January: Fishing state parks, dry flies and cold weather

Montauk State Park - Current River

Jan. 11, 2013 Friday: I had the opportunity to fish a four-day weekend. I made plans with my daughter and son in St. Louis to meet Ann and I for a few days at a cabin in Montauk State Park. The weather for Friday was very pleasant with temperatures in the 60’s with a mostly sunny sky.  Jenn and Desmond met Ann and I Friday afternoon in Rolla. We had lunch at Panera Bread. After lunch, we finished our drive to Montauk, which is near Salem (still 24 mile away) and checked in at the lodge. We stayed in cabin #11, which was not as nice as #9. Ann took Desmond to the playground; Jenn and I suited up, grab the fly rods and took to the water. It was late in the afternoon, with a few hours left to fish for the day. There were a number of people out this balmy day and it was difficult to find water left undisturbed. There was a midge hatch with little to no response from the trout. We managed one trout in the area above the dam and only were able to fish upstream 75 yards due to congestion from other fishermen.

After the siren blew to sound the end of a fishing day, Jenn and I went back to the cabin and took Desmond out for a walk. We checked out the raceways were the trout are fed and reared. We watched the MDC feed the trout with pellets delivered from their truck. We trout boiled the waters as they fed.

Desmond throwing rocks into the water

We collected some rocks and went down to the stream. Desmond caught on quickly and threw a hand full of rocks into the water in a short time. We then walked over to the playground and did the slide a number of times. We returned to the cabin were Ann had dinner ready for us. We spent the evening playing with Desmond, reading a few books and enjoying each other’s company. 

Sean drove in from St. Louis after 9 PM. Desmond was down for the night, we talked about fishing, tying a few knots and catching up on the latest news.

Jan. 12, 2013 Saturday: The cold front was to move in with rain by noon with a dip in the temperature. The number of people fishing was less this day and had the opportunity to fish around the down tree. We started half way to the down tree from the dam, due to fishermen already fishing and we were trying to find some space. Sean fished up around the tree and Jenn and I started fifty yards below. The trout were swirling about probably taking midges in the film. The rain started at noon. Jenn and I walked back to the cabin for lunch. Jenn and Desmond packed after lunch to head back to St. Louis. Ann left about the same time to check out Rolla and do some shopping.

Sean and I returned to the water and started in the lower zone near the hatchery outlet and worked our way upstream. Four fishermen were in this area and we went upstream fifty yards searching the water for trout. The stream was very low and little cover for the trout. I did manage a wild trout in one of the pools.

Wild trout from the Current River

An hour before the end of the day, Sean and I fished below the dam. There was a mayfly hatch with the trout aggressively going after the duns. I had a near enough dry to take a half dozen trout before 4 PM.  Sean and I returned to the cabin, prepared supper (hot beef sandwiches with mash potatoes). We finished off the evening going over a few knots and retying his leader. We finished with a dozen trout released from hand.

Jan. 13, 2013 Sunday: It rained hard off and on throughout the night, with ice and snow north of the I-44 corridor. The next morning the temperature did drop with a little ice on the windshields and there was a light snow in the AM. 

Montauk SP - freezing rain coats the foliage

We started at the dam and worked our way up stream. There was one other person fishing and he was below the dam near the bridge. We saw no one else fishing in front of us this day. The water was undisturbed and I was able to take a few trout in spots from past trips. There was a PMD (pale morning dun – cream) hatch in progress with the trout taking these from the top. I was able to use my BWO pattern to take a few and would switch to a caddis pattern. We fished for four hours and we managed to take eighteen rainbows, most were 11-13 inch fish.  We left the park at 2 PM, and we drove back to Rolla. We did make a stop at the little Piney River to check it out. The water felt cold, Lane Spring access was closed and the waters near Hwy 63 Bridge did not look fishy. We stopped in Rolla and had dinner at Bandanna’s BBQ. After dinner, Sean drove back to St. Louis and I drove back to Springfield.

The shimmer of ice on trees - Bennett Spring SP

Jan. 14, 2013 Monday: My last day to fish this four day weekend and I decided to fish Bennett Spring State Park. The temperature was 18°F with a north wind and high clouds. I was in the water before 11 AM. There was a pair of newbie fishermen, heavy dresses and looked cold. They moved out in short time and I had the area to myself for four hours. The mayflies were hatching blowing upstream. The trout were cautious being very selective. I did manage eighteen for the day with a few measuring 16 inches. The ice did stay in the guides for the day of fishing; a quick dip into the spring creek took care of the problem. I did see a deer on my drive to the park with a few eagles flying high over the park.

The view of Zone 1 at Bennett Spring SP

JAN 21, 2013 Monday: I had the opportunity to fish Bennett Spring SP on a cold day. The sky was clear when I left Springfield but a high cloud cover moved in from the northwest that dimmed the sun for the afternoon. The air temperature was in the high twenties and with the north wind blowing up to 15 mpr, made it feel much colder at times. There were three other fishermen walking the banks but I was the only fisherman in the water this day. The other fellows left after an hour. The mayflies once again made an appearance and blew out into open water. The trout were set up mid-stream and seem to be eager to take these mayflies. My tie has been made smaller with a # 20 daiichi hook with light blue dun hackle and chartreuse thread … a very simple tie and will work to fool a few trout on any given day. I took to the water at the dam and made it to the handicap ramps by 4 PM.

The activity below the dam continues with the MDC using a shovel to take out some bank and adding large rock. There’s a sign indicating the construction of a walkway for the handicap. I hope to make a few more trips to Bennett Spring SP before mid-February.

December: Fishing MO State Parks

Zone 1 Flies only is above the dam 

November 30, 2012 Friday: A group of us had the opportunity to stay at cabin #9 at Montauk State Park this weekend. Rod Pennington, Ralph Eichholz, Warren Wilkerson and I made plans to attend the MTFA winter meeting Saturday at noon in the lodge at Montauk State Park. We decided to extend the meeting time to a three-day weekend to fish the parks waters, which is the spring that begins the Current River. Rod, Warren and I arrived before noon on Friday, unpacked the vehicles and set up the cabin. The cabin had been remodeled recently with white pine interior and furniture, in addition to new appliances (stove, microwave, coffee maker and more). We were told six of the cabins in the park had been worked on over the past year.

Warren standing in front of cabin #9

Friday afternoon, we found our rods, gathered a few flies and jumped into our waders. Rod, Warren and I walked to the pool above the dam and worked our way up stream. The sun was bright with little or no wind, for me difficult conditions to catch a trout. Rod managed to take a few with his dry, I missed a few.  A deer came up behind me and watch me from twenty feet. At 3 PM, I moved to the waters below the dam and with a wet caddis fly took six trout in the last hour of fishing. At 4 PM, the whistle sounded to end a day of fishing. We returned to the cabin, Ralph arrived. He had been fishing the upper end near the spring. He caught a few with soft hackles flies. Rod provided dinner by bringing quail. We thawed them out, and covered them in flour and fried more than enough for the four of us; with mash potatoes and gravy, and peas. Everyone had their fill with a few quail left over. Rod left after dinner and returned to Rogersville, he was to run in two races Saturday morning. Warren, Ralph and I turned in at 9 PM.

December 1, 2012 Saturday: Saturday morning, we started the coffee at 7 AM. By 8 AM, breakfast was on the table with eggs in the hole, thick bacon and juice. We were in the water by 9 AM, I fished the section of stream near the old mill, and Warren fished a little farther downstream near the outlet. Warren had some success pulling few out of the deep hole. I took several Parr trout with a dry fly measuring five inches. We fished until 11:30 AM, broke for the MTFA State meeting in the lodge. There were ten members present from Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield Chapters for the 1.5-hour meeting. After the meeting, my son Sean arrived from St. Louis. We returned to the water near the mill, I worked my way upstream and Sean fished downstream. With an hour left, Sean met up with me and we went to the water below the dam. There was some surface activity but few fish came to hand. We stopped fishing with the whistle and returned to the cabin. Rod had some lingcod, rockfish and a package of white bass thawing in the refrigerator. I cut the fish up, battered them and fried them for dinner with fried potatoes, peas and cake for dessert. Sean returned to St Louis after dinner. Warren and Ralph turned in at 8 PM. Rod and I watched a few episodes of the Big Bang Theory on his computer, in memory of our trip to Alaska. We turned in by 9:30 PM. 

A portion of the stream near the mill

 December 2, 2012 Sunday: I started the coffee at 6:30 and had breakfast on the table a little after 7 AM. After breakfast, we started to pack out and settle our bill with the lodge. We were in the water by 8:30 AM. Rod went to the water near the mill. Ralph went to the spring. Warren and I walked to the pool above the dam. Warren was going work his way to the catch and release waters to fish for the day. I decided to fish from the dam to the spring. I made it to the spring by 3 PM having to leave the water twice to move around group of fishermen, for only a short distance. My Montauk box of flies went with my son back to St Louis, so I used a box designated for Bennett Spring. The first fly of the day was a McMurry ant and fished it with some success. It took fish from the edges of the aquatic plants. When the hackles fell off the fly, it was replaced with a deer hair caddis. This fly worked well in small pools near structure.  As I worked my way upstream, I would throw midstream to the edges picking up a few. I concentrated my time in favorite areas, which did produce a trout to hand. It was afternoon; I fished a stretch of water very productive in past years. The hole was full of trout, but the trout refused my dry fished. When I ran out of water, I tied on a #14 wooly work and fished it as a streamer; of course it was attached to 2# tippet. The good news the trout hit it hard breaking off four flies in the process with a few hooked and released. Another productive spot was below the spring with a down tree harboring trout; these trout were happy to take a #18 BWO. I had released twenty-four trout before 3 PM and was making my way to the spring. 

A rainbow trout caught near the spring at Montauk

The best trout of the day was found along the opposite bank from the main spring outlet. There I was able to finish the day with thirty trout at 4 PM. I walked back to the truck, which was near the cabin we stayed at for the weekend. Warren was waiting for me. Rod had left at 1 PM and Ralph left at lunchtime. It was an excellent weekend to fish, with unseasonably warm weather with an overcast sky on Sunday to help me catch a few trout. I am making plans but hope to return mid-January for another adventure.

The spring is near by

Dec 16, 2012 Sunday: Rod Pennington, John Anderson and I had the opportunity to fish Bennett Spring SP on Sunday. The day was more like a day in March, instead of late December. The sky was bright with temperatures in the low sixties and very light breeze throughout the day. My task to take a few trout with a dry fly proved to be difficult with a half dozen released from hand. Rod had better luck with eight trout, taking trout on a dry fly and green woolly bugger; in addition Rod released a chub. John caught a brown trout and released a rainbow. Later in the day, John fell into the water below the dam. Rod reported the next day; a nail impaled a tire and was flat.

Rod calling it day of fishing

There were two dozen fishermen in zone 1, with some reporting a good day of fishing. Rod watched a few shuffling the bottom to pick off a few fish below them. Shame on them!!!We saw eight deer, a dozen turkeys and hawk all within a mile from the park on Hwy OO on the hill. The day to get outside to enjoy the weather was outstanding, the fishing was good with the ability to catch trout challenging.

The baetis mayfly on the water

December 21, 2012 Friday: I fished a day after some seasonal weather blew in with a light power of snow seen in the shadows of buildings and on the north side of trees. The morning left frost on windows and windshields with temperatures in the mid-twenties. The day warmed to the mid-fifties with a light breeze blowing upstream. The sky was true blue with no clouds in sight. I was in the water by 11 AM with a few fishermen upstream near the New Holland dam. There was no one else in view until 2 PM. There was a good hatch of blue-wing olive (BWO) mayflies and midges later in the day.

The trout were selectively taking the BWO may flies, the dry flies I tie took a few dozen trout from 11 Am – 2 PM. Three fellows came in after 2 PM, about the time the hatch had expired. One of the fellows walked right up to me as I was fishing, I actually took my dry fly and set it next to his boot. He waded in above me and was in a hurry to get to the dam and had to pass by me as I worked my way upstream. And that is the reason I look forward to cold, snow and below freezing temperatures, it will usually keep these guys home in front of a television; providing peace and solitude for me reminiscing my youth in Michigan.

It was a good day to fish and catch trout… it was good to see a good hatch of Baetis mayflies coming off the water. The forecast for the next two weeks looks like winter in the Ozarks with freezing temperatures every morning; looking forward to some peaceful fishing once again.

November: Winter catch and release State Park fishing

November 12, 2012 Monday: I had the day off and fished Bennett Spring State Park. The regular season closed on October 31 with the catch and release season opening November 9, 2012. Monday morning was cool (25°F) after a cold front and rain moved through on Sunday. The sky was clear with a variable wind, which ruffled the water surface; the rough surface provided cover for the trout and shielded my errors from casting shadows and movement. There were only a few fishermen with most of them throwing a line from the shore or fishing the handicap ramps. There was only one other fellow in view of me most of the afternoon. There was heavy equipment vehicles (dump truck, shovel) parked near the dam on the east side of the stream and a shovel on the opposite bank below the dam, in front of the old hatchery building. Mike Mitchell said there would be work on the bank stabilizations projects and work constructing a new platform below the dam.

MDC project for stream bank stablization

The BWO hatch was on time, with the wind blowing from the east; sailing the small Baetis mayfly across the stream above the dam. The trout took delight taking these small morsels. For me, the problem was too much sunlight on the water and welcomed an occasional stiff breeze to make cover for the trout. The trout took the flies by coming straight up out the water showing most of their head on the take and would many times pull the fly out of their mouth. I missed three trout for everyone hooked… it was still a joy watching these trout chase the fly. It was almost 4 PM and near the end of the day to fish. I had my last fish on when a pair of eagles flew up stream just above the dam with the low sun beaming on the birds. I could see the blinking of the eagle’s eye as it passed over me. At the end fishing day, the sound of the siren blasted. I returned to the truck to stow my gear and remove the waders. I then walked back to the water’s edge to get a few photos of the eagles perched on the sycamore trees along the stream. I returned fifteen trout with many short strikes. On the way home, I had to stop for herd of deer as they cross the road in front of me. The next planned trip will be Nov. 18.

November 18, 2012 Sunday: Rod and I met in Marshfield at 11 AM, where we commuted to Bennett Spring State Park. It was a sunny day with a light variable wind. There were a number of fishermen from the spring down past the stone bridge. Rod fished his favorite spot, which gets little attention from other fishermen. I started near the dam and worked upstream a bit until several fishermen moved down stream. The bright sun produced shadows that spooked the fish, especially the trout in the shallow waters near the aquatic plants. It made for a challenging day. My best time for hooking trout was the last thirty minutes when the sun moved behind the bluff enabling the trout to take a #16 caddis. Rod found a dozen in shallow water without getting wet and I managed eight on dry flies. We saw a number of turkeys out in the fields with deer feeding in neighboring plots.

MDC working on the platform project

November 26, 2012 Monday: I finished a 12 hr. shift and had a short nap, woke and made a pot of coffee. After a few cups of java, I packed the truck and off to Bennett Spring State Park. The day was cloudy with a gusty NE wind. There was only a few fishermen and one in sight while I fished upstream of me, 150 yards. The hatch was light and with an upstream wind, left the mayflies in the aquatic vegetation in the small pools for the trout to take. I worked the edges, and managed to fool a few, very few fish taken in midstream. The eagles were flying high and on occasion hear them call out. I did have a Rod moment when I missed several trout in a row and checked the fly; found it was broken and missing a point. I finished the day releasing fourteen rainbow trout. The project in front of the old hatchery building is progressing with the forms built and rebar in place… I am sure in a few days they will pour concrete. There are more plans to fish the state parks in the near future... hoping for a exceptional fishing day.

October: Fishing local waters for trout

It has been a while since my last trip to Bennett Spring State Park (BS). Jenn, Her husband Brent and toddler son, Desmond made a trip to Springfield for a long weekend. We had an opportunity to fish BS Saturday morning. It was too cold for Desmond to fish and he came to BS later in the day with his Grandmother, maybe next spring we will have a time and place for Des to fish. Jenn, Brent and I parked near the dam; it was a typical weekend crowd; I took them down stream below the stone bridge to fish the broken water and where the trout were more willing to take a fly. There were a number of spin fishermen on the opposite bank near the hatchery outlet but the weed bed in the middle of the stream prevented them from throw across the stream, thus allowed us to fish our side of the stream without lures whizzing past us. I worked my way upstream used a #16 Adams dry fly and took a few small trout with it. We were to meet Des and Ann (my wife) at 1230 PM for lunch at the dining lodge. Just as we thought about stopping Jenn hooked a rainbow for Last cast last fish. The trout was taken out of a run that was just vacated by Brent; Jenn presented her fly for the take. Sometimes a different fly or something they have not seen will fool them.

Jenn with last cast last fish...

We stopped for lunch and met Ann and Des at the diner. After lunch, Des and I play on the playground equipment and then they had to return to St Louis.

I decided to fish longer; Ann went to Lebanon to shop and returned at 5 PM. I checked out some other spots and took 20+ trout. I did endure some rain without a raincoat and then it cooled off; just a hint of winter fishing, which I truly enjoy

Eleven Point River October 2012

Dr Taylor fishing the Eleven Point River

10/23/2012

Today back to work after spending the morning drying my camping gear from last night’s thunderstorm; the gear was in the bed of the pickup truck overnight from a three-day weekend on the Eleven Point River. Last night’s storm was much different than the weather this weekend, which was balmy, with some cloudy days and plenty of bright sunshine on Monday to highlight the colors in the Irish wilderness by way of a wonder stream, the Eleven Point River. Dr Bill Taylor and I planned and decided on this weekend three months ago to fish and camp the gravel bars between Greer access and Turner Mill access. We hoped for good weather and bright colors, which we were not disappointed.

September 20, 2012 Saturday: We started our journey Saturday morning and on the river by noon leaving Greer access and paddling upstream to Hwy 19 Bridge. There were a few fly fishermen above the bridge, a spin fisherman came up behind us and chatted with us for a while.  A little later Tom, a regular on the river from Dora was powering his way up to the spring in his canoe powered by a 3 h.p. outboard engine. Bill picked up a rainbow as we floated downstream past Greer access. We stopped at the first island to fish and decided to camp there for the night. Unfortunately, the fishing was good but the catching was subpar. Bill hooked and released a pickerel and I finally caught and released a large mouth bass at dusk. After dinner, we sat near a campfire and stared up to the sky to watch streaking satellites and falling meteorites. We turned in at 8 PM with the campfire losing light and night had fallen upon us.  The moon was half full and crept behind the hills by midnight. The night sounds of insects, owls and coyotes that woke us throughout the night; it’s hard to get a good night sleep on the river.

September 21, 2012 Sunday: The next day, we broke camp and continued downstream, a Hyde boat was sitting in the tail out below the island and we continued downstream. We fished above the next island and found a few trout taking streamers. We had several canoes pass us this day, some pleasure paddlers enjoying the scenery and a few spin fishermen looking for trout in the deeper holes. We passed the day, leisurely fishing the islands and deep water stretches. We stopped at the last island and decided to set camp; it would be a good spot to fish at dusk. It a short time the tents were up, a campfire was blazing and dinner to fix. We set the grate over hot white coals of sycamore to grill some steaks and fried some potatoes and onions in a hot iron skillet.  That evening, Tom floated by looking for a place to camp; he spent the previous day near the spring. Soon, I was back in the water and taking a few trout in the tail out next to our campsite. I called it a day at 6:30 PM, collected some more wood before dark. The fire was bright; the stars were beginning to show with approaching night sky. Bill and I pick out a few constellations; Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Cetus to name a few in the eastern sky. The big dipper was low in the sky with the trees blocking it from our view. We sat next to the fire until 8 PM and turned in for the night. A noise across the stream caught our attention; we beamed our lights in the general direction but unable to discover the source. The coyotes sounded off an hour later. Bill had a problem with mine getting into his dry store, eating through the plastic packaging of his trail mix. He gathered his supplies and threw them into the cooler. Typical experiences on the riverbank at night, sleeping on the gravel bar. The night air was pleasant and slight breeze passed through the tent.

September 22, 2012 Monday: The next day, we made coffee and finished breakfast with a breakfast burrito. We broke camp, repacked the canoe and planned to finish the final 2.5 miles to Turner Mill by 4 PM. The day was a full sun without a cloud in the sky the wind blew from the south with temperatures reaching the high seventies.  The autumn colors in the hills were outstanding and bright. We only one other canoeist on the water and she passed us early in the morning. The highlight of the trip was seeing a group of four eagles high over the hills, later in the day a pair were performing aerodynamic maneuvers together in close flight. This was Bill best day catching trout, finding them in broken water with one being a wild trout of five inches. We stopped for lunch at the gravel bar below Little Hurricane creek and without success fished a usually reliable area. The water above Mary Decker was non-productive but the scenery was outstanding. We finished the day at 4 PM, the truck was shuttled by Richard’s Canoe and waiting for us. We unloaded the canoe and filled the bed of the truck and drove back to Springfield.

Some notes: the river was flowing at 325 cfu and at 2.7 feet at the Barkley station. It was very clear with many leaves blowing into it with us hooking a few throughout the day. Bill and I totaled eighteen trout with two being wild, one pickerel, one large-mouth bass and a chub. Yes, the fishing was a little tough, maybe it was the leaves in the water, or the fish have become wise to common fly patterns. Needless to say, it was a great trip in part to the autumn colors and scenery.

Dr Taylor fishing the final shoal, above the cave hole