View Single Post
  #1  
Old 05-30-2006, 08:54 AM
Ray Cover Ray Cover is offline
Platinum
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Missouri
Posts: 1,419
Send a message via AIM to Ray Cover Send a message via Skype™ to Ray Cover
Default Great way to start the summer

I was down at one of my favorite fishing holes over the weekend. I promised a friend that I would do a fishing expo he was putting on over the weekend. I went down a few days earlier to get some fishing and camping in.

I finally got all the gear put away and I have my studio put back together.

I don't usually go fishing on holiday weekends but I promised my friend I would do his fishing expo.

These pics were shot at Bennet Springs State Park outside Lebanon, MO. It feeds into the Niangua River.

The first pic is of the Spring mouth. There is a group of Mennenite boys tossing pebbles at the far end of the hole. This hole is usually very productive early in the morning and late in the evening. During the hot day sun the bigger fish tend to go somehwere into the 600ft deep cavern.

The second pic is just down from the mouth of the spring where a lookout tower overlooks the river. There is another Mennenite boy on his bike in the pic.

The third pic is a run just down from a big stone bridge. This is one of my favorite holes on this stretch of water. I sight fish a lot and this is very well suited for my type of fishing. Not much in the way of pretty casting with all the cover on both banks but good drifts with tiny scuds slaughter fish here.

The fourth pic is the same run from the bridge.

These pics were taken Thursday evening. Now you all know why I usually fish weekdays instead of weekends. Friday there were a few people on the river. By Sunday it was crowded with very impolite and unethical weekend fishermen. If I did not have a conscience for God to keep me in line with, there would be a few "fishermen" floating belly up. I had one guy see me catch fish and he moved in and started fishing 3 feet in front of me while I was tying on a new tippet and fly, twice he did this. I don't mean he was casting in front of me but litterally stood in front of me.

Anyway here is the fishing report.

Friday morning I got to that little run about 6:30 and had 28 rainbows by noon. There were not any big ones but a bunch in the 1-1.5 # range. Lots of fun on a 3wt rod. Friday's hot flys were light colored scuds size 16 and under , (especially cream, pink, tan, burnt orange and light grey), San Juan worm patterns (pink, bright red, and burnt orange), I have a few generic tan colored mayfly nymph patterns that were also producing pretty good.

I did my duty at the expo on Saturday and hit the water again with my friend David on Sunday. We started out about 8:30 and fished most of the day. I had a forty fish day Sunday. Again, a lot of those were hooked below the bridge but I fished a lot up by the spring too. Sunday's hot flys were the same scuds again, the sun got high and bright Sunday afternoon and bead head scuds tied with chamois bodies and a gold rib tore em up pretty good. I even caught a few on the san juans when the fish were educated on the scuds. Fox squirell nymphs also did ok after the fish were onto the scuds.

This morning I broke camp and hit the river. It was a little slower today and I was tired. I pretty much went looking for bigger fish. there were not a lot of them in the fly zone and the ones that were there were feeding off the bottom rather than catching drifts. I did land one brown about 2.5# buy drifting a san juan worm fly so it landed about 4" in front of him. He looked at it for a few seconds then went and picked it up. I caught 4-5 other fish but I had to work a lot harder for them today. About noon I went to Charlies fly shop and talked to him for an hour or so and then headed home.

Then I got home and found out I won a raffle for a new Quinn Stallion classic recurve bow built to my specs. Dang! summer is starting off really good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ray
Reply With Quote