Maries River after work

I've been looking for new water to fish. Looking over County maps and checking out access points when opportunity presents. I was working in Vienna Missouri for a day and took some time to check out some access points on the Maries River. Bridge crossing and a few back roads that run along the river.

Friday after work I headed south to see if I could find my way down to the water and maybe hook up a few fish.

The water isn't as clear as the creeks south of  I-44. Kind of a light tea color and the bottom was mostly small gravel in this area with plenty of structure to hold some fish. A lot of the bottom was still pretty loose from the resent heavy rains but the wading was easy enough with more than enough deep pools. A good size Gar at least four pounds swam by and even turned to look over the fly I was tossing out in front of him. Good thing he didn't take it as I would have most likely done nothing more than sacrifice a good fly but it was a reminder that I need to ty up a few Gar flies and pack a couple of steel leaders.

It wasn't long and I was hooking up with some fair size Greenies and the work week stared melting away.

 I never found any Smallmouth on this trip but I can't image that there are not at least a few hiding out in there some place.

I didn't see a lot of people sign. The paths along the river were most definitely deer trails and no trash is always good.

On the way back out I tied on a "Stone Foam Hopper" and had a blast catching Brim. They weren't as big as the Greenies but I still love catching them on top.

Watched a few Turkey glide across the river and came across a fish I've never seen before. 

I took a short movie of it let me know if you know what the heck it is. 

                               What is it?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKEE-JkVkqc

I'll be going back still looking for Mr. Smallmouth!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Success in fly fishing

The tenth annual Cinco trip passed with only minimal damage to the participants. Two cut fingers and a scratched shin. I consider us lucky as previous trips have left us with far worse battle scars and emotional damage. Some fish were caught, more than enough for a fish fry anyway and no police warnings were issued to any of us, as far as I know anyway. On the drive down my son James and I passed through sleet, snow, rain and for one short fleeting moment, sunshine. We arrived around noon with just enough break in the light rain to pitch a tent. Terry Spidle had driven down the night before and Steve Bilon and Don May would be there sometime that afternoon. Nathan Keller, a new Cinco attendee, arrived at the same time we did and Mike Robinson, a long time Cinco member, would not be able to attend due to a wedding. We didn't miss Mike all that much but we missed the wild hog tenderloin he always brings.

The Little Red River is the tail water of Greers Ferry Lake and this was the location of the very first Cinco De Mayo fishing trip or Cinco De Mano as Debi has come to call it. The hatchery annually stocks Rainbow and Brook trout but the Brown Trout to my knowledge are not stocked but reproduce naturally. During the span many of the shoals are closed to fishing so damage to the beads are minimized, way to go Arkansas! The upper section below the damn is heavily stocked and bait fishing is allowed on most of the river with a slot limit in place. All fish between 16 and 24 inches are to be released.  However special regulation areas, single hook barbless only catch and release only do apply to several section including the first quarter mile or so below the dam, Cow Shoals, Swinging Bridge and other sections. Any of which are excellent locations to put a wild Brown trout on the end of your line.

We planned our first fishing opportunity for Sunday morning. Fished the put and take area and put enough fish on the stringer for the annual fish fry on the last night of the trip. James and I were the first on the water. A little chill in the air and more clouds than sunshine but you could get by with just a t shirt. James had never fished a fly rod but he's a quick learner and before long he was throwing out a decent straight cast. A little more time, a little more instruction and some words to anyone listening for a little assist he had his first fish on a fly rod. It also turned out to be the best fish of the day measuring out at 14 inches.

AKA Cinco name - Nappy Poncho

A little upstream, I found a concentration of fish and signaled James to come up. I put down my rod and since he had a fair cast, I focused on the drift and mending the line. It was the best time on a river I have ever spent not fishing. He missed more than a few strikes, LDR several, broke a couple off and landed a limit of Rainbows all without a net. I stayed long enough to catch my limit and left that hole grinning like a kid in a free candy store with no adult supervision. I'd tell you that I was pretty proud but the fact is I've never not been with all 3 of my kids.

Having the limit we didn't fish any more that day. I was still in the tent when I heard the damn (yes I spelled it right) warning horn blow the next morning around six and they ran water all day and night. Thursday they repeated the exact generation so we didn't fish any more the entire trip.

Most successful fishing trip I've ever had!

Terry putting one in the net

James first fish on a fly rod

Sugar Loaf Mountain

???

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Ready,Set.....

...GO!

It's been, it seems anyway, quite some time since I've even looked at a blog, let alone taken the time to post anything, that I almost had to dig out the cheat sheet for the password to log in.

March was a blur but that's March in the Ozarks for you. Everything starts to happen pretty fast. The weather can turn on a dime it seems. So you take or try to at least take advantage of  every opportunity you get. Early on we were teased with some warming weather that quickly turned to some of the heaviest snow falls of the year. Then a couple of weeks of fifties today, twenties tomorrow as cold front after cold front moved through the country faster than jack rabbits mak'in time. You pick your days and roll the dice on the weather conditions. Go on and make your out door plans then spin the wheels cause the arrow is just as likely to land on rain, snow, sunny, warm or cold. This is the month that weather men and weather women fear. I think they spin the same arrow on a card we do in March. Today though I can say with some certainty that Spring has truly arrived. The windows are all open, the birds are singing, Easter lilies blooming and here I set typing up a blog post looking into a monitor. Why you may ask, because I have a plan, says the fool. Save my gas money today for a better trip tomorrow. Actually next weekend but that's the plan and I'm sticking to it. That doesn't mean you wont find me down by the Osage later looking to shake hands with Mr. Bucket Mouth or not if the rain moves in.

March is change and I've been busy right along with the rest of the outdoors mak'in a few of my own. At the top of the month, during those teaser days we had, a good friend of mine, Terry and I made a road trip out of a Canoe for Kayak swap. I sold my 17 foot Old Town, "The Yukon Cornelius"and purchased a new Native 12 foot Redfish Kayak from "Ozark Mountain Trading Company" near Rogers Arkansas.

 I sold the boat, we ate some great BBQ and took the long way home through Beaver Arkansas crossing over the only wood deck suspension bridge left in the country, this part of it anyway. The sun was shining, windows down with temperatures pushing eighty and we were soaking up vitamin D like there was no tomorrow.

Bridge to Beaver

Northern Arkansas is some beautiful country and we enjoyed traveling the back roads home. Crossing over the border back into Missouri the sun quickly gave way to clouds and the temperature dropped just as quick. My plan to take the, "Yukon Cornelius Too" out the next day was foiled by another cold front and four inches of new snow. Like I said in March thinks move pretty fast.

After the snow melted off and a day or two or rain followed by a few days of fair temperatures. Jeff and I made a day trip over to the Rubidoux. Hoping to relocate that massive Rainbow he had caught a while back or just pick up a Rainbow or two maybe even a Brown. The water was higher than we expected and the flow was flirting with that line of danger that we probable too often ignore and wade in anyway. Visibility of the bottom was lost at about two feet but the deeper holes looked like they should hold a fish or two so down the bank we went. I had a good take but my 5x snapped before I could get a look at it. By the way it bolted for heavy cover. I'd say it was a Brown, maybe a Small Mouth, but I'll just have to wonder about that. Took a #6 Olive Rabbit Sculpin pattern that also turned out to be my last one. The rain moved in, heavy at times and after a couple more hours of no takes we move out. Back to the highway and back to the truck with a plan to drive over to a Blue Ribbon stream and hopefully improve our luck. 

The water looked better on this little stream. It was at least triple the flow since my last trip of late fall. We fully expected a fish in every deep blue pool and there were a lot of pools. 

This little stream was usually pretty good to me but today's lesson was one of humility. We drifted nymphs and swung streamers through every hole. Most of them two times over. I got spanked and Jeff managed three yearling Parr marked Rainbow that even totaled together didn't make a foot of fish. 

We called in a day around four and pondered the notion that the hot summer and extremely low water may have had a big impact on the fish population. I hope to find that we were wrong and that I at least was just having a bad day of catching on another good day of fishing. Sunday was Easter and the sun shined the better part of the day. The clouds moved in late that afternoon and the gray sky with light rain continued for the next few days again foiling my plan to put the  "Yukon Cornelius Too" in the water for it's maiden voyage. 

Old Home along Mill Creek

View from across the bow

Slowly through the week the temperatures warmed with Thursday's high in the mid sixties. Time to launch a Kayak. After work I drove over to Binder Lake. A small Conservation lake about 20 minutes away near Apache Flats, Missouri. Love that name, reminds me of a John Steinbeck book. How could you not want to live in Apache Flats. So I launch the "Yukon Cornelius Too"  climb on and I'm liking this ride! Very Stable, plenty of dry storage for an over night trip with well storage on the stern for a small cooler and a dry bag or two. Paddles easy and tracks well. Can't wait to get it on the river.











While I was out I pick up a stow away. One of the largest midges I've ever seen. Since then I've even seen a few more around the house. Reminds me that I need to tie flies for the Cinco De Mayo trip. I do another trip Friday after work and I hope to be back Monday after work as well this time with a Crappie stick and a few tube worms.

Rain, colder temperatures and things to do not related to fishing may have kept me off the water but not off the bench. The fabled "Cinco Di Mayo trip" nears and flies need to be tied for the Little Red River.

 I've setup another page, "trip in the works", and added links to fishing reports, fly shops, water and weather conditions. The Little Red is a tail water so enough rain can definitely put a damper of the fishing time. Midges, Scuds and caddis will be the staples but a good selection of Streamers is a must have and I plan to have some big gnarly streams to toss at big Browns and a few mouse patterns for night fishing up near the dam.




Brown Scud Pattern

#16 Eagle Claw L063S
8/0 Camel thread
.025 Lead Wire
Brown Latex Scud backing Medium
Wapsi - Natural Fur - Fox Squirrel Dubbing
4 lb. Mono line Ribbing

The lead wire is tied across the top of the shank.
Brush the fur down before pulling the scud backing over the top.
After finishing the head I trip the fur (legs) to just below the hook point.

A new pattern for me I hope the fish like it.


Gray Sparkle Scud

#16 Daiichi Hook 1120
8/0 Gray thread
.025 lead wire
Gray Sparkle dubbing
Gray Latex scud backing Medium
4 lb. mono line ribbing


The lead wire is tied across the top of the shank.
Brush the fur down before pulling the scud backing over the top.
After finishing the head I trip the fur (legs) to just below the hook point.

Caddis Larva worm

#18 L055S Eagle Claw Hook
8/0 black thread
Tungsten Bead - Black 5/64
X-Small black wire ribbing
Bright green caddis dubbing
Black Ostrich


I've never had much luck with caddis larva patterns even though most of our streams are full of them. Maybe this one will change that.





I still have a lot more tying to do to be as prepared as I want to be. Of course you never really know what you'll want to have until you get there so I'll take a good amount of tying stuff with me just in case. You just never know when things might change.









Saturday the temps were scheduled to be in the seventies. I think sixty-five at best with a pretty good almost constant wind to boot. Fly Fishing today would have been a challenge. No matter I was headed to Columbia for the Fly Fishing Film Tour.

RagTag Cinema is one of those new age college hang outs. A coffee house/up scale food/beer and wine with  a couple of small theaters place. Where you can actually begin to believe that a few rows of mismatched chairs are way better than reclining stadium chairs to site in and watch your show. Way cooler anyway if nothing else. If you've not seen the show yet I do recommend it. If you're not charged up on fly fishing before hand you will be by the time it's over. If not, then you must have died in your not so comfortable chair why watching but not to worry at least you look cool in it.

I can't help but wonder what the hipsters thought, that is if they looked up from their Ipads and laptops long enough to notice, the invasion of Columbia fishing shirts, closed toed sandals and logo embossed ball caps. Even in a crowd a Fly Fisher isn't hard to pick out. Here we stood out like neon glowing Trout in a blue kiddie pool. That being said though,  it still amazes me how a group can be so familiar yet so diverse by occupation and education. Butcher, baker or candlestick maker doesn't matter to a fish one damn bit. On a river we're all equal, we celebrate the highs and ponder the lows. Dream about the next trip and wonder if there are streams to fish in the next life. I don't care what you do for the money, but I wouldn't mind a closer look at that fly box.


By the time I got home I had designed three new patterns and put an additional seventy-five cents into the ash try for that trip to the Amazon to fish for Golden Dorado. Only $5,999.25 to go and I'm there.


March did go by fast. They say that happens when your having fun. Too bad it's not the other way around.
That's part of the irony about time, just about the time your of the age to stop wishing things would move a little fast. You find it's too late to slow things down. Welcome to April!

Fair winds and following seas!