Spring River Ark 4/08/2011

We had a very enjoyable fly fishing trip to the Spring River just below Mammoth Spring Arkansas. It was Dan, Ray, Jim, Rocky, Ron and myself. We stayed at the Riverside Motel with the nice rear balconies overlooking the river. We fished the usual public access and campground access and really caught a lot of fish in many areas. The best flies that I heard about were the Wooley Bugger, Bedspread, Glo Ball, scud, crackle back, and even a few on the big Chernobyl Ant (over at Lassiters). We managed to catch tons of fish. The weather was very nice with no rain and off and on wind. The red buds were in peak bloom and the flowering dogwoods just started blooming as well – just beautiful! Later on Sunday, Dan & Jim spent an extra day over at the White River going to the dam, but with 2 generators running, couldn't wade fish. So it was over to Handicap on the Norfolk where they went upstream and caught tons of rainbows and a few browns, biggest around 17 inches. Most caught on glo balls and scuds. They stayed overnight at the Mountain Home Comfort Inn and woke up to a rainstorm. So they headed up to Taneycomo, where the water was shut down and the fishing was great on scuds and glo balls. After this, they felt it was one of the best fish catching outings of all time. What a great time!

Terry

To view ALL the photos, click here:

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z438/flyfishkc/Spring%20River%204-08-2011/?albumview=slideshow 

Brown by Jim

Ray

Jim with rainbow

Ron

Ron, Rocky, Terry, Dan, Jim, Ray

Spring River

Survey time

Bumming Around James A. Reed 3-25-2011

Ray and I checked out James A. Reed lakes today out in Lee's Summit, a very nice park with many lakes. We didn't fish any, just bummed around checking it out. There were a few folks out fishing and catching some catfish and trout. I got up the fever to go back there when it warms up a little and fish the shores. It was interesting to find out that they're planning to shut down the existing visitor center and move to that new building a little north on the road. It was delayed opening but should open this summer. This building is also going to be the new headquarters, moving out of the Blue Springs facility. So the new entrance will move over next to the new building soon. I managed to drop my phone without realizing it while walking down to the water and later came back and retrieved it (luckily!). Here are a couple of photos.

Ray

Terry

New Entrance / Visitor Center and Headquarters



Bennett Trout Opener 3/01/2011

Bill and I had a great trip down to Bennett Spring March 1st for the Missouri Trout season opener, 2011. It was pretty cool in the mornings (in the 20's) but made it up to the 60's in the afternoons. The stream was running high and muddy, making the fishing a little tougher (and no sight fishing). That area had gotten quite a bit of rain recently. Water was coming over the low water bridge by the spring. We watched the flurry of activity when a couple of long-time attendees along with Gov. Nixon sounded the whistle at 6:30 a.m. Bill and I started our fishing around 11:00 a.m. after it thinned out a little and got skunked for a couple of hours. After lunch, we headed back out and had better luck. The next morning wasn't nearly as crowded and we both caught a few at the whistle over by the Island. I decided to keep 3 fish to take home. Most of the flies we used didn't fair too well, and about the only success seemed to be on glo balls and bedspreads. The usual Liberty fly tiers were down there along with Mike Rueck. They added a new boot cleaning station to reduce spread of Didymo (rock snot, see picture). We ate pretty good while down there, including breakfast at the park church and a good meal at Madison Grill in downtown Lebanon. The number of tags sold on Tuesday (the opening day) was lower than usual at 1717. I heard there was around 5,000 fisherman at all of the trout parks combined. They released 6,000 fish for the Bennett opener and 3,000 the next day. We stayed at my usual cabin there in the park. We both enjoyed the trip a lot.

A couple of pictures are included below, or to see all of them, click on:

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z438/flyfishkc/Bennett%20Spring%20Opener%203-01-2011/?albumview=slideshow

Also, check out the amateur video I made at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivmzMTWASXE

The Dam at the 6:30 whistle

CCC Bridge at the whistle

Nice Brown Trout

Gage House & Shelter

New Didymo (rock snot) cleaning station

New Hatchery Station for later this year

The spring

Terry & Bill having fun

Rockbridge Trip 2-12-2011 Dan & Rocky

Rocky and I made it to Rockbridge last weekend.  We fished a full day Sunday and a half day Monday.  You could say it was a comedy of errors as Rocky forgot the fly rod he wanted to use, I forgot to bring socks, and we both managed to take a dip in the river.  But when we focused on the fishing we managed to do well.  I had been there only once before.  This time the river was much lower and gin clear.  Fishing probably would have been fairly difficult the first day, but a good wind came up and put a little chop on the water.  Many fish were caught and the large majority were of very good size.  There was no one dominate fly.  Most were caught on bedspread jigs, woolie buggars, prince nymphs and globalls.  A few were caught on midges and scuds.

On the second day fishing was much tougher but we managed to land a few.  The warm weather brought out a few more fishermen than on my previous trip, but if we fished an area we would have it to ourselves.  Here are a few pictures.

Dan Z.

Dan with a nice trout

Rocky in front of the old Mill

Rockbridge Trout

Rocky with a fat trout

Bennett Trip Report by Rocky 1-14-11

Al Joly and I took a two day fishing trip to Bennett Springs this weekend.  The fishing and weather were great.  Both days the sun was shinning and the highs  were around 40 degrees. By Saturday afternoon almost all of the snow had melted.  We fished the Spring, Island, below Holland Dam and below the Dam and Bridge.   Friday morning we started at the Spring and caught several trout using san juan worms, bedspreads, and black zebra midges.  Friday after lunch we fished the Island.  There was a good hatch and we caught several fish using white duns sizes 18 and 20.  Both Al and I had trouble with the moss.  I think the river may have been a little lower than normal.  Friday night we had dinner at Madison Grill in Lebanon.  I had a filet and Al had the t-bone.  Dinner was excellent.  Saturday morning we fished the Spring.  The fishing was a little bit slower than Friday.  Saturday afternoon we fished the Island and there was another good hatch.  We managed to catch several fish using small duns.    Late Saturday afternoon we fished below the Bridge near the third hatchery outlet (new outlet for the new hatchery).  Al hooked a trout that jumped and snapped his leader.  He described it as the size of a football.  it sounded like a brick when it hit the water.  He was using a small red san juan worn.   About 10 minutes later another fisherman came by and told us he missed a big female in the same spot that Al was fishing.  For the remainder of the afternoon I fished about 30 yards below the third outlet and caught several trout using bedspreads.   

Rocky Stewart

Night Before Caddis??

Here is a short Christmas blurb from a club member Steve Jenkins (only fly fisherman could read this):

T’WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CADDIS
BY
RICHARD FRANK
Twas the night before Christmas when down by the stream
The full moon looked out on a chill winter scene.
A lone trout was sipping a midge in his brook,
Untroubled by worries of fishers with hooks.
Then from above a small sleigh did appear
Pulled by a brace of eight tiny reindeer.
It swerved of a sudden and down it did glide,
Settling its runners along the streamside.
The fat, jolly driver dove into his sled
And emerged with his three weight held high over head.
“Thank you my elves for this wand smooth as silk.
This break will be better than cookies and milk.”
So saying, he jumped from his sleigh with a chuckle,
Hiked up his boots and cinched up his belt buckle.
Santa meant business that cold winter’s eve.
A fish he would catch – that you’d better believe.
Looking upstream and down, he spotted that trout,
Then he open his flybox and took something out – “Size 32 midges are only for faddists
I’ll go with my favorite tan reindeer caddis.”
So he cast out his line with a magical ease
And his fly floated down just as light as you please.
And it drifted drag free down the trout’s feeding lane,
But the fish merely wiggled a fin of distain.
“Oh Adams, oh Cahill, oh Sulphur, oh Pupa,
Oh Hopper, oh Coachman, oh Olive Matuka!
I’ve seen every fly in the book and the box.
I’m old and I’m wary and sly as a fox.
To catch me you’ll need an unusual gift,
For a present this common no fin will I lift.”
Old Nick scratched his head for his time it grew short
The reindeer behind him did shuffle and snort.
He looked once again in his box for a fly
When a pattern compelling attracted his eye.
“The Rudolph!” he muttered and grinned ear to ear
“Far better to give than receive, so I hear.”
So he cast once again and his magic was true,
And the trout it looked up and knew not what to do.
“This fly has a body of bells don’t you know,
And if that’s not enough there’s a shining red nose!
I know it’s fraud and I know it’s a fake,
But I can’t help myself. It’s I gift I must take!”
So he rose in swirl and captured that thing,
Flew off down the stream. Santa’s reel it did sing.
“Ho!” shouted Santa, “You’re making my day.
If the heavens were water, you’d be pulling my sleigh.”
So, Santa prevailed and released his great rival
First taking great care to ensure its survival.
He then mounted his sled and he flew out of sight
Shouting, “Merry Caddis to trout and to all a good night!”
Hat tip to Wilmer Price.

Bennett Spring Club Fly Fish Outing & Banquet

Dan, Rocky, and I enjoyed another great fly fishing trip to Bennett Spring for the annual winter banquet and fishing event. This is sponsored by the local Heart of America Fly Fishers (HOAFF) club. We stayed at Sand Spring Resort just outside the park. The fishing was really good and we managed to catch quite a lot of fish. Many fish were on the smaller side but a good number had really great color. This time of year is all catch-n-release. Weather was dropping off as the highs were 50’s Friday, 40’s Saturday, 30’s Sunday with some decent wind chill but at least no precipitation. Sunday morning was icing up of guides and also our nets. For the most part, it wasn’t very crowded and we could pretty much fish where we wanted. We’re guessing it was pretty bare later Sunday and into Monday (a great time to be there). We had a good meal downtown Lebanon at The Grill, but then had some car trouble as Rocky’s jeep wouldn’t start. Luckily, a restaurant employee had some cables and other club members helped us jump to limp over to the Wal-Mart to get a replacement battery; got there literally as they were locking up. We had good hot dog, chili, chips, and cookies for lunch on Saturday by the spring, and the usual buffet over at Ollie’s that night with the whole club. They gave away a large fly rod courtesy of K & K. I believe there were about 40 members of the club there. Best flies on the trip for the 3 of us were: small dries & parachute Adams (saw some good hatches), black zebra midge, bed spread and glo ball. We fished mostly the island, below the bridge & dam, the spring, and below Holland dam. Check out some pictures as well as a short video.

Terry Robbins

See a few pictures below or to see the whole album, go to:

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z438/flyfishkc/Bennett%2012-03-2010/?albumview=slideshow 

For a short video clip, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1Fl6BJsgE 

The acutal spring at Bennett Spring

Holland Dam

Dan & Terry

Pretty Rainbow Trout

Dan & Rocky

Hot lunch on the cold stream

Whistle Bridge

HOAFF Club Banquet at Ollie's

Fall, Winter fishing spots close to KC

Here were some suggestions I received and put together for fall and winter fishing close to town. These lakes are stocked with trout - Shawnee Mission Park, Heritage Park, Wyandotte County Lake Park, and James A. Reed (Alex George won't be stocked this year). A couple of possible year round warm water places might be LaCygne as well as Coffee County Lake (formerly Wolk Creek). Othere suggestions were

Amerugia, Hoag strip pits, Longview Lake, Alex George Lake, Harmony Mission Lake, Kill Creek Lake, Lenexa Lake, Leavenworth Lake, Louisburg Lake, Gardner Lake, Baldwin City Lake, Olathe Lake, Middle Creek Lake, Lone Jack Lake, Clinton Lake, Cedar Creek Lake. Please comment on any other suggestions.

Terry

James A. Reed trout report by Jim

Made a quick trip up to James A Reed for trout fishing.  I was coming down with a cold so I did not stay but 2 hours.  There were other fishermen there all were using bait but me and one other guy.  Weather was a little cold but bearable.  I started off by using a glow ball but no takers.  I then put on a gray scud with an indicator of which I have caught them there before.  I managed to catch 2 rainbows, 5 bluegill and 1 crappie.  I caught then on the brushy side of the pond. 

Jim B.

Best Winter Fishing in KC

QUESTION:  Where is the best fly fishing during the cold months in the Kansas City area?? Either comment on here or email me your response. As an example, Jim and Ray indicated that they will be stocking the trout pond at James A. Reed this Saturday.
Terry R.

Bennett Winter Opener

Three of us had an enjoyable trip down to Bennett Spring this weekend (Rocky, Ray, and Terry). The weather was pretty good on Friday, in the 50's in the morning and 60's in the afternoon. There were a few times we caught a few sprinkles. There was no crowd at the whistle although it got more crowded during the day. The Ozark Fly Fishers from St. Louis had taken over the Sand Spring motel as it was their winter outing. Anyway, the fishing was good and we all caught a lot of fish. It was particularly good on Friday morning. Everyone seemed to notice a lot of small fish, along with a good mix of sizes and colors. The best flies seemed to be the black midge, bed spread, glo ball, crackle backs, and also a few dries by Rocky. Saturday's weather was a little cooler at about 40 with some wind chill. This trip we noticed they continued to work on the new hatchery stuff, as they were pouring concrete for the 2 runs that will go under the new building. It is supposed to be a more efficient operation. While down there, we ran into Mike Rueck as well as a couple of other nice fisherman. I spoke quite a while with Rick from the Northland fly fishing club. He tends to fish the same spots we do. I got a couple of photos of a guy who caught a very nice brown at the main outlet hole. Here are a couple of shots from the trip.

Fish On

Another One

Nice Brown Trout by fellow fisherman

Laying new concrete hatchery run

The actual spring at Sand Spring

Niangua River at Sand Spring

Now there's a happy group

Rocky & Ray

To view all the photos, go to:

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z438/flyfishkc/Bennett%20Spring%20Trip%2011-12-2010/ 

and select "Slide Show" at the top right.

Terry R.

HOAFF Auction & James A. Reed

A reminder that the HOAFF club auction is this coming Monday night at the regular 79th and Mission location. See http://www.hoaff.org/ for more details.

Also, Ray mentioned that they will be stocking trout at James A. Reed in late November. The stocking hot line is 816-655-6255.

Terry R.

Shawnee Mis. Park stop 11/02/2010 by Ray

Went to shawnee mission park for awhile today. I couldn't find the trout, but I did catch a few small bass.

Ray Z.

Taneycomo Trip by Jim B. 10/31/2010

Good news and bad news!  My trip to Taney Sunday was brought about by the Southwest Power Association webb site for genernation releases at Table Rock Dam.  The forecasts in the past have been very reliable and many good trips resulted from this information.  The site forecasted no generation for Sunday, this happens very rarely at Taney Therefore Satan temptempted me to run down early Sunday morning.  Visions of lunker brown trout in the C&R area danced in my head.  I left town about 6:30am Sunday, got down there and in the stream by 10:30.  No water was running and there were few fishermen around.  I walked in at the rocking chair hole, no strikes for 10 minutes, so I moved down a little and really got into them.  Yes the peach glow ball was working its magic.  They were very good size with the largest going 16 inches, with good coloring.  This went on till around noon, when I heard a sound that sent schivers down my spine, surely it was a mistake and that could not be the siren? 

I had been fooled by the generation report after only fishing for 1-1/2 hours.  I was still catching fish as the water was cutting off my escape route.  I drove around to the outlet looked around and heard that they planed on running water till 8:00pm.  I did not want to chance it another day of high water, so I packed up my rods and headed home.  But it was a great short time at Taney!

Jim B.

Bennett Spring Trip 10-28-2010

Ray and Terry had another short but great trip down to Bennett Spring, Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Weather was great, although Friday morning at 24 degrees did separate the men from the boys (er, I mean crazy from the not-so-crazy). There was a hard freeze overnight. I could only take about 30 minutes before needing to warm up (showing my age). And the rod eyelets freezing up made casting a bit of a challenge. You know it's cold outside when the 50 degree water feels warm to the hands. Neither of us caught any big lunkers, but we both caught a decent number of fish. Best flies were soft hackle, dries (mayfly & caddis), zebra midge, and good old bedspread, glo ball, and even pink jig. It was interesting to watch the new hatchery facility going up as we were there (see pictures). We stayed at Sand Spring Resort.



CCC bridge

Can you stand to fish??



Gauge House

New Hatchery Building

Building more hatchery "runs"

Now that's a cast!

Watch your step!

Bennett Spring

To see the complete Photo album, go to:

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z438/flyfishkc/Bennett%20Trip%2010-28-2010/

and select Slide Show in the top right.



Terry R.



Gardner Lake fishing

After showing some houses late Friday in South Olathe, I stopped by Gardner lake and fished the dam area for about an hour. The weather was actually pretty nice, and a small breeze and interesting clouds. Water was a little dark but wasn't really too gunky there. I caught about 15 small blue gill, biggest being around 8 inches long, all on a prince nymph. A very enjoyable time. Only saw 2 other fisherman.Towards the end, I heard loud drumming in the distance, which I assume was preamble to the big nationally televised high school football game between Gardner and Aquinas.
Terry R.