Hello All,
I’ve not kept up with this blog largely due to travel commitments toward the end of 2009. I’ll be resurrecting the blog starting around March 2010. For those on our e-mail list expect great things to come!
In the meantime, you’re input is requested for a survey:
Lori and I were hoping to take a trip out west to do some serious fishing this year but we have just been too busy guiding.
When Brian Sloss dropped me a line and asked if we would like to float the Eleven Point River in his drift boat, we jumped at the chance. We knew next to nothing about the Eleven Point and I have not fished from a drift boat in several years.
Lori had never fished from one. It was exactly the type of adventure we were looking for: a day trip that held the promise of good fishing. It would also be a good alternative to high water.
We left Cotter around 7 a.m. and arrived at Brian’s shop, Eleven Point Canoe Rental, in Alton, Mo., a little before 9. It took a few minutes to acquire a couple of one-day fishing permits for $7 each and a few flies that Brian suggested.
We loaded our gear into his van and headed for the river. While he was launching the boat, Lori and I rigged up our rods. We used five-weight rods and tied on large stone fly nymphs (size 8), heavy 4X tippet, a bit of lead and set the depth on the strike indicator at around 5- or 6-feet deep. I fished double stone flies at Brian’s suggestion.
The weather was near perfect. The temperature was mild with an expected high of around 72 degrees and we had cloud cover all day. Rain was in the forecast.
In fact, we opted to wear waders just to have some rain protection and we carried rain jackets. It should be noted that we didn’t see a single drop of rain while on the river but we did encounter a light shower on the drive home.
The float was to take us through the top 5.5 miles of a trophy trout section of the Eleven Point River that began at Greer Springs. We both caught nice trout within a few feet of the ramp, an omen of what was to come.
Lori and I were both impressed with the size and the ferocity of the fight. Both ‘bows were around 16 inches, fat and sassy. We continued our journey downstream. We caught fish after fish. All were in the 14- to 18-inch slot.
While I generally think that a White River Jon boat is the best craft for floating the White and North Fork Rivers, I found the drift boat to be the perfect fishing platform for the Eleven Point. Most people fish it from a canoe.
Brian would hold us in position or run through a given section several times to allow us to fish particularly productive runs. After we drifted through them he would row back upstream in the quieter water on the opposite side of the river.I just do not see how you could catch as many fish as we did while paddling a canoe. Brian and a friend had built this boat. It was good-looking and featured mahogany appointments and was roomy and stable. Lori took the front and I took the back. There seemed to be no difference as to which was better for catching fish. We finished the day pretty much even in our catch rates.We went through one section around seven times and landed one or more good trout on each pass. There were a couple of riffles where Brian jumped out of the boat and walked us through. This concerned Lori at first but she relaxed as soon as she hooked an 18-inch rainbow. There were also a few spots where we got out of the boat and wade fished.We stopped for lunch late. We had deli sandwiches with chips and soft drinks. We sat in the boat because it was comfortable and quick. Brian had brought chairs and a roll-up table but Lori and I wanted to maximize our fishing time. We were back on the water quickly.
One thing that struck us was the overall beauty of the river and its surrounding scenery. There were limestone bluffs, riverside caves and colorful wild flowers on the banks. The other thing that took us by surprise was the seclusion of the river.
The section we floated lies entirely within Mark Twain National Forrest. During our float, we did not see another angler, house, road, bridge or any other sign of civilization. It was delightful!
The day drew to an end much too soon. Still, we were glad it was over because our arms were sore from the constant action and hard-fighting fish. We caught well over 50 good trout. It had been an exhilarating day.
We arrived at the takeout. We shed our waders and loaded our gear into our duffels while Brian loaded the boat. We drove back to the canoe rental and loaded our gear into my Volvo. We thanked him for a great day and headed back home. We did stop at Fred’s Fish House in Mammoth Spring for dinner on the way home. We were back in Cotter around 8 p.m.
As we drove home, Lori and I marveled at how the trip had exceeded our expectations. We were wowed by the beauty, seclusion and overall quality of the fishing. Brian turned out to be a spectacular guide and worked hard to show us a good time.
Living in the South West Ohio should be a fly fisherman’s worst nightmare. I’ve been calling Cincinnati home off and on for the past 15 years. As a Fly Fishermen and outdoor enthusiast I thought this city had nothing to offer me. Like most cities we have a couple parks, but fish able lakes and streams are few and far between. I used to eagerly anticipate every opportunity to travel to my native Ontario to fly fish. That all changed about 5 years ago when I stumbled upon Brookville Tail waters in South Eastern Indiana (about 30 minutes from Cincinnati area).
The stream itself is a gorgeous meandering 2-3 mile stretch of water with perhaps 7-10 pools. It’s fed from the bottom of the lake which keeps temperatures under the 70 degree mark for most of the hot summer months. It provides excellent year round fishing opportunities for rainbow and brown trout, and is also home to blue gill, bass, carp, and catfish. On a good day it’s not uncommon to catch trout in the 10”-20” range, but other more experienced anglers have had better success (Check out David French’s website for pictures of larger fish). Sometimes, especially on weekends the water is overcrowded with fishermen, and thus I try to fish during the week. I often have success fishing dry flies just before sunrise and half an hour before sunset. The DNR normally stocks only about 2,000 fish at the start of each season, and in order to keep fishing enjoyable for all anglers please consider practicing catch and release.
Access:
The city park and spillway areas seem to be favored by most anglers due to the ease of stream access. Upstream anglers can park at the Spillway located off route 50. A family friendly park area is also a great option, but is often overcrowded with anglers. Midway downstream at the route 252 bridge there are grassy areas on either side of the bridge where vehicles are frequently parked (this is where I frequently start fishing). At the tail end, park behind the Pickup 52 gas station off of route 50.
Resources:
USGS Stream Conditions: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/in/nwis/uv?03276000 (under 4 feet is fishable)
Buckeye United Fly Fishers: http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/index.htm
Local Fly Shops Include: A&N Outfitters (Milford, OH) 513-444-4009, and Delamere & Hopkins (Hyde Park, OH) 513-871-3474.
Contributed by:
Jeff Dyck of www.LocalWaters.com
Some days stick out in a guys mind. The start of football season, the start of hockey season, the start of baseball season, the day your mother in law leaves to go back to Hades – all these are red letter days in a guy’s calendar. If you happen to be a fisherman, you can add in the first day of the year you start catching fish on hoppers. Such a day was gifted to Caveman and I this week as we ventured down river to the Texas Creek area to float from Trading Post to Pinnacle Rock.
The last time we were down that way, in the spring, there was an encounter with the State Patrol that delayed our launch time, but this time around things went smoothly. The law was avoided, the correct parks pass purchased, and away we went. The dry fly fishing is particularly good right now. There are some prolific caddis hatches coming off around dusk, and into the night, and this has made the black foam caddis a hard fly for a fish to pass up. But once I’d figured out that it was working as well as ever, I wanted to try something different, and a Daves Hopper turned out be just the ticket.
There are several reasons why hopper fishing is about as fun as it gets. First, delicate presentation is not a requirement, which for a hack like me is an advantage. Heavy tippet is the order of the day, no messing about with 4x and 5x. Second, you can mix up the dead drifts with some twitching of the rod tip to impart life to the fly. This will often tease the fish out of their lairs to come and investigate, thereby giving you a good idea of where they are holding. And thirdly, when they do decide to take, it is seldom subtle. The fish will often hit hard and aggressively and get extra p****d when you hook them.
Generally the key is to get the hopper right next to the bank, if not landing it in the grass and teasing it out into the water – art imitating life, if you will. This generally precludes using a second fly, as this increases the potential of snagging the bank. Being a simple kind of a guy, a single fly is fine by me.
I would look for the hopper fishing to get better and better as we roll further through summer into fall. For a fish dining on caddis and pmds, there’s a decent amount of protein to be had in a hopper or two. So next time you head to the river, try leaving the bead heads behind, forego a two fly rig, and stick on a hopper and start slapping it around.
Contributed by: Hayden Mellsop
Blog: Fly Fishing Salida
There are an estimated 18-20 million fly anglers worldwide. Spectacular lakes, rivers, and streams play host to these fly fishing enthusiasts year round. We’d like to dedicate this blog to fly anglers everywhere.
Join us each week as we discover new destinations, adventures, and local waters. We’d like to further encourage our audience to share their favorite local waters, stories, guides, fly shops, and adventures.
We’re looking forward to the journey ahead! We hope you’ll join us!
Tight lines,
Localwaters.com
We’re very excited to announce that www.LocalWaters.com a new social networking site dedicated to fly anglers and the waters they love to fish. We’re still in development mode, but should have a beta available in late 2009. We’re looking forward to learning more about the Blogosphere!
-Jeff Dyck
Founder www.LocalWaters.com
