January 2012: New Year at the State Parks

Jan 2,2012: Hey it is another year, and back to Bennett Spring State Park. The morning temperature was in the low twenties with a robin blue cloudless sky. Rod Pennington, John Anderson and I left Springfield after 10 AM. We arrived shortly after 11 AM, with more fishermen than expected already in the water fishing (maybe twenty in zone 1). The stream was up nearly a foot before Christmas and was up a few inches this day. The stream was cloudy which is typical for Bennett Spring after a good rain. Unfortunately, the high and cloudy water, and bright sky made for a challenging day to take trout with a dry fly. Rod used a green grizzly wooly below the stone bridge with success; john new to fly-fishing had a few strikes.

Photo of a larger mayfly, possibly a Brown March

I did have a short time where the BWO were hatching near the bank and the breeze blew them upstream a ways until the trout discovered them. I used a short line and danced the fly on the surface, finding a few willing to take the offering. The cloudy water will last a few weeks, and hope to return on Friday.

Jan 6, 2012: Frank Moran and I planned to fish together at Bennett Spring State Park. I received a call early in the morning. It was Yvonne, Frank’s wife; she explained how Frank was ill most of the night and had to cancel our fishing trip.

I spent the early morning tying a few flies and quit at 9 AM, and decided to head to Bennett Spring S.P. The sky was clear with unseasonably warm temperatures. A mild wind, probably out to the southwest pushing the temperatures above 60 degrees. The park was crowded with more than fifty fishermen in the water from the spring to the dam (zone 1), with more fishermen unloading gear getting ready to start. There was a crowd in the water at zone 2 above the whistle bridge. I had some business to attend and made my rounds. Thirty minutes later, I looked over the situation and decided to retreat and left the park; not wanting to fish in a crowd.

I returned to Springfield, ate a lunch, called Table Rock Dam, no water running and headed south on Hwy 65. The parking lot was full at the hatchery, with most of the fishermen concentrated between the outlets and down to the rebar hole. I drove to the other side and fished the rocking chair hole, with two other fishermen within 100 yards. I took out a #16 crackleback threw it up stream, pulled it under and twitched it for a few strikes, and hook ups.

I waded across to fish near some exposed rocks and found a more trout switching to a #16 dry fly, then pulling it under and took a few more. There was a 90% moon rising in the east evening sky with a few hundred buzzards circling in front of the illuminating moon. It looked like Halloween. The sounds of peepers could be heard, they must be confused with the usually warm weather. I was still fishing after 4:30 PM, when Mike Allen called on the phone. I wanted to meet with him to discuss the trout habitat project for Taneycomo.

So, I left the water and talked with Mike for an hour. He said there are 213 rocks place in groups of three forming an equilateral triangle. The rock structures will direct the water and scour around the rocks, forming troughs for trout habitat. I was impressed with the amount of erosion that has occurred below the dam, many of these rocks are located where the water’s edge was five years ago.

Mike Allen will come to a MTFA meeting March 1^st to discuss the habitat project.

It was a good day to fish, unbelievable January weather and great places to fish

JAN 20: It was a day without sunshine, with a high temperature in the low forties. The late afternoon winds became calm, with a light mist moving in at dusk, the weather service gave a wintery advisory with possible freezing precipitation north of Hwy 60. Rod, Jacob Scheve, Jessie Scheve and I set a date the first of the year to fish this day and we piled into Rod’s vehicle at 10 AM for a trip to Bennett Spring State Park. There was a light crowd in the park on this Friday. No fishermen near the waters above the dam and it became my area to fish for the day. There was a small hatch of BWO and numerous #28 adult white midges on the water. The trout were coming straight out of water showing their entire head, my guess taking cripples out of the surface tension, and from the numbers of adults, probably midge pupa. The #20 BWO dry flies proved ineffective and worked better pulling them under and twitching them to attract a few trout. I tried a caddis pattern with little reaction from the trout. At 3 PM and pair of bald eagles flew over head and perched on a tree half way up the bluff and remained there until 3:50 PM. Then they flew overhead of me on their way down stream. We fished until the sound from the horn, indicating 4 PM and we reeled in our lines and called it a day of fishing. On our way home several groups of deer were seen in the fields, giving clue to a weather change. It must be January in the Ozarks

January 28-30, 2012: I took a few days off to fish; checked a Missouri map and decided to fish new waters near Newburg. Plans were made; calls and reservations had been arranged and off for three days of fishing.

Sean and I met at Montauk State Park on Saturday. He had a late start from St. Louis and I arrived several hours before him. I took care of the motel room, unpacked the truck, and sent a text to him providing the room number and where I could be found on the river. He arrived after 1 PM and found me in the waters near the lodge. I decided to take him above the dam and finish the day in zone 1, hoping to find some trout willing to take a dry fly. There was a white midge hatch with a few caddis popping out of the water after laying eggs on the stream bottom. There were a small number of mayflies near the aquatic plants. The day was much warmer than forecast, in the high fifties, which is not typical for January.

Sean and I returned to the lodge after 4 PM, had dinner in the lodge and returned to our room to add new leader to one reel, add backing and line to another reel and practice knot tying. We turned in after 10 PM.

The next day, we woke after 7 AM, made a pot of coffee. The ground was cover in frost, the sky was clear, with the air crisp and clean. Rod and his friend John Anderson planned to leave Springfield at 8 AM, and spend the day with us. We did not expect them until 11 AM.

Sean and I started above the dam and worked our way upstream. We fished some of my favorite areas and made our way to the spring, the origin of the Current River. It was almost 3 PM, and we retreated to find a spot to finish the day. Other fishermen occupied our most productive waters and we continued downstream and finally found Rod and John near the blue hole.

I hooked my last fish for the day ten minutes before 4 PM and called it last cast, last fish. Rod found one on a dry fly a few minutes after that and continued to fish to 4 PM. Sean said his had missed three trout looking for his last trout for the day with the siren sounding to end the day of fishing. Sean and I released twenty-eight for the day with many short strikes. Rod said he and John had a great day.

I was to stay another night at Montauk; Sean was to head back to St Louis and Rod to Springfield. The lodge diner closed at 2 PM, so we all caravanned to Rolla and stopped at Bandanna’s BBQ for dinner. After, dinner, everyone took off in different directions, and I returned to Montauk State Park and turned in for the night.

January 30, 2012: The next day I woke after 7 AM, made a pot of coffee and started to pack out. My plan for the day was to fish the Blue ribbon area on the Current River just outside of the park. In the afternoon, drive north to another blue ribbon stream, Mill Creek, south of Doolittle/Newburg.

It was a frosty day, with a clear bright sky and little wind. I parked the truck at the end of loop four camping area and walked down stream, past the water treatment lagoon. I entered the stream below the cabins, and tied on a small Clouser minnow pattern to search the stream. It took an only few casts before I hooked up, and released a 12-inch rainbow. There were several more strikes on the Clouser before it was lost to bottom. There was some surface activity behind a large rock, with adult caddis popping out of the water. I tied on a caddis imitation pattern, which was not good enough to fool with one take after an hour of fishing. I left the stream at 11:30 AM, wanting to get on the road and on to Mill Creek.

After leaving Montauk State Park, I drove north on Hwy 63 to Edgar Spring. I turn left on State Hwy M and on to the community of Flat before hitting the gravels roads to Bohigian Conservation area. Mill Creek runs north to the Little Piney River through Bohigian. There is at least five miles of stream; much of the stream is very shallow with small pools and pockets near root wads. I do not know much of the area but plan to contact the MDC and get some history and details. I fished it until 5 PM and manage six trout using a wooly worm streamer.

The largest trout was fourteen inch taken just above a beaver dam. The other trout were in the 6-8 inch range.

I finished my drive going north to Doolittle and on to I-44 to Springfield. It was three days of good fishing, I plan to return to Mill Creek and check out Spring Creek along with the blue ribbon waters of the Little Piney River.

November: Winter fishing at Bennett Spring S.P.

I enjoy Bennett Spring State Park in the winter. There can be an outstanding mayfly hatch that appears in the afternoon and at times will last several hours through mid-January. The trout have been in the stream long enough to recognize these insects as food and will actively seek them out along the edges and near the aquatic plants.

The number of people fishing may be a crowd of twenty on a Saturday afternoon in zone 1 or a stretch of water all to you on a Friday or Monday. A snowy day may find you all alone in the park with a few eagles perched on the Sycamore tree over the stream.

A mayfly hatch is common with a #20 BWO; imitating celery green body, a white tail and white legs Baetis emerging from the slough or back waters near the concrete access structures. I use a 4 wt 10 ft rod with 6X or smaller tippet. You will find me wading upstream looking for trout hunting these insects. Even if you never tried to fish a dry fly, these trout are blind to the many mistakes a fisherman starting out may make.

For more information of these mayflies check out: http://www.troutnut.com/hatch/180/Mayfly-Baetis-Blue-Winged-Olives

Nov 14, 2011: Rod Pennington and I made plans to fish Bennett Spring S.P. I called Frank Moran and invited him to fish with us. Since, I have not been at the park recently, there was concern if the BWO hatch would be present. Monday morning, I woke at 6 AM. Started some coffee and tied a few flies hoping to match the hatch of the day. I met Frank at 10 AM, with Rod driving alone since he would have to leave early. We fished Zone 1, just above the dam. The water level was normal for this time of the year with some changes due to erosion and the holes in front of the dam filling in. There were a few BWO seen throughout the day, with a minimal hatch event. The trout seem to be looking for duns. There was a mild breeze blowing upstream, providing some cover for the trout with a cloudy day. Frank’s first cast of the day, brought to hand a nice 14-inch rainbow with others to follow much smaller. Rod and I had a good day with a total of 25 trout released. Rod left early, Frank and I stayed until 4 PM. An eagle flew into view at 3:30 PM and perched on a limb over the stream. I was able to walk to him and capture a nice video of this eagle in flight.

It was good to get back to the stream and hope to get back at least once a week.

Nov 21, 2011: Rod and I made our plans and returned to Bennett Spring S.P. There was a light mist with a dark sky. The wind was light with a smooth stream surface. The temperature was in the mid-forties. There were few a fishermen around with no one in close proximity. I returned to a pattern of habit and started at the dam and fished to the concrete access ramps. A pair of eagles were seen near the spring on our drive in and later sat on the Sycamore tree across the concrete access ramps.

There was a sporadic hatch with low numbers of mayflies. The dreaded white midge was present and we saw a few black adult caddis. We released from hand twenty trout with most of my hook ups on a #20 parachute BWO. We saw a few groups of turkeys in field on our drive with the deer in hidingsince opening day for gun season.

February: The end of Winter Catch and Release

Feb 7, 2011: Bennett Spring State Park had a little more snow than Springfield (more than a foot). The Red-tail hawk made his rounds. No eagles, turkeys or deer; they must be hunkering down. The wind was blowing up stream, which is a challenge. Some mayflies were coming off, but the size of the hatch has diminished in numbers. I saw the typical BWO and some different mayflies, same size but different colors. Some light colored midges almost #16 seen on the surface

The first hour near the dam was good and caught a few along the edges working my way up stream. After 2 PM, hooking a trout was tough. It was a good day of 15-20 trout.

The wind was raw and I had to keep the hands covered in mittens most of the afternoon. No other fishermen in sight, I did see a fisherman walking towards his car after the horn blew, he was below the dam.

Not many tracks of fishermen in the snow above the dam, I did see Rod tracks from his trip on Sunday. He had a very good day on the water.

One more trip, plan to fish one day next weekend.

Feb 13,2011: It is not often that one can witness such a seasonal change. That is what happened this weekend with the ground covered with a foot of snow and ice from recent snowstorms, followed by cold arctic high pressure that left most of the Midwest in subfreezing temperatures for past ten days.

This past weekend, the temperatures climbed into the sixties. The snow covered hills and pastures in the morning had all but disappeared with the spring like day full of sun, warm breezes and people flocking to the park for the final days of catch and release trout fishing at Bennett Spring State Park.

Rod and I arrived the park at 11 AM, and had a difficult time figuring out where to fish due to the number of fishermen. We finally slipped in the area above the dam and were able to work up stream. The bright sun on the water made it difficult to see trout and the shadows from the birds flying over, fly line on the surface and fishermen rambling about put the trout on alert.
The MDC left the aquatic plants in the stream and did not cut them until after the catch and release season. The plants were the places for the hatching activity through out the winter.

Needless to say, Rod managed seventeen trout and I released fifteen. For me I considered these numbers good with sun and moving fishermen.

This will be my last trip to Bennett to fish for a while. March 1 will start soon with more fishermen and the sense of serenity fishing the winter catch and release season will vanish.
My next trip will be the Pot Hole waiting for the walleye.

Feb 28, 2011: My first trip to the Pot Hole since last April, it is amazing how much it has changed. The lake level was 648 ft in the tail-waters below power-site dam and no current. Last year, I fished it out of a Kayak and noted a level around 660 ft. A difference of 12 ft. The holes I fished are now a gravel bars and dry with the lake, Bull Shoals low and clear. I did not start to fish until sun set and waded some distance. There was no shad activity or fishing breaking water. I found the bottom several times losing flies to the sharp rocks on the bottom. I eventually tied on a 12 lb leader to prevent quick break-offs and abused the fly hitting the rocks. Needless to say, no takes, spent the evening watching lightning moving in from the west. I have some ideas where the fish may lie, need to take a kayak trip to cover more water during the day to figure out a few things and note new structure in the water.

December: Finally Back to the Water

I have not fished since my return from Alaska; it has been eight weeks. Where does time fly? I have been working on a project at work, with several ongoing chores around the house and then there is the birth of Desmond. This is Jennifer first child and our first grandchild. My days off have been filled with activities and traveling to places other than a fishing destination.

DEC 5, 2010: I finally found a day and arranged a trip with Kevin Smith. We found out and were given a tip from another club member (Dan Ditzler) of a recent stocking of rainbow trout on Capps Creek I followed Kevin to Jolly Mill where we started our day before noon. The sky was clear, with cool air with a high in the mid-thirties; there was ice in our guides for most of the day. We did find small trout near the bridge; actually the trout were in the four-five inch range. I plan to talk with the MDC biologist to get an idea to the planting Strategy for Capps Creek. Kevin caught a respectable trout below the bridge. We made a move late afternoon and drove to an access downstream. We found a few holes and found a few fish larger in size. Overall, it was a satisfying day of fishing

DEC 10, 2010: I made a trip to Bennett Spring. The day was full of sun with a light wind. The high temperature was in the high forties. I took some time in the morning before the drive to tie a few flies. I went back to the #20 BWO hoping for the Family Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olives) to hatch late morning or noon. I drove into the park before 11 AM, with a moderate winter crowd. The area, zone one above the dam had only a few people in the places I wanted to fish. The hatch was light; there were a few BWO in the air. They did not spend much time on the surface. The midge hatch was more significant with swarms seen throughout the day. There were many trout seen in the water with a few willing to take a random dry fly. A pair if bald eagles flew over me at 3:30 PM, waiting for 4 PM for the departure of the fishermen, leaving the stream to them to fish. On the drive back to Springfield saw eight deer in a field off of I-44.


DEC 17, 2010: This would be my last fishing trip for the year. A cold, cloudy and winding day at Bennett Spring State Park; the wind was blowing up stream, making it difficult to fool the fish with the downstream drift. There was a light crowd and for the most part, no one fished within 50 yards of me. The ice formed in my guides most of the day, with a quick dip of the rod in the spring creek to free the line. I had hoped to hook a bunch of trout, but my #20 BWO was not the fly to fool many trout. I managed 15+ with most of the trout taken below the stone bridge with a #14 Adams dry fly drifting the right bank late afternoon.

There is progress on the new hatchery building, with the exterior almost finished and the roof shingled. I spoke the Mike Mitchell; he hoped to have the project fished by May of this year. He will be a guest speaker at the MTFA club meeting next year to give an update,

February: Catch and Release Farewell

FEB 5: This was my final trip to Bennett Spring State Park to fish the 2010 winter catch and released season. The day was overcastted with a light snow falling through out the day. The mild wind blew over the dam and up stream. There was not much acumination of snow on the ground. The stream was at normal levels with some turbidity to the water. The trout were actively taking caddis, midges, mayflies and an occasional snowflake. Only a few fishermen were in the park with most of the fishermen below the dam. I started just above the dam and worked my way up stream in zone 1 with a #20 BWO, fishing with little success. After some time, I started to look for the insects on the surface. The black caddis were skittering across the open water and occasionally taken by a trout. I made a switch to a caddis pattern and caught a few trout. Later in the day, switched back to the BWO and managed to fool trout along the cover near the aquatic plants. I released a dozen with a few trout near sixteen inches. The eagle made three passes overhead late in the afternoon. I stopped at the hatchery office and had a good visit with Mike Mitchell. Mike discussed the renovation project for the hatchery in the near future. He will be a guest speaker at the May MTFA meeting. It will be an outstanding program, mark it on your calendar.



FEB 18: I returned to Bennett Spring S.P. for the afternoon and stayed for a meeting that evening. Since the waters are closed until March 1st, I took a camera and hoped to find an eagle perched in a tree. There was a great hatch of insects with the mayflies returning as spinners, depositing eggs. The eagles were not in sight this after noon. Mike Mitchell invited me to their annual meeting with the community. I took notes with the information to follow:

Bennett Spring Trout Park
Pre-season meeting
Sand Spring Resort
Thursday, Feb 18, 2010 7 pm

Mike Mitchell MDC Hatchery Manager

Mike welcomed the guest with approximately 75 people in attendance. The first item for discussion was opening day. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will stock 2.25 fish per estimated tag purchased. Past years, the number was 2.0 trout. The size of the average trout will decrease from 12.5 inches to 12.0 inches due the decease funding for trout food. It probably will not be significant for the anglers. There are no rules changes for 2010 for the state parks and tag prices will not increase for 2010. The opening day dignitaries will be Lt. Governor Peter Kinder. Gov. Jay Nixon will attend Montauk for opening day. Jerry and Brenda Miller will sound the opening day siren. They have sold their business, but have been important to the Bennett Spring Community for 24 years. Jerry is scheduled for surgery but will be healthy enough for March 1st. The estimated attendance for this Monday opening day is 2340 tags.

Renovation project for the hatchery: Six years ago a trout management plan was worked out in Jefferson City. I recall Mike Kruse coming to our club explaining the plan and providing some of the long-term details and vision for the future. One of the long-term plans was to improve and increase production of trout in our hatcheries. Some of the work has already been completed, noted the Shepherd of the Hills hatchery in Branson. Montauk has made improvements for dealing with possible flooding in the hatchery and installed oxygen tanks to sustain the trout during crisis events.

The spring, the fourth largest in Missouri, has a daily output of 100 million gallons of water, rising out of a narrow cave. The flow is more than adequate to raise trout. The current facility is old and will need some major repairs. In addition, the basement was found to be unsafe. There was some consideration to renovate the old build but financial wisdom decided to build a new facility. The new building will be 4000 square feet on the grounds near the current concrete raceways. The projected cost of the project is estimated to be 2 million dollars. The bids closed 2/18/10 with 30 contractors bidding for the job. The projected number of trout per year will go from 300,000 (current target) to 700,000. It was proposed Bennett Spring Hatchery would provide Meramec with their supply of trout. The funds will come from the MDC and after the completion of the project, a 75% reimbursement from the Sport Fish Restoration funds, which are federal dollars.

Kid’s Fishing Day will be May 1, 2010. The recent attendance is near 800 kids with 1200 a few years ago for an all time high. Some of the events will be a touch tank, stream table, fly tying, fish cleaning demonstration, casting simulator shooting trailer and the first fish award. Free fishing weekend will be June 12-13, 2010 and the Catch and Release Season begins November 12, 2010. Mike provided a power point presentation and did an outstanding job.

J.D. Muschany DNR Park Supervisor

The park and the Department of Natural Resources have taken significant cuts with the recent budget cut backs in Jefferson City. Three staff members have been laid off, two people have lost their positions and one transferred to another location. There will be no additional funding for seasonal jobs. If mowers or other equipment break down this summer, there may not be funds to make repairs. There was a question about some of the potholes in the park. J.D. said they would be fixed but waiting for approval from Jefferson City and FEMA funds. The concession bid for the park store is closed with three people bidding for the 2011 contract. As of this meeting, there has been no announcement for the winning bidder. J.D. mentioned a group meeting at the park every Wednesday to help with task and volunteer their time with projects in the park.

Craig Fuller MDC biologist

Craig mentioned he had some staff reductions with increased area responsibility. He now covers Lake Pomme de Terre. There was significant discussion of the Niangua River and the brown trout population. 2010 looks good for the brown trout with the highest samplings for fourteen years. Craig went on to explain some for the changes with numbers of brown trout stocked and reduction in legal lengths of brown trout which are now fifteen inches down from eighteen inches. This reduction was due to insignificant habitat for larger trout. There will be no brown trout plantings in zone 1 for 2010; there have been some production problems coming from the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery, which supplies the brown trout. We will hear more of this from Clint Hale, who will speak to the club in March.

In December, a sixty-foot shovel took out 153 cubic yards of gravel from the area above the dam. The project to replace concrete in front of the hatchery building has been delayed a year due to cut backs. There was a question about replacing gravel above the dam along the island, which has eroded from recent high water. Craig said he would look at it. There were other comments of more gravel removal below the stone bridge. Craig thought there was too much bedrock. Another comment about the riprap stones moving away from the Whistle Bridge and down stream; it will require some heavy equipment to replace the stone. It may be a project for next year.

Final speaker, District Supervisor R.A. Daniels

The enforcement in his area did not take a hit. Other areas in the state did lose a few officers. A question of riggings and droppers from several fishermen; it was agreed; up to three droppers of single hooks would be within the law. There was a discussion how the droppers were tied on a leader and concluded any set-up being acceptable.

The meeting ended at 9 PM. There was good information and well attended.

For more information: http://www.lebanonmissouri.org/index.aspx?NID=111

My next trip will be Bull Shoals....