent fly for me. The hook is the TMC 102Y which is a light wire black hook. It works better against the bank and especially where there is some foliage next to the water.  But it also works in the middle of the stream. I am currently using a #12 hopper in pale yellow, and light brown. I will switch to a #10 hopper the 1st of  August. 

The river is very low right now, so if you are planning a canoe trip, expect to do a lot of walking on the upper section of the river. If you have a nice wooden canoe, I suggest waiting until the fall rains raise the river a little, if you want to float the upper section. The river is running a lot more water below Welch Spring. I wouldn't even think about putting in at TanVat. You would have to walk 50-70% of the distance down to Baptist, depending on the load in the canoe. 

Yesterday I caught a 20" brown 2 18" browns, a 16" rainbow and a 15" brown to go along with several fish from 14-12". I concentrated on fishing in the shade and tried to sight fish as much as possible. I am currently using a 12 foot leader/tippet combination and down to 6X with the dropper. which is about 3.5 lbs with the tippet I use. The fish are very spooky in the shallow water and need to be approached slowly and quietly, if you want to hook up. Long casts are a must for the larger fish, along with soft presentations. If you spook them for any reason, they will head for cover or if they don't have any cover to go to, they will lay on the bottom and absolutely refuse any offering you present. That is the main reason I use a very long leader and tippet, I don't want to line the fish before I have a chance to catch it. 

The weather today was great and the fishing was very good again. I used the same technique I used yesterday and continued to catch fish all morning. Nothing over 16" today, but a lot of action with 8-14" inch. The smaller guys were caught during the Trico spinner fall. And a bonus today, I got to see 2 otters up close and the largest Armadillo I have ever seen. The Armadillo was close enough to touch with my rod. Another reason to fish quietly and move slowly, besides improving your fishing success, it allows you to take in more of natures sights, things that you miss out on when your making too much noise. 

Get out an enjoy the weekend, it is going to be a dandy.

A Bad Day Fishing is still a Great Day.

Fishing Report July 21, 05

HOT-HOT-HOT,  not the fishing, the weather. Most of the time you can stand in waist deep water on the Current river and stay comfortable, but if you are not standing in the shade, this heat will get you. Actually you shouldn't be standing out in the bright sun fishing anyway, especially on days like this, with the sun beating down, and not a cloud in the sky. The fish don't like it anymore than the fishermen and your best bet is to fish the shady areas of the stream. Fortunately, the upper Current River has plenty of shade, the same trees that eat your flies provide a cooling affect on the water and the creatures that live there. Fishing has been so-so this week, but we are starting to see a few white flies on the Meramec river and a few Hexes on the Current. Nothing to get the fish excited yet, but have patience they are coming in the next few weeks and the fish will be eager and ready. Take along a flashlight, because these flies start about dusk and continue into the darkness. If you have never fished in the dark and you are not familiar with the stream, you probably better have a partner along with you to help keep the boogey man away. Seriously, you have to remember to think safety, especially at night, and if you are alone it makes it that much more difficult to get immediate help. I have fished at night for a long time now and I don't think too much about it. Of course I know the section of water that I am fishing, and that is a big plus and very helpful. I like to fish streamers at night, with the muddler and Dave's sculpin being two of my favorites. If you have never fished at dusk and into the night, be prepared for unfamiliar sounds from birds and night time critters. Snakes move about a night and you will see your fair share, leave them alone and they will leave you alone.  Bats will make dives at your fly while you are casting and I have been told they will pick it up off of the water, but they have never picked any of mine up and you know what they say, "Show Me" and I will believe it.  There are plenty of  night time creatures stirring around the river at night.  The beavers like to slap their tails on the water to warn their family about your presence. If you know the beaver is there it isn't a big deal to hear that slap, but if you don't know they are there and they swim close to you before they slap the water, you may have to change your pants along with your waders when you get back to the truck. I recommend fishing early morning, late evening and if you dare at night.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report July 13, 05

The weather this week has been great for fishing. Cloudy, and drizzly days are my favorite days to fish. The fish have responded to the weather change and have cooperated all week. For some reason the Trico spinner fall was a little light yesterday, for this time of the year, and a just about  40 minutes later than usual. I don't know why. We did well with streamers earlier in the week during the rain. Nothing big, but plenty of action with 13"-15" fish. The biggest fish on the streamers was a 19" brown. The olive bugger in size 8 was very productive, along with "Dave's Sculpin" in size 8, a double bunny in size 8, which is one of my favorites, and Mike Kruse's olive Mo-hair leech in size 8. As the weather cleared towards the end of the week, we switched over to terrestrials during the middle of the day. We are still throwing the small hoppers in size 12 and black ants in sizes 19, 18 and 16. In a couple of weeks we will increase the size of our hoppers to 10s, still trying to match the naturals. A hopper that you should not over look, especially this time of year, is a brown pattern with a tan abdomen. If you will notice as you walk along gravel bars, there is a medium size brown hopper, or locust, ( I never did know the difference between the two) that you will kick up. They have yellow wings and they can fly a long way. Every now and then one will get too far out over the water and fall in. There are also plenty of black ants crawling around that fall in the water. Fishing an ant dry, the way I tie them, can be a challenge to see on the water. I only use one turn of hackle and clip off the feathers above the fly, because I want it to have the appearance of  having legs. I like to make my flies as natural as possible. My ants sit low in the surface film and if you don't concentrate on where the fly lands you can lose it very easily. I will also fish the ant with a number 9 split shot, so that it makes a noise when it hits the water. I believe the sound of the shot hitting the water attracts the fish. I have had fish swim a long way to pick up my ants fished this way. The river is running very clear and just a little low, even though we got plenty of rain early in the week, and got a little bit of a rise on the river.        "A Bad Day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report July 7, 05

Started the day fishing the Trico spinner fall, but I didn't get to the river early enough to fish much of it. The day started off pretty nice but it did get hot by lunch time. The river is down, and clear, normal water conditions for this time of year. I fished ants and small hoppers from about 10:00 until 1:00. It was time to eat and head home. The morning went well, very few fishermen on the stream and the fish were cooperative. I love to fish with ants and I see very few fishermen using them. A trout will swim out of its normal feeding zone to pick up an ant, when they will let other bugs go by. I guess they taste good, because I have no problem getting trout to eat my ants. I tie up some very small ones using the TMC 102Y. It is a #19 hook. I like it because it is a black hook and I believe the color helps to blend the hook into the fly, or visey versy, as my dad would say. It doesn't matter which perspective you  take it means the same thing. The hook and the fly seem to be one and the same.  A major reason, I believe, that my overdressed soft-hackles work well. I like the feathers long and hanging back to the bend of the hook. It helps to conceal the hook. The hoppers I used were also small, most of the natural hoppers are right now. AND like the ants, trout will go out of their way to eat a hopper. This time of year I throw #14s &  #12s. As the summer tails out I increase the size of my hoppers accordingly. By September I am throwing #6 3XL hoppers. You know the ones I am talking about, the I great big yellow/green ones you see along the river.  Enjoy the weekend, take time to enjoy the wildlife around you and remember... "A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 30, 05

The Tricos started very early this morning and ended early. The fish were off of them by 9:00. We usually get to fish them until 10 and I have fished them until 11 in some of the eddy water where fish were still finding a few spinners.  If you want to fish this fly you are going to have to get out on the water very early. We fished it last week and the fish started feeding on them about 6:30. This morning they started a good 40 to 50 minutes earlier. When I refer to these bugs I will sometimes call it a hatch, but it really is a spinner fall that we fish, and not the bug coming off the water. This morning it was cloudy hot and humid. The river was low and very clear. There were a few caddis in the air, but not many. I did see some yellow stones and like the caddis, not very many. About 1:00 it clouded over, spit a few drops of rain and there was thunder to the south. It sounded like I needed to get off the water, I didn't take a rain jacket and I really didn't want to get soaked or hit by lightning so I called it a day. It was a good morning despite the humidity, the fish were cooperative, nothing big but good action all morning. I wish I had brought my ants, it was a good day for them, but I only took two boxes of flies to the river and the ants were not in them. I only intended to fish the tricos and go home, but it ended so soon this morning that I really didn't want to fish a couple of hours and drive home, so I switched over to dry flies and fished back to the truck when the thunder started.

"A Bad Day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 22, 05

Two trips this week, one was very poor and one was very good. On Monday I had a client that wanted to fish the Meramec River. It was a very hot and clear day and very poor fishing. It had nothing to do with the fishermen, because Chris is an excellent caster and an accomplisher fly fisherman. We tried several flies and techniques and could only come up with sunfish and bluegill. We didn't see trout and we didn't catch trout until the evening. Some crane flies, mayflies (white drakes or light cahills, I didn't catch any for a close look) started coming off about 5:00 PM in the shade of the trees and we finally saw some fish activity. There was a good black caddis hatch that started about 7:00 and midge activity.  We switched over to dry flies and began to catch fish. Not many, but at least we avoided the skunk. My suggestion is to try to fish the river very early in the morning and late in the day. There were some tricos flying in the morning, but not as heavy as the Trico hatch on the Current river and I didn't see any fish activity on them. The river is running a little low and it is cloudy. I don't know why it is cloudy, it should have settled from the last rain by now. It may be cloudy because of an algae bloom.

On Wednesday a friend of mine and I left the house at 5:00 and headed to the Current River to fish the Trico hatch. I had tied up my usual 28s and 24s and even a few 30s. Tom tied up some 22s to try them, but tied them on a short hook, to try to stay close to the size of the bugs, which are easily 30-28. It was a good idea, because we caught about the same amount of fish...I had my best luck with the 28s. We had a very good morning and left a little after 11:00. The river is low, very clear and the fish are spooky, especially the large ones. Approach slowly and quietly and remember to use a long leader in the flats. I use about a 12 foot leader and tippet combination when I am fishing the shallow flat water. If you move too fast and you are too loud you may not bother the fresh rainbow stockers too bad, or even some of the young browns, but the fish that have been in the river a long time will spook and your chances of catching a big fish are very poor.

"A Bad Day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 17, 05

Thursday morning was a great time to be on the stream. Brett and I got to the river about 6:00, which is just about the right time to catch the Trico spinner fall that begins around 6:30. Brett had never fished with flies this small and was anxious to learn some new techniques to had to his extensive fly fishing experience. The fish were not too selective at first and we were able to catch them on 24s and sometimes after the fly sank and was swinging at the end of the drift, which is very unusual. But as I think back, none of the fish that took the fly on the swing were browns. Which makes a little more sense. The stockers that drift down out of the park are not quite as educated as the browns that have been in the river for a comparatively long time. As we exhausted our welcome at the first pod, I recommended that we move upstream to the next pod and give them a try. After several minutes of fishing the second pod, I asked Brett if he would like to try a size 28 or 30. He was up for this new challenge and I tried tying on a 30 with his 6x tippet, no luck. The 6x tippet would not go through the eye of the hook. So I decided to not mess with adding a 7x tippet for the 30 and tied on the 28 and Brett was back in business. After a few casts he was into a fish, and then another one a few minutes later. He told me that he would never have believed that he could catch a fish with hooks this small and still be able to land them. It was a great experience for him and he was very thankful for the new found technique and skills involved with fishing flies this small. 

Fishing a micro spinner fall  like this requires special drift techniques, the right size, silhouette and color fly, for good success. Of course there are always some fish that will take flies that are close to the size, silhouette and color. Fishing micros can be very frustrating, because the fishermen can see that the fish are feeding, they put their fly close to a feeder and it refuses the fly, over and over. And if he is lucky, every now and then he finally convinces a fish to take his offering, just enough action to keep him interested. I have had mornings, if the spinner fall is large and the weather is right, that I have caught 25 or 30 fish with spinners, but my average is about 20. I like size 28 hooks, I have recently used and also like the 30s. 24s will work most of the time. I have limited success with  flies larger than a 24.

The river is just a little bit cloudy, and running a little low right now. There are a few caddis coming off, but not enough to get fish interested. I did not fish the evening hours, but my journal tells me that would be the best time to get in on a good caddis hatch for this time of year. With the increased amount of fishermen on the river now, extra long leaders and distance between you and the fish is required for the glassy flat water. The fish will spook if you approach too close and too fast. If you line them they will drop to the bottom or leave the area and you might as well find other fish to catch. Avoid the bright colors when your fishing and your success will increase.

"A Bad Day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report June 10, 05

We have had some very heavy rain storms in this area the last couple of days. The heavy rain washed some natural debris into the river and discolored the water just a tad. It should be cleared and back to normal by Saturday. We have not received as much rain this year, as we did last year, at this time, so the river is currently running a little low for this time of year. Streamer fishing is always my first choice when the river gets a little off colored. If it gets up too much and gets muddy ( rarely happens on this stream, especially this time of year ) I will switch to large nymphs, terrestrials or San Juan worms in the slower water along the current eddies. I prefer to tightline in muddy water rather than using an indicator, but you have to be very careful when the river is up and running a lot faster. A wading staff or good heavy stick comes in very handy when wading faster water, or water that is discolored and you can not see the bottom. Terrestrials are getting into their own right now, especially ants. I have caught some very nice trout during the months of June and July on ants.

"A Bad Day fishing is still a Great Day"

Fishing Report May 26, 05

The upper Current River is in excellent shape. The water is very clear and running normal. Excellent dry fly fishing is available in the mornings with the Trico hatch and in the evenings with caddis and the brown drake has started. The Tricos are going to be size 28-24 hooks. Larger flies can be used, but the ratio of hook ups will decrease. 6X can be used for a tippet, but I like to use 7X. I get more takes with  the 7 than I do with the 6. There are currently two sizes of caddis coming off in the evening. A nice sized tan/brown caddis about a #14 and a smaller one tan/yellow #16. The brown drakes have started about dusk. They are going to be a #8-10 I had a nice young man out today from Kentucky, who did very well on Elk hair caddis and caddis emergers,  all afternoon. Unfortunately we had to leave just as the brown drake spinner fall was starting. Have a great weekend, be patient, courteous and respect the water that someone is fishing. There should be a lot of fishermen, campers and canoes on the water over the holiday. 

"A  bad day fishing is still a great Day"

Fishing Report May 19, 05

Sorry there is no report. I have been on a trip to Kentucky.

Fishing Report May 11, 05

The upper Current River is still in great shape. The BWOs are not as heavy as they were last week, but the Tricos are increasing each week. If you have the patience to make them and the patience to fish them the Trico hatch can be a lot of fun to fish, BUT it can also be very frustrating. A #24-#28 size fly is difficult to see when you make it, and it can all but disappear on the water if you don't keep your eye on it when you make your cast. Knowing where the spinner fall is the best on the stream is the key to some good action. There may not be very big fish feeding on the tricos, but some guys have a difficult time resisting rising trout. I am one of those type of fishermen. I love dry fly fishing. I have some #30 hooks I plan to use on my trip just for fun. The caddis are still coming off but not as heavy as last week.

Fishing Report  May 5, 05

The Upper Current River is in excellent condition. Water levels are normal and clear. There have been some fair BWO hatches early in the morning followed by the Trico hatch. The number of Tricos are increasing each week. At this time the spinner fall is only lasting about 45 min to an hour. A light caddis hatch is also coming off late morning. They are about a size 18, green abdomen tan-gray wings. Currently, the heavy caddis hatch is in the evening, starting about 5:00. They are about a size 16, tan/Lt Br abdomen and molted gray wings. Bead head nymphs like a Prince, Hares Ear or Pheasant tail are working well when the hatches have stopped.
Fishing has been very good this week. There are plenty of those 8-10 inch stockers available to keep you entertained in between an occasional 13-15 incher. 

We have been seeing a mature bald eagle every day, sometimes multiple times a day and an immature one every now and then. There are plenty of deer and occasionally turkeys to see while you are fishing. If you get on the river at dawn and if you are quiet, you may get to see otters or a beaver and we almost always see a mink along the rivers edge. Loud noises or conversations alert the wildlife to your presence and the odds of seeing these creatures is diminished. All to often the total concentration on fishing prevents one from just enjoying the great outdoors. Take a few moments during your time on the water to look and listen to what is going on around you. I promise you will be rewarded and develop a greater appreciation for the Ozarks of Missouri.

Poaching fish on the Current River is a problem. I found two bait hook rigs tangled up in some limbs yesterday. One of them had a rubber worm on it and the other one had a dried up nightcrawler on it. The number of 14-18" fish I observed a month ago has dropped significantly. The Conservation Agent assigned to the county is responsible for about 900 sq miles and cannot be everywhere at the same time, especially during the turkey season and deer season. If you observe anyone poaching and you fail to report it, don't complain about the agent not doing his job. Write down a license plate number if you know which vehicle is theirs. If you see someone poaching on the river, take a few minutes of your time to go the Searcy Building ( the building across from the lodge in Montauk Park) and tell them to contact the conservation agent or the park ranger. Give them a description of the person and the location.... If you fail to report poaching don't complain about the lack of fish available on your next trip or the agent not doing his job. Your failure to report it contributes to the loss of quality fishing for all of us.

Fishing Report April 28, 05

Sorry there is no report, I have been on a fishing trip to Montana.

Fishing Report April 15, 05

This week would be an excellent time to introduce a young one to fly fishing, or your better half if you think you would like to have her fish with you. I know some guys that really don't want their spouses or girlfriends to tag along. They prefer their time on the water away from everyone including their best friends. Solitude on a stream with a fly rod in hand can be very therapeutic from the everyday hassles of life.

I helped the MDC stock browns this week in the upper Current River. Now don't get too excited, because these guys are just babies: 6-8 inchers. But fun on a very light rod like a 2-3 Wt. Make sure your hooks are barbless because they will eat and swallow just about anything that hits the water. Sometimes they will take three or four passes at the object if they miss. As they learn to catch insects and minnows their aim will improve. I observed the first fish we stocked in the morning chasing caddis that same evening. So they will learn quickly. They have had to fight each other for food since they can remember so they are very much in an attack mode right now.

The first two or three weeks are critical in their survival from humans, herons, eagles, otters and of course Bigger Browns. The treble hooks from spinners and crank baits will take their toll on these little guys in the next few weeks. The Bigger Browns will find some easy meals and the herons and otters will find easy picking until the trout become educated. I'm not sure what the survival rate is after one month from the stocking date but I would assume that the highest mortality is within the first 30 days. That is a question I will try to get an answered for you in a few days.

Light Cahills #14-12, and Tan Caddis #16 seem to be the flies that are currently the most active. Midges and BWO are still flying around and the Tricos are just starting to show up. In the little time I fished this week, I had success with streamers when the weather was cold, rainy and the river was a little cloudy. A nice fat 23" brown was my best fish, with seven 15-16 inchers to go with her.

Fishing Report April 9, 05

After a week of slow fishing, a close friend of mine, who is an excellent fly fisherman, and I went to the river on Wednesday. I knew where several nice fish were and we concentrated on catching them instead of random fishing. The Big ones don't get big by being stupid. A slow and low approach is necessary to get close enough to have an opportunity to try to get these fish to eat your fly, and most of the time they don't anyway. That is why they have managed to survive this long. The large fish in the Current river are selective feeders with most of their food intake coming at night or during bad weather conditions when most fishermen are at home. The fishing was still a little slow but an improvement over last weekend.

Tom and I prefer to catch the browns and only get excited over a rainbow if it is one that has the brilliant colors of a fish that has been in the stream a long time. I did manage to catch one Wednesday that was about 15 inches. If you ever catch one you will be able to recognize it immediately because of the white tipped fins and the tiny orange spot on the top of the dorsal fin. If you catch one you know that you fooled a very wary trout, and you can be proud. They don't eat just anything like the rainbows that drift down from the park. Pat yourself on the back, take a picture and release it.

Tom and I managed to catch about 15 fish between the two of us with Tom's 16-17 inch brown the biggest of the day. We tried several flies and methods from streamers in the morning to BWO emergers in the afternoon and of course Caddis of various sizes and colors through out the day.

There always seems to be a caddis hatch on this river and I suggest that if you plan to fish the Current, always bring Caddis flies. I caught and identified four different Caddis flies Wednesday and two others on Thursday. So a variety comes off in different sizes and colors. The best hatch right now is the brown sedge #16, in the evening starting about 4:00-5:00. The abdomen of this fly is more yellow than brown. The Little green sedge #16 is just starting to get heavy enough to draw a little attention from the fish, coming off late morning and during the day. I have also seen some light Cahill's starting to come off, but not enough to excite the fish. We did see some BWO in the afternoon, but not a heavy hatch. I did see a few Tricos in the air with the BWOs, but it will be a good three weeks before there are enough to get the fish to key on them.

Take a variety of flies and be patient. If you find a nice fish to catch, stay low and move slow. Avoid casting your fly line over him and make natural drifts. I personally don't like using indicators, especially those bright green and red ones. Imagine how many of those this fish has seen in its life time. There is a good chance that at one time or another he was hooked by someone using one of these and relates the sight of a bright indicator to danger. If you can see him there is a very good chance that he knows that you are there. Especially if you are plunking a heavy indicator on his head, or you are standing to close, or make some loud splashes with your fly line. Just remember that you can't fish for this fish, the same way you fish for rainbows in the park that are used to people.