Hickory Creek
White Ribbon Trout Area Fishing Reports This page was updated 3/9/08
This report was submitted by Kyle Buzzard of Diamond on 2/3/08
Date of Trip: 2/3/08 Times Fished: 9:00am - 1:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Zebra Midge -- tan, red & black
Just thought I'd tell you about my day at Hickory Creek. I did pretty well. I caught a total
of 24 fish with the two biggest at about 16 and 17 inches . I caught all but one on zebra
midges with a tungston beadhead that I tied up yesterday morning. I fished the North end
of the park above the bridge. The colors that I caught them on were tan,red,and black. The
two biggest came to the red and black repectively. I hooked a big 19 incher that I had
caught last month, but he got off. The quality of fish this season has been unbelievable,
I've caught at least 10 fish of 15 inches or more,the 19 inch male being the biggest.
Today I had five fish at or above 15 inches. This season is nothing like the last. It seems as
though the poachers have decreased or the surveilance has increased, because by the end
of December 2006 you couldn't buy a bite. I commend The Neosho Fish Hatchery on the
quality of fish that have been stocked.
If they can successfully enforce the winter catch & release season,
Hickory should certainly see some better quality fishing over time.
Over the winter, the fish will learn how to feed naturally and will
be less likely to taken on natural bait once spring time arrives.
Sounds like they're on the right track. Maybe they should try a
catch & release season on the Roubidoux's White Ribbon section as
well. Thanks Kyle.
This report was submitted by Britt Graber of Carthage on 11/24/07
Date of Trip: 11/2/07 Times Fished: Afternoon Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Crankbaits
Hey guy's, long time no post for me. Sorry about that. My son and I hit Hickory the weekend
before deer season for one last time before it turned off cold. We didn't get started until the mid-
afternoon, but it turned out all right. We got a total of 3 rainbows and 1 brown. I was surprised
by the brown. All were caught on 1 5/8" rebel floating minnow.
Good to hear from you again Britt. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Bret Rings of Springdale, AR on 2/24/07
Date of Trip: 2/19 & 2/22/07 Times Fished: 2:00pm - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: #12 Y2K, #12 Olive Wooly Bugger
I was heading to Minnesota from NWA and decided to stop and give Hickory Creek a try.
I had heard mixed success about this location, but with this long winter I needed a little
"Cabin Fever" relief, plus try out my new travel 4 wt. rod I received for Christmas. I had
never fished here before but it looked to be a great afternoon with temps in the low 60's
and no one on the creek. I started at the little falls below the low water bridge with a tan
San Jaun worm behind the olive woolly bugger. There were no takes here or as I worked
further upstream. I decided to go to an old White River standby, a Y2K, and I tied it
behind the woolly bugger. I didn't get any takes evn though I saw plenty of fish. I decided
to work a riffle that was the second rapids below the walk bridge and after 5-10 minutes,
just before leaving this spot I got a strike. Fish on! It wasn't big, only 10", but it did fight
hard. In the next 15 minutes I landed 3 more fish, all the rest were over 12" and fought well.
In fact I almost lost one in the downed brush. All hit the Y2K. I moved up to the hole below
the footbridge and got a couple of more strikes on both flies, but finally landed a small
Rainbow on the Y2K. Before leaving I wanted to try out the falls again so I dropped in the
line and got a hit immediately. After a few more tosses I got the fish of the day, a 16'
rainbow on the woolly bugger that provided plenty of fight. I ended the day with that one
because of the long drive ahead of me, but knew I would return soon. So I stopped back
by on my return trip on 2/22. Could only fish about 15 minutes because it was sunset yet
still I landed two fish, 14" and 10", on the same woolly bugger. It was a lot of fun.
Welcome aboard Bret, and thanks for helping out.
This report was submitted by Frank Kraichely of Grove,OK on 2/22/07
Date of Trip: 2/22/07 Times Fished: 11:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Wooly Bugger
Hickory creek is one of the great small streams in Missouri. I managed to hook
and land 6 bows and had 3 tail walkers, which threw the barbless hook. The
down-side is that at about the time we were leaving, two guys with their worm
cans in hand set up camp at the 86 bridge. The car that they came in parked
right infront of the conservation information sign, which stated artificals only.
We did call the Mo poacher hot line and did turn in their license plate.
Let's hope they got busted. Nice job, and thanks for the
report.
This report was submitted by Lee Hill of Hickory Creek on 2/7/07
Date of Trip: 2/3/07 Times Fished: Morning Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Quality: Slightly Clouded What Worked: BH San Juan worms
Cold, 22 degrees, 3" snow cover. Water high, but fairly clear. The stream is a
mess due to the recent ice storm. Limbs all over the place. Didn't have a lot of
time but had fair luck in several pools. They wanted a SJ worm right on the
bottom. You could drift right over the top of them and they wouldn't rise to it.
Caught several larger fish 14"-16" but most were 10" or so. Beautiful fish, fought
good, some even jumped a little. Didn't see another fisherman, but the police
looked me over a bit. Looking for poachers (thanks) or maybe just wondering
about crazy people fishing in 22* weather.
Lee, I'm afraid more than a few would wonder about your sanity!
Trout fishermen will understand, though. When the spirit moves
you, you gotta get to the river. And it is VERY good to hear
that the cops checked you out. I always get a warm fuzzy
feeling inside when I see "John Law" down by the river. Thanks
for the help.
This report was submitted by Tighe _______ of Joplin on 1/29/07
Date of Trip: 1/29/07 Times Fished: 3:00pm - 6:00pm Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Rooster Tail Gold Blade
It was a painfully cold January day, the kind that makes you think about
whether or not to even go. So I decide to stay close and try some trout
fishing. I arrived there around 3 pm, just above the bridge at morse park.
It was the first time I had been there so I took my trusty fly rod and fished
about 100 yard downstream, catching only a few big creek chubs on a
bead head nymph pattern. I tried a variety of other nymph patterns and
streamers only having a few short strikes. I headed back to the truck to
warm up as my hands were stiff and blue. After warming up I decide to
take my spin cast rig and fish upstream from were I started. My first cast
gets a good strike from an average fish, but I miss him. Things continue that
way for another hour. I mangage to land 3 bows around 10-12 inches,
missing a few that were close to 16. It was getting dark quick, so I moved
up a little farther and had no success there. A crane flew close overhead
and scares the bejesus out of me, and its dark and cold so I head back.
What a great stream and a lot of fun for a frigid January evening when you've
nothing better to do. I plan on getting back there soon and maybe getting a
few bows on my fly rod. Anyone know any good fly patterns for here?
Welcome aboard Tighe. Shortly after MDC announced that Hickory
Creek would become the newest Missouri trout fishery, I drove
down to check it out. While there, I did an aquatic insect
survey and found very very little -- a mayfly or two, a caddis or two,
etc., but no real concentrations of bugs. My theory at the time
was that resident trout would have to feed on minnows and terrestrials.
Since then, the fishing reports have pretty much confirmed this.
Spinners and crankbaits all work well. Fly fishermen tend to
have their best luck using glo-bugs, wooly worms, and streamers.
In the summer, ants and small grasshoppers can also be productive.
This report was submitted by Britt Graber of Neosho on 1/23/07
Date of Trip: 1/21/07 Times Fished: 9:00am - 10:30am Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Overcast Water Level: Very High Water Quality: Slightly Clouded What Worked: Rapala Minnow
Wow! What a great web page! I wish I would have known about this sooner.
(Thanks Britt!) My son, Dylan 8, and I fish
somewhere every weekend. We have spent a lot of time this winter on Capp's
Creek and Hickory Creek. We just about always hit Hickory Creek for a least
a couple of hours, so this weekend was no different.
Since being trapped in the house the weekend before due to the ice storm, we
were in a dire need of some fishing. We decided to hit one close to home since it
was still cold (33*f) with a slight drizzle. I figured that the fishing would be altered
some due to all of the tree damage we had, but was not prepared for what we found.
Some stretches of the creek are almost unfishable due to all the trees and limbs down.
We started at the bridge by the soccer and baseball fields. That was some of the
worst damage that I saw. I have never fished this part of the creek, but decided to
check it out after reading some of the posts here. We did fish from the Lazyboy bridge
(the pedestrian bridge donated by Layboy) to the low-water bridge to the North.
Nothing happening. So after that and some scouting for later this year, we headed
downstream to our regular haunts to check damage and do a little fishing.
We parked at parking lot across the street from the RV park. Like the other parts of
the creek, there were enough limbs in the water to just mess it up. We did do some
fishing in this area but were not able to fish it like we did before the storm. Finally I
did catch trout in the 11 inch range on a Rebel floating minnow.
We headed to the Hwy. 60 bridge. No luck here. We walked on down to the first riffle
below the bridge. After about 4 casts, I had another one on. Imagine my surprise when
I reeled in a 12inch bass. Not something I was expecting to catch on a day like today.
Especially on a crankbait at this time of year. Well, after about another 15 minutes in this
hole, we decided to head back to the house.
I don't know what the parks department plans are, but I have my doubts they are going to
clean out all of the limbs and trash in the creek. I was wondering if any of you here would
like to get together this spring get some of this out of there?
Now for a little disturbing news about Hickory Creek. Back in Oct. during Barnyard days,
the hatchery had a booth there. I spoke to the person there, and he stated to me that they
planned on stocking the creek 8 more time between Oct. and Dec. Mostly 10 inchers with
some 18 incheres sprinkled in. Yeah I know that doesn't sound so bad. Dylan and I had
been having great success there. It was nothing to spend a couple of hours there and catch
20 or more trout. We used to see so many of them in there you could almost walk across
their backs. Then suddenly one weekend in Dec, would couldn't catch but maybe 5 or 10.
We didn't see any either. I had an idea what had happened. While there I met another man
fishing. We had a very pleasant conversation. During the conversation we spoke about the
current trout population. He saw what happened. He witnessed a man down there with 4
stringers full of trout! Who knows how many trout this person took out of Hickory Creek
that day or since then.
Now for a question. My dad tells that when he was boy, there was a trout farm near Spring
River by Verona. I have heard that there are still some trout in the river there. Has anybody
trout fished this area? Oh, one other thing. I fished Capp's Creek about 3 or 4 weeks ago
and we cooked some of the trout right there. While cleaning the trout, 2 of them were stuffed
full of snails. You couldn't have gotten another snail in them. Now I don't normally clean a lot
of trout. In my 25 years of fishing for them, I have maybe kept 2 dozen of them for eating. But
I have never seen this in any fish.
Welcome aboard, Britt. Great report. Regarding
your questions, here you go.
(1) If any of you trout hunters out there
in the Neosho area are interested in a creek clean-up day,
contact us. We'll help to coordinate
Britt's efforts through the website and blog.
(2) Poaching trout
continues to be a very big problem, especially on creeks that are
heavily stocked. HOWEVER, on creeks that are right in town like
Hickory Creek and Roubidoux Creek, which runs through downtown
Waynesville, if anyone witnesses poaching, call the local police
department. Be sure to keep their direct number in your wallet, vest,
or tackle box. The conservation agents are just too spread out to
come charging down to the creek when you call, but the town cops
are often able to catch the jerk-wad in the act. If you witness
poaching in an area that's nowhere near a town, you'll have to collect
evidence (digital cameras are great for this) and call MDC later. Go
to our Handling Poachers page for
more ideas. And, Britt, you might consider writing a letter to the
editor of the local paper about the issue. One thing that is true
of all poachers -- they don't want other people to know what they're
doing. When poachers read an article calling on sportsmen to keep their
eyes open for poachers, it will discourage them.
(3) I have also heard the reports that the Spring River still has
some trout in it. However, there are dozens of coldwater creeks
across Missouri that have trout populations. With the sheer number
of springs we have, and the fact that buying some stocker trout
is fairly inexpensive, I would guess that a majority of cold creeks
in Missouri have had trout in them at one time or another. If
you know a landowner with a spring-fed creek on his property, it
might pay to make friends with him.
(4) Don't know what to tell you about the snails. I have seen
that before, but can't tell you how common it is -- I don't
generally eat trout either. Maybe the Capp's Creek snails are
especially tasty??
Thanks again Britt!
This report was submitted by Kyle Buzzard of Diamond, MO on 11/12/06
Date of Trip: 11/12/06 Times Fished: 9:30am - 12:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: any BH nymph, orange thread jig, renegade
It was just cool enough to keep everyone but me off the creek this morning -- didn't see another
fisherman. I started at the Morse Park North fishing access above the bridge on Highway 60 business
(North College street). It's a nice deep/wide hole that almost always holds fish. There was enough
wind to produce a little chop so the fish weren't spooky at all. I don't know when the last stocking
was, but there were a lot of hungry fish. I caught several fish right off on the orange thread jig, then
I switched to BH nymph's, and they kept biting. I ended up catching 27 fish in that hole. I even
caught a couple on a renegade. I went up into the park and caught 1 but saw very few, so I
went back to the bridge and fished the lower side catching 12 more on the BH nymph's. Most fish
were between 10 and 12 inches, but I did catch four or five 14 inchers. I just hope that this area is
patrolled to help keep the fish from being taken out. I try to inform anyone I see about the rules,
Catch and Release with fly and artificial baits only from Nov. 1 thru the end of Feb.
Thanks again for your help, Kyle. When the state first
started up the Hickory Creek project, there were some complaints about the
fishing -- one day a ton of fish, the next day the creek is empty. You are
absolutely right. Fishermen need to be responsible about how many fish they
keep, and hopefully the MDC will patrol it well enough to keep the irresponsible
fishermen honest. So far, everyone's efforts seem to be paying off. The
fishing's ranged from fair to fantastic, but there always seems to be fish
in the creek.
This report was submitted by David Pettit of Webb City on 2/10/06
Date of Trip: 2/4/06 Times Fished: 12:30pm to 3:30pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Below Average Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Olive Wooly, Brown Glo-Bug, White Glo-bug
I got away on Saturday and decided to fish close to home. I grew up in Neosho and never thought I would
fish this creek for trout. I parked by the soccer fields and fished on the south side upstream just below the Highway 86 bridge.
This is a very accessible creek with plenty of parking.
This was my second attempt to fish Hickory Creek. The first was a dud -- didn't even spot any fish. This trip was exactly
opposite. I worked a pod of 60-80 fish for most of the time. I caught 18-20 fish. They were mostly 10" rainbows although
I did land one that went 14". The fish looked healthy despite the low water. I saw two other fisherman during the time I was
there. One gentleman was from OK City and drove up from his vacation home on Grand Lake. We had a good discussion on
fishing opportunities, and I had the chance to tell him about Crane Creek- which he hadn't heard of.
The new catch and release regulations during the winter season should make this an ideal place to get away on those warmer
than normal winter days we're having.
Thanks again for your help, David. I know everyone's excited to hear
that Hickory Creek is producing good fishing results. The next test will be to see if it
remains productive when trout harvest is permitted.
This report was submitted by Jason ________ of Joplin on 1/2/06
Date of Trip: 1/2/06 Times Fished: Midday Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water Quality: Gin Clear What Worked: Foam Beetles, Wulffs, Woolies What DIDN'T Work: Nothing
Hickory creek is a nice little stream for filling a freezer of trout. I have fished it many times last year
-- family lives less then 2 blocks away. One thing I have learned is if you go within the week after a
stocking it is good. After that, it is slim pickings for sure. It is a swimming hole for locals as well,
and this makes trout fishing frustrating when trying to fish in the local pool. The Neosho paper often publishes
planned stocking times, making the creek a great place for us trout lovers to "stock up" those freezers.
Hickory creek's water doesn't stay cold enough to maintain a year round trout population, so the
Conservation Department stocks it in the Spring and Fall (I think they did around 4 stockings last year).
Thanks for the information, Jason.
This report was submitted by Brandon Seickman on 5/1/05
Fished from 10:30 am to 1:00 PM today (5/1/05). Weather was party cloudy, about 63 degrees.
Water was very clear.Started fishing about 1/6th of a mile down from the 86 Hwy bridge. Great little
holes all along the stream until just past the park. Caught an 11 inch rainbow on a size 16 prince
nymph in a riffle near the two houses that are along the stream. Trout were very visible along the
entire strech we fished. Other than landing the one, had a few strikes but that was it. What a beautiful
stream.
Thanks for the report, Brandon. Welcome aboard.
This report was submitted by Kelly McLaughlin on 4/29/05
We arrived at Hickory Creek on a Friday afternoon (4/15) about 4:30p.m. Having found out that there was
a small area to park RVs, we headed there to meet up with my father who is also a seasoned trout
fisherman. The small RV park is located right on Highway 60 at the North end of Morse Park. There
is water and electric hookups for your convenience, unfortunately that would be all. There are NO
bathroom facilities. There are a couple of trash cans ( which were overflowing ), and an abandoned
building of some sort which would be perfect for facilities at some point in the future, but as for now,
it is shelter for trash and some homeless wanderers.
They are working on Morse Park to shape it up and it is pretty nice. We ventured out to acquire our
trout stamp at a couple of the local stores close to the creek. I was disappointed to find that the only
place to buy one was at Walmart, on the complete opposite corner of a rather confusing town to travel
trough. We began quizing people right away to get our bearings on the part of Hickory Creek that had
been designated our new trout haven. This is rather confusing as well. What had been described as
“ an area 3 miles long extending from the Highway 86 bridge to the south “ is not quite right. This
section of the river actually runs West to East and ends basically at the RV park.
We spent the next hour or two walking the banks of a beatiful, naturally clear, very promising Hickory Creek.
I must mention briefly that people are going to have to do a better job of cleaning up. I hate to see trash in
and around a beautiful stream. There were many spots that gave promise to perfect trout habitat and
hideouts. We came upon ONLY ONE fisherman. The usual exchange of questions were asked of this
local man and his reply is summarized by saying that he was really just passing the time, the trout had
been fished out for awhile. Although discouraging words, to a good trout fisherman our brains just take
this as a challenge and we say to ourselves, “ He’s not working the right bait in the right place, we’ll find
them ! “ It was time to prep for the morning hunt.
We rose early and attacked the stream. I was using a very small army green jig which has always been
my “ Old Reliable “. My second cast found paydirt! I was fishing under the bridge at Hwy 60 which
just looked too good to pass up. I retrieved a rainbow trout that I would rate as fair on a forgiving scale.
But boy was I pumped. Fished out, I dont think so! I couldnt wait to get back in the water. Well,
the truth is I could’ve waited, and waited, and waited. It wouldnt have made any difference. I had pulled
a single lucky fish but that would be all there was. We had 4 people using everything from live bait to
flies. We worked every hole that might even have the least amount of promise. We worked at it hard,
and we worked at it smart, but it was no use. This is very clear water, and with the exception of the
deep holes, there are not too many secrets. Fact is there just were’nt any fish to hook. Unfortunately
the local had been right. It was a tough day that didnt give enough promise for a second try. This
brings me to my summary.
Hickory Creek is a beautiful stream with a great deal of promise for the future. All the characteristics
of a fine, natural trout hunting stream are there...except for the TROUT ! I know its new. I know they
are making an effort. But this place has a long way to go to being a real trout hunters draw. As a side
note, if the MCD intends to make this work, they need to stock a larger quantity of fish on a regular basis.
Thanks for the report, Kelly. You are correct in noting that there are
some things that need to improve. The lower end of the creek, near the RV area,
definitely has a litter problem, but I'm sure restrooms are coming soon -- some very
nice port-a-potty's (never thought you'd hear that phrase, did you?) are already
in place farther upstream. You're also right that MDC will have to stock heavily
to maintain a year-round fishery. Hickory Creek appears to have management
challenges similar to that of the Roubidoux Creek, which runs through downtown
Waynesville. That stretch of water is the most heavily stocked stretch in the
state, and conservation agents patrol the banks fairly frequently to discourage
poaching. The best thing we fishermen can do to help both rivers is to encourage
catch-and-release to educate the fish on what's safe to eat and what's not.
Hatchery fish don't really taste good, anyway. Last thought: it is certainly
interesting that the MDC's description of the river is inaccurate, don't you think?
I'm sure they'll fix that as well.
This fishing report was submitted by Wes Carillo on 4/11/05
I fished on Saturday (4/9/05) from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Even though I did not get to fish a long time,
I was able to cover a lot of water. There were a lot of people in the area on Saturday, but not a lot of
fisherman. I fished from the low water crossing to the Hwy 86 bridge. Fishing was slow and there was a lot
of empty water. I hooked 6 fish landing only one, all on Y2K bugs. The water was low and extremely clear.
The fish were isolated to areas of deep fast water and getting the fly down fast was critical. I waded from fast
water to fast water, fishing quite a few drifts through each hole. The weather was beautiful and there was
a little bug action on the water, but no risers except for chubs.
As always, thanks for the help Wes.
This fishing report was submitted by Wes Carillo on 1/4/05
I have a little info on Hickory Creek. I took a look at it on February 3rd and fished it on the 4th.
The water appeared to be up on this creek because of all of the recent rain, but I had never seen it before,
so these flows may have been normal. It was a rainy day with a little wind. I had no luck fishing streamers
or nymphs, but I was not fishing them very hard. This was, for the most part, an exploratory trip on this
creek. I had found a couple of chartreuse glo balls in a couple of trees and thought I would give them a try.
Apparently, that was the ticket. My next 5 drifts had fish taking the glo ball, of course, I missed all five
of them. I did however, manage to roll a nice rainbow (about 16”) in one stretch of water. Finally, I landed
my first fish on the glo ball a small 12” stocker. I continued to work my way downstream and continued to
hook ang lose fish. I landed a couple of more rainbows as I progressed further downstream. I hooked all of
my fish in deep fast runs or drifting by structure. There were 4 or 5 boulders on the way down and I got hits
on all except for 1. I landed my biggest rainbow on the back eddy of a long fast deep run, he was about 14”.
I then managed to find a couple of DEEP holes that appeared to be great holding spots for big trout, but
only caught small chums and carp.
With a management this could become an absolutely wonderful place to fish, as long as it doesn’t get
turned into a trout park. The stream is very small in most places and dumps into some deep holes. The
fish hold in places where wild fish will hold. There are plenty of places for fish to take cover and if you throw
to those places, you should get hookups. I personally hate fishing with glo balls, but when the time comes,
you have to do what you have to do. I plan on making more and more trips to this stream as the days get
longer and my weekends come free more frequently.
Thanks for the report, Wes. I know there are a lot of trout fishermen out there curious
about Hickory Creek.
Remember, if go fishing at Hickory Creek, please be sure to
send us a report about how you did. And click here if you would
like more information on Hickory Creek.
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