Mill Creek
Fishing Reports This page was updated 11/17/11
This report was submitted by Vic Schaefferkoetter of Rolla on 8/20/11
Date of Trip: 8/20/11 Times Fished: 7:00am - 11:00am Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Rainy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Modified Wooly Bugger
"The best laid plans of mice and men, agangst, aghast they run aglee". Such was my thought as I left the house Saturday morning, the 20th of August. When I arose, lightning flashed and thunder rolled to the northwest of Rolla. My "best laid plans" of Friday night seemed to be unravelling with the presence of an early morning, summer thunderstorm. I checked the radar on the computer and it indicated the storm would pass in a couple hours at the most so I loaded the pick-up and headed to town for a long, leisurely breakfast and to wait for the passing of the storm. I was on Mill Creek at Bohegian by 7:00 AM with lightning still flashing and a light rain falling. Some of the lightning strikes were close enough for me to question the telligence of my being there. I almost abandoned the trip until later but stupidity and a desire to fish took precedence over my personal safety. There's no fool like an old fool.
The creek was in very good condition. No doubt due to the recent and adequate rains of the last couple weeks. The first run produced a beautifully colored and feisty 8 inch rainbow. 3-4 casts later another 'bow of similar dimension and coloring was added to the count. As the storm passed I worked my way upstream and circled around to the head of the runs so I could fish down and across. I continuued this way upstream for about 1/2 mile then back down the same way. That ended the morning with over 20 fish. The smallest was a barely 6 incher and the best a smidgen over 13 with most being between 8-10 inches. There was virtually no activity from the Tricos that usually hatch early in the morning this time of year. Obviously due to the early morning storm and cloudy skies. Every fish was caught on the wooly bugger variant.
For this morning I drew from my bamboo quiver a Horrocks & Ibbotson, "Tonka Prince", 7 ft. two piece rod laced with a #5 DT Thebault silk line, silk leader and a 5X tippet. The last hour or so I tried a dry & dropper with no interest in the dry. For such a questionable start the day ended quite nicely. This was my 3rd or 4th time on Mill this year and it's fished at least good every time. Not this good however.
Silk line! An old-school devotee, I see! Very cool. Thanks for the great report Vic. Glad you didn't get zapped. :-)
This report was submitted by Tom Pennington of Washington, MO on 1/30/11
Date of Trip: 1/29/11 Times Fished: Noon - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Copper John, Brassie, Hare's Ear
Went in at the Bohsigian CA parking lot off AA. Worked upstream maybe a mile. Caught 15 rainbows and lost maybe 5 or 6 more. Their colors were reminicent of Little Piney fish (same strain?). First time on this stream. Won't be the last!
Mill Creek terminates into the Little Piney, so their genetics are likely mixed and fairly similar. There used to be a commercial hatchery on Little Piney, and I've heard rumors that they raised Gila Trout for a time. If that's true, that blood line may account for the occasionally shocking colors we get on Little Piney and Mill Creek. Would love to know for sure! Good to hear from you Tom. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Sam C. of Palisades Park, NJ
Date of Trip: 3/17/10 Times Fished: 1:00pm - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Elk Hair Caddis, Renegade
Just moved here to the Ft Leonard Wood area. Fished Bennett Springs the other weekend and decided to catch some solitude at Mill Creek. Beautiful stream, not sure if I was in the right location though. Worked about a mile of water. Couple of nice runs where trout were rising every 10 seconds, good to see that. Hope it lasts through the summer. Missed a nice sized rainbow on the elk hair, caught a couple of small ones on the renegade. Tried a couple of nymphs in some of the deeper runs, but nothing. Definitely going back in the future.
Thanks for the report, and welcome to Missouri Sam!
This report was submitted by Patrick _________ of St. Louis on 12/28/09
Date of Trip: 11/19/09 Times Fished: 8:00am - 1:00pm Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Assorted Dries
This was the second time I fished Mill Creek this fall/winter. The first trip I fished from the pond down about 1 mile. I caught maybe 6 fish, all smaller than 10 inches. This second trip, I parked at the campground and worked my upstream. It was a 20+ fish morning, no joke. I fished Elk Hair Caddis & Parachutes most of the morning and then moved to a grey scud pattern. The smaller spazzy fish went for the dry's but nothing better than 12 inches. I have yet to see big (>16in) fish but the possibility to catch so many so quickly is worth it. I am heading there tomorrow and plan on throwing nymphs, streamers & woolies to see if I can locate larger fish in deeper water.
Thanks Patrick. The bigger ones are there -- don't give up!
This report was submitted by Scott _________ of St. Louis on 4/11/09
Date of Trip: 4/11/09 Times Fished: 1000am - 330pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly clouded Successful Baits: #16 Olive Midge
First time here. Spent most of the time out of the water traveling the banks as to not spook the fish. Tight casting. A 8"6", 5 wt. is probably too much rod for this creek. There looks like there are plenty of good holes/cover, or at least you'd think so, but this place proved to be quite a challenge. One rainbow all day, a hard hit on a #16 olive/sparkle midge. I missed the first hit but got him two casts later in deep water under a downed tree. A hard fighter, took the fly and immediately went down for cover. I had to play with him to get him out of the fast deep water. He flew out the water at least twice while working him over to the shallow bank. Beautiful fish - dark green back, black spots and vibrant pink on the sides, probably around 12 inches. A nice fish by most standards but given some of the scrawny wild trout I've caught on other creeks, this was a nice fat rainbow. Only had one more trout hit the rest of the day and couldn't set the hook. I guess he decided enough is enough because he bolted from that hole as soon as I lost him. All in all a really nice stream. The fish are cagey. I'll definitely come back.
Thanks for the report Scott. On a healthy wild trout stream, your typical trout caught will be 2-3 years old. In Misouri, that translates to 6-10 inches in length. I've noticed recently that the average size of our wild trout is going up, and that's starting to concern me a bit. Unfortunately, it often means that tough times are coming, because it may be a symptom that the trout haven't had real spawning success for a few years. So, as the larger trout age out, are eaten by otters, etc., there may be fewer immature trout to step up and take their place. Here's hoping spring '09 provided a stronger crop of young 'uns.
This report was submitted by Geo Schoonmaker of Rolla on 4/11/09
Date of Trip: 4/3/09 Times Fished: Not Disclosed Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly clouded Successful Baits: Rebel Crawdad
This was my first time fishing Mill Creek since the Bohigan Conservation Area opened in 2006. My experience with this creek before left much to be desired, but the new fishing access drew me back. I'm glad it did! I found the densest wild trout population I'd ever fished! I probably didnt fish more than a 500 yard stretch of stream. In that stretch, I landed 2 trout, one a 10", the other a 14", and lost 3. The total time I spent was only about an hour, and by the end of it, I decided that Mill Creek was competing with Spring Creek as my favorite wild trout management area. If you go there, look for the deeper pools and cast repeatedly. These ones don't bite the first time your lure hits the water. It takes persistence to get them to hit, and when they do, watch out! These fish are scrappy!
Glad you've given it another try Geo. Mill Creek's trout population kind of ebbs & flows with the volume of water in the creek. A few years back when things got so dry, the fishing really got tough, and the spawning success was really weak. But, like they usually do, the wild trout have made a comeback. All of the trout populations in the little wild creeks in the area are really healthy right now -- even Barren Fork.
This report was submitted by Chris ________ of St. Louis on 2/6/09
Date of Trip: Not Disclosed Times Fished: Not Disclosed Air Temperature: Not Disclosed Weather: Not Disclosed Water Level: Not Disclosed Water Clarity: Not Disclosed Successful Baits: Not Disclosed
I used to fish this stream in my early twenties and then left for 7 years. I went
back to this little paradise with a 3 weight remembering the fish I caught here in
my youth on a 5 weight, typiclly 7-13 inches was the norm with the rare 15-16 inch
rocket. To my surprise, on this day the fishing was epic. Dare I say three 15+
inch fish with an 18-inch finale. Now thats what im talkin about! Went back a few
weeks later and virtualy nothing was going on.
I wish I knew how to handle the private property issue. There's some sections of
that creek which are sacred, and that's what keeps that place alive, the gem that it
is. Look out for the monster smallies in this creek as well. This place has a few
spots that hold both species at 18+. I realy love this creek. There's not many holes and there's not many fish but every
fish is a quality wild trout -- something very rare.
I dont realy care what I catch when i fish there. It's just awesome to be on this
water. Remember no fish under 18 -- NO POACHING.
Thanks for the info Chris (although it's just a BIT vague!).
But I have to agree with you. There are a few magical spots on this creek, but a
fisherman has to commit himself to finding them. In the case of Mill Creek, that
means potentially wading many miles of creek in various weather conditions in various
seasons. Regarding the private property, the easy answer is don't bother. The
land owners are notoriously stingy with allowing access, and there's no way you
could argue that the creek is navigable (the benchmark for allowing public access).
This report was submitted by Tim Homesley of Cassville on 11/10/08
Date of Trip: 11/10/08 Times Fished: 9:00am - 1:30pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Gin clear Successful Baits: #10 Sculpin fly tied with micro squirrel & 1/8" tungsten bead
Started at the picnic area and worked my way upstream, saw several trout, only landed
3 all were nice and healthy, caught them all in pools, didn't catch anything but
creek chubs in the riffles. Fished my fiberglass 6' 5wt, Lee Wulff conolon fly rod,
using 5X fluorocarbon, except when throwing a few dries, then I switched to 6X, caught
nothing but chubs up on top.
Thanks for the help Tim. Mill Creek hasn't been seeing many
fishermen recently, but the flow is beginning to come back, and the fish are still
there. Tim is the owner/operator of Tim's Fly Shop, in Cassville. Be sure to stop in
for a visit when you're down near Roaring River.
Tim's Fly Shop Route 4 Box 4088 Cassville, MO 65625
This report was submitted by Mike ___________ of Belleville, IL on 4/10/06
Date of Trip: 4/8/06 Times Fished: 10AM-12:30PM Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below average Water Clarity: Gin clear Successful Baits: Beaded Olive Flashabugger
Arrived shortly after 9AM Sunday morning, and we were on the stream by 10AM. Only my second trip to the creek, but water levels seemed
a little lower than my previous trip. Fish were holding exceptionally tight to cover, and the only fish I landed was almost inside a root wad. The
fish was about nine inches long, and another fish I hooked and lost seemed just a tad smaller. My fishing partner caught one fish on a red and
white marabou jig. We fished upstream from the picnic area.
Thanks for continuing to help with reports, Mike! Mill Creek is definitely struggling, as are the other tiny wild trout streams
(Crane Creek, Barren Fork, etc.). The fish are still there, but they are bunched
up into very small areas of habitat. The upper reaches of several of the tiny creeks are darn near dry right now. If you can see the fish-holding spot without
getting too close, and if you can make the cast, there are still plenty of fish to be caught. Everyone needs to be praying for rain, though!
If you go to Mill Creek to do a bit of fishing, be sure to send us a
report about how you did. Click here if you would like more
information on Mill Creek.
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