Salmo trutta

There is something about trout fishing that gets into your blood. For weeks before a trip I am already preparing. Tying flies, cleaning lines, organizing fly boxes, etc. I have plenty of flies, my lines are already clean and fly boxes are already organized but I can't stop thinking about the trip.

This past week I was able to go trout fishing for the first time in 7 months. I didn't expect much from this trip as I usually have little success in the heat of the summer. If anything I was hoping for a relaxing trip and hopefully a few fish caught. Turns out that I would have one of the best fly fishing trips to this river.

Day 1
I make the 4 hour drive to one of my favorite trout streams in Missouri. I take the long way over to get a glimpse of some future smallmouth streams that I will fish someday. Missouri never ceases to amaze me at the natural beauty it contains, but it also disgusts me when I see shacks with piles of trash being thrown into ravines and poor land use. For a place with such great natural features, you would think the locals would take advantage rather then spend the weekends drinking down at the swimming hole.


Anyways, I started floating in the dark the next morning. The first few holes that normally produce were fishless this trip. I quickly started hooking into smaller sized rainbow trout and a few smallmouth bass on rapalas while I floating through slower water. I normally can catch a few big brown trout on them on this creek, but not this trip-only a couple small browns, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass. I string up my 8 wt and start playing around with some streamers. I immediately lose my first one to a rootwad. I tie on my go to streamer and quickly hook into a nice rainbow in the hole above the cabin.



Not far downstream I hook into a big brown on the same streamer. This one is a beauty.






After that fish I am feeling really good. There is nothing like catching fish on something that you created. About 50 yards downstream I catch another brown. This one looked HUGE when I first hooked it. Deep clear water has a way of magnifying the fish and makes it look bigger than it really is. But this fish wasn't small. It had another trout following it around after it was hooked that was every bit as big as it was. 21 inches or so. The hoop of my net is 19 inches and this fish is at least 2 inches longer than that.



I catch 2 or 3 more small browns that are about 15 inches or so. I set up camp along a great undercut bluff and spend the afternoon wade fishing up and downstream. After about 11:30 I catch no more brown trout, but plenty of rainbow trout.




The next morning starts out well with 2 nice browns 15-17 inches on nymphing rigs, so I head upstream to fish a bluff line and immediately start catching them.



This next fish was caught on a dropper from a larger fly, and as I fought the fish a 17+ inch rainbow trout took the lead fly. For a short while I was fighting 2 17+ inch trout at the same time!




I move my campsite further downstream once canoes and kayaks starting passing my camp. I catch a few more fish that evening, but otherwise it has slowed down after noon every day.

The next morning I endure a thunderstorm and hook 4 decent browns out of my campsite hole.






It was a great trip on a great river and I can't wait to get back. I love me some brown trout.