Current River Fishing Report This page was updated 9/5/09
This report was submitted by Gabriel _________ of Springfield on 3/24/09
Date of Trip: 3/14/09 Times Fished: 830am - 300pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Caddis Pupae, Elk Hair Caddis
Fishing above Tan Vat access. Caught five browns early on a caddis pupa imitation, w/a couple of small leadshot for weight. Then moved up and started catching fish on the surface, almost all of them on an Elkhair Caddis 14-18. The surface action started around 10 am or so and began to wind down at about 12:30. All told, I probably hooked around 25 fish, all but 6-7 on the surface. Nothing really big but 3-4 in 14-15 inch category. Mainly browns. Nice day on the stream.
Sounds like you hit it just about right. FYI, the 14-15 inch browns you were catching were stocked at 9 inches or so in length, and since they grow about 3 inches a year, they've been in the river for couple of years. It's nice to hear their survival rate has been so strong. Thanks for the report Gabriel.
This report was submitted by David McGowan of Columbia on 3/16/09
Date of Trip: 3/13 - 3/14/09 Times Fished: 10:00am - 7:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Soft hackles, elk hair caddis,
renegade, wooly buggers
Had my first serious trip to the Current last Friday and Saturday. I started below Tan Vat and found some beautiful water, full of fish. Caught them on soft hackles and dries. The next day I got to Parker Hollow about 10:00 am and never saw a soul. I hiked down probably a mile and a half and caught fish all along the way. My main fly there was an olive wooly bugger with kind of a brown/gold hackle, and the occasional soft hackle. Beautiful territory and water, one of my new favorites.
Good to hear from you again David, and glad you had a good trip.
This report was submitted by Mark __________ of St. Louis on 3/16/09
Date of Trip: 3/6/09 Times Fished: 1030am - 300pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Prince Nymph, Scud
Got into the river at the Parker Access. Caught 5 nice browns and one rainbow in various spots. Never saw another fisherman which was an added bonus. Hooked a couple of other fish but failed to land those. Best trout was a brown of 14 inches.
Sounds like a fun time. Thanks Mark.
This report was submitted by DJ Davis of Barnhart on 2/16/09
Date of Trip: 2/16/09 Times Fished: 8:00am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Cracklebacks, glo-bugs (white and multi-color)
We arrived at baptist camp access at 8:00am and started to fish the swift water with a
muticolor glow ball. Within 20 minutes I hooked in to an easy 18-inch rainbow, but with
one quick shake of his head, broke my 1-lb leader like it was nothing. Not bad to start
out but it would be an hour before I got another bite. I hooked in to another good fish
but broke him off as well, this time he took a white glow ball. So I retied and got
many bites, but just couldn't hook them. After lunch, I got back to the stream and
noticed that there was a hatch going on. So I tied on a small crackle back, the only
thing that I had at the time. It must of looked good I had caught two, a rainbow and a
brown (first by the way), within the first 3 casts. Then it stared again -- missing
fish. Soon after the sun went back behind the trees and the hatch ended.
I decided to move to Tan Vat to see if the hatch was going on there and it was. Fished
there for two more hours and caught two more browns and decided to call it a day.
Sounds like a nice trip. Thanks for the report DJ.
This report was submitted by Steve Francis of Farmington on 1/7/09
Date of Trip: 1/3/09 Times Fished: 9:00am - 2:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Blue Wing Olive, Light Cahill
I took my son, Dan, with me to Tan Vat. It was overcast and misty, but it wasn't cold at
all. There was quite a bit of surface action. I noticed little black flying insects
around my feet so I started with a black gnat. I got one small strike at the end of the
riffle. I then went to a caddis, nothing. Next I tried a foam hopper with a hares ear
dropper and a copper john dropper. No luck. About then my son, who had worked upstream
hollered that he got a good fish. I went up to him to take a picture, and he had a nice
brown trout in the net. We measured it and it was 15". He took it on a cahill. I tied on
a BWO and drifted the fly right along the edge of a good hole very near the bank. I got
a good strike by about a 7" fish. A couple of casts later I got a big hit. It was a good
size brown. It came halfway out of the water. I thought I had hooked him good but after
a feet into the retrieve he got off. We both had several more strikes on the dry flies
but couldn't hook anymore. Later we went to Baptist Camp but didn't have any success
there. I would have liked to have caught more but we both enjoyed what action that we
got. All in all a good day.
Hard to complain about catching browns on dries. Good to hear from you Steve.
This report was submitted by Gabriel ________ of Springfield on 12/20/08
Date of Trip: 12/20/08 Times Fished: 9:00am - 1:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: #20 Adams
It was a clear day, with the air temperature in the high 40s. I was fishing
above Baptist. I caught nothing below the surface but did reasonably well on
a #20 Adams fished on a 6X tippet. There were scattered fish taking a tan midge
on the surface. The Adams didn't look much like it (at least to me), but it
worked decently. I caught every fish I saw rising, except one in a particularly
slow stretch of water. Caught six fish altogether, including a brown about 15".
It doesn't happen often enough, but catching them rising to those teeny tiny flies
is like magic time. Glad you timed it right.
This report was submitted by Danno _________ of Columbia on 10/15/08
Date of Trip: 10/11/08 Times Fished: ?? - 7:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: None
Fishing slow, lots of people. Fished between Tan Vat and
well below Baptist Camp. There was someone fishing almost
every fishable hole. Saw a few fish but caught none.
There was a trico hatch in the morning and evening and saw
no fish hitting them. I tried size 22 and 24 tricos with
no luck.
Yes, the Autumn trico hatches can be frustrating. The only luck I've
personally had fishing the trico hatch was throwing a #22 adams midge,
oddly enough. But if they're not looking up, then nothing's going
to work. Thanks for the report Danno.
This report was submitted by Ray Meyer of Dongola, IL on 9/18/08
Date of Trip: 9/14 - 9/15/08 Times Fished: all day Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Very high Water Clarity: Milky Successful Baits: Glo-bugs, Homemade fly
My daughter and I arrived at the park campground about 4:00 pm,
9/14 and imediatly noticed how high the water was, it was raging
and brown. The campground at Montauk was evacuated that morning
for fear of flooding, and we had no problem getting a soggy site.
However the following morning 9/15 revealed much lower water and
clouded water conditions. We drove to Baptist Access. As I
prepared My fly rod, my daughter tied on a yellow with red spot
glo-bug and imediatly caught a 15" rainbow, a few minutes later
she caught another nice rainbow about 14". Fearing the swift
water, she did not venture far. After catching her 8th fish, she
broke off the only yellow with red spot glo-bug we had. No other
colors were effective. About 9 am I tied on a homemade fly, a 3-inch
white leather rabbit strip with the fur trimmed to about an 1/8"
tied on a #22 hook. Someone had told me that it simulates guts
floating downsteam. That was the ticket I drifted it into a deep
hole my indicater went down and the fight was on. After a good 5
minute fight, I landed a 20" inch brownie. we had the time of our
lives that day. 24 trout were caught and released, giving my
daughter a memory of a lifetime.
That's fantastic Ray! The nice thing about rain is that it
oxygenates the water, so the fish are usually pretty active. Of
course, the downside is the cloudy and fast water, making it
hard to fish and harder for the fish to feed. Big visible flies
is often the key. On a side note, your big rabbit strip was
taken, simply because that trout was feeding opportunistically.
Your buddy that said that it represents guts is at best only
partly right. When fish feed opportunistically, they basically
taste everything drifting by that looks like it might be edible,
which is also why the glo-bugs worked so well. You definitely
caught them in the right mood. However, "flesh flies", as
they are known, definitely work well in those areas where
drifting meat and guts is a food source -- Alaska during spawning
season, for example, as well as trout parks when the fishermen
start cleaning their fish at the bank side. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Ronald Reim of Clayton on 8/17/08
Date of Trip: 8/16 - 8/17/08 Times Fished: 4:00 - 7:00pm, and 6:00am - noon Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Adams
Fished Baptist Camp and downstream about 1.5 - 2 miles. One other fisherman besides my
partner both days. Fishing was generaly slow with little action. Saturday afternoon and
evening fished numerous patterns with only slight intrest. No rise or top water action at
all on Saturday. Beaded green woolybugger attracted one small brown 12" at around 5:30 PM.
Size 16 Adams fished below the surface attracted another small brown 10-12" at around
6:45 PM.
Sunday morning little activity until the sun came out and air temperature started to
warm. Several small fish started to work on the surface rising to feed on hatch of very
small white flies in sunny areas. Numerous large fish remained on the bottom showing
little to no interest. The river was full of fish 18-24" in deep holes. Fished many
patterns crackleback, mosquito, adams, light cahil, weighted pink egg, beaded prince
nymph, green woolly bugger and black woolybugger. Beaded Prince Nymph attracted one
large fish but it would not strike. It slowly took the fly but spit it out. No real
effort. All very visibile in clear water. Crouching to remainin out of site and using
7X 2LB tippet seemed to help. Caught one last 12" brown on a light cahill pattern on the
surface, size 18, from a crouched position. Numerous large fish on the bottom in deep
holes would not move when fly was presented to them. Fish would show slight intrest on
first and second presentation of a new pattern but nothing after that. My fishing partner
had similar luck.
'Tis the season for sluggish fish! Thanks for the report Ronald.
This report was submitted by Blake ________ of Kansas City on 7/24/08
Date of Trip: 7/14/08 Times Fished: 8:00am - 7:00pm Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Parachute Adams, Foam Beetle,
Red Chamois Work, Black Bugger Leech
Got to Tan Vat around 8am. There was a great hatch of small grey/white bugs coming off
that the fish were rising to. Saw one other angler downstream so I headed upstream. Found
a pod rising regularly and slurping the flies loudly. Started casting the Adamsto them and
eventually landed a nice brown. Kept working my way upstream looking for fish near the banks.
Eventually landed a streambred 'bow on the Adams as the hatch was tapering off. Switched to
the beetle and kept working the pods holding under overhanging limbs and near rootwads. Got
3 on the beetle.
Started working my way downstream a bit and had no luck. Wanted to fish the various holes
around the access, but was unable to do so because of swimmers. Fishing slowed way down
so I stopped for lunch. After eating, fished a few narrow runs with various nymph setups and
weighted buggers and such to no avail. Eventually settled on the red chamois worm and started
back upstream all the way to the wire. Got 2 bows on the worm in similar places where the
beetle was working. On the way back downstream to the car, fished the bugger leech through
a couple of the upper deep runs through the boulders where I could see fish moving about.
Ended up with 2 more bows.
All in all it was a good day. A total of 8 fish using various techniques and flies. Its nice to be able
to make adjustments through the day and keep the action fairly steady. I went with the intention
of fishing big crawfish patterns to pig browns in mudholes, as this was my first time on this section
of the river, I didn't know that there weren't any. I do have a spot in mind on Capp's for that
approach though.
Got get 'em! Good to hear from you Blake. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Jim O. of St. Louis on 7/8/08
Date of Trip: 7/6/08 Times Fished: 8:00am - 12:00pm Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Copper John
I made this trip to fish Montauk State Park but decided to try Tan Vat on Sunday morning.
Two fishermen were just leaving as I entered the water and I had the place to myself until a
man and woman showed up about 10 minutes later. I was dead drifting a #16 red copper
john in the deep pool right in front of the parking lot. I could see several nice sized rainbows
including one that was at least 24 inches long. I hooked into my first fish just as the man and
woman got out of their truck and started to gear up. It was a 12 inch rainbow with nice color.
Luckily the other couple decided to try their luck upstream and I was left alone. I caught two
more 12 inch rainbows in the same pool and decided to check out the root wad on the
parking lot side of the river and right in front of the little waterfall leading downstream towards
Baptist Camp.
This root wad was a good choice, as I could see 8-10 rainbows swimming around this area.
I had switched to a red and white mini grub and this was the right pattern. I caught a 14 inch
rainbow on my first drift under the root wad. It had really nice color and was a fighter. I
caught two more rainbows using the red and white mini grub. I switched to a peach egg
pattern and caught another 10 inch rainbow in the deep pool in front of the parking lot. I
worked my way upstream from Tan Vat toward Montauk and saw a couple holes with
several rainbows but was unsuccessful getting any of them to bite. I headed back to the
cabin and picked up my wife, my fishing partner and his wife and returned to Tan Vat
with the intention of fishing there for a while and then trying Baptist Camp.
I caught two more 12 inch rainbows right in front of the parking lot, even though some
people had moved in and were swimming just upstream from the deep pool. Finally I
caught an 8 inch brown on a yellow egg pattern, pretty little fish. I was the only one who
had any luck at Tan Vat. After fishing for about an hour, we packed up and headed to
Baptist Camp. When we arrived, there were several people swimming. I have never
fished this area before and really didn't know where to go to find the fish so we left without
wetting our lines. It was a very productive morning for me, 9 rainbows and 1 brown.
Betcha can't wait to go exploring on your next trip! Thanks Jim.
This report was submitted by E. Bowen of Ellisville, MO on 6/24/08
Date of Trip: 6/22/08 Times Fished: 8:30am - 6:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Glo-bugs, Leeches, Jigs
I fished below Montauk State Park for the first time from Tan Vat to Cedar Grove. A neighbor
invited me to join him on a "float and fish", and we used Jadwin Canoe Rental for the 4.5 mile trip.
I have always fished in the park and was looking forward to this trip to "newer water". The river
was in good shape when we arrived, and I began fishing a glo-ball I tied up. Within a few casts
I caught a small brown trout. I quickly noticed that the fish were holding close to the bottom,
so that's where I tried to keep my baits. I caught better than average fish compared to the park
including a 15 1/2 and 17 inch rainbow! Yes, its true that big baits at times catch bigger fish...
so it seemed on this stretch of river. Glo-balls, leeches, and jigs were the ticket for 20+ trout for
the day. I really don't count all my fish I catch but the fishing kept me interested. Time sure does
fly when I'm fishing!
Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Mike _________ of Belleview on 6/20/08
Date of Trip: 6/16-6/17/08 Times Fished: Evening & morning Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin clear Successful Baits: Peach globall, red san juan worm,
zebra midge emerger, olive flashabugger/ royal coachman
Arrived at the Eagles Park Campground
around 6PM on the 16th, and, after setting up camp, fished Baptist Access till dark. Landed a couple
fish and lost a couple. Nothing to brag about, but the water was pleasant.
After a cool night in the tent, I fished Tan Vat early the next morning. Caught several fish at the swimming
hole and upstream until it got too hot in my neoprene waders. A major hatch was happening on the stream,
but only saw a couple of fish rising. After a quick change to my wet wading gear I returned to the swimming
hole and watched from above the stream while I finished my snack. It seemed more fish were rising now
even though the bugs for the most part were gone. I tied on a royal coachman and was pleasantly surprised
to find fish receptive. Between 10:30AM and 1:00PM I caught and released more than a dozen fish on the
coachman, mostly small browns with a few rainbows mixed in. Spent the my last 30-minutes casting a
flash-a-bugger with a midge emerger dropper and landed two fish on each fly.
Thanks again Mike. Ain't it cool when they're taking dries?
This report was submitted by Mike _________ of Belleview on 6/13/08
Date of Trip: 6/10/08 Times Fished: 10:00am - 4:30pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Copper John, Gray Scud,
Red San Juan Worm, Peach or Pink Glo-bug
Arrived at Tan Vat mid-morning. FYI: Modot is resurfacing hwy-63 south of Rolla, so expect
delays or take hwy-68 south of St. James. After you reach Salem and hwy-19, take roads K,
E & YY.
One other car was in the lot and another arrived as I was getting ready. With three people already
headed downstream I headed up. I saw a few fish at the landing and decided to give it a try. I
caught three fish by the time I walked ten feet upstream. At the first deeper hole along the far
bank I was able to land two more fish and loose a very nice rainbow on it's fourth jump. I ended
up catching and releasing 3-browns and 2-rainbows before heading back downstream.
At the first hole below the parking lot I landed a nice 15+ rainbows on a #16 gray scud. I ended up
hooking and losing another large fish in an effort to keep him out of the brush at the little mud cliffs.
I fished downstream quite successfully until around 3:30PM when the fish shut down. On my way
back to the van I was unable to land a single fish. The rise in water levels from last year really has
improved the fishing on the Current.
After a soda pop break I headed over to the Baptist Camp access. After avoiding the usual swimmers
I was able to hook two fish on a red San Juan worm and lost them both, again one of them was a very
nice fish. The area at Baptist Camp just above where the stream narrows has really become silted. Since
I was going to drive the narrow & twisty roads of Salem route to St. James, I headed back to the car
fairly early and did not get to explore much of the waters below Baptist. I did land one last fish at the
swimming hole on my way back. All in all it was one of the nicest day I have spent on any river anywhere.
Sounds like a great trip. The flooding has definitely helped the fishing in
most of the waters. It stirred up the bugs, so the fish had more to eat.
It added tons of dissolved oxygen to water, so the fish had the O2 to feed
aggressively. And, it dug the pools out deeper, cleaned the riffles, and
dumped the silt in areas that didn't tend to hold many fish anyway. Thanks
Mike. Good to hear from you again.
This report was submitted by Steve Sullentrup of Cedar Hill on 3/29/08
Date of Trip: 3/22/08 Times Fished: 9:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Wooly Buggers, BH Nymphs
My son Adam has posted a report before, so I thought I would throw one out there. As crazy as he and I
are about fly-fishing, I am ashamed to admit this was the first time we really walked any distance down from
Baptist Camp. Adam hooked up on a brown right off. Kept walking. He gets a couple more decent bows,
of course. He usually smokes me. We go pretty far down . I stop at a run I have a really good feeling about.
It's fast narrow and deep. Maybe 4 feet. Jammed up with wood. Snaked my nymph down into that wood and
Bam! Seeing that flash under the water made my hands shake God I love that. Very very nice Brownie. I give
the traditional signal yell. Right back to the run. Bam! Even bigger rainbow. Adam couldn't take it any more,
so I let him have a shot at it. Snag city for him. You know how it goes. I take over again. This time,BAM!!!
Huge, I mean friggin, huge brown. Only he doesn't do the typical brownie dive, he comes up and out of the
water. My heart is pounding. Again he jumps. This time over a log , back into the water. I can still feel him
down there but.... I break him off. Man , I did go right back and hook up another rainbow but that brown
made my day, week, month. Went back last weekend. Mud.. Rained Out. Can anyone tell me how far down
Ashley Creek is from Baptist Camp. Also, can we park at Baptist Camp overnight and camp downstream?
This is why I fish using rodeo rules. If you ride him for 8 seconds, it counts.
There shouldn't be problem parking at Baptist Camp overnight, but you'll have to
check with US Forest Service re: camping regulations on the Current. I don't
think there's a problem with it, but I'd hate to steer you wrong. Ashley Creek
is about 3 miles downstream from Baptist Camp. The walk down isn't bad. The walk
back can be a bit tough -- especially after wading in a river all day wearing rubber
pants. Welcome aboard Steve.
This report was submitted by Kevin _________ of Brentwood on 3/14/08
Date of Trip: 3/9/08 Times Fished: 8:30am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Olive Wooly Buggers
Fished below the park all day. Water was high from the rain and snow the week before, but still quite fishable
at 1.65 ft and 120 cfs from the Montauk station. Wooly buggers drifted deep and slow or swung through deeper
holes produced 5 fish and a few more hits early.
Bug activity really picked up throughout the afternoon as the temperature warmed from 30 degrees to near 60.
Midges, 2 kinds of caddis, small dark stones and mayflies were coming off in varying numbers, with 14-16 reddish
brown caddis and 12-14 grayish-brown caddis making up the heaviest hatch. Found fish rising violently to these
bugs -- some trout completely leaving the water to attack the bugs skittering across the surface. A friend and I
worked these rising fish for almost 2 hours using both surface and subsurface flies to match and unmatch the hatch
with nothing but frustration and repsect for the fish to show for it. What DIDN't work were EHCs, CDC and Elk,
parachute Adams, Near Enoughs, Stimulators (tried 2 sizes and 2 colors each), Cracklebacks, scuds, eggs, BH
princes and matukas. I even tried swinging bombers over them to draw a reaction strike. It was frustrating, but fun
to see rising fish.
If it was easy, think of how crowded it would be! Thanks for the report Kevin.
This report was submitted by Matt _____________ of St. Louis on 3/3/08
Date of Trip: 2/29/08 Times Fished: 10:00am - 5;00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: None
Went down to the Current. It was an amazing day to be out there, but did not catch a thing. I tried a few
different flies, but no luck. Started at Baptist camp and worked down a few miles. I saw a few fish and had
two even come up and look at the brown bugger I was throwing. Will go again, but when the water is a little
warmer. Also was busy because of opening day, maybe thats way the fishing was kind of off.
I imagine you're right in assuming you'll need warmer water for better fishing.
When you're closer to the spring, the water temp is more consistent. The further
downstream you get, the more likely it will be too cold for fish to be hungry or too
warm for fish to be active. Thanks Matt.
This report was submitted by Doug Stephans of Warrenton on 3/6/08
Date of Trip: 2/28/08 Times Fished: Afternoon & Evening Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: White
Fish numbers poor -- rainbows anyway. There were poachers using bread to catch fish. March brown hatch early afternoon.
Fished Tan Vat thru to Baptist Camp. Also fished few miles downriver. Have fished this stretch for 33yrs...
used to catch a lot of small fish, but no more... must be the poachers.
Not necessarily. There have always been poachers. The Current River has always had a
few stream-bred rainbows present in the river, accounting for pretty much every rainbow
trout you catch that's smaller than 10 inches or so. As trout fishing becomes more
popular, though, there are more fishermen wading through the spawning grounds, so
spawning success is simply going to decrease. Flooding will also wash the eggs out of
redds, which has also hurt spawning success from the last two springs. So, yes, the
poachers need to get spanked, but we probably can't blame them for the decline in fish
numbers. For the record, if anyone sees people poaching on the Current, run into the park
and tell the folks at the store. They'll call an agent for you. With there being a state
park AND federal park lands, there are always agents around ready and willing to hand out
citations. Thanks for the report Doug.
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 2/9/08
Date of Trip: 2/9/08 Times Fished: 9:30am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Haven't named it yet
Let me start by saying HELL YEAH! I finally landed a brown worth talking about. The weather
was great today and it couldn't have gone better. I started at Baptist Camp access this morning
around nine, sort of a late start for me but oh well. Tried a few topwater flies (big foam monstrosities)
slapped down along the bank and then stripped back but no takers. I then switched to the money fly
of the day as I worked my way upstream. This fly is a cross between a bunny leech, a wooly bugger,
and a crayfish... sort of. I will send pics and a recipe to Walt, but I need some help naming it.
On to the good stuff. As I worked my way upstream I got a ton of hits but no solid hookups. Then
came my moment, I saw a really nice fish along the bank, positioned myself almost directly downstream,
led it with a cast by a few feet and stripped like mad. Next thing I know I'm hooked into the biggest
brown of my life (which isn't many by the way). After chasing it downstream about 75 yards, pulling
a tripod and camera out, and setting them up (while I'm playing the fish mind you) I finally netted the
beauty. Probably about three to four pounds, 22-23 inches and FAT like a football... a kinda long
football (I'm sending you the pics Walt). I promptly released this baby and headed upstream.
All in all I caught three more fish on this monster of a fly. Two browns 14-15 inches and a pretty little
streambred rainbow of 12 inches or so. What a day to be on the water! It was beautiful out, I even
got a little sunburn on my neck haha.
On a sad note. I was taking pictures for my photography class by the scenic view and found a dead
dog. It was a beautiful boxer and appeared not to have anything wrong, I think somebody just dumped
it there. It kinda ruined my day to think that somebody presumably just left it there, it's a shame some
people can do that. But, overall a decent day on the current. Until next time, tight lines boys
Congrats Alex! Haven't seen the fly yet, but "Bunny Bugger" sounds good to me...
and kinda cute, in a South Park gross sort of way (bunnies have buggers, I
assume). Everyone gets excited about brown trout in October, but spring is
often overlooked as a great time to get into some trophy-sized brownies.
Nice job. It also amazes me when people just dump dogs that they don't want
anymore. It strikes me as cowardly. They're afraid to take it to a shelter
and risk being shamed, they're too lazy to try to find a home for it, and they
don't have the guts to put it down humanely. So they doom the dog to die of
starvation or exposure. Nice.
This report was submitted by David McGowan of Columbia on 1/28/08
Date of Trip: 1/26 & 1/27/08 Times Fished: 10:00am - 5:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Wooly Bugger, Blue Winged Olive, Soft Hackle
This was my first trip to fish the current. I started Saturday morning below Tan Vat below the 2nd
riffle. Beautiful territory and water but tougher than I'm used to. The water was low and very clear.
I caught a few in that hole with big #6 Flashabuggers then a few on a Blue Winged Olive dry. There
was lots of bubbling on the surface but it was mostly those little minnows hitting the dry. Sunday I
parked at Tan Vat again and walked the road up to the park and fished all the way down to Tan Vat.
Lost a nice one on a wooly bugger right at the cabins. It was so clear I was fishing 6X to get any bites.
There were lots of nice holes on the way down and I could see fish holding in a few but didn't have
any luck pulling any out. Later I went down to that riffle below Tan Vat again and managed to get one
out of ther on a flashabugger again. I had a total of only 8 fish for the weekend. You know what they
say -- the fishing was great, the catching was only so-so.
Ain't that the truth? Thanks David.
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 11/1/07
Date of Trip: 11/1/07 Times Fished: 6:30am-6:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Technically, any big streamers
Hey Walt! (and anybody who has read all my reports) Good news, I almost ended my hunt for browns today but that
comes later...
Okay well first I arrived at Tan Vat around 6 or so. Geared up and headed up to the first riffle. Just as the sun rose,
there were fish feeding all over the place. I was a bit puzzled however... the deadfall that I have spent the last month or
so meticulously studying was moved???? The main tree somehow moved up and into the middle of the stream about 30
feet or so. I don't know if MDC or the park owners move things around from time to time but I don't see how else this
bigazz tree could've moved itself.
I continued to work my way upstream (readers prepare for another wildlife encounter), and out of the mist a magnificent
heron or something of that sort walks calmly into the middle of the stream above me, pops his head into the water and
pulls out what was probably a 13 inch fish... That bastard stole my catch. It was like something out of a Norman
Rockwell painting.
Well I threw that tarantula of mine all over the place and had no
takers. As I waded back downstream, I let the fly hang in the current while I smoked a cigarette. BIG MISTAKE! As
I looked around in the hills and took in all the scenery I failed to realize that my line had "mysteriously" swung itself 90
degrees across the stream, just long enough for me to miss a hookset. This actually happened again to me later on in the
day ARGH!!!!!!
After that I gave up on Tan Vat and went to Baptist. Just downstream of the canoe put-in you will see shallow rocky
runs. You can't see the fish but they are HUGE browns. The only reason I saw any was because I almost stepped on
one and spooked about six others in the process. They've moved upstream a little ways for the "psuedospawn". Not
only that but they're feeding very agressively (Thanks for the tip Walt). I definately recomend swinging streamers with
an across cast, letting your line form a belly and then bullet your fly down stream. I only did this at the end of the day
(no idea why -- DOH!) and had four takes from LARGE browns. I even had two on the hook for a second or two
(if you've followed my reports that is a huge improvement haha). Well long story short, big meaty flies swung fast and
furious will produce fish. Until next time tight lines boys!
Baby steps, Alex! Thanks for the report. FYI to everyone else, for more info on the
"Moran Tarantula", as I am now calling it, click
HERE.
This report was submitted by Mike _________ of Belleville, IL on 10/22/07
Date of Trip: 10/21/07 Times Fished: 10:30am - 5:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Peach Glo-bug
Finally, it has cooled off a bit and I can spend my free time wetting a fly. Hoorah!!!
After a very nice breakfast at the Montauk Lodge with my new friend, Ward, a native of Brooklyn,
New York, we hit the stream about mid-morning at the Tan vat access and fished downstream to the
missing half submerged tree that would always hold a large pod of browns. The water is I guess
about 6" below normal, and the bottom for the most part is very silty. Fishing was tough in the
shallower than normal river but I was able to land a half dozen fish by 3:00PM. Including a nice
15-inch rainbow and a fat little 13-inch brown. My partner for the day, a former Colorado resident,
had a little less luck fishing a blue ribbon Missouri stream for the first time. However Ward did
manage to give a small fish a long distant release before heading out for a night stream-gigging
invitation.
After a quick snack I moved down to Baptist Camp Access and fished til near dark. I foul hooked
one rainbow and caught and released two others. As is often the case on the current, globalls worked
when nothing else seemed to induce a strike.
Trout Hunter, I still have a box of your flies in my possession, we need to get together this Fall so I
can return them.
Good to hear from you Mike. I'm not losing sleep over the flies. Next time
you're planning an area fishing trip, just give me a yell.
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 10/5/07
Date of Trip: 9/28/07 Times Fished: 12:30am - 11:30am Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: #16 Adams
Ok, well after consulting my local fly shop (T. Hargrove) and the internet, I decided it was time to
try a night fishing expedition for BIG brown trout. I fished from the Tan Vat access upstream a
couple riffles. Although I didn't catch anything at night I can tell you that there were absolutely
GIGANTIC fish rising. I'm a much better storyteller in person but it was truly terrifying standing in
the dark and hearing the trout of your life inhaling whatever was on the surface. If you want to
catch huge fish, go at night. I tried everyting from a slow walking deer hair mouse to twitching
turk's tarantulas to throwing gigantic wooly buggers but couldn't coax one of the big ones to
take (which is understandable because it was my first night fishing excursion). I did see all kinds
of wildlife including deer, muskrat, beaver, coyotes... basically anything you can think of.
I've seen some pretty cool things in my fishing career, but this one takes the cake. I was fishing
the first riffle above tan vat, and I saw something on the surface making a big wake. Enthralled by
the sight I looked closer, and without so much as a slurp something took it under. Absolutely one
of the top three things I have seen while fishing.
The sun rose and I found myself face to face with an unexpected creature -- a black lab. He
scared the #&$^ out of me when I went to go check on the girlfriend in the car, and I made the
mistake of petting him. For the next hour and a half (as the sun rose) this darn dog proceeded to
jump through every hole and riffle that I KNEW was holding fish. Well eventually I lost him and
worked my way upstream. By that time the sun was up, and I was ready for anything. I heard fish
rising about 50 yards upstream, so I worked my way up.
A Trico hatch had just started. I felt like I was in the rockies! Fish were rising all around me. Not
having any trico patterns (that will change), I tied on a trusty adams and hooked up on my first
cast. A beautiful 17 inch rainbow! After a while I switched to a crayfish streamer to see what I
could dredge up. I had one take but missed the little bugger.
All in all it was a great trip. I had a blast and look forward to trying at night again. Of course, any
tips from the trout hunter would be awesome. Thanks for the site Walt! We appreciate it.
Your welcome! It actually sounds like you hit it about right. One thing
to consider is this. If they were actually feeding on floating insects,
what EXACTLY were they feeding on. My guess would be moths and beetles,
but of course it's only a guess. If you had some whopper dries -- #8
Wulffs or Elk Hair Caddis, for example -- you might have seen some takes.
At night, the fish are always looking up, so it's usually best to fish
shallow or dry, and your flies should be darker in color, so they present
a strong shadow against the night sky. I have to tease you just a bit:
did we learn anything about petting water dogs on a fishing trip? :-)
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 9/23/07
Date of Trip: 9/23/07 Times Fished: 7:00am - 2:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Nothing in particular
I arrived at Tan Vat around 6:30 and geared up. I began fishing just upstream from the access
point throwing my modified Turk's Taurantula into a dead fall. As soon as the second cast hit the
water a gorgeous brown (probably 18 inches or so) took the fly. Naturally I missed it and wasn't
able to drive it home. After a few more minutes at the first dead fall I worked my way upstream
casting along the far bank and letting the fly dead drift, then following it with a twitch to bring it
under the water, and finally stripping it back. This worked great for getting into the cover, and I
had a number of follows and another take but once again I missed. That's basically how the day
went for me both up and downstream. I saw some absolute SLOBS today though, including one
that I estimate to be about 24 inches. All I have to say is use streamers and get them under
structure to get to those guys. My girlfriend and I attribute the bad luck to the fact that I forgot to
bring Reginald, the stuffed dog with a fly fishing outfit that she gave me. Regardless I still ended
up without a brown trout YET AGAIN!!!! When I do get one I'll be sure to let you guys know
about it.
p.s. - The fly I used mainly today (Turk's Taurantula) is a pretty neat pattern. If anybody wants
pics or a description/recipe let me know. It's extremely versatile and I have to say it's probably
my new go to fly!
Thanks for the good info Walt, one of these days I'll hopefully put it to good use and get a
trophy :) haha
I hope so, too! Your failings are reflecting very badly on my
reputation :-) In all seriousness, though, this is generally a tough
time of year for trout fishing. Poor dissolved oxygen probably explains
the short strikes. Once we get a couple of cold rains, things will
liven up. If you want to send in a picture of your fly, I'll be happy
to post it here. I'm curious to see it, so I'm sure others are too.
Thanks again for the help.
FYI: Alex sent info on his modified tarantual. Click
HERE to take a look.
This report was submitted by Scott Strack of Murphysboro, IL on 9/13/07
Date of Trip: 9/9/07 Times Fished: 11:00am - 1:30pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very low Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Grey soft hackle, white "cutthroat" mini-jig
I took a well-deserved trip to the Current last weekend. I decided to try a section of the river that
was new to me, so I made the drive down to Parker's Hollow. After making the descent down the
long narrow road, I was pleased to see only one other vehicle parked at the access area. ( A
word to the wise, if you plan on going to Parker's, be sure to take a vehicle that has plenty of
groung clearance!) I geared up and crossed the river to the path on the opposite side. I walked
upstream for about 15 minutes or so and figured that I had probably gone about a half mile or
so. I decided to try my luck at a very inviting pool and work my way downstream. I decided to
fish a two-fly rig as usual. I was immediately rewarded when a nice fat 12" brown took the back
half of my mohair leech-soft hackle tandem. I continued to work my way downstream fishing
several nice runs and riffles, each producing the occasional brown trout. With the water being so
low and clear, I was able to spot several nice fish, most holding near the bank trying to escape the
midday sun. The water clarity and lack of depth made it mandatory to keep an eye on where you
were casting a shadow. I caught myself a couple of times not paying attention and spooking fish
from their resting place.
The leech and soft hackle combo proved to be successful until I lost both in a snag. I then
switched to my old reliable, a small white mini jig with a red thread collar that I call the
"cutthroat". This fly picked up where the other combo left off. I continued to work my way back
to the access area picking up an occasional fish along the way. When I was within 50 yards of the
parking lot, I hooked into the fish of the day along a shaded bank. I managed to steer him to the
middle of the river into shallow water and played him. After a short battle, I had landed an 18 1/2"
brown trout in beautiful fall spawn colors.
Shortly after landing the fish, I heard voices in the parking lot. Two other anglers had returned to
their truck and were preparing to leave. I asked them if they would mind taking a quick picture
with my digital camera before leaving. They happily honored my request and after a few quick
photos, I watched the trout swim away no worse for the experience. My first trip to Parker's
was a tremendous success. Not only did I catch several fish, all browns by the way, but did so in
complete solitude. I highly recommend the lesser visited areas of the Current such as Parker's
Hollow. Just be sure to bring your "A" game as the fish can be extremely cagey.
Very true. It's interesting that the browns were so active that far
downstream. They do tend to get pushed downstream moreso than rainbows
during the heat of the summer, and a few cool days will often snap them
into action. Sounds like you timed it just about perfectly. Thanks Scott.
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 8/18/07
Date of Trip: 8/16-17 Times Fished: All day Air Temperature: Hell on earth Weather: Partly cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Marabou Jigs
Day 1: My girlfriend and I arrived at Baptist around 6:30 we waded downstream for a little while
with very little success. The fish didn't seem to want anything we had to offer. After an hour or so
my girlfriend took a nap in the car (understandable) and I went upstream for an hour or two. Again
I had no sucess. After returning to the car we moved to the access point at Tan Vat to stalk the ever
elusive Missouri brown that still evades me. We saw some VERY good pools and riffles holding
absolutely gorgeous fish. But of course we didn't have any sucess. I forgot to mention that I was
switching between fly and spin fishing while my girlfriend spin fished the whole time. But by the
time we got down to tan vat it had gotten hot and I think that might've had something to do with
the lockjaw. We moved to Montauk to finish day 1.
Day2: We got up around 8 and headed to Tan Vat to stalk the browns again. My girlfriend landed a
beautiful rainbow in a pool just by the parking area but that was all the success we had there. We
moved back into the park.
This report was submitted by Matt B. of St. Louis on 7/25/07
Date of Trip: 7/25 Times Fished: Noon - 6:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Elk Hair Caddis, Foam Hoppers
Fished from Tan Vat to Baptist camp and back. On the way down I tried rubber-legged Stims
w. small princes and pheasant tails, glo-balls under indicator, Rainy's foam hopper w. small caddis
pupa... one small brown to show for it. On the way back I switched to plain-old elk hair caddis
(18) and pulled over a dozen small browns from glassy spots just off broken water. Color of
caddis didn't seem to matter. Switched to small foam hoppers w. elk-hair wings and rubber legs
(home tied) and found a few more small browns and a 15" rainbow. Weather was great and I had
that stretch of river (between the accesses) to myself all afternoon.
When you can get them looking up, there's just nothing better! Thanks Matt.
This report was submitted by Kevin Z. of Columbia on 5/11/07
Date of Trip: 5/5 - 5/6/07 Times Fished: 10:00am - 2:00pm and 6:00pm - dark Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Not much really
Started at Tan Vat Saturday morning. Caught a few nice Bows on a beadhead
prince nymph (size 16) in the first couple of runs. Only one other fish caught the
rest of the morning. On Sat. evening I fished Baptist Camp. Conditions looked
good and fishy, a nice variety bag hatch came off, including caddis, BWO, and
larger light-colored mayflies (resembling what looked like a cahill), but no surface
activity. A similar occurence happened to me last week at the Meramec!?!? I
fished Baptist Camp again for a few hours in the morning and nothing. I am trying
to learn these waters (only moved to MO a little while ago), but they are proving
to be quite hit or miss. I am up for the challenge though.
Emergers! Once I started toying around with
them, my frustration level dropped significantly. Missouri trout
are simply not known for hitting floating insects. I've yet to
figure this out, but I'm working on it. There are massive hatches
on some of our streams -- the big September trico hatches on the
Current are a good example. Those fishermen that have the best
luck matching these hatches, though, tend to be fishing in the
film instead of on top of it. If you tie your own flies, tie some
little light-weight nymphs, but instead of a normal wing case, tie
in a small clump of poly or CDC feathers. Then fish it like a wet
fly during the hatch in question. Thanks again for the help Kevin.
This report was submitted by Jeff Cooper of St. Louis on 3/23/07
Date of Trip: 3/15 - 3/16/07 Times Fished: All Day Canoe Trip Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Snowy Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: (not disclosed)
Before I went on my first trout fishing expedition in 17 years (I'm 35 now), I searched the net to do
some research. Your site was where I ended up spending the most time. The least I can do is
share this report with you, since it helped me so much.
I was lucky enough to work in a 2.5 day fishing trip to Montauk State Park w/ the “guys” in
Mid-March. We did all the normal guy stuff like eat, drink, and burn as much wood as we could.
We also spent two days in canoes on the Current River downstream from Montauk.
On the 2nd day, it started snowing gigantic wet flakes just as we pushed into the river. It was
beautiful, but freezing cold. All four of us were dressed appropriately so we thought it was really
cool. We stopped at different fishing holes throughout the day. We broke into two teams to see
who could catch the most fish. My team was Team Green and we were up against Team Red
(based on our respective canoe colors). We decided to pull over and have some lunch around
noon, so we built a big fire and cooked some scrumptious hot dogs and brats. The fire felt so
good that we decided to fish at this location for a while, because we were catching fish AND
the fire was there to warm us up as needed.
I worked my way downstream when all of a sudden I felt a tiny bit of water run down my leg.
I had on chest waders, but I was never in water more than waist deep. I decided to get back
to the fire so I could assess the situation. On my way back, I was able to gather some much
needed firewood. Inevitably, I had to go back into the river a bit to get back to the fire.
Wouldn’t you know it, a giant log snuck up on me and I ended up taking a dive. I was
CERTAIN there was water in my waders now. In the process, I ripped a 12 inch gash on
my backside. All my buddies watched me take the plunge. It was super-embarrassing!
Did I mention it was snowing and 30-something degrees outside? ...and we were only
half-way through our float? After my buddies took pictures and razzed me a LOT, I
stripped down to dry off my clothes over the fire. An hour later, we were off and running again.
Now the story gets really interesting. We stopped off at the very next hole which was
rumored to be very good. I contemplated staying on the shore in our canoe and warming
up but I just couldn’t do it. I trudged down the stream and made my first cast. BAM! I
had a hit! ...a real HIT! Not the kind of hit like, “oh I think I had a bite.” This was something
special. I could just tell. Keep in mind that I couldn’t go into the water very much because
of the rip in my waders. This fish had something else in mind though – he was pulling me into
deeper water. I heard Scott yelling to adjust the drag, but I couldn’t. I froze up! I was
desperately trying to bring the fish in when all of the sudden the fish jumped out of the water like
Shamu does at Sea World. All four of our jaws dropped. This was a LUNKER for sure -
no question about it.
I continued to try and land this baby when I realized that I left my net in the canoe! Kevin
came running over in waist-deep water to help me out. He was trying to net this monster.
After a minute or two of unsuccessful attempts he exclaims, “My net isn’t big enough – I
can’t get him in the net!” Then my worst fear happened, the fish wrapped himself around
Kevin’s legs. I lost all control. Then his line got wrapped up in my line! It was a desperate
situation. I yelled at Kevin, “If we lose this fish, you are soooo dead.” We continued to try
for another 30 seconds when a miracle happened. In one quick swoop, Kevin submerged
his entire arm in the water and triumphantly came up w/ the monster! Half of his body was
in the net and the other half was still sticking out! We quickly got to shore and celebrated!
All of the sudden, I wasn’t cold anymore! We laughed like school boys for the rest of the
day. The comedy of errors that happened earlier in the day along w/ the embarrassing way
we caught this monster made it that much sweeter. We took a bunch of pictures, caught our
breath, and came up with a name for this hog – BRUTUS!
As we got back to the Montauk Lodge to weigh Brutus, the Montauk staff and a few others
beat us to the scale. They were excited too! How much did Brutus weigh you ask? An even
5 lbs! He was a lunker alright! I got my name put up on the lunker board and got my patch!
I felt (and still do feel) like a rock star. An older gentlemen that was standing next to me said,
“Son, I’ve been coming to Montauk every weekend for 30 years and the biggest trout I’ve ever
caught is 2.5 lbs.” You couldn’t get the grin off my face! I’m still on cloud nine.
In case you were wondering, team GREEN did convincingly come home with the title!
Awesome report. What a fantastic adventure. Thanks Jeff. BTW, I'll be
mounting Jeff's trout for him. I'll be sure to post a picture when it's done.
This report was submitted by Adam Sullentrup of Cedar Hill on 2/24/07
Date of Trip: 2/18/07 Times Fished: 9:00am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Size #20 Blue Wing Olive
Started at Baptist Camp and had little luck until around 12pm. Decided to go up
to Tan Vat and some small hatches started coming off. Began to catch a variety of
small to medium sized browns and rainbows. Every fish was taken on a size 20
BWO and very long leader. Each fish had to be stalked and fished to with
precision. All in all a beautiful day and I have a feeling if we would have stayed a
little bit longer the fishing would have taken off. Long drive back to St. Louis
though. You have to love this time of year, dry fly fishing at its best!
When they're taking dries, it's as if the planets have aligned.
Thanks Adam. Good to hear from you again.
This report was submitted by Chris Perkins of Lawrence, KS on 1/15/07
Date of Trip: 1/12 - 1/13/07 Times Fished: Various Air Temperature: Freezing Weather: Rainy (ICE STORM) Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Midges, Elk Hair Caddis, Prince Nymphs
Fished Friday from around 9am until dark. Saturday we hit the ice river bank at
7:45am and fished until conditions were getting really bad about 12:30. I
wanted to stay and fish, but we new we had better get to the house before black
ice got to bad! Fishing was excellent -- even during the rain and ice storm.
Hiked down from Tan Vat to with in 1 mile of Baptist Camp, touched 9 fish with
several long releases also. Started raining Friday mid-day and the hatches still were
coming on strong. Lots of caddis! When we woke up Saturday morning to 32 degree
temp's and light rain with some icing, fished the trout park below bridge. Touched
several fish in freezing rain, but the fish of the trip was hooked around noon on Saturday.
German Brown Trout with hump back, hooked jaw & 23 inches, beautiful, estimated
3.5 pound. May have been Bigger. Released in a Hurry, unharmed to fight another day.
Tight lines everybody & RESPECT OUR RIVERS!!!!!!
If your brown was of typical proportions, he probably had a girth
of 13" or so (about as big around as a jumbo can of green beans). If
so, his weight was more like 5-1/4 pounds, so congrats! You can
estimate trout weight with this formula: (Length x Girth x Girth)/740.
BTW, fly fishing in an ice storm? You da man! Thanks for the report
Chris.
This report was submitted by John Travis of Wildwood on 11/16/06
Date of Trip: 11/10/06 Times Fished: 11:00am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Prince Nymphs
Went to Montauk first day of winter catch and release (click HERE
for that report). Went down to Van Tat access late in the afternoon, and my brother caught a 12 inch rainbow
and an 18 inch Brown on a #12 prince nymph. The Brown was a really beautiful fish. Overall an excellent day of fishing.
From there went down to the Little Red River in Arkansas where we caught more Browns than we could count including
a 24 inch, 5 pound Brown on a red zebra nymph. Most beautiful fish I have ever seen. Life is good....
Thanks again for helping us out, John. Sounds like a good time.
This report was submitted by Jay ________ of Wentzville, MO on 10/21/06
Date of trip: 10/19/06 Times fished: 1000am - 230pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very Low Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Zebra Midge, Pheasant Tail, Bedspread
This was the end of our 4-day four river trip to the 11-point, Norfork Tail Water, White River, and the Current River. Fished below Baptist.
Tough fishing but rewarding. Caught 1/2 doz. browns including a 16" and a nice rainbow. We did not have much time, but the fish did not
seem to mind. Water is very low though and very clear.
Thanks again for the help, Jay. Four rivers in four days -- sounds like you guys were really hauling. Glad
you had a good trip and made it home safe.
This report was submitted by Mike __________ of St. Louis on 9/18/06
Date of trip: 9/16 - 9/17/06 Times fished: 700am - 1100am Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Olive Mohair Leech
Went down to Montauk only to find ourselves in the middle of a trout derby
which seems oxymoronic, but to each his own). So, we only fished the park
for a couple of hours. It was a truly ridiculous number of people. This was
frustrating, but a blessing in disguise. We decided to focus out of the park
and do some exploring of the blue ribbon area. We spent more time walking and
enjoying the day then really intensively fishing. From Baptist camp we wanted to
get all the way to Ashley Creek and fish upstream. Once we got actually got fishing
we started catching some nice fish. Even with the water very low, there's alot of
nice water, too much for us to really cover.
Here's some observations: LOTS OF BUGS. On Saturday it was a little chilly and there
was a huge mayfly hatch (looked like beatis to me). On Sunday there was a huge trico
hatch. Both days there were a few caddis fluttering around the banks. Still not many fish
feeding on them. You have to be really sneaky to get anywhere near rising fish. To
really fish this area, we plan to camp out on a sand bar and spend some more time fishing.
The fall hatches on the Current can be maddening. A few hundred thousand tricos fluttering around, and not a
single fish hitting the surface. Argh! However, surface action does sometimes occur there, and that can be a
blast. Emergers and spinners also often work when duns will not, as will little soft hackles. BTW, anyone
who walks from Baptist to Ashley Creek has my admiration. Walking down is quite a haul, but coming back
against the current is awe-inspiring. Good to hear from you Mike.
This report was submitted by Lance Loveless of Carlinville, IL on 8/28/06
Date of trip: 8/23 - 8/25/06 Times fished: All Day Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Marabou Jigs, Panther Martins
The nice people from Aker's Ferry dropped us off at Baptist Camp Wednesday morning. It was hot and sunny all day,
and the fishing was kinda slow, but with all the forage we saw in the water it's amazing they were hungry at all. Towards
evening my buddy caught a couple 15" rainbows on an olive green marabou jig, while I caught a decent brown on a
panther martin. We camped upstream of Cedar Grove, and early the next morning I caught a couple 15" browns on the
same orange panther martin, while both my buddy and I caught a few smallies. Somewhere in betwen our campsite and
Akers my friend also caught a couple chain pickerel. We fished on down to pulltite Friday and caught a few bass and
goggle eye but no trout.
Nice job getting a few browns. They're usually almost comatose this time of the year due to the
warm water. Rainbows tend to do better. Regarding forage, there are certainly a ton of little
things that swim away. The problem with the upper Current is the weakness in aquatic insects.
There are a few caddis and tiny stoneflies, and there's a great number of trico's, but it's
hard for big fish to survive on such tiny bugs. And when the water warms this time of the year,
their swimming endurance drops so they have trouble chasing down minnows and such. It's amazing
the survive until Autumn. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Mike _________ of Belleville, IL on 6/26/06
Date of trip: 6/24 - 6/25/06 Times fished: Morning & Evening Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Glo-bugs, Jigs, Sow Bugs, Shrimp Imitations, Woolly Buggers, San Juan Worms
The three of us arrived at Tan Vat around 7:30AM on Saturday morning and we all proceeded upstream toward the park.
It was mostly sunny and the fish although present in good numbers, were quite spooky. Keeping your distance and making
fairly long cast seemed to be the secret, although we did find a few spots were small browns had concentrated in and were
holding pretty tight. We ended the morning with about 15 fish between all of us, mostly small browns. In the evening, after
5:00PM, we fished downstream from Baptist Camp access and fished to around 8:00PM. We caught and released a mixed
creel of fish totaling about a dozen fish.
On Sunday morning we returned to Tan Vat around 7:00AM and fished downstream from the parking area. I managed to
catch only four rainbows before 1:00PM when we headed for home. However, my partners did a whole lot better. One
catching and releasing 24 fish, of which only two were small browns. The other only managed to land 15 fish, but one was
very close to the 18" limit. In the absence of a tape measure he released the fish, thank goodness. The Glo ball was the fly
that worked best for them, second choice was fishing an unweighted glo ball as a strike indicater and dropping a small beaded
sow bug underneath, lastly I caught a few fish on a san jaun worm.
The same gentleman who landed the 18" reported seeing a fawn in the stream, and I and my other partner saw a water moccasin
catch a small trout and carry it up one the bank and have a nice meal. Great weekend away from home and (I do not want to say
this to loudly) for the second time in the last two weeks there were very, very few people on the river all weekend.
Thanks for the report, Mike. The stocker browns are still bunched up a bit on most of the rivers
where they were stocked this spring, but the mature browns have hunkered down. Very very few mature
browns have been taken recently during daylight hours. Lucky for us that the rainbows are biting.
This report was submitted by Zach Luechtefeld of Beaufort on 6/26/06
Date of trip: 6/24/06 Times fished: 6:30am - 12:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Adams, Glo-bugs
Went to the access by the camp sites. We got to the stream, and there was a morning trico hatch, so I tied on an adams
and almost instantly hooked up. First fish of the day and it started out pretty good. It was a two pound brown. It was the
biggest fish of the day. We saw bigger but they wouldn't bite. We caught a few on some glo balls but nothin big...accept the
one that my dad missed...about a six pounder! But its not catchin its fishin. Over all a pretty good day.
Even so, missing a 6 pound trout is a hard thing to cope with! Thanks, Zach.
This report was submitted by John LeDoux of Flint Hill on 6/22/06
Date of trip: 6/18/06 Times fished: 9:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Wooly Buggers, Copper Johns, BH Midge, Small Caddis
Planned a trip with my brother Jay and his buddy Matt on father's day and had the best day on Missouri's rivers hunting
for trout I've ever had. The day started strangely, we witnessed a major vehicle accident just north of Licking involving a young
woman. Being a career fireman/emt I obviously stopped and assisted and was with the young lady for 40 min until an ambulance
and helicoptor could arrive. So, my mind was not on fishing early once we got to the Current. We fished strictly at Tan Vat and
did very well. Between the three of us we landed about 18 fish, between 10"-18". We caught 90% of our fish subsurface. I personally
never got off the bottom. Did not see any other fishermen in our area, but did see several deer near or in the river. Was a little annoyed
by the swimmers at the put in but mannaged to fish above and below them and share the river. Hey if I'm catching fish, let them swim!
Around 3pm decieded to pack it in and try the Meramac River on the way back to STL. After years of taking vacation to the Rockies
to fish, I can't believe it has taken me 20 years to find out about trout fishing in MO, I guess those pictures of opening mornings in the
parks scared me. Happy fishing all. See you there.
Many will agree that the opening day pictures are a bit scary. Thank for the help, John.
This report was submitted by Chris S. of St. Louis on 6/19/06
Date of trip: 6/17/06 Times fished: Not specified Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Rainy Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Cracklebacks, Bead Head Prince Nymphs,
Pheasant Tail Nymphs, and Midges
It rained a good part of the day, with a couple of gulleywashers around midday, but the brownies were rising to cracklebacks
at the surface or skimmed just below the surface. Chartreuse seemed to be the most effective. We caught quite a few small
browns on blood or zebra midge droppers along with pheasant tail nymphs. What a fun day to be out on the water.
Thanks for the report, Chris, and welcome aboard!
This report was submitted by Mike _______ of Belleville on 6/6/06
Date of trip: 6/4/06 Times fished: 1:00-8:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly clouded What worked: Woolybuggers, san juan worms, elk hair caddis,
western shrimp immitation
Planned our arrival to coincide with the end of the morning canoe hatch. I headed upstream from Baptist Camp around
1pm and fished til 4pm before starting back downstream. The water was up in the grass a little and just a bit off color. I
managed to hook and lose two fish, due to a bad hook. Reminder to myself and anyone else,"check your fly/gear periodically".
One highlight, on my way upstream in the early afternoon a deer joined me in the stream for a drink of cool water. I will try
to send a couple pictures along, but you need to look close to see her.
In the evening I fished below Baptist Camp and did much better. I caught and released 6 fish including a nice little rainbow that
measured close to 15-inches and lost a bigger fish that broke me off quickly. Olive Woolybuggers worked best, just off the bottom,
and fished with a twich/float/twich pattern. As always what a great day on the river and believe it or not, other than our group, I
only saw three other people on the river fishing!
Good to hear from you again Mike. Big flies on the bottom at twilight seem to be the magic bullet
for big browns right now, no matter where you're fishing in the state.
This report was submitted by John LeDoux of Flint Hills on 5/12
Date of trip: 5/5 & 5/6 Times fished: All day Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Rainy Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Brown What worked: Nymphs, nymphs & more nymphs
My pal and I took off for a weekend of trout on the Current. Again I was not disappointed. Started at Baptish Camp and
had little luck. Caught a few small fish. Moved to Tan Vat and began strickly nymphing. We hooked into 8 or 10 fish high
sticking. The only negative all weekend was having a small handful of crank anglers walk through without regard to spooking
the fish around us. But all and all had a great time. See everyone there in a few weeks.
Many thanks for the report, John. The good thing about off-color water, is that the fish
can't see you. It's about the only time that high sticking works well on the medium-sized waters
we have in Missouri. It may also be why the knuckleheads walking through your fishing spots didn't
scare all the fish off.
This report was submitted by Mark __________ of the Chicago area on 4/3/06
Date of trip: 3/29/06 Times fished: 10:00am to 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked: #10 Black Woolly Bugger
My Son and I floated from Baptist to Cedar Grove (rented from Jadwin Canoe rental). Fished #14 beadhead nymphs
and #10 black woolly bugger (which caught all 3 fish). Landed 3 rainbows, two in the 15" range and one about 10". Had a
number of other hits and one breakoff. Small hatch with some surface feeding going on, but I stuck with the bugger. Wonderful
water. We where the only boat but saw 6 or so fisherman who walked in from Baptist and all reported some action.
Many thanks for the report, Mark. Welcome aboard.
This report was submitted by Joe _________ of Columbia on 3/10/06
Date of trip: 3/10/06 Times fished: Morning Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked: None
Fished early at Tan Vat. Water was high. Noticed a nice caddis hatch and tried to match it. Only had one take on a #16 pheasant tail.
Would suggest waiting to fish it when the water resides.
Thanks for the report, Joe. Nothing puts trout off their feed more than changing water conditions. Click
HERE to see a graph of the Current River's water levels. If the graph is moving upward or
downward, expect the fishing to be more difficult than normal. If the graph is relatively flat, the
fish will return to their normal feeding patterns. There are more water level graphs available on our
Water Levels page.
This report was submitted by Darin Penrod of Kansas City on 1/20/06
Date of trip: 1/19/06 Times fished: 9:00am - 5:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Bead Head Pheasant Tail
This was my first time on the Current, and I was the only one on the river all day. Windy!!! I brought one 10" brown to hand,
and had two larger fish break me off on logs. All took a #18 bead head Pheasant Tail trailed behind a #14 olive stimulater. I
tried lots of other stuff, but nothing worked. Saw lots of larger fish holding at the bottom of pools that never gave any of my
offerings a second look. Pretty water. I'll be back in the Spring.
As great as the Current River is, it always amazes me that you can fish there alone. Wintertime
trips, especially during the week, almost always give you solitude and a few trout. Thanks for
the report, Darin.
This report was submitted by Adam Sullentrup of Cedar Hill on 11/3/05
Date of trip: 11-01-05 Location: Current River Times fished: Mid-morning until evening Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: #18 Adams, #10 Wooly Bugger, #22 PED What DIDN'T work: San Juan Worm, Hares Ear Nymph
Put in at baptist creek on Tuesday, it was my first time fishing the current. It was one of the most beatuiful places
I have been in MO to date. The fish were everywhere except on my line! Actually I did fairly decent. I caught one
10" rainbow on the adams and then realized The fly was way too big. The PED prevailed for dry fly action, producing
two 12-13 inchers. Although I only caught one trout on the wooly bugger, it was definitely the hit of the day. I lost count
of how many fish I had on while using it. And yes, bigger flies, bigger fish. That one was about 15'. All around great day.
Congrats on your success! Most people struggle their first few times on the Current, but it
sounds like you did your homework. Thanks for the report, and welcome aboard.
This report submitted by Chris Woll of St. Louis on 11/1/05
Date of trip: 10/30/05 Times fished: Midday to evening Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked: Prince nymph
Fished from Baptist almost all the way up to Tan Vat. Saw a lot of fish but they seemed skittish. Caught three
rainbows and a brown. All were about 10" to 12". All caught in riffles, which s probably due to a combination
of lack of stealthy fishing technique and almost no wind which made me even more visible. Threw a variety of flies
and streamers but all fish caught on prince nymphs not exactly sure of the size but they were a little smaller than the
average pn's in my box. Great day though, only saw one other fisherman after I cleared the access so I pretty
much had the entire river to myself, which was worth the drive by itself.
Thanks for the report, Chris. It's amazing how a little solitude on a trout stream can
make a 4-fish day seem so perfect, isn't it?
This report was posted by Stan Graczyk on 9/22/05
I was down at the Current River below Montalk but above Tan Van a
couple weeks ago. I did pretty well, caught a couple nice rainbows on
a new fly that I tried called the "Mohair Leech" and crackle back .
I won the junior trout fishing tournament inside that park that Saturday.
I caught a 1.4 pound rainbow a little bit above the dam on my mohair leech.
I also caught a bunch of rainbows on a white mayfly size 20 that I tied up.
I'm going back in two weeks, I will will email you my report then too.
Thanks for the report, Stan. Glad to hear you had a good trip.
This report was posted by Walt Fulps of Rolla on 1/31/05
Fished 1/24/05 with Dave Dawson from Eagles Park
with Dave acting as my guide. The weather was beautiful -- partly cloudy, 60ish --
and the water looked great. We started at the bottom of Montauk State Park and slowly
worked our way downstream to Tan Vat. We fished glo-balls almost exclusively, with
Dave's multi-colored pattern working the best. Tried a #22 adams during a midge hatch,
and I did have two trout rise to the fly, but neither hooked up. Of course, I then
spent the next hour trying to get another fish to rise, but finally gave up and
returned to glo-ball fishing, as Dave was kicking my butt in the catch department.
Neither of us really tore them up, though. When we reached Tan Vat, Dave called it
a day, but I had to give the water below Tan Vat a try before hanging it up. Dave
had me beat when he quit -- think he caught 5. I had 2 or 3, depending on whether
or not you count the one I let go from 10 feet away. Caught 2 more below Tan Vat,
though, and had another telekenetic relase of the best fish of the day -- 15-16"
rainbow, I think. So, my total count was 4 fish in hand, 2 out of hand. Very nice day.
Certainly could have been a lot worse.
This report posted by Jeff Zeigler on 10/31/04:
The water is gin-clear and low but quite fishable.
Don’t be deceived by the insect hatches you might see on this river at this time of year. Often looks like a #16 dry to
imitate the mayflies should be just the ticket. You’ll get a few hits but you might also strike out. Drys just don’t work too
well on this river. The hatches just do not seem to end up on the water so those “rising” trout are often tailing trout that
are looking down with their tail breaking a small ripple on the water. So...fish wet flies. Neutral color nymphs (hares ear,
etc.) and soft-hackle wets, sizes 12-18 usually work well. Just let ‘em float across and down. And don’t be shy about putting
on a large fly at this time of year. I have seen several anglers who never use small flies and they usually catch the bigger fish.
I started out with a big #8 crawdad pattern and never took it off. Caught several nice fish up to 17”, smallest was 13”. Have fun!
Thanks for the report, Jeff. Our comment is that Jeff's report
sounds pretty accurate for the Current. We're glad to hear the tip about the crawdad fly
-- haven't tried that yet, but anxious to give it a shot. The Trico hatches this time
of year can certainly be maddening. Occasionally, you'll have some luck with some teeny
dries -- #22 adams or trico patterns, for example. Often, though, you'll get nothing.
Don't forget, if you go to the Current River to do some fishing, please be sure to
send us a report about how you did.
Click here if you would like more information on the
Current River.
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