Most Recent Trip Reports and Pictures
This page was last updated: February 2, 2012
PAST FLYFISHERS AT THE CROSSING FLY FISHING TRIPS ARE BELOW!
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2009 in Review -
2009 was a banner year for our Flyfishers at The Crossing! It was our first full year for our web site, this web site! We now average over 20 hits a day from all over the world - yes, believe it or not. The web site is loaded with all kinds of fly fishing information. Hope you are using it to your advantage.
The year started off right smack in the middle of a fantastic winter fly fishing season. January and February saw many of us heading to Meramac Spring park and Montauk State Park for our winter fishing. Both inside and outside the parks offered some awesome fishing. Newcomers Kyle Jutz and Tim Graham joined us for the first time. While guys like, Lybarger, Klimes, Meadows, Seaton, Harvey, Blair, and Stull continued to hone their skills. The winter catch and release season was great as usual. I love fishing in the winter here in Missouri. It is the best time of the year to fish.
With the trout season officially open in March we saw newcomer, Jim Anzer, complete his graduation by catching his first trout on a fly rod at Montauk. Jim set the bar high for the most trout caught on his first time out. He had 10 nice rainbows to his credit. Our first big overnight trip of the year was to Lake Taneycomo, on March 12-15. Bloss, Seaton, Klimes, Walker, Harvey, Simers, and newcomer Mark Smalley headed down to LT . With the generators from Table Rock Dam turned off and the water level on LT low, everyone was excited to get on the water. It was the first time Terry Seaton fished LT with the water shut off. And, boy, did we all take advantage of that... Many rainbows were caught on this awesome trip. John Walker and Mike Harvey said it was the best fly fishing trip they have ever had. We had the opportunity to fish in and around all the islands and all the way down to the dam. We even had a chance to play the now famous card game - Go Fly Fish. Later in March a small group headed to Meramec Spring Park. There, newcomers Miles Short and Paul Chambers graduated from class by catching their first trout on the fly. Miles and Paul are related through marriage and there seemed to be a little competition going on throughout the day. Klimes, Lybarger, Blair, and Stull joined them for a great end to March.
In April the group concentrated on fishing the Browns in the Current river at Tan Vat. Three trips were to Tan Vat where Klimes Seaton, Bailey, and Stull hammered browns during the caddis hatches that happened throughout the month of April. It was a wild time as the browns had a heyday devouring caddis flys. May 11th saw four flyfishers head down to Montauk. The flyfishers ventured out to Montauk not realizing that they just had been hit with tremendous wind storm that knocked over and up rooted trees in the area. Lybarger, Stull, Klimes, and another newcomer Mike Chambers still had a great day fishing. Mike became an official graduate from the class by catching not only his first trout on a fly rod but catching both a rainbow and a brown in the same day. They fished the morning in the park and the afternoon outside the park.
As summer approached our group started taking more and more trips. A June 3rd trip to Montauk saw two newcomers finish graduation. Fred Schwartztrauber and Sam Alkhalaf graduated from class with a couple of trout caught this trip. They realized that this fly fishing is a little tougher than bass fishing. It seemed that the Current river was the river of choice for most of the summer. Both browns and rainbows were caught outside of Montauk park on the Tan Vat. The caddis hatch lasted pretty much throughout the summer.
Many other trips out of state were taken. Terry Seaton fished Oregon, Dry Fly and Jerry Lybarger fished, with success, Eleven Point River, Kenny Klimes hit Lake Taneycomo and Alaska, and John Walker visited the San Juan (for the third time???) during the summer months of 2009. The big story of the year was Jason "Dry Fly" Stull pulling in a 20 inch Brown Trout on his trip to Cardiac Hill. Yes, he had witnesses (Meadows and Lybarger) that he paid off. August found our group heading back down to Lake Taneycomo. The lake was crystal clear and low. The guys were able to sight fish throughout the weekend and caught lots of fish. The famous "Barrel" was discovered and named - a secret location known only to a few :)
With the summer over the group got ready to fish the winter catch and release season for 2009. November found our group on a four day fishing trip. The first day was to the Current river as Stull, Graham, and Klimes discovered a new section of the Current river to fish. Then they headed off to Bennett Spring to meet Mike Harvey, John Walker, and Al Blair. Bennett was fishing great so they decided to fish one more day at Bennett and did well. Thanks to Tim Graham for allowing us to invade his condo on Lake of the Ozarks. The last day of the trip the gang woke up to heavy rains. Only John, Jason and Kenny decided to fish one more day at Meramec Spring Park. And, what a great move as they hammered the rainbows outside the park. December saw the group close out the year at Montauk with trips each week. More newcomers graduated from the fall fly fishing class as Lew Smith, Dick Hollander, and Dave Beerbower completed the course by catching their first trout on a fly rod. Lew Smith didn't miss a trip and improved with each trip - great job Lew.
The Flyfishers at The Crossing also had two Fly Paloozas (our version of a fly tying party) during 2009. Big Thanks to Terry Seaton who sponsors these full day fly tying classes. Many new fly tiers have been born during these parties - Thanks Terry.
Plus two Flyfishers at The Crossing fly fishing classes were taught, one in the Spring and one in the Fall of 2009. Many new flyfishers joined our group. Congratulations to all those that graduated in 2009!!! It was a fantastic year and I predict that 2010 will surpass it. Tight lines!!
2010 in Review:
2010 turned out to be our best year yet. We had two Flypaloozas to teach our guys how to tie flys, two “bug” classes to teach our guys about aquatic insects (one held by Cabelas), and over 45 trips taken by our group in 2010! We also had our daily hits to our web site double. Awesome!! We only had one beginner fly fishing class, which was in October. Eleven new guys finished the class with two graduating on the water so far.
January through March saw some great winter fishing. Montauk was fishing very well but the few trips we took to Meramac park tuened out to be good ones also. Midges and soft hackles seemed to be the best flies during the winter season. Guys like Lew Smith, Jason Stull, Al Blair, Roy Stueber, John Walker, Jerry Lybarger, Terry Seaton, Larry Farrar, Dave Beerbower, Tim Graham, Mike Chambers, put time on the water. Several trips were in the snow. Both Brown trout and rainbow trout were caught through the winter.
The Spring brought us new hatches and many fish caught. Brant McClane made a trip to Crane creek and had a special time there. Our big three day trip to Lake Taneycomo was in April and the water was a little high buy easily wadable. Lybarger, Klimes, Stull, Bloss, and Jerome made the trip along with newcomers Lew Smith, Dick Hollander and Mike Gay. The best flies on this trip were the scud, woolly bugger, san Juan worm and midge. Tan Vat seemed the water of choice this Spring as the Browns were big and the rainbows were plentiful. We even hit Baptist Camp a few times. John Walker and Kevin Jerome made many trips to Tan Vat this Spring and sent in their trip reports with a “Star Wars” theme. It sounded like the good guys won most of those trips! Tim Graham and Jerry Lybarger even did a float trip down to Eleven point. Larry Farrar made sure we didn’t forget about fishing Bennett and took several “business” trips to the area. Although the Primrose and Pearl became the “Fly of the Year” Kevin Jerome introduced his hot fly the “Emerald and Pearl”.
Summer came and the hot temperatures did not keep the guys away from the rivers. Tim Graham , Lew Smith, and Kenny Klimes visited Cardiac Hill and using the Cerise Worm (discovered by Larry Farrar) found some big trout in the holes along the Meramec River. The summer months had a lot of our guys traveling and fishing as they fished North Carolina, Colorado, North Carolina, Yellowstone, and more. Mike Harvey, Bob Chott, Dry Fly’s brother Eric, Jim Anzer, Fred Schwartztrauber, Mike Meadows, and Terry seaton joined us in some great summer fishing. The Current River was a favorite spot and another Lake Taneycomo trip was taken by six of our flyfishers. They even hit Bennett on the way home with great success.
The fall saw many still fishing the Current River – it remained the best spot of the year! In October we had our fly fishing class that had eleven make it through the course with two graduating shortly after. John Guyer and Archie Mckinley graduated at Montauk Park. Archie smashed the record for most fish the first time on the water for a newcomer with 14 rainbows. John came one short of the old record. There were big smiles all day on the water. The 2010 winter season started off with a bang as the fishing at Montauk and outside the park on the Current River was awesome. Larry Farrar discover the secret to predicting the success of the fishing day before we start – “if the cows are standing and spread out in the fields on the way down to fishing “ it will be an awesome day. So far this myth has been right on!
On Thanksgiving weekend, John Walker was rewarded with the largest rainbow our group has pulled out of Tan Vat. He caught a 23", 5 lb rainbow. Unfortunately he was by himself and couldn't share his joy with anyone else...
2008 - In Review
With 2008 coming to an end it is time to look back at a fun filled year of fly fishing! In just our second year our group has grown; with more members, more trips and now even our own web site. It would only be right to take a look back at a fantastic year.
We kicked things off in January with a trip to the famous San Juan River in New Mexico. Mike Meadows, John Walker, Jerry Lybarger, John Bloss, and Kenny Klimes headed to the northern border of New Mexico into bone chilling temperatures. We awoke each day to temperatures below 20 degrees but for three days we braved the weather to fish the San Juan. Fishing was made difficult because of the cloudy water but we caught a few fish, experienced green chilies on everything we ate, and had time for some great fellowship.
In February we kicked off another fly fishing class of 12 new flyfishers at Windsor Crossing. This time it was coed and we had six young ladies participate; and I should say they did a fine job!
In March we headed down to Lake Taneycomo but arrived at the start of all the rains we had this year. We rented a condo for a week thanks to Jason Stull's timeshare. Taneycomo was not fishable so we ended up at Roaring River for some very good fishing. We even had the chance to fish the dry fly. Jason "Dry Fly" Stull, Mike Meadows, John Walker, Terry Seaton, Kevin Jerome, Kenny Klimes, Dick Crist, John Bloss, Jerry Lybarger , and Jim Brickler were a few that made the trip.
June saw a group of nine head down to the North Fork river in southern Missouri. We stayed in a beautiful cabin at the River of Life Lodge. Besides being a very scenic river, it was also the slickest river bottom we have ever come across. Only one flyfisher of the nine didn't fall in and a nickname for one was born (right, Dry Fly). The nine that made the slippery trip were Terry Seaton, John Walker, Jeff Rabe, Jerry Lybarger, Gordon Reiter, Kevin Jerome, Kenny Klimes, John Bloss, and Jason Stull.
The summer months also saw some superb fishing at Cardiac Hill, Bennett State Park, and Montauk State park. Many day trips were taken and many nice rainbows netted. Many of us headed out to the water to fish including Jeff Rabe, Larry Farrar, Jim Brickler, John Walker, Gordon Reiter and many of the other regulars. Terry "The Professor" Seaton claimed Cardiac Hill his domain as he caught fish after fish, finding new spots on each trip. His guidance helped many others catch and learn the elusive ways of the Cardiac Hill rainbow. Several other flyfishers to include Terry Seaton, Jason Stull, Kenny Klimes, Mike Meadows headed out to other State waters to fish.
In August we kicked off another fall season with our flyfishers cookout, over 25 showed up for this night of food and fellowship. Prizes were won by the Lybarger's and the Jerome's as they displayed their expertise in casting.
September saw another class of nine new flyfishers begin. This class even had the opportunity to sample some fresh smoked salmon from Kenny Klimes' trip to Alaska.
We headed back to Lake Taneycomo the end of October and found the water had still not receded like we thought it would. But, it was wadable and we fished for three days. Because of all the summer rain the water was too warm and the oxygen level was low causing the fish to be a little lethargic at times. Many fish were caught though and we vowed that we would return again in the winter. Joining Kenny Klimes on the trip were Terry Seaton, Larry Farrar, Kevin Jerome, John Walker, Mike Meadows, and newcomer Don Seegers. Don caught his first rainbow on a fly rod!
As the winter season set in, we set out on several one day trips to Meramec Springs State Park and to Montauk State Park. Unfortunately this winter has been a super cold one and the cold weather gear came out of the closets. One trip we saw temperatures of 19 degrees, reminiscent of our San Juan trip. But many fish were caught and no one ever complained (well, not out loud anyway!) New flyfishers to join us on these trips were Bill Craine, Mike Harvey, Toby Simers, and Al Blair.
It has been a great year and we look forward to some new adventures in 2009. Trips out of state are already in the works so keep your eyes on our web site for information.
Past Years in Review
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Bennett - Cold, Wet but Good Fishing! (Nov.20th) - Dave Beerbower sends us this trip report from Bennett. The weather man said it was supposed to be 55 degrees with occasional rain! Boy was he wrong. I knew we were in trouble when I woke up and it was 34 degrees and pouring rain. But being the intrepid souls that we are, Jason Stull, Mike Walton and Dave Beerbower set out for Bennett Springs, determined to enjoy some early winter fishing. It was raining so hard when we got there, we all got dressed under the porch roof at the Registration building. We then went to the top end of the park near the spring to start fishing. Right off the bat, Mike started catching fish with his miracle fly (an egg pattern on a jig hook). Sorry Kenny. It got colder and wetter, and by lunch time we were pretty discouraged. Jason did well with the cerise worm and some fish were caught with midges.
After lunch, the rain slowed down and the fish started feeding on the surface. Dave caught fire between the dam and the bridge with a caddis fly and then had even more success with a yellow attractor. Mike and Jason came down to see what all the whooping was about and we spent the rest of the day there until the siren. I would have bet money that we would not make it through the whole day, but the dry fly fishing energized us. Dave caught over 20 fish on drys after lunch while Mike caught his first trout ever on a dry fly. Jason went below the bridge and caught a couple of brown trout to finish out the day. Everyone caught lots of fish with cerise and white worms, cracklebacks, red midges and the dry flies. All in all, we were soaked but happy fly fishers as we left the park. Larry Farrar called and said he saw us on the Bennett Springs fish webcam. Cool Thanks for that report, Dave. The winter fishing here in Missouri is the best so don't miss your opportunity. Dress warm my friend!
Montauk After Turkey Day - Nov, 25th - Here is another fishing report from John Walker - Let's Get Out There and FISH!! It was predicted to be a beautiful day on the day after Thanksgiving which prompted members of the Windsor Crossing Flyfishing Group to make the trek to lovely Montauk State Park. This day was also special because joining us for the first time was Blake Harvey (little Harv'), son of Mike Harvey (Big Harv'). Accompanying the Harvey's were (No Bees) Al Blair and John Walker (Dr. Montauk). Little Harv has not taken Kenny's class and this was the first time he had been fly fishing so there was a little nervousness in the group tinged with anticipation about how little Harv would do. Also, we were checking the rule book to determine if Blake got shut out could we blame Kenny. :) However, all this was unnecessary because little Harv came up big- netting 7 nice rainbows. I can think of several "seasoned" veterans who did not do so well their first time out. All of Little Harv's fish were caught on an Olive Woolly Bugger. Either Mike is an excellent teacher or Blake may be a flyfishing prodigy in the making! Well done Blake!! Not to be out done by his son Big Harv caught double digit fish using a variety of flies. He was especially proud of netting his first fish using a dry fly (Not Jason). He also caught several using Al's new discovery- see below. No Bees (AL) also had a strong day. It got off to a unique start when a total stranger approached Al and gave him 3 of his sure fire super flies. Not sure whether the guy had seen us fish before and thought we needed the help or if he was just really a nice guy. Al thought the latter but I wasn't so sure. Al gave us each one of these flies, best described as a 0.50 c woolly bugger (so described because it kinda looks like a woolly bugger where they couldn't afford the saddle hackle and only half the maribou to finish). Anyhow, armed with the super fly Al caught several fish with it after a short lunch break. He also caught several on his headlight caddis. His success rate improved dramatically when he remembered to count to 3 before setting the hook after the fish took it off the surface. At times it sounded like Al was practicing the Waltz down river- one two three...set. But it worked. No Bees was really nailing them. As for myself, I did pretty well. A gentleman doesn't give numbers so I will just say I caught more than 30, less than 40. I caught them all on dry flies. For anyone going to Montauk right now stock up on dry flies, cracklebacks and soft hackles. The fish are very active and they are taking things right below or on the surface. I used only dry flies the whole day. I caught several on an X-caddis as well as an elk-hair caddis but the fly of the day was a size 16 white caddis that I bought at the lodge. They hammered that thing all day long, especially after the small caddis hatch around 10 or so. Fishing were jumping out of the water and sipping flies all day long. It was an awesome day of fishing and especially fun to be able to use dry flies all day. Afterwards we topped off the day by going to Lew's Salad Shop (Pizza Inn) and had our fill. We also discussed going back during the Christmas-New Years break if anyone else is interested.
Montauk Is AWESOME - Nov. 28th Here is a trip report from Dave Beerbower on their awesome trip .
Lew Smith, Terry Seaton and Dave Beerbower headed out to Montauk this past Monday to see if they could follow up on the success of the group that went out last Friday. We left St. Louis with snow flurries, but we had prepared for cold weather and were determined to fish all day. Things started a little slow, but by mid-morning, everyone was catching fish on just about everything we tried. Cracklebacks, P&P midges, woolly buggers, soft hackles, etc., etc. I even had great success with the white winged pheasant tail that we tied at the Flypalooza. Terry caught so many fish at the honey hole with his crackleback that he got bored and changed the fly just for a different experience. Lew did real well with the soft hackles, his favorite. By late afternoon, the fish were feeding on the surface and Dave finished the day with a bang (or is that Bam) using a red stimulator at the Honey Hole. Everyone did really well and like John Walker said, gentlemen don’t count fish netted, but Terry thinks he caught one more than Dr. Montauk did last Friday. The ride home was instructional for me as we all talked about things that we tried and techniques that I wanted to do better. It’s official. Winter fishing is in full swing and the fish are very hungry. Get out and give it a try!
First Graduate of 2011 Fall Class is Crowned - Montauk, December 17, 2011 - In anticipation of another banner day at Montauk, 5 guys (Tom Bailey, Dave Beerbower, Al Blair, Lew Smith, and Terry Seaton) met at the usual place at dark-30. The 6th guy on the trip, rookie Brandon Kostial, was already there! He simply couldn't wait for his experience to begin so he spent the night “van-camping” in the Montauk camping ground! He was thankful for his electric space heater when the first-light, outside temperature gauge read 26 degrees. You see, Brandon was on his Graduation Trip – and he was determined to make it a memorable one! The only guy MIA was our fearless leader Kenny (Crackleback) Klimes. Is this the first trip report that debuts Kenny’s new nickname since undergoing back surgery? I digress… So the Professor stepped in to ensure that all his students “graduate” on their first trip out. No pressure, Terry! Well Brandon did not disappoint! Indeed, he caught his first trout on a fly rod, a beautiful 13-inch rainbow, while swinging a crackleback below the dam. He went on to catch 5 fish on the day – not bad for only fishing until 1:45 p.m. He was also successful with a tiny soft hackle and even nymphing with a Copper John and a P&P. Great job, Brandon, we are proud to welcome you into the fold! I bet I can guess some things on his Christmas list…!
In the morning, the other fishermen fished the normal spots upstream from the dam and everyone had a good day! All seemed to stay with their favorites; Al: headlight caddis (including one fish while he was simply looking through his fly box!) and wooly bugger, Lew: partridge and orange and orange holographic crackleback, Dave: emergers and a parachute dry fly, and Tom: crackleback and soft hackles. They all went up the small spring creek in the afternoon. There were lots of fish seen but few were landed. Stealthy tactics and small dry flies were necessary and Dave was the afternoon winner. In all, the 6 guys netted approximately 75 fish on the day! A Big Thank You to Terry "The Professor" Seaton for taking Brandon on the water as I recover from my Back Surgery. It sounds like the whole gang had a great time at Montauk. I hope to be on the water soon myself as my back is feeling better and better. Remember what I keep saying, "This is the best time to fly fish in Missouri. So get on out there!!" Congratulations to Brandon for a job well done!
Two Take on the Current River (Dec 23rd): The Beer Man (Dave Beerbower) and I (John Walker) went to Montauk Friday the 23rd to do a little fishing. We got there around 8:30 and it was a gray dreary morning when we started below the cable just outside the park. We started out using one of the standard rig set-ups of pink worm with midge a midge dropper. I used a zebra midge while Dave went with P & P. The morning went well enough with Dave getting 3 and I got 7. The one interesting event of note was Dave had a fish break his line off with worm, P&P and orange bobber still in the fish. I saw the orange bobber floating in my direction a few minutes later and he ended up going for my midge. So, I was able to return Dave's equipment back to him. After lunch, we headed down to TanVat. As we did the sun came out and it turned into a nice day. Unfortunately, this improvement in the weather did not translate into an improvement in our fishing fortunes. Quite the reverse actually. Fishing were jumping out of the water most of the afternoon but what they were going after was mostly a mystery to Dave and especially to me. Despite trying soft hackles, cracklebacks, elk-hair caddis, gray caddis, white caddis, Griffith gnats, parachute caddis, parachute Adams and stuff I can't remember I got a goose egg for the afternoon. Dave did manage a couple of small ones on renegades. He said the took them at the end of his swing. It was a fun day for us but we'd certainly have liked to figure out how to get some of those trout at TanVat into our nets.
Physical Therapy at Montauk? (Dec. 26th) _Terry Seaton and Kenny Klimes went to Montauk for some physical therapy for Kenny's back. Similar to a whirlpool, the flowing waters of the Current river provided much relief for his back surgery - right? Right! OK, he couldn't take it anymore hearing about everyone else catching fish this winter so he begged Terry to take him fishing. Terry took Kenny to a place that he hadn't fished in a few years and they had a blast. The two worked the part of the river that is below the bridge when you enter the park. The water was clear and the scenery was beautiful. This part of the river is narrow but with many deep holes and long runs. Terry and Kenny took turns fishing the new water as they alternated the lead throughout the morning hours. Many fish were caught on a weighted cracklebacks, midges (P&P, DB, red midge) and woolly buggers. They finished this part of the river about noon and had a nice hot soup lunch (both brought their thermos'). In the afternoon they fished the waters below the dam and up above the dam to include the boulder and Walter's stretch. Again, they had a good afternoon catching many trout on midges (P&P, blue, and ruby), black baby woolly bugger, copper john, and some other "various" nymph patterns. The ruby midge seemed a killer for Kenny. The weather was the only major factor against the guys as it sleeted a little in the morning and poured rain the last two hours of fishing. Although soaking wet and cold at 4pm the guys put in a great day of fishing. The rainbows have some beautiful winter colors right now so get out there and do it! Oh yea. Kenny only fell in three times - instead of trying to save himself with any twisting and turning moves he just decided it was best to just hit the deck or is that hit the water :)
Two Guys Tackle Bennett (Dec 26th) Tim Graham and Lew Smith spent the Monday after Christmas at Bennett Spring dodging raindrops and slaying the rainbows. It was the perfect weather for Tim to try out Santa's special gift of a new Simm's rain jacket. Tim gave it a big thumbs up along with a day of good fishing. Water levels were higher than normal with water clarity lower than normal, as well. Most success was found below the dam and bridge where there are excellent riffles during normal water levels. Fishing this area was still interesting due to the numerous boulders found there. Tim had success fishing cracklebacks deep. Most of his hook-ups, though, came on the #18 black zebra midge effectively fished at about 18 inches deep. Lew found success with soft-hackled nymphs swinging them through the boulder field. Soft-hackled pheasant tails and soft-hackled hare's ear fished deep were the most productive. The old reliable partridge and orange picked-up a couple rainbows, as well.
At lunch time, Tim and Lew were treated to a casting extravaganza by a couple of Kansas fellows. One fisher from the great plains pulled out a 10-12 foot spey rod with a reel the diameter of dinner plate, line the size of a climbing rope, and a fly, that when it hit the water, was reminiscent of a depth-charge dropped by a naval destroyer. Normal gear for salmon fishing on the Kenai, but working a seam for 10 inchers at Bennett? Anyway, one should not judge lest he be judged.
The afternoon was slow, more rain, and wooly buggers took a few rainbows in the flat water. All-in-all a good day on the water. But as we packed our gear, stowing away the wispy 8' 4" 3 wt, images of the Jayhawk wielding that two-handed spey rod came to mind. Chalk it up to rod envy, I suppose.
Current River and Crickets Below the Cable Dec. 29th - Lew "The Librarian" Smith, Kenny Klimes, and newcomer, Larry Smith, (no relation to Lew - well, this is Missouri so I guess it could be???) decided to hit the Current river below the cable on a Thursday because it wouldn't be crowded. WRONG! Maybe because of the Christmas/New Year holiday week there were at least 12 flyfishers below the cable. But everyone was polite and moved through the river so everyone had a chance at the different holes. Problem was that the trout were bombarded with flies of all kinds. The morning started out on the chilly side as Lew and Kenny took Larry down the river. Larry actually caught the first trout of the day on a nymph pattern. We fished all the way to the rock garden until noon, had lunch and worked our way back. Speaking of lunch, we thought Larry was a little strange but when he pulled out a package of crickets we had to explain to him that you can't use bait in this area of the Current. "Oh no," Larry said, "this is my dessert!!!" Larry asked us to try one. Lew being a Vegan had an excuse but I was much kinder as I said, "Hell, no!!!" Fishing our way back to the cable took us another four hours and we finished by 4pm. After the cricket incident we decided to keep a close eye on Larry. Of course we lost site of him at the end of the day only to find him pulling in a nice Brown ABOVE THE CABLE! We explained to him that that area is closed and would be a $1000 fine - never saw him move so fast :)
It was a good day of fishing despite the other flyfishers. We had a small mayfly and midge hatch in the morning and a midge and caddis hatch in the afternoon. The flies that seemed to work the best were the soft hackle (in lighter colors), midges, nymphs, flymphs (yes, there is such a thing ask the Librarian), dry flies (tiny white mayfly imitations). After the holiday week and the cold weather moves in (it was over 50 degrees by 11 o'clock) I feel that the rivers and parks will be empty. So get out there and fish. And a big welcome to Larry Smith (as long as he doesn't break the law again we will let him into the group) :)
Montauk Still Fishing Well Despite Crowds from Holidays (Dec. 30th) - Four flyfishermen from The Crossing (John Bloss, Kevin Jerome, Jason Stull & John Walker) traveled down to Montauk for some fishing on Friday, Dec 30th. The weather was favorable if a little windy at times. The group started out fishing outside the park just below the cable and working down to the rock garden. While everyone caught fish the numbers were much lower than expected based on recent trip reports. Kevin and JW each caught a small brown. Except for one rainbow caught on an elk hair caddis by JW, the rest of the fish were caught on midges or pink worms. A lot of fish were rising but the group never did quite figure out what they were looking for despite trying.
In the afternoon, the group migrated into the park and the flyfishing area. We did a little better there in terms of numbers. Unlike the morning, the fish were caught on an eclectic assortment of flies. Jason caught one on a pink sowbug and some more on woolly buggers. JB got his on cracklebacks and elk hair caddis. Kevin went red primarily and caught fish on red midges and red egg patterns though he also got one on a dry fly. JW got the bulk of his on a large orange stimulator with a green midge dropper catching 3 on each fly and also a couple more earlier using a size 18 gray parachute caddis.
The fishing seemed sluggish relative to recent trips down there but everyone still got fish and had a good time doing it.
Montauk, 65 degrees, January??? (Jan.6th) - Dave Beerbower invited Lew "The Librarian" Smith, Terry "The Professor" Seaton, Jason "Dry Fly" Stull-Edwards, Kenny "Crackleback" Klimes, and 50 other Hoosiers to join him in fishing Montauk on Friday. With a prediction of January temperatures being in the mid sixties it seemed like every Billy Bob and Jimmy Joe in Missouri decided to take off work to go fly fish. But that didn't stop us from having a great day on the water. The first half of the day we worked the riffles and Walter's stretch while some of us walked all the way up to the spring and fished our way back down to the dam. In the morning soft hackles and midges seemed to be the answer. Terry tied the now famous "Seahawk Soft Hackle" and passed a few out for us to try. All I can say is "Fish On!!". You will have to ask Terry for the recipe. Kenny picked up an 18 inch rainbow down on Walter's stretch before lunch on a P&P midge. Everyone had a good morning despite being crowded by the Hoosiers. Lew was barking out something like, 'If you can't be here when it's 20 degrees, you shouldn't be here now!" But most flyfishers were kind and polite. After a brief lunch in the sun, we all shed some clothing to fish the second half of the day. Terry, Dave, and Jason headed down stream from the bridge and did well. Dave caught a 17 3/4 inch rainbow (just kidding - it was a nice size rainbow - check the pictures). It seemed again that the flies that worked well in the afternoon were the soft hackles, sow bug, P&P midge, and white size 20 dry fly midge. Lew and Kenny caught a few fish by slowly stripping the dry fly. Honestly it was a great day on the water. When do you get 60 degree temperatures in the month of January - unheard of...... We quit at four and headed to Rolla for dinner (Panera Bread Co.) and told stories of the day. It was a fun trip with plenty of laughs. Get out there and fish before the temperatures drop down below freezing - but when they do I am sure you will find Lew on the river!
Winter fishing at Bennett Springs - The three amigos (Mike "Shady" Walton, Joe Walker, and Larry "Bam Bam" Farrar) hit Bennett Springs for some winter fishing. The weather conditions were perfect, sunny, 32F, light wind, and the cattle were spread out across the field. The three amigos started at the gauge house with hopes of a great fishing day. The bite started off slow in the morning and progressively improved throughout the day. The flies of choice were San Juan worms, cracklebacks, the soft hackle (olive & partridge). Joe Walker (now a graduate of the fly fishing class) caught 9 fish during his first outing. All in all it was a great day with friends in God's beautiful creation. Grab your fly rod, your waders and take a friend fishing. Tight lines. Thanks for that Trip report, Bam Bam!! And a big welcome to Joe Walker who FINALLY graduated. Joe was in the very first class at The Crossing. In his defense he did move away from St. Louis but is back with us now!!
Seven Fish on 50 degree January day (Jan 16th): Seven flyfishers took the Monday holiday (Civil Rights Day) to hunt for trout down on the Current river. Dave Beerbower, Lew Smith, Jason Stull, John Walker, Mike Bisaga, Kenny Klimes and Nathan Gross hit Montauk and Tan Vat during another unbelievable January day with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50's. The group decided to split up and to check out several different locations. John, Jason, Mike and Dave headed over to Tan Vat - their report there was the fishing was a little slow with a few trout caught by each guy. Lew headed down stream from the below the dam to fish - his report was that there were more guys in that area than one would have thought. He caught trout in this area which is a beautiful section of the park. Nathan was fishing his first time with us so Kenny was working with him on techniques. Nathan was quickly on fish to complete his graduation - Congratulations, Nathan!! After meeting for lunch the magnificent seven fished above the dam for the rest of the afternoon. Overall fishing was good - some caught more than others. The top flies were the light colored soft hackles, P&P midge, Elk hair caddis, sowbugs, and woolly buggers. There were several hatches throughout the day including a midge hatch and small caddis hatch. Jason tried out his new headcam but we didn't get any movies of him falling in the river :) The trout averaged around 12-13 inches with several pushing 14 - 15 inches. Walter's stretch fished well with midges and the riffles near the boulder did well with soft hackles. The day's weather was awesome since the forecast rains never showed up. We departed at 4pm with dinner in Rolla.
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Another Graduate But Last Day on the Water? (Jan 23) Four flyfishers hit the river on another mild January day. They had much of Montauk to themselves as they fished the entire length of the fly fishing area. Jerry "Uncle Jake" Lybarger, Lew "The Librarian" Smith, Kenny "I don't like my nickname" Klimes and our newest graduate, Chris Sattovia headed out to Montauk this past Monday. The river was quiet and clear. Chris was here to graduate and he did it quickly with his first fish on a woolly bugger. Chris did great as he caught several fish on different types of flies throughout the day. Congratulations Chris!!! Everyone had a great day as all of us were in double figures in our fish count. In the afternoon Kenny and Lew fished from the spring all the way down to the dam. Hey, if you have never fished Montauk starting at the spring you are missing out on some fantastic water and loads of trout. Chris and Jerry worked from the dam up to the honey hole. The hot flies of the day were soft hackles (light better than dark) , woolly buggers, midges (light better than dark), and Lew's homemade soft hackle gold 'brassie'. The crowds have really thinned out now that the holidays are over. So get out there and fish before the temperatures get too cold. Oh, Jerry didn't make any pictures and I apologize but he did catch some nice fish. Well it was my last day on the water for a while as I will be headed for more surgery Jan 30th - so if you go without me next month please don't tell me that you had an awesome time without me :) get out there and enjoy this winter season.
Wild Afternoon at Montauk for Five (Jan 27th) Al Blair sends us this report from his trip. Lew Smith, Bruce Sheffield, Jason "Grasshopper" Stull, Tim Graham, and Al Blair traveled to Montauk State Park on the morning of Friday, January 27th for a day of badly needed "time on the water". Arriving around 8:30 am, it was cold and cloudy, with fog rolling off the stream. Periods of sunshine were encountered later in the day and the calm winds made it feel warmer than the high of around 45. The park was nearly empty and the fishing conditions were peaceful and quiet. Fishing was slow in the AM but picked up in the afternoon. Everyone caught fish. Tim was successful with the Crackleback, Lew experimented with dry flies for most of the afternoon as there were a number of different hatches occurring, and Al had a good day with pale olive soft hackles. Jason revealed during an end-of-the-trip meal at Panera's in Rolla, that he has become enlightened and is no longer concerned with keeping a fish count, now preferring to enjoy the outdoors and the experience. A discussion about the "old" Jason's fish counting practices also took place.
Meramec Spring is Fishing Well and it's Close (Feb 1st) Mark Johnson sends us this report from Meramec Springs - sounds like he had a great day!! Since I was diagnosed with an extreme case of cabin fever, my wonderful wife prescribed me a "dose of trout fishing". What a day it was! I decided to go to Meramac Springs Park since they have the catch and release season open midweek. This was only my second trip to Meramec. There were only about 3 people there when I arrived at 8:30. By afternoon there were about 10-15 fisherman, but plenty of nice pools full of fish. The weather was perfect and the fish were biting well. I fished primarily at the first few deep holes located near the parking lot. Although I had a few strikes on Elk Hair Caddis, most of the bites were on wet flies with indicator. I was very excited to catch my first trout on a fly that I had created--Primrose and Pearl Midge that Terry and Kenny showed me how to create last fall. Such a rewarding experience! Copper Johns were also very popular as were John Deere jigs, Woolly Bugger, and white midges. I also brought my ultralight setup (sorry to all the fly fisherman purists) and used a single hook Mepps with great success, including a 3-4 lb rainbow that struck several times before I was able to hook him. What a thrill! I'm hoping to make it to Meramec before opening day to take advantage of the great fishing. I know it's not as popular as Montauk, but it's really worth checking out during catch and release season. Lots of fish and low fishing pressure.
