Weekly Reports: Current River Fishing & Hunting

July 15, 2008

The river continues to drop although for this time of year even the upper river is still very floatable. I got in a good half day of fishing last week. It was a beautiful sunny nearly cloudless day, a perfect day to be on the river but tough conditions for fishing. It was one of the slowest fishing days I’ve had in a while. I landed a couple of little smallmouths and only had bumps on three or four other occasions but I’m not complaining it was a great day to be outside. Weather permitting I’ll try it again next week, see you then.

July 8, 2008

I made a short trip to the Current last week, fishing a few miles below Akers Ferry. Wading below Welch Spring which doubles the size of the river (Welch is a couple of miles above Akers) is difficult but if you carefully pick your crossings it can be done. The Conservation Dept. has done some population studies on this section of river and their findings indicated a very low population of smallmouth bass which has led to some discussions about extending the trout stocking program into this area, (it currently stops at Akers) but at this time it appears to be on hold. Most of the fast deep runs on this section will hold a trout or two especially if there is some structure. I hooked up with a few rainbows the biggest a brilliantly colored football shaped 15”. The area received about three inches of rain last week resulting in a small rise of just an inch or two, the forecast is calling for some heavy rain over the next few days so we may see a significant rise if not I’ll see you next week.

July 1, 2008

The area received about two inches of rain last week; it was just enough to add a little color to the river. I got in one short afternoon of fishing last week; the temperature was in the upper 70’s with a partly cloudy sky just an absolutely beautiful day for late June. I hooked three rainbows between 12” and 15” and had follows one several others but none of any significant size. There seems to be a few more rainbows farther down river on the “Blue Ribbon” section this year possibly due to the flooding earlier in the year. The forecast calls for rain later in the week, barring a big rise I hope to get in a little fishing before next week. See you then.

June 24, 2008

The Current River is in great shape for fishing or canoeing, flowing substantially more water than it was at this time last year. I had a client on the river two days last week, Ed a seasoned fly-fisher and a true gentleman. You could not have asked for two more perfect days, 80 degrees, sunny and low humidity. The first day we fished the “Blue Ribbon” section, landing six or eight fish each, mostly rainbows with a few browns and a smallmouth or two. The second day we fished the “Red Ribbon” section hoping to catch a few more smallies. Ed did manage a couple of bronze backs the largest a feisty 14” with most of our catch consisting of rainbows in the 12” to 14” range. Ed faired a little better the second day and I only landed one fish (we spent more time in the canoe the second day and I spent more time with a paddle in my hands than a fly rod and that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). Considering the blue bird sky and the canoe traffic, (we saw at least 100 canoes on the river the second day) fishing wasn’t too bad and as always it’s just nice to spend the day on the river. See you next week.

June 10, 2008

The Current is in great shape I was able to get in four or five hours of fishing one day last week. I made my first trip out of the “Blue Ribbon” section in several months. This section of river harbors more smallmouth and rainbows with browns being fairly rare. Early in the day most cast I made produced fish if not a hook-up at least a follow. As the day wore on and the canoe traffic picked up the fish became less aggressive, usually five or ten minutes after a canoe would pass they would again become active until the canoes started coming thru in a near steady stream. I landed a couple of smallmouth the largest about 14” one brown about the same size and several rainbows 12” to 15” long all on the same streamer. The rainbows where very active, on several occasions two or three fish would follow at the same time. The biggest fish I saw was a rainbow in the 18” range, it followed my fly all the way in and all I could do was sweep my rod behind me into shallow water before it finally gave up. I enticed it to follow several more times before it finally disappeared back into the depths, I’ll try him again later. See you next week.

June 4, 2008

No report from two weeks ago, Memorial Day weekend I stayed away from the river. I intended to get in at least a good half day of fishing last week but the weather didn’t cooperate so I settled for a couple of hours one evening. The river is in great shape, with a higher flow compared to recent years. I only landed a couple of small fish, one brown and one rainbow. I missed several hook ups one of which was a nice brown that might have gone near 20”. I was using a big streamer and as it began to swing at the tail out of a big root wad hole he nailed it but hit just a little short for a hook up. I fished a section of river that I had not fished since the floods of a few months ago. I enjoy exploring the river after these high water events, it’s like fishing a different river, new holes created others filled completely in. See you next week.

May 20, 2008

The Current is great shape; the area received a little rain last week and brought the river up a few inches. I got in three or four hours of fishing last week. The fish were fairly active I landed about a half dozen fish one little small mouth the rest browns. The big ones appeared to be feeding, I landed a 19” and a best of the day 22” male, an unusually fat fish for a male with a big hooked jaw. I had follows on two other fish in the 18” to 20” range and had my line broke on the hook set on what seemed to be a very heavy fish. Everything that I caught was on streamers, as long as the river continues to run full and has some color to it this will be my preferred method. See you next week.

May 13, 2008

The upper Current River received about two inches of rain last week, enough too bring the river up an inch or two. The ground is still saturated, this much rain could have fallen about any time last year and it wouldn't have had any effect on the river level. I made one short trip to the Current last week, there is still a little color to the water, overall the river is in great shape for fishing or floating. I fished a section of river I hadn't been on since March and April’s high water. There is still another mile or two I haven’t fished in the “Blue Ribbon” section and I’ve yet to make to the “Red Ribbon”. I caught a few small fish using streamers the biggest a feisty 15” brown that went air born several times. See you next week.

May 7, 2008

I’m a day late this week, last nights Quail Forever meeting went longer than normal. We’re working on a youth skeet and trap shoot that will be tied in with a hunter safety course conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation. I made one trip to the Current last week the river is in excellent condition. In about four hours of fishing I landed ten or twelve fish, three or four rainbows in the 12” to 14” range five or six browns of similar size an 18” brown and 23” brown, the best (so far) of the year (using mostly streamers). The 23” put up a good fight, I hooked her in a stretch of fast water and she immediately headed up stream. I thought this initial run into the strong current might wear her down but I was wrong. By the time I finally brought her to net she had taken me nearly one hundred yards down stream and thru, around and over several obstacles. Today (Tuesday) the area has already received over an inch of rain and more is expected in the next twenty-four hours, the ground is still fairly saturated so this could mean another rise of our local rivers. If you plan on getting out this weekend check the USGS water data site. See you next week.

April 29, 2008

The river is in excellent condition; it has dropped a few inches since last week. While the current sustained flow is still higher than at any time over the last few years it has dropped enough to make wading much easier. One must still practice caution when wading, after the extreme high water there have been many changes in the bed of the river, places that may have been safe crossings for years might now be impassible. There are also places where the gravel bottom looks solid but has not yet settled, you could sink up to a foot in some of these unsuspecting looking areas.
I got in one afternoon of fishing last week. I landed about a half dozen fish, one largemouth, a couple of rainbows and the rest browns all in the 10” to 14” range. I missed or had follows on at least twice as many as I landed and saw two nice fish one around 18” the other looked to be well over 20”. I got in one morning of turkey hunting, I only heard one bird gobble and was unable to catch up with him, I believe he may have already had his harem with him and was moving off to do his thing.
It’s a wonderful time of year to be out enjoying nature, the sights and smells of spring, the dogwoods and redbuds are in full bloom, the whippoorwill claiming his territory and the bobwhite quail is singing for a mate. See you next week.

April 22, 2008

There was another big rise of eight or nine feet on the Current about ten days ago so I didn’t have a report last week. The river has since receded to a fishable level and I made one short trip over the weekend. I caught three or four small browns in an hour or two. You have to carefully pick the area you plan on fishing, crossing is still difficult so you may have to back track to find one of the few shoals shallow enough to cross or walk long distances over land. If we don’t get any heavy rainfall over the next week or so the level should drop enough to make wading less difficult.
I spent a few hours turkey hunting Monday morning; I didn’t get to do any pre-season scouting so I went out blind. It was a beautiful morning to be in the woods, as I finished my coffee and got my gear together I listened for any gobbling activity but the birds remained silent. I slowly covered about a half-mile before I decided to set up and do some blind calling. After about thirty minutes I heard a bird gobble off in the distance, too far away to be responding to my call. After covering about two hundred yards I heard a hen call, fearing she would give up my location I froze in my tracks. She eventually moved on with out detecting me and I was able to continue on my way. After hearing this bird gobble eight or ten times earlier he had now gone silent so I decided to set up and call for a while. After about forty-five minutes with no response I moved on another half mile and set up again near the end of the ridge I had been working. After an hour with no response I slowly got up to move, at first I got up on one knee and carefully looked the area over. After assuring my self there were no turkeys in the immediate area I moved a few yards in order to see the view off the end of the ridge. Just as I began to climb up on a downed tree to get a better view I heard that all to familiar sound that no turkey hunter wants to hear PUTT! PUTT! PUTT! I was busted. Just a few yards away at the other end of the dead fall I was standing on a mature tom came out like he was shot from a canon. I had one brief second when I realized he was a tom and he was still in range but chose to pass on a shot that would likely only produce a wounded bird and a meal for the coyotes. Wish me luck, see you next week.

April 8, 2008

With all the rain the area has received over the last month or two the river is running very full. It’s been many years since the river has carried this much water this long after any significant rainfall. I made one four-hour trip to the river last week. With the high volume of water one must use extreme caution when crossing, pick your crossing carefully, cross in tandem with your fishing partner and use a wading staff or a good strong stick. The speed of the flow makes fishing a little difficult but I managed to land eight or ten fish mostly browns along with a couple of rainbows all in the 12” to 14” range, I also lost a pair of fish that could have gone 20” or better. It’s a lot of fun fishing after such a large rise; it can change so much it’s like exploring a new river. The wildlife didn’t seem to suffer too much I saw several deer a flock of turkeys, an osprey and an eagle. See you next week.

April 1, 2008

I don’t have a fishing report for the last two weeks; the high water has kept me off of the river. It appeared the river would recede enough to do some fishing over the weekend but the area received another two or three inches of rain resulting in a rise of 18” on top of an already high river. The local forecast calls for more rain later in the week so it doesn't look too promising. I’m getting a little anxious; I normally don’t go this long with out fishing, unless I’m quail hunting. Turkey season is only a few weeks away, if we don’t get too much rain in the next few weeks I hope to spend several mornings turkey hunting followed by some afternoon trout fishing. See you next week, maybe.

March 18, 2008

Made the annual two-day trip to the North Fork with three old friends. The river is in excellent shape (was in excellent shape, I just checked the USGS web site and the Current is up about 13’ the North Fork 11’ both have flows of 20,000 gallons per cubic foot per second, the North Fork was about 900 cfs two days ago). We where unable to pattern the fish, they were where we found them. The first afternoon we landed two browns over 20” a 21” and a 23” along with six or eight fish in the 15” to 18” range about half browns and half rainbows. There were also another dozen or so trout caught in the 12” to 15” range along with eight or ten bass, both small mouth and large mouth up to 15“.
Day two we spent a full nine hours on the river with similar results, the big fish of the trip a 23” brown was caught along with a 20”(each fisherman caught one fish of 20” or better for the trip). We didn't catch any bass the second day but between us we landed three or four dozen trout mostly in the 12” to 18” range. There were also several nice fish seen or lost. My partner lost one fish in the 20” range and had follows by three or four of similar size, I lost an 18” brown and another that came off in mid air that was between 25” and 30”.
With all the rain the area has received I don’t believe I’ll be able to do any fishing this weekend. I have been getting the dogs out for some work at the local conservation area, the woodcock have moved back into the area and provide the opportunity to help keep the dogs sharp not to mention the chance to watch and listen to them perform their annual mating ritual at dusk. See you in a week or two.

March 11, 2008

The river is still up some from last week’s rise, it’s still carrying some debris but it should be in excellent shape the next few weeks barring any heavy rain fall. I made it to the river twice last week. The first was for about an hour one afternoon, I landed the only fish I saw a small rainbow.
The second trip was a long half-day with a client. My client landed a couple of small rainbows and missed two or three fish one that may have been in the 18” range. I caught two or three small browns and a pair of rainbows the largest a brilliantly colored 15”, I also missed two or three fish. We fished hard for four or five hours with only mediocre success, as the river settles out a little more the fishing should improve. We fished past a heron rookery full of raucous birds that a few weeks ago stood empty and silent. We were also treated to the sight of a pair of river otters. I did my good deed for the day by giving directions to a trio of lost horsemen. See you next week

March 4, 2008

I got in one short evening of fishing last week. The weather the last few days has gone from one extreme to another. The day I made it too the river the temperature was in the mid 70’s with sustained winds over 30 mph, a tough day to fly-fish. I waited until the last hour or so of the day and as is usually the case the wind subsided enough to get in a little fishing. The river was starting to settle out from the high water of two weeks ago but the wind had blown in enough debris to add to the challenge. I landed one nice female brown of about 18” and also missed a fish or two.
The next day the high temperature was in the 30’s and the area received several inches of rain along with sleet and freezing rain causing another rise in the river of about four feet. Today the Salem area received 8” to 12” of snow. All of this moisture will help recharge the springs and keep the flow up later into the dry season. For the most part rain fall the last six to eight years has been below normal so all of this rain is a blessing even if it does occasionally interfere with my fishing. See you next week.

February 26, 2007

After last week’s high water the river has receded to a fishable level and is in excellent shape and will remain so for several weeks to come. I got in about a half day of fishing last week with fair luck. I landed about a half dozen fish, the largest a brown just shy of 18”, I hooked and lost several others and watched one in the 20” range follow my streamer all the way to my rod tip. I fished until sunset, as I was hiking back to my Jeep I walked thru a flock of turkeys as they were starting to go to roost and a few minutes later a coyote began to call off in the distance, either event making the trip well worth the drive.
This past Saturday the Ozark Hills chapter of Quail Forever held it’s first annual banquet and it was a resounding success. The local community’s commitment to aid wildlife in general and quail habitat specifically was evident by the great turn out. See you next.

February 19, 2008

I really don’t have a report for the past two weeks. Two weeks ago the area was hit by an ice storm keeping me close to the house. Late last week we received a heavy rainfall bringing the Current at Akers Ferry up about five feet. Although the high water prevented me from doing any fishing in the long run this will help recharge the springs and keep the river at a more desirable level.
The time away from the river has allowed me to spend more time preparing for our up coming Quail Forever banquet February 23. If you are in the area you might consider attending, if not you can find a chapter near you at www.quailforever.org and join or start a chapter if there’s not one in your area, the little brown birds need all the help we can give them. See you next week.


February 5, 2008

My time on the river has really been limited due to our up coming Quail Forever banquet. Yesterday the temperature reached 70 degrees, I couldn‘t resist some time on the river even if it was only for an hour or two. I was out doing some fund raising and I scheduled my last call not to far from the Red Ribbon section of the Meramec River. I loaded up the necessary fishing gear and two of my bird dogs, they needed out of the house almost as bad as I did (and sometimes they can come in handy when talking to potential donors). The fishing was a little slow I only saw three or four fish and landed only one but it was a beautiful fat 20” brown trout. The rivers in this area are well below normal level but we did receive several inches of rain today. As I write this report I have the USGS web site pulled up looking at the gauge at Akers Ferry on the Current River. Over the last ten to twelve hours the river has risen about 4” and it’s still rising, and all this does is bring the flow up to the six-year average for this time of year. This rise will add some color to the river for a week or two and that usually means better fishing, I’ll try to make it to the river in the next few days and find out. See you next week.


January 29, 2008

Our Quail Forever banquet is fast approaching and it’s taking up most of my free time. The temperature has been in the sixty’s the last few days (this morning it was near sixty at 8:00 am and around noon a cold front blew in and the temperature dropped 35 degrees in an hour) and I couldn't resist getting out even if it was only for an hour or so. The fishing was pretty slow I only managed to land a couple of little ones but it was still nice to spend a little time on the river. Our banquet date is February 23, if you are in the area you might consider attending, if not attend your local Quail Forever banquet and if there isn’t a chapter in your area consider starting one. Quail populations have really been in decline for several decades and they need all the help we can give them. See you next week.

January 22, 2008

I made two short trips to the Current this week; the river is low and crystal clear. The water only gets this clear in the winter months, shorter days mean less sun light, less sun light means less algae growth and human activity in the summer months keeps the water a bit turbid. The first day back at the river in over three months and it was a cold one about twenty degrees, I spent a lot of time just cleaning ice out of my guides. It took a few casts to work the kinks out but I managed to catch three or four fish the largest a 15” rainbow. The second trip was a little warmer about thirty-five degrees I caught four or five fish the largest an acrobatic and very colorful brown of about 19“. I did have company both days, the first day I walked up a flock of about twelve turkeys and later watched three deer slowly work their way across the river on the second day I watched a majestic bald eagle soar over head for several minutes. The next month or two is my favorite time of year to be on the river the fishing is usually good and you usually have the river to your self. See you next week.

January 16, 2008

I finished out the upland season in the north west part of the state. This was my only foray into northwest Missouri this year and I decided to try a couple of MDC areas that I had not previously hunted. The first was over seven thousand acres, which could take several days to cover. In the morning I concentrated on several food plots and never got more than a half mile from the parking area. In three hours I had one point, a single that Luke found and retrieved. I hunted nearly four hours in the after noon and didn’t fare much better. I decided to work more of the interior hoping it had been less hunted. At one point the dogs stayed on a hot scent trail for fifteen or twenty minutes covering a half-mile of ground but never produced a bird, probably a running pheasant. Later deep into the interior of the area Luke pointed a big covey of over twenty birds. I killed one on the rise and missed an easy second shot; the covey flushed into open woods and I was never able to get in range for another shot.
The second area I tried was only about one thousand acres; I was able to talk to the area manager and took his advice on what area to concentrate on. After only a few minutes of hunting Luke pointed a single but the cover was to thick to allow a shot, but I was encouraged. Over the next two or three hours I flushed several singles and both dogs flushed several birds, the scent conditions must have been very poor because the dogs gave no indication there were birds in the area. After one wild flush we followed a pair of birds into a dead fall in a brushy gully, Luke pointed and after shaking limbs, stomping and throwing several rocks a pheasant flushed out of gun range into a field of thick grass. I was able to watch the bird down and moved the dogs into the area, after just a few minutes Luke had him pointed and I put him on the ground and after a long chase Luke produced the crippled bird. The after noon was much like the morning we ran through several quail one or two at a time but with no points. Late in the day Luke locked up on point, and I killed my last bird of the season.
As much as I hate to see the end of bird season I look forward to hitting the river for some trout fishing, if one wishes to experience solitude on the river the next six weeks will provide that opportunity. See you next week.

January 8, 2008

We just experienced a brief heat wave; 70 degrees and those were the two days I had available to hunt. Normally I wouldn’t complain but that's pretty hard on the dogs so we hunted from water hole to waterhole. The first day I started on an area that held a couple of coveys. In three hours we failed to catch up with either although we did come close. In one fifteen minute period covering two hundred yards of ground both dogs pointed several times indicating running birds. As the dogs worked into open woods they lost the scent trail, the birds had either run into the open woods leaving too little scent for the dogs to pick up or they had flushed. After lunch I relocated and the dogs managed to find two coveys. Luke pointed the first and I killed one bird on the rise and watched most of the covey fly into a blackberry thicket. We only managed to find one bird and I dropped it into the middle of the thicket. After several passes in what could only be described as impassable cover Luke appeared unscathed with the bird. As sun set approached Mack pointed the second covey. This covey consisted of twenty birds or so and they got up at the edge of gun range, I killed one bird and watched them fly across the river making an abrupt end to the days hunt.
My second day was just a short afternoon pass. Luke picked up the scent of these birds and after several points I began to have flash backs of the day before. After covering several hundred yards the cover we had been working was about to end at some recently plowed ground. Luke pointed again and as I went in for the flush, quail, about twenty of them began to flush all around me. I managed a double and after retrieving our kill we followed the covey into some semi open woods. A few minutes later Mack pointed a small clump of grass and four quail erupted in four different directions, I managed to kill one bird and a very unlucky tree. Sadly this upland season will soon be history, but with a little luck I should be able to hunt two or three more days. See you next week.

January 2, 2008

Happy New Year. Got in three hard days of hunting last week. The first day I hit two areas I had previously found birds. Both times the dogs picked up scent several times but never produced any birds. The last stop of the day had produced a covey late last season and early this season, both coveys within in one hundred feet of each other. As I approached the same area on this hunt Luke locked up on a solid point, as I moved in for the flush two hundred feet away a flock of fifteen turkeys flushed.
I spent day two exploring new areas late in the after noon Luke pointed a dead fall and I flushed a nice covey killing one bird and watched the covey fly two hundred yards into a cedar thicket never to be seen again.
The third day was cold with wind gust near fifty miles per hour. I spent most of the day hunting for a place out of the wind. When I did manage to stay on the down wind side of cover it was tolerable but in the open going into the wind it was unbearable. I did manage to find one covey. As a brief snow shower was approaching I heard them whistle, which for mid day is a little unusual. In the past I have seen this happen with approaching rain. This covey was spread out a little as if they where feeding, I managed to kill one bird and missed an easy second shot. They didn't fly more than one hundred yards but they must have hit the ground running. After twenty minutes of hunting the dogs only found one single and I missed my only shot at it, it flew straight up into the wind and was gone in an instant. I moved on to another new and promising area and made a short pass before calling it a day. I’d had enough of the wind and didn’t want to bust any coveys late in the day with expected over night lows near zero. See you next week.

December 26, 2007

I made it back to northern Missouri for a couple of days. With two or three inches of fresh snow and winds near thirty miles per hour I started my trip in less than perfect conditions. At my first stop I had only covered a few hundred yards when Luke flushed a covey. The birds only flew about one hundred feet before landing in a milo food plot. This area had previously received enough snowfall to knock down all the soft cover leaving small clumps of milo, grass and weeds still standing. The birds burrowed into these clumps and where nearly imposable for the dogs to smell and very difficult to flush. Over the next 45 minutes the dogs managed to locate three birds and after much stomping and kicking I was able to flush and drop two of the three. The shooting was about as easy as it gets and I could have spent more time and more than likely bagged several more birds but this covey only held about twelve to fifteen birds and I don't like to shoot a covey down below ten birds. My second stop was at another milo patch, by the tracks left in the fresh snow these birds must have just feed and moved back into heavy cover. As we worked the area the dogs became birdie several times and eventually followed the scent trail into a cedar thicket, just as we had worked or way thru the cedars Luke pointed and I missed a shot on the only bird I was going to see from this covey. We worked the area for another hour or so with no luck. As I was loading the dogs I could hear the covey whistling back up for the night.
On day two the wind had calmed considerably and I had high hopes. About fifteen minutes into my first stop a covey flushed wild about fifty yards in front of me, neither dog appeared to have scented the birds Mack was about fifty feet in front of Me and Luke was about seventy five yards to my left. These birds flew into the woods and after an hour of hunting all I saw of this covey was one bird flying from a tree. My next stop had produced as many as four coveys in a single afternoon but after three hours it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen on this day. Luke did point what appeared to be a small covey, as I fired and dropped one bird about one hundred feet away several more birds flushed from the trees. We worked this covey a little longer and I killed one more bird over a point by Mack and missed two more shots before calling it a day.
I got out for a short Christmas morning hunt locally and managed one covey. I had hunted this area earlier in the year and found a couple of ten or twelve bird coveys, it looks like they may have combined because this covey appeared to have over twenty birds. I missed on the rise but did manage to bag one single. Luke made a fine retrieve in some Blackberry that he had previously tried to avoid but had no reservations about fighting his way into knowing it held a downed bird. See you next week.

December 19, 2007

No report last week, rain and freezing rain kept me out of the field. As of this weekend my hunting grounds in North Missouri where still covered in 2” of ice topped with 6” of snow so I headed south. I spent three days hunting around Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes. First day was a short afternoon hunt. I arrived at Norfork on an area I have hunted off and on the last ten years or so and have usually found birds. After about an hour of hunting Luke pointed a covey of three or four birds that flushed out of range. A few minutes later he pointed again and I missed a shot at a single. It was just a few minutes after the second point when I began to hear the singing of beagles; a rabbit hunter had been into my quail. It was too late to relocate so I hunted the area as best I could with out interfering with the rabbit hunter; after all he was there first. Luke pointed an another single and a couple of pairs and I missed shots on a single and a couple of pairs. I did have some tough shots but I also missed one going straight away. Just as I decided to call it a day Mack locked up and I dropped one in a big dead fall that Luke had to crawl into for the retrieve thus avoiding the shut out.
Day two Bull Shoals, I let the dogs out Luke runs 100’ from the Jeep and points, I set my coffee down throw on vest grab shot gun, flush covey empty gun into sky and return for more coffee. These birds didn’t act as if they had been pressured, most only flew two or three hundred feet. Over the next hour the dogs pointed six or eight times and I picked up three birds. Luke does a fine job of hunting dead and retrieving, Mack will hold a point, honor, retrieve a thrown bird but doesn’t understand the concept of hunting dead, that just gives us something to look forward to in the off season. Just as we began to work an adjoining field both dogs went down and I flushed a second covey with just as many birds as the first (they each had fifteen to twenty birds). I dropped one on the rise and we worked these birds for another hour or so picking up one more. As we headed back in for lunch I picked up one more single. I spent the afternoon scouting; this is beautiful rugged country but not much flat ground or open fields.
Day three, I hunted several miles up the same arm of the lake I had hunted the day before. After several hours Luke points a covey and we pick up one bird, the covey flushes into a two or three year old clear cut. This looks like an area that was cut as a timber stand improvement, most of the timber is still on the ground. After an hour of climbing over, thru and around downed trees and picking up one more bird and hearing or seeing several more flush with out getting any shooting we move back to Norfork to finish the day. I decided to try the same area I had hunted two days earlier but come up empty handed only finding a couple of old roost sites. If the weather holds I’ll head back north. See you next week.

December 4, 2007

Hunted parts of three days. First hunt, a quickie, an hour before work. Two coveys, the first about one hundred yards from the parking lot. It’s a crisp morning; the dogs haven't been out for a couple of days. Luke is traveling, fast, covering ground in a straight line down the service road. I whistle, send him to the left and thirty feet from the road he locks-up. I walk in for the flush kill one quail (should have had a double) Luke retrieves, man do I know my stuff. Second covey a quarter mile later, Mack (five-month-old pup) is chasing a rabbit, I am chasing Mack for a scolding and a little ear pinch, I’d rather my bird dogs not chase rabbits. About fifty feet away Luke is watching Mack and I, taking in the action. He almost looks as if he is on point, I give him the ok and he turns his head, he is on point. I walk in for the flush kill one quail, Luke retrieves, man does Luke know his stuff.
Second hunt, three hours. Sixty degrees thirty-five mile per hour wind gust.
First two hours nothing. Then I hear quail whistle, three hundred yards later Luke picks up scent, trails for about three hundred yards and looses scent. About the time I start to wonder if we are trailing turkeys Mack bumps a covey of quail. For the next thirty or forty minutes we hunt singles, no points, three or four wild flushes three or four wild shots. Did I mention the thirty five-mile per hour wind gusts? It begins to rain end of hunt.
Third hunt, six hours. First stop, let dogs out, pour coffee, watch covey flush one hundred fifty feet from parking lot and fly one hundred yards across field to the edge of cedar thicket. Grab vest, gun and dogs, Luke points, birds flush into cedars, no shots fired. We hunt singles for the next hour, the dogs pick up scent a few times but no points, no flushes, no birds. Work one new area and one area that has previously produced, no luck. After lunch move to next area. About two hundred yards from parking lot a covey flushes wild behind me, fly’s over my head into cedar thicket, I give a one shot salute and move on to next field. We work past a food plot that has produced in the past and move along the woods, Luke bumps a covey (the wind is at his back) and they flush into brushy woods. Luke points, two birds flush and I wing one but it doesn't fall. As we work in the direction of the wounded bird Luke points on the far side of a nasty patch of blackberry. As I try to work thru for a shot two birds flush but I'm to entangled to raise my gun. We spend the next thirty minutes looking for singles and the wounded bird but come up empty. We move on to the next cover. We are working along a brushy ditch toward a jungle, Mack points in a giant dead fall just twenty feet below me. I go in for the flush but the birds keep the dead fall between them and me and I miss a single shot at one bird that flares to the right. We follow them into the jungle, Luke points and the bird flushes before I can get into shooting position. Luke points in the only open space in the area the bird flushes straight away and I miss a give me shot. A couple more wild flushes no more shots move on to the last cover for the day. So far for the day four coveys no birds bagged. I follow both dogs over a rise; Mack picks up a scent Luke breaks out of the cover to the right. I follow Mack for the next ten minutes and he looses the scent. I go back to high ground and see Luke on point one hundred yards away, as I move in his direction I encourage Mack to come along and about half way there he points. I move in flush a single over Luke and drop it, a second bird flushes and I miss it and a covey of fifteen birds flush in front of Mack, out of gun range. Luke retrieves my bird and we move to look for singles. The dogs work past a thick patch of tall weeds and before I follow them I wade into the weeds and flush the covey and on the third shot bring down a bird that Mack retrieves. Over the next twenty minutes we get three or four wild flushes and three or four points. I make the next give me shot then miss the one after that and miss two more that had me tied in knots. Five coveys, a pretty good day of finding birds; Three in the bag, over twenty rounds fired, should have been six in the bag, could have been a limit. I can hardly wait for my next trip. See you next week.

November 27, 2007

I got in three full days of hunting last week. Thanksgiving Day I hunted locally on two different MDC areas. In the morning I hunted with my friend Alan. I hunted this area a few weeks ago and found two coveys. On this day in about three hours we moved one covey and they flushed wild. We got in a little singles shooting but neither Alan nor I managed to hit any thing. I did manage to kill a pair of woodcock. I finished out the day on a different area just a few miles away. In about two hours I flushed one woodcock and missed my only shot of the afternoon.
A couple of days later I headed back north to what has become my favorite hunting grounds. I started my first day late in the morning, hunting an area I had found birds on last year. The area appeared to have been burned off this fall. This should improve brood rearing habitat for quail and all ground nesting birds over the next few years. In over three hours I found one woodcock, my last one of the year (the season closes Nov. 28). After a late lunch and only having a little over an hour to hunt I headed to an area I had found several coveys on last week. Luke found one covey and I picked up one bird on the rise and Mack pointed a single that flew straight back at me and I dropped on the third shot going away. The next day I started out hunting some new ground. After about forty-five minutes Luke pointed the first covey of the day and I missed my first bird of the day. We made several passes for singles and had two birds flush wild and out of gun range. I did kill the one bird that Luke pointed. I relocated to another area that I had never hunted and Luke pointed a covey less than one hundred yards from the parking lot. I knocked one bird down but it was only winged. As Luke went in to hunt dead he moved a few yards past where the bird had fallen. What I assumed was the wounded bird got up and when I shot it another covey flushed and I hit one bird on that rise. Two coveys within one hundred yards of the parking lot! After hunting singles for a while and missing my only shot I hunted out the rest of the area before moving on for one last try before dark. I had found two coveys on this area a few weeks ago but in about an hour all the dogs found where four deer carcasses (two dumped at the parking lot). I've had better hunts but I did find three more coveys, which brings the total to about fifteen on this area. See you next week.

November 20, 2007

After letting the deer hunters do their thing I headed back north to the public land I’ve had such good luck on. In a day and a half of hunting I found (actually my dogs found) six coveys and one woodcock. I hunted five different areas, on two we where blanked although I had found birds on both last year and on one this year. On the other three I found one covey on one, two on another and three on the last in only two hours. I killed two birds the first afternoon and should have had two or three more. I shot better on the second day bagging seven quail and one woodcock and only missing shots on three or four birds, which for me is not bad. Considering that the temperatures where well above normal the dogs did a great job. Luke does a fine job of finding birds and is an excellent retriever. Mack my five-month old pup continues to show promise, he found one covey that Luke missed and pointed a single or two. Luke is a big ranging dog for a Brittany and at this point Mack hunts much slower and closer, if he continues along these lines I will have a pair of dogs that really complement each other. Thanksgiving dinner isn't until 5pm so I should get in a full day of hunting and at least two more on the weekend, see you next week.

November 13, 2007

With the opening of deer season upon us choosing a safe place to quail hunt becomes the number one priority. The Dept. of Conservation declares some areas off limits to single projectile firearms, therefore closing them to firearms deer hunting. These are the areas I choose to hunt early in the deer season. After the first few days most deer hunters have headed home either having filled their tag or calling it quits until next season, so by the second weekend with a little extra caution its relatively safe to venture back onto most public hunting areas.
I got in two full days of bird hunting last week. My first trip was on a different section of the same state Conservation area I hunted successfully the week before. The temperature was near eighty degrees with low humidity, a beautiful day but poor scenting conditions for the dogs. I've hunted this area many times over the years with fair success, finding quail in the same areas year after year. I went through all the usual places and found quail sign but no quail. There are a few woodcock in the area but my brit Luke bumped more than he pointed and for the day I only mounted my gun one time but I was unable to get a clean shot.
The second trip I hunted the morning with my friend Alan. Luke pointed a covey about thirty minutes into the hunt, a beautiful point, in the open, with no obstructions, luckily for the birds they all flushed in my direction flying off unharmed as I emptied my twenty gauge in a salute to their evasiveness. We hunted about two more hours without finding any more birds before the rain ended our morning hunt. After some lunch I headed a couple of counties west in an effort to beat the rain. As I was driving onto my hunting area I watched a flock of about two dozen turkeys work their way across an open field and into the woods. Shortly after starting my hunt a pair of quail flushed wild behind me and I was able to watch them down. In just a few minutes Luke was locked on point and I dropped the one bird that flushed and Luke made his normal fine retrieve. About thirty minutes later Luke began to pick up scent and a few seconds later my young pup Mack pointed and I flushed a covey of sixteen to eighteen birds. One bird flushed to my right and I dropped it and as Luke went in for the retrieve I watched the covey down a couple hundred yards away. After getting Mack a little retrieving practice we headed off in the direction of the flush. After about forty-five minutes of hunting we only managed to find one single and it flushed out of range. As the sun began to drop behind the trees I watched a pair of bald eagles soar over head and decided to call it a day. See you next week.

November 6, 2007

Opened quail season with a couple of days hunting in northeast Missouri with (Charles) a client. Eight coveys in two days, 14 birds bagged and only one lost not bad for wild quail in this day and age. The weather was a little on the warm side, mid sixty’s, we just had to keep the dogs well hydrated. Had some great dog work even with the dry conditions. I had my four-year-old Brit Luke, my four-month-old Brit pup Mack and Charles had his three-year-old Brit T. on several occasions all three dogs (even Mack) where on point at the same time. Luke found the majority of the coveys and made two great long distance retrieves on wounded running birds, T did some fine work on singles and retrieved several birds. Mack also got in the act backing several times and retrieving some thrown birds. If you are interested in hunting wild quail there appears to be plenty of birds. We hunted eight or ten different fields, found birds in all but one or two and never hunted the same place more than once. On a scouting trip a few weeks ago I located birds in several areas that we didn’t get to last week and there are still hundreds of acres of prime habitat that I’ve still not hunted. I also got in a couple of trips locally on state land. I hunted one full day with Alan my number one hunting partner. In six hours we only found one covey. That wasn’t all bad because Mack located and pointed his first covey. It was actually the second covey he found the first one he jumped in the middle of. Neither Alan nor I managed to hit anything on the rise, not the ideal situation for a pup’s first point. We managed to get a little singles work but we ended the day without knocking down a single bird.
My next local hunt was a few hours one afternoon. Luke found two coveys and a few singles and I managed to bag three birds. He also pointed three woodcock; I went two for two passing a shot on the third. It looks like some flights of woodcock may have finally moved south. Although Mack didn’t find any birds on our last two trips he does show good intensity working scent after we have moved birds from an area. The season is just getting started, give me a call and we can set up a trip. See you next week.

October 30. 2007

I drove North to Iowa for a couple of days of pheasant hunting. The weather was beautiful although a little warm for the dogs. Fall’s running a little late in Iowa this year, usually by the pheasant opener the color is past peak, as of October 28 the color seemed to be near peak. I hunted a hard six or seven hours the first day and killed to roosters and missed a straight going away shot on the third. But, in six plus hours I only saw three roosters! I did stay in the hens all day at least enough to keep things interesting, I flushed up wards of two dozen with points on well over half. I got some really good dog work from Luke. Although we don’t pheasant hunt that often I’m learning to read him fairly well and we managed to pinch all three of the birds I had shots at. On day two I decided to check out a couple of other areas. I walked some pretty good-looking habitat and in a half day I only managed five or six hens. Late in the day I decided to head south and try a place in Missouri where I’ve had some good luck with woodcock. I managed to get in about one hour before sunset. In the past I have filled a limit of three woodcock in an hour. I headed straight for the heavy cover and managed to pick up one bird. I didn't really see any woodcock sign and Luke only got birdie once other than the bird I shot. Hopefully they are just running a little late like this fall seems to be and they didn’t have an off reproductive year. Last night I unpacked from Iowa. Tonight I just finished packing for a quail trip to north Missouri to open the season with a client. See you next week.

October 23, 2007

I spent a couple of day’s woodcock hunting and scouting for Quail in northeast Missouri last week. I hit several good looking woodcock coverts with little luck, I bagged the only woodcock seen and also picked up one dove. I made several trips into this area late last quail season and had some of best hunting in memory. The prospects for this season are looking pretty good. I started out in some areas I had found birds last season and found birds in all four of those areas. Two coveys were with-in 100’ of where I found them last year. I also tried two new areas and found another covey. I have a client coming up next week to open the season so I hope to have a good report next week, weather permitting. My four year old Brittany Luke performed great. Although my four-month-old pup Mack isn’t pointing yet he does honor and I noticed on several occasions he was shivering with intensity when he would back. It looks like the fall colors may come and go fairly quick this year but I did see several areas with some of the most brilliant maples I have ever seen. If you get the chance get out and enjoy the colors, you may just have to look a little harder to find them. See you next week.

OCTOBER 16, 2007

Made it to the Current River one time last week. Starting to see some color in the valley, Dogwoods, Sycamor, Birch and some very showy Maples. The river is low and very clear, clearer than it’s been all summer possibly due to the decrees in canoe and horse traffic. In two hours I landed five fish, a 12” largemouth, one little smallmouth one rainbow under 6” probably stream bred (most of the rainbows the Conservation Dept. stocks are over 12”) and a pair of browns the largest a very colorful 19”.
Woodcock season started Monday and I got in about five hours of hunting. Didn’t see a single bird, but that’s not too unusual early in the season. It would be rare not to see fair numbers of birds by the end of the month. Quail season is less than two weeks away reports for the Ozarks are better than the last few years. Turkey season remains open thru the month but reproduction was the lowest in many years. See you next week.

October 9, 2007

I took a party of three fishing mid week it was a nearly perfect day to be outside, sunny and 80 degrees. But as is frequently the case beautiful sunny days aren’t conducive to catching fish. As we were preparing to head up river from the parking area two separate fishing parties were finishing their day. Neither party had much success and we didn’t fair any better, in four hours we managed only three or four small fish and only saw one good size fish. Falls arrival becomes a little more apparent each day; Virginia creeper and hickory are showing some color while the walnuts and sycamore have begun to drop their leaves. The below average temperatures expected this week should speed up the process. Get out and enjoy the fall color while it last, due to this summers above average heat and the late cold snap last spring your opportunity to see the season change may be short lived. See you next week.

October 2, 2007

My only trip to the Current this week was with a client. We fished about three hours Sunday morning and had the river completely to our self's, almost. We had just started fishing the first hole upriver from the access when I heard something coming down river in our direction. At first I thought it might be someone on horseback. It turned out to be a nice eight or ten point buck walking down the middle of the river, he didn’t stay around long enough to get a definite count but he was truly a beautiful animal. We had fair luck fishing, my client landed about six fish and I caught another three or four, all small browns none over 12”. We each had follows by fish in the 15" to 18" range but didn’t manage any hook-ups. I got my dogs out for some fieldwork several times last week usually finding a covey or two every hour. Woodcock season opens in two weeks and quail season two weeks later, I can hardly wait. See you next week.

September 25, 2007

I wasn’t able to make it to the river this week I was busy installing new floor covering in my home and boy can my knees tell it. I did get the dogs out for some work on several occasions. We are finding quail on a regular basis. Luke, my four year old brittany is doing a fine job of locating birds and my three month old pup Mack is doing a fine job of attacking weeds rolling in the grass and in general having a good time being a pup. He has backed Luke on several points and I’m waiting for that magical moment when he points his first bird. I hope to have a fishing report next week, see you then.

September 18,2007

The weather last week was just incredible, highs in the 70;s and lows in the 40;s it really has me looking forward to the upcoming woodcock and quail seasons. I took my bird dogs out for some fieldwork several times last week. Quail reproduction doesn’t appear to have suffered from the hot dry weather of August. Walking different routes on three separate trips we located two or three coveys per hour. The birds in one covey were so small/young they could barley fly, in all other coveys the juvenile birds were old enough to be indistinguishable from the adult birds. The dove population doesn’t appear to have fared as well, in all three outings I don’t recall seeing more than three or four doves.
I made it to the Current one time last week for about two hours, I landed six or eight small browns all under 15”. I did have an 18” brown on for a brief time but he managed to throw the hook. Although I didn’t see any fish on spawning beds most of the fish caught were sporting their spawning colors. The dogwood trees are starting to show some fall color, as are the brown trout fall can’t be far away. See you next week.

September 11, 2007

We received some much-needed rain last week, enough to saturate the ground but enough to bring the river up more than a couple of inches. I made one trip to the river, I decided to try my luck on the “Red Ribbon” section. In about two hours I landed ten or fifteen smallmouth bass in the 10” to 12” range and nearly as many goggle-eye, several of which were 8” to 9” long. Every thing I caught was on soft bait and they were still feeding when I stopped for the day thirty minutes after sunset. With the fish being this active it made wonder if I had been up river on the “Blue Ribbon” section would the big browns have been this active.
I spent about three hours one after noon on a local conservation area in search of doves and to get my Brittany's some work. I only saw one pair of dove but my four-year-old Britt Luke did find three coveys of quail. I recently acquired a Brittany pup that is now about twelve weeks old and I had him along on this little jaunt. The pup, Mack usually stays in pretty close and with all three of Luke’s covey points the birds had flushed before Mack picked up any scent. As Mack moved into the immediate area the birds had been in his hunting instincts kicked in and he really began to work each area over. At this age I don’t do much training other than a little obedience. I like to expose them to a few wild birds and try to make sure they enjoy the experience with Brittany’s this can be accomplished merely by getting them out of the kennel for a little fieldwork. See you next week.

September 5, 2007

I’m a day late this week, we held our monthly Quail Forever meeting last night and it was late when I got in. I made a short trip to the river this evening and got in about an hour of fishing. I hadn’t planned on going but a falling barometer along with some light rain was enough to entice me. I landed two little rainbows of about 12” and had two or three other follows but nothing of any real size.
I got in a couple of short dove hunts over the weekend. The first was Saturday evening; the field I hunted had a few birds on the ground when I arrived. I tried to walk some up but never got close enough to get any decent shots. I went out early the next morning and did get in a little pass shooting, very little. In about two hours I took shots at about six birds and killed two or three. Overall I don't believe I saw more than two dozen birds, that's about the least activity I can ever remember this early in the season. One of the members of our Quail Forever chapter is a wildlife biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation and manages the area I hunted. He stated at our meeting that dove reproduction appeared to be down significantly this year possibly as a result of the exceedingly high temperatures that occurred in August. In October the Conservation Dept. will conduct quail surveys on selected areas and at that time we may be able to determine if quail reproduction suffered from the hot and dry weather. See you next week.

August 28,2007

Made one short trip to the Current this week. The river is at normal summer level, low and clear. The fish where fairly active in under two hours of fishing I landed two rainbows a pair of smallmouth and four or five browns the biggest of about 15”. I did have one brown in the 18” range follow several times but didn’t manage to catch him. I saw a bobcat flash across the trail about 100’ ahead of me as I was hiking to the river. Thats the closest I’ve been to a bobcat while on foot since my old Brittany Zeke pushed one across a trail about thirty feet in front of me while quail hunting ten or twelve years ago. Dove season opens this weekend. I plan on getting out several days to see how much lead I can waste, the Weather forecast is for a little cooler temps which will make it a little easier on the dogs (and me to). See you next week.



August 21, 2007

We finally got some much-needed rain, about an inch and a half around Salem. I got in a couple of hours of fishing just as the rain was coming to an end. I was hoping to catch a good rise, maybe 5” or 10”, but it’s been so dry the amount of run-off was minimal just enough to make the water slightly off color. Between Montauk and Cedar Grove, the Blue Ribbon section there are only three places to can gain access to the river. Few people are aware of two of those accesses and those are the two I prefer to use. This trip I decided to fish from Cedar Grove, a fairly popular access, up river as far as possible before dark assuming the rain and the late start would let me have the river to my-self as is usually the case. I was almost right, there was one truck parked where I intended to start and it was too late to relocate. On a small stream like the upper Current fishing is usually best if you can fish water that hasn’t been disturbed for an hour or two. I was sure I was closer to the other angler because the rain had just stopped and there where fresh foot prints in the sand. The fishing was a little slow, I did manage to land a couple of small browns and one rainbow that was under 10”, since most of the rainbows stocked in this section are 12” or larger I think this could have been a stream bred fish. I spent nearly 30 minutes working a nice brown in the 18” to 20” range. He would only make a pass at my lure if it went directly over him and wouldn’t follow more than a foot or two. After about fifty cast he made contact with my lure but there was no hook-up and he stopped showing him self. As I was headed back to the parking area I stopped to take some pictures of the fog shrouded river when out of the mist I saw my counter part headed back down stream (the guy who had started fishing just a few minutes before me) and it turned out to be an old friend that I hadn’t seen in twenty years or more. Although Gary and I had never fished together we did have mutual friends that we had fished with. Most of what I know about trout fishing was handed down from him and two or three other fishermen. There are few people who have caught more trout from the Current River over 30” than he has. On this evening fishing about 30 minutes ahead of me he landed three browns between 18’ and 20”. That’s all for now see you next week.

August 14, 2007

The past week has been one of the hottest in memory, with four or five consecutive days over 100 degrees and more of the same on the way. The one good thing about it is if you can call it good is that the humidity has been low, most of the time below 30%. I made one trip to the river last week for about two hours and the fishing was pretty good. I landed three or four little smallmouth bass the biggest was about 13”. I also hooked four or five browns and landed three the biggest just over 18”. As hard as this hot weather is on the fisherman it does not seem to have any negative effect on the fish. The dog days of summer can provide some of the best smallmouth fishing of the year and the last six or seven weeks I have hooked at least one trout over 18” each time out. As I was slipping quietly along the edge of the river I nearly stepped on a deer lying in the tall grass. I didn’t see it until it jumped up and took off like it was shot from a canon, lucky for me I did not block her escape route or I may have been trampled. It’s only a little over two weeks until the opening of dove season, one of the first signs of fall for a bird hunter, hopefully this hot weather will have passed by then. See you next week.




August 7,2007

The last week has been hot, highs near 100 and dry. The Current being a spring fed river remains at a fairly constant temperature, so these high temps we have been experiencing lately don’t have any ill effect on fishing. I made one trip last week for a couple of hours. I landed one fat little largemouth bass just over 12”, and two or three browns the largest a 19” male. I also lost two or three fish the largest a brown in the 18” range that threw my lure. This is the fifth week in a row that I’ve hooked at least one good fish. Although I haven’t been landing large numbers of fish the big ones have been very active around or shortly after sunset. I saw a pair of spotted fawns, the first I’ve seen this summer with their mother taking a cool drink from the river just before catching the 19” brown, as I was netting him I could hear the doe snorting and blowing her alarm at my intrusion. See you next week.



July 31, 2007

I purchased a Brittany pup this week, a cute little fellow only six weeks old. He comes from a line of dogs that are professionally hunted; I have high hopes for him. If he is any thing like the two Britts I have now, he will be hunting before the end of the coming season. Brittany’s are such instinctual dogs most of their training involves obedience, hunting and retrieving usually come naturally.
I made one trip to the Current this week the river is at normal summer level but we could use some rain. I only got in a little over one hour of fishing and hooked five or six fish mostly small browns but only managed to bring one to net. As darkness was approaching and I was about to head in a nice smallmouth made a pass at my lure but didn’t connect. Over the next few minutes it made several more aggressive passes but never connected. On one cast with my lure only six or eight feet away from my rod tip out of the corner of my eye I saw a 20” plus brown cruising the shallows about fifteen feet below me. I twitched the Rapala another time or two and BAM like a bolt of lighting the big brown smashed my lure and snapped my line instantly. I checked my drag and it was still set fairly light and seemed to be working properly, with just a few feet of line from reel to lure there isn’t much stretch, well I’ll get him next time. See you next week.






July 24, 2007

The weather has been fantastic the last few days, highs in the 80’s and lows in the 50’s with low humidity. As much as we could use the rain I’ll settle for this weather any time. I didn’t make it to the Jacks Fork as planned instead I opted for a short camping trip on the lower Current, this weather really makes me want to spend as much time outside as possible. The fishing was a little slow although I did manage to catch a few smallmouth, I was hoping to catch a mess of goggle eye for a fish fry. A family of four otters treated me to a little show. They were chasing fish in the hole I was fishing until they spotted me then they stopped to watch me fish, alternately bobbing up and down like corks on the water, at one point all four had there heads above water watching me.
I made one short trip to the Blue Ribbon section. Wanting to take advantage of the great weather I parked about a mile and a half from the area I wanted to fish and hiked in, fished about a mile of water then hiked back completing a three-mile loop. The first hole I fished I hooked a big brown trout in the 20” range. After a long run up stream he headed back down stream and into the shallow water on the side of the river I was wading and into a small snag, which I managed to free him from. He then made another run into the deep water and as he headed for some submerged debris on the far side of the river I tried to turn him and applied to much pressure and broke him off. I had four or five other hook-ups, mostly small browns but didn’t manage to bring any to the net. Jacks Fork later this week? See you next week.






July 17, 2007

Made two trips to Current this week, the river is clear and at normal summer level. The first trip was on the lower river below Two Rivers near Blue Spring to an area called the Ant Hole. My goal was to size-up the area for fall quail and woodcock hunting, this was my first foray into this particular area. I found several large open fields that consisted of grasses and wild flowers with a minimum amount of fescue. There appeared to be enough quail habitat to make a full days hunt, if not there is also an old one room school house and an old farm stead to explore. There is also a primitive camp site and river access at a beautiful bluff hole (the Ant Hole) that I spent an hour fishing from a gravel bar and did manage to land three or four little smallmouth bass.
My second trip was a short evening trip on the Blue Ribbon section. In about two hours I managed four or five hook-ups mostly little browns. I had one fish on that stripped ten or fifteen feet of line before coming off, this was the first time in over two and one half years and more than 150 trips that I failed to bring at least one fish to the net on this section of river. Next week I’m planning a trip to the Jacks Fork to do some more quail scouting and hopefully a few hours of smallmouth fishing on one of the most beautiful rivers in the country. See you next week.






July 10, 2007

The river is clear and at normal level for this time of year and we are experiencing typical Missouri summer weather with temperatures of around 90 and high humidity. I got in one evening of fishing this week. I started at about 6:00 pm, after 45 minutes I had fished two good runs without seeing a single fish. With a high bluff on the north west side of the river the next hole I approached had been out of direct sun light for awhile. At the lower end of the hole I landed a 12” smallmouth, a few yards upstream lay a submerged boulder so I started to work around it. After two or three cast a big brown over 20” made two or three vicious passes at my lure but never hooked up. On the next three or four cast she made several aggressive passes but would never take my lure and eventually stopped showing any interest. Over the next hour I tried several different color and size lures but she wouldn’t follow. If I let her cool off for five or ten minutes and went back to my original choice (a black and gold rapala) she would make a pass or two but I couldn’t get her to take. On one of my offerings I hooked and landed an 18” brown and I thought the commotion from that fight might spook her. I decided to go back again to my original lure make a few more cast and head on up stream when once again out she came followed my lure to within 15’ of the rod tip and BAM nailed my offering. She made several long runs, on one up stream run she almost made it to a tree that had recently fallen into the river and after applying just enough pressure I turned her and shortly after brought her to net. She (her lower jaw has pretty straight most big males have a hooked lower jaw and she was very fat males tend toward bigger heads with smaller bodies so I believe she was a female) measured just under 25” the biggest of the year so far (maybe the second biggest ever personally). Although I didn’t cover as much water as I had hoped to I did hit one more hole and landed a feisty 15” rainbow. That's all for now, see you next week.






July 3, 2007

We finally received some much needed rain on the upper Current water shed, about two or three inches, two or three inches more would not have been to much. I made it to the river for a couple of hours of trout fishing Monday and the river was only slightly off color. The fish were fairly active, at one point three browns followed my lure on the same retrieve, two of which were in the 18” range. I worked the same hole over the next thirty minutes and had follows on ten or fifteen retrieves with four or five different lures but never managed a hook-up. At the mouth of Ashley Creek five or six little small mouths all followed on one retrieve but none came back for a second look. I hooked six or seven fish but only landed four, a pair of rainbows the biggest 14” one brown and one smallmouth. As darkness approached I watched a pair of deer cross the river and saw the first woodcock I’ve seen in several months. See you next week.






June 26, 2007

Made one short trip to the Current this week. I headed down stream a few miles below Round Spring and just a mile or two above where I fished last week. Last week I fished two hours and caught eighteen fish this week I fished two hours and caught one 12” smallmouth, go figure. This was my first trip into this spot this year and it has changed some since last year. This far down river there aren’t too many places that can be wade fished, this used to be one but some trees have fallen along the bank making it impossible to move along the shore. These trees actually are providing some excellent fish habitat but it will have to be fished from a boat or canoe. The first chance I get I will try to float this section or just slide my canoe down the bank and fish just this hole as I’ve done occasionally in the past. This spot has produced many nice smallies and has long been a favorite place to pick up a stringer full of goggle-eye. Many years ago on camping trips to this spot after dark I would sometimes tight-line fish with live bait and catch drum, gar and on a few rare occasions fresh water eel.
This past Sunday the Ozark Hills chapter of Quail Forever held it’s first fund raising event, a trap and skeet shoot at the Rolla Shooting Club. There was an excellent turn out and the folks that run the club did a great job giving expert advice on shooting and safety to the many new shooters. As president of the QF chapter I was very pleased with the financial support we received and we are now making plans for our fall banquet in October. With Quail numbers being at there lowest thru-out much of their natural range we all must do every thing we can to improve habitat and ensure quail hunting for future generations. If your not a member already you should consider joining your local Quail Forever chapter and if there isn’t one in you area consider starting one. See you next week.






June 19, 2007

Made it to the Current one time this week and as planed I headed down river for some smallmouth fishing. I drove into an area a few miles below Round Spring, which is about forty miles down river from where I fish most of the year. With the size of the river this far down stream it’s best to fish from a canoe but I only had a couple of hours so I chose a section that can be wade fished. This 1/3-mile stretch of water has produced some nice bass over the years and on one trip about twenty years ago a beautiful and totally unexpected 24” rainbow trout. Although this trip didn’t produce any trout (it’s been ten years or more since I last caught a trout this far down river) I did land sixteen to eighteen smallies mostly in the 12” to 13” range with one measuring 18”, not bad for two hours of fishing. Most were caught on soft baits but I also had some luck with sinking and suspending crank baits.
At 10:00 am Sunday June 24th our local Quail Forever chapter (Ozark Hills) will hold it’s first fund raiser a Trap and Skeet shoot and BBQ at the Rolla Gun Club. There will also be a bird dog demonstration if your in the area stop by I’m sure it will be a good time. See you next week.






June 12, 2007

The river is low and very clear we could use a good rain. Locally about an inch fell over the weekend but this was not enough to have any effect on the river. I made one trip this week, a nice mostly cloudy evening, falling barometer, near the new moon all conditions that frequently lead to good fishing but not on this trip. In about three hours of fishing I only saw three or four little fish and landed just one small rainbow but it still beats work and I did have the river to myself. When the upper river gets this low I will start making some trips down river and bass fishing more. See you next week.



June 5, 2007

I spent most of the week sick and in bed last week. The preliminary diagnosis is ehrlichioses a tick bourn disease similar to lyme disease. It is characterized by high fever (mine ran from 102 to 104 for five days) body aches and general flu like symptoms. If you spend much time out side this time of year be sure to use plenty of deet and check your self thoroughly when you finish your day.
Monday I did make a quick trip to the river. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze, big fluffy clouds and something that will be less common over the next few months, low humidity. I did manage to land a few trout, one little rainbow and a few browns the best about 16”.
My brother Pat spent about four hours fishing this afternoon sharing the river with a few canoes and several people on horseback. He landed six or eight small browns and had a couple of 18” follows but couldn’t entice either to take his offering.
Our local chapter (Ozarks Hills) of Quail Forever held it’s monthly meeting this evening. We made final plans for our fist fund raising event a Trap and Skeet shot and BBQ to be held at the Rolla Gun Club June 24th, if your going to be in the area stop by and join the fun. See you next week.




May 29, 2007

The river is running clear and steady not dropping much from my last trip; we could use some rain. I Had clients out for two half days last week. We started our first trip in the late afternoon and fished until dark, hiking from Baptist Camp to Ashley Creek and fishing back up river to the parking area. We only landed three or for fish between us, browns and rainbows in the 12” to 15” range with most of the action coming in the last hour. We hooked and lost three or four fish and had six or eight follows the largest a brown over 20” that came out about thirty minutes after sun set and followed one of my clients and my lure several times but with no hook-up.
The second trip was at sunrise, starting a Parker Hollow and fishing up stream (which is always my preference). We fared a little better on this day landing five or six fish the best a fat 15” rainbow. We had action most of the morning with numerous follows and a few lost fish the biggest seen was a brown in the 18” to 20” range that followed twice but to no avail. One client did manage to catch three species, small mouth, rainbow and his first brown trout. We managed to fish until nearly 11:00 am before canoe traffic picked up and we made our two-mile hike back to the parking area. See you next week.




May 22, 2007

I got in two short trips to the Current this week. The river is still dropping noticeably from week to week and is beginning to run clear but there is still plenty of water to float the upper river. My first trip was one of the slowest fishing days I’ve had in a while. I landed the only two fish I saw a pair of little browns but it was still a beautiful evening to be on the river.
My second trip also in the evening turned out to be a little more productive. The first hole I fished I hooked up with a nice brown in the 20” range. I watched it follow my lure to with-in about five feet of the rod tip before striking it then made several nice runs before shaking free. After hitting several more holes and picking up two or three small browns I saw another brown in the 20” range follow two or three times before I moved on to the next hole. After fishing a couple of slower deeper holes with no luck I tried a fast run that has produced in the past. On the first cast a beautiful 19” brown nailed my lure and made three or four mad dashes across the surface of the water tail walking like a largemouth bass before succumbing to the net.
This coming weekend is the Memorial Day holiday. If you are planning on heading to the river you will want to be aware of some of the new rules the Park Service has enacted this year. Styrofoam coolers, diving from cliffs and rope swings have been banned. Also on the prohibited list are beer kegs, beer bongs, and jello shots and don’t forget the ban on glass bottles is still in effect. There will also be a crack down on public intoxication minors in possession of alcohol and illegal drug use. The Park Service also intends to step up the number of officers at access points and discourage loud stereo systems. These changes should make your visit to the river more pleasant. If at all possible during the summer months try to plan your trip for weekdays or Sundays to avoid the crowds and you will be able to enjoy a more peaceful river. See you next week.




May 15, 2007

The weather has been so nice lately I decided to do a little hiking. I’ve read about The Current River Natural Area so I headed south of Bunker to see if I could locate this unique area. This is a 256-acre virgin forest area located within the 61,000-acre Pioneer Forest containing white oak trees up to four hundred years old. After only a couple of wrong turns I found the sign marking the area. I was not disappointed; there were numerous large oaks that shaded the forest floor making these some of the most open woods I’ve seen in this area. The small steam that flows thru the area contains many small waterfalls and large boulders making travel very difficult but well worth the effort. After a little cross-country travel I located a section of the Ozark Trail that runs thru the area making travel a little less difficult. After the breath-stealing climb from the valley floor back to the ridge top parking area I made the short drive to the river. I accessed the river at Bee Bluff a beautiful spot located between Round Spring and Two Rivers; I even managed about thirty minutes of fishing catching a half dozen smallmouth bass with one measuring over 14”.
I made one trip to the Blue Ribbon section this week; the river is still in excellent condition with good color and strong flow. I hiked down river from Baptist Camp to Ashley Creek and fished back up river for two or three hours. The fish were very active from the start. On my second or third cast I hooked a nice fish that stripped several feet of line before throwing the hook. I only landed six or eight fish but I hooked and lost just as many and had several other follows including a brown trout in the 20” range that followed six or eight times. The best brown of the day was 17” the best fish of the day was a very fat 21” rainbow. She measured over 14” in girth and made numerous strong runs before succumbing to the net. If memory serves me correctly this might be the biggest rainbow I’ve caught since the 23” bow I caught about five miles below Round Spring nearly twenty years ago. A big silver fish that left the water by about two feet and at first glance looked for all the world like a salmon. That’s all for now see you next week.

May 8, 2007

I only made one trip to the Current this week, there was another rise on the river of about 18”. By this past weekend it had fallen about 12” and was in excellent condition. My brother Pat made the trip with me. More often than not we will go our separate ways and fish different sections of river but with the river up and running fast we chose to fish together for safety reasons. With the increased flow one false step and a person could be swept off of their feet. We only fished a little over two hours and Pat caught four or five browns in the 12” to 15” range and lost or saw five or six others. I landed six or eight fish, one fat little large mouth bass and the rest browns with the biggest a beautiful 22” female that made two nice leaps of about two feet.
I got in one last turkey hunt and only managed to call in a coyote. He was stalking my decoys and was about fifteen yards to my left and about the same distance from my decoys when he winded me and took off like a shot.
We had our monthly Quail Forever meeting this evening. We are working on a fund raising shoot to be held June 24th at the Rolla Gun Club. If your in the area stop by and break a few clays and have some BBQ its for a good cause. Don’t forget to join your local chapter if you haven’t already we need to do all we can to enhance quail habitat. See you next week.

May 1, 2007

I made one early morning trip to the Current this week; the river is in great shape. We had a little rain mid week that brought the river up a few inches. There is rain forecast for latter in the week this pretty well guaranties the river will be in good shape for floating Memorial Day weekend.
I got in four good hours of fishing and didn’t see another sole, which is amazing considering how great the weather has been. I landed twelve to fifteen fish, a colorful pair of 12” rainbows with the rest being browns in the 12” to 14” range. The largest was an 18” brown that took on the third follow and went airborne several times. I turkey hunted one day and called in one Tom that came in silently with a hen and hung up about fifty to sixty yards out. I think the hen was the one that responded to my call and he was just following her. This Tom looked like a mature bird but his beard appeared to make a complete loop, which could have been a deformity or may have been damaged sparing with another Tom. Compared to resent seasons I’ve heard very little gobbling which could be the result of the early warm weather followed by the cold spell we had before the start of the season. See you next week.


April 24, 2007

I made it to the Current a couple of times this week. The river is in excellent condition. It’s still up about a foot from last weekend’s rise with good color. My first trip was only for a couple of hours one afternoon. I landed six browns all in the 14” to 16” range. I lost four or five other fish one that may have gone as much as 20” and another that I didn’t get a look at but pulled out 15’ to 20’ of line before throwing the lure.
My second was three hours in the evening. I landed ten to twelve fish one 14” rainbow the rest browns mostly in the 14” to 16” range with the largest being a very acrobatic 19”. I also lost three or four but none of any real size. My turkey hunting was limited this week due to my old Brittany Zeke having some health problems and spending some time at the vets tending him. But I did get out late one morning for three or four hours with no luck.
See you next week.




April 17, 2007

I had a trip scheduled for this past Sunday but there was a nearly three foot rise on the Current Saturday so that trip will be rescheduled. Sunday afternoon I checked out 200 acres of private land that I will conduct quail and woodcock trips on this fall and possibly turkey hunts this spring. I took my Brittany Luke and we explored for about three hours finding much Turkey sign and two or three woodcock.
Monday the 16th was the opening of spring turkey season. I chose to hunt National Forest land south east of town. I heard two or three birds gobble early but as I tried to get within calling distance I was intercepted by other hunters twice so I spent a lot of time back tracking and blind calling. If I suspect there is another hunter in the immediate area I will vacate and try to find another bird to work. I strongly believe most hunters are well educated and safe but still yet there are those that In the heat of the moment may shoot at a sound without identifying there target and a person must always look out for ones own safety.
Monday afternoon I made a short trip to the river, It had fallen a foot or so but was still very dingy and running very fast. I did manage to land four or five browns all 12’ to 14” fish. I also lost two or three and saw three or four others, none of any real size. The fishing these next few weeks should be above normal with a little higher level and the water will have some color to it making the fish a little less spooky. These next three weeks will involve some very long days turkey hunting in the mornings and fishing in the afternoon but a mans got to do what a mans got to do ha ha. See you next week.





April 10, 2007

Made it to the Current twice last week. Temperatures have been well below normal with lows dropping to around 20 degrees on several occasions. The first trip was late one evening for an hour and a half at sun set and very cold. The fish were fairly active I had six or eight follows and landed four browns the largest a fat 18” female. She followed at least six times before taking a black/gold Rapala and made one nice leap before succumbing to the net.
The second trip, with my brother Pat was a much warmer day but this didn’t seem to impress the fish much. In about four hours I managed to land five or six fish the largest two a 16” brown and a 14” rainbow. Pat only landed two fish a pair of 16” browns. We both tried several types and colors of lures but were unable to find any pattern but the warmer weather was nice and we had the river to our selves for the afternoon.
Earlier this evening we held our monthly Quail forever meeting. We are planning a fund raising skeet/trap shoot and barbeque at a Rolla area gun club to be held some time in early June. If you are interested in improving quail habitat and live in or plan on being in the area let me know and I can fill you in on the time and place of our event. We all need to do every thing we can to help the bobwhite so contact Quail forever and join your local chapter and if there isn’t one in your area start one.
See you next week.


April 3,2007

Made two trips this week of about four hours each. The first trip I caught ten or twelve fish, all browns. I tried several different lure colors and had equal success with each. I kept trying different combinations of color and retrieve searching for a monster brown trout but didn’t manage any thing over 17”.
The second outing I landed fifteen or twenty fish, three or four small browns ten to twelve small mouth bass mostly 10” to 12” with one of 14” and two rainbows one 15” and one 18”. At one point I caught six small mouth with out moving an inch. This trip came late in the week as the moon phase was nearing full. With the sky being mostly free of clouds I chose to hike back in under moonlight. It’s amazing how well one can see if your eyes have time to adjust to the low light and how much better you can hear in the darkness. I was serenaded by the calls of whip poor wills, owls and coyotes as the moon shown bright enough to cast my own shadow on the trail.
I had Luke my Brittany out several times this week and he found quail every time. The woodcock that were so plentiful have moved north to nest after spending the last month performing their unique mating display. See you next week.



March 26, 2007

I Spent two days in southern Missouri fishing the North Fork of the White River with three long time friends. This is an annual trip that started in the early 90s with six or eight of us but over the last few years for various reasons has dwindled to the same four. Regardless of the fishing we always have a good time and enjoy each other’s company, as you would expect of friends you have known since high school or before. Last years trip was not one to brag about with only one fish as big as 18” being caught either day. This year we had the best trip in memory and maybe the best trip ever. Saturday started out less than spectacular, in my canoe I managed only two browns of about 15” while my partner James landed one fish a 13” to 14” small mouth. The other canoe fared better with Scott landing a pair of rainbows and one brown all in the 15” to 17” range and Mike landing the big fish of the day a 23” brown and if I’m not mistaken his only fish of the day.
As Sunday dawned with a forecast similar to Saturdays, warm and mostly sunny with a stiff head wind from the south and not getting on the river until nearly an hour after sun up we were none to optimistic. By the second chute we began to see our luck forming for the day. As we were entering the upper end of the hole James landed a feisty 19” brown and as he fished his way down I walked to the lower end and began fishing up stream. In short order I landed what turned out to be the best fish of the trip, a hard running male brown of 24”. Meanwhile in the other canoe Mike landed a fat 22” female brown and Scott landed two more rainbows around 15” {the great thing about the rainbows in this river is they are all wild stream bred fish} and one brown of nearly 18”.
Before the day was over I landed browns of 21” and 18” and lost another over 20” at the net and three or four smaller browns and a pair of rainbows of 13” and 15” and lost two other fish of good but undetermined size. James landed another brown of nearly 20” several smaller browns a 13” small mouth and lost two more browns around 20”. Scott and Mike were fairing nearly as well. Scott landed two more chunky 17” browns and lost another of about 20”. Mike continued his good luck landing another 21” brown and three or four more 15” to 18” fish. This was a trip to remember and one we will all talk about for many years to come.
I made one short trip to the Current this week. After starting out fast and landing a nice 17” brown and seeing three or four others including one that may have reached 20” in the first thirty minutes I lost the only black/gold Rapala I had with me. On our North Fork trips we all try to start out with different lures and colors in order to pattern the fish as fast as possible. This year all fish over 18” were caught on black/gold while on previous trips or any other trip for that matter black/gold might not buy a fish. After two hours with only a few follows and no hook ups around sun set I managed to land a pair of browns of about 15” and had one over 20” follow several times before I was forced to give up the day to darkness. I’m already looking for my next chance to hit the river give me a call and maybe we can set a trip. I know where there are several nice fish {I release every thing I catch} and you just might be able to talk me into a trip on the North Fork. See you next week.




MARCH 19, 2007

I made two trips to the river this week. The first trip the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm a great day to be on the river. But as often happens on these cloudless days the fishing can be a little tough. My client and I started fishing about four hours before dark with little success the first two hours. As the evening progressed toward sunset we began to see and catch a few fish. Between the two of us we landed five or six fish in the 12” to 15” range with more or less equal numbers of Browns and Rainbows and also saw two or three fish that might have been 20” or better. On our hike back to the Jeep we walked thru a flock of turkeys in the process of going to roost.
The second trip was with my brother Pat. The weather this day was not as nice as the previous day, cloudy and threatening rain. As usual the fishing was more productive under these conditions. We fished about five hours late morning to early afternoon. The first three hours I had follows from ten to fifteen fish including two or three over 18” but managed no hook-ups. After trying seven or eight different lures I finally hit pay dirt an F13 Fire Tiger. Over the next two hours I landed ten fish about half Browns half Rainbows mostly in the 14” to 16” range and lost five or six more although I failed to attract any as big as 18”, go figure. Meanwhile Pat was changing lures as nearly as often as I was. As luck would have it He failed to try the Fire Tiger and managed only two or three fish proving that some of the time lure color is very significant. Turkey season is only a few weeks away so if you are planning a trip soon it might be best to schedule before then or after the first weekend of the season. See you next week.

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