Big Trout on the Line

Monday was the first of 3 days with the Rod Men crew who have been coming to fish the Missouri with us for years.  We met early and went up to Wolf Creek.  Today I had Bill and Dave in my boat while fellow guide, Scott, had Lev and Hunter.

We started out with deep nymph rods and the guys doubled up on nice rainbows in our first spot.  Then Bill picked up another and one then one more, and then Dave was tight to a nice fish.  We boated 5 in that first long run and the morning continued at that same fast pace.

Every run we fished the guys were hooking 2 or 3 trout including a fat 20″ bow that Bill landed (unpictured….long story).  Mid-morning we switched over to short leash rods and that fishing was just as productive.  Dave stuck a thick 21″ bow out of a foamy seam and we picked up a couple nice browns.

After lunch we stayed with the short leash rods and the action was very steady.  The foamy back eddies were loaded and produced several quality trout each.  Bill picked up a gorgeous 21″ bow on a fast rocky bank and we added several more nice brown trout too.

The fishing was about as good as it gets as the guys had a bunch of doubles today and hot fish running and jumping in every run.  We managed to dodge some dark clouds and rain as Bill landed the last rainbow of the day right above the takeout.

Big Trout on the Line

Tuesday we decided to roll the dice with the Rod Men and head down into the canyon.  The Dearborn has come up with runoff, but the clarity still looked ok and we wanted to give it a shot.  I had Dave and Lev in my boat today and we started off with short leash rods.

Lev stuck a nice 18″ rainbow in our first spot against a big cliff wall and he followed that up with a decent brown trout at the bottom of that run.  Dave had a couple good ones on that got away as Lev maintained the magic touch with the next few fish in the boat.

Then Dave connected with the next 3 rainbows and netted them all.  The fishing continued at a steady pace with decent trout coming out of most of the likely places through the morning.  It was interesting to see more brown trout on the hunt than rainbows.

In the afternoon Dave had the hot hand.  He tagged the first two rainbows before Lev added a brown trout and then he rattled off a string of rainbows from the front seat.  The boys finished the day off with a double just around the corner from the takeout.

We had to work a little harder today and the action was not quite as fast and furious as it has been, but Lev and Dave still brought a good number of nice fish to the boat.  Lots of browns today with some rainbows mixed in.  No big fish, but plenty in the 14-17″ range.

Big Trout on the Line

Wednesday we took the boys back up to Wolf Creek to finish up the trip.  Today I had Bill and Lev in the boat as we started off with deep nymph rigs and Lev hooked up to a hot rainbow in the first spot.  He tagged two more and then Bill doubled up with him in the next run.

Lev’s hot streak continued with the next few fish and they were all hard fighting rainbows that took long runs.  Bill got into the mix with a bright 20″ bow after that  and from there both guys were finding quality trout in all the spot we fished the rest of the morning.

The afternoon started with a flawless 20″ brown that Bill landed.  Then we switched over to short leash rods for the rest of the day.  We didn’t see a lot of bugs this afternoon  and definitely had to work a little more for our chances, but there were still fish eating in the right spots with the right drift.

Faster water seemed to be the key and we found a few in the foamy back eddies as well.  It’s funny how the Missouri river can skew your sense of reality.  We probably landed close to 30 with 6 or 7 in the 19-20″ range along with plenty of fish that got away.   It was a great 3 days with the Rod Men crew and we look forward to fishing with them again on the Mo next season.

Big Trout on the Line

Thursday was the first of 2 days with local anglers, Steve and Susan.  They had a blast in the jet boat at LOG last year so we decided to hit that today.  There were some big midges hovering over the marina so we started off in the lake fishing chronimids.

It only took about 5 minutes before Steve as tight to the first trout of the day, a big 23″ rainbow.  In the next 15 minutes we only had one other strike so it was time to motor up the river.  Steve was unstoppable in the river, he stuck nice rainbows on every drift.

It took a couple runs for Susan to get her hook set dialed in, but once she did it was a double on the next pass.  After that run we doubled up again.  Susan had a nice 19″ fish that she landed quickly but Steve was connected to something heavy.

When I first saw that rainbow I almost couldn’t believe it.  It was the fattest trout I have ever seen.  Steve did a great job fighting that beast and got it to the net.  I had to put a tape measure on it because it was the heaviest rainbow I’ve ever seen.

It was 22″ long with a 15″ girth.  The fat on that fish was incredible.  It was an action packed morning and the amazing thing was we landed more fish over 20″ than under 20″.  After lunch we went to the upper river to check that out.  It was a little busier so we just made one long drift where Susan picked up 3 nice fish and Steve added a few as well.

Our next run produced another big bow for Susan and then she decided to give her arm and shoulder a rest so it was just Steve the rest of the day.  We focused on 2 faster runs and Steve was sticking multiple hot fish on every pass.  There was a time period in the afternoon where it was automatic.

Steve would get his flies in the water and it wasn’t long until his rod was bent.  We closed out the day back on the lower river and Steve hooked 2 more before we ran back to the marina.  Non-stop action today and lots and lots of big rainbows from 20-23″.

Big Trout on the Line

Friday I decided to fish the canyon stretch of the Mo with Steve and Susan.  We had big winds in the forecast and while you can’t dodge the wind entirely, the canyon is the best bet to get some relief.  Susan decided to just take in the sights today so I started Steve off with a short leash rod.

After a few spots with no result I pulled over to change flies.  The next side channel produced a decent brown but then we had a stretch with nothing so we switched to a deeper nymph rig.  The wind was problematic in a couple spots but we still should have hooked something so I changed flies on the deep rig too and the next run produced 4 fish before we stopped out of the wind for lunch.

In the afternoon Steve picked up a nice rainbow at the bottom of our first run.  Then we tried to short leash again but it just wasn’t happening so we went deep for most of the afternoon.  That was producing some fish, but it was not at the normal Missouri river pace and there were spots where the wind made it impossible to even fish.

Finally, toward the end of the day I started to see some bugs on the water.  We went back to the short leash one more time and Steve connected with a nice brown in a foam line.  The next bank produced a beautiful 20″ brown, and then Steve rattled off a string on nice rainbows.

It was like a light switched turned on and suddenly there were trout eating in all of the normal spots.  It was a great way to close out the day.  It was tougher today by Missouri standards, but considering the conditions I think we made the most of our opportunities.

It’s always so much fun sharing a boat with Steve and Susan.  Lots of stories, plenty of laughs, and some nice fish in the net.

Big Trout on the Line

Saturday I was out with local angler, Sean, and his dad in from Arizona for their first trip to Land of the Giants in the jet boat.  We started off on the middle river and Sean wasted no time as he stuck nice rainbows on each of our first 3 passes.

Bob had to overcome years of muscle memory from walleye fishing on his hook set and fish fighting so he had a few that got away, but started to get the hang of it and landed a couple of big rainbows in the morning.  We went to the upper river and it was fishy too.

Bob had a big one that got away and Sean put a pair of thick rainbows in the net before we pulled in for lunch.  In the afternoon we ran the upper river a couple more times with good action on each drift and several fish on the line.  Then we worked our way back to the middle to close out the day.

Those fish were still eating as both guys were hooking up on each pass.  We even had a nice double, but I let Bob’s fish slip out of the net before Sean’s made it to the boat.  It was cool, but mostly sunny and the guys boated a bunch of fish in the 18-22″ range with the biggest at 23″.

Then we ran down into the Gates of the Mountains at the end of the day to see the incredible scenery down there.  Sean and Bob had an awesome day and are ready to sign up again for next year.

Big Trout on the Line

Sunday was the first of 3 days with the Howard brothers, Jeff and Jim.  We met early to dodge the weekend traffic and launched at Wolf Creek.  The weather was solid cloud cover and a little chilly as I set the guys up with deep nymph rigs.

We didn’t move a fish in the first 3 spots and then Jim stuck back to back whitefish so I pulled in and changed flies around.  The next spot produced a couple of decent rainbows for Jim and I could breathe a little easier.  Then Jeff went back to back with two hard fighting 18″ bows and we were off to the races from there.

Every run produced fish the rest of the morning and the boys had one nice double.  We stopped early for lunch as there were threatening clouds all around us and we wanted to eat before the rain came.  The timing was perfect with a light drizzle just as we finished up and hit the river again.

We fished 2 more spots with the deep rig and netted a big 19″ rainbow before switching over to short leash rods the rest of the day.  It was steady in the afternoon.  Jim was especially hot early in the afternoon with 4 rainbows on one bank.

The action balanced a little more as the afternoon progressed and then Jeff closed the day out in style.  Our last long run produced a triple/double where Jeff landed 2 while Jim landed one and then he picked off 2 more before we hit the boat ramp.

Lots of feisty 15-17″ bows today with a few up to 19″ and one brown trout.  The weather was better than expected and we managed to stay ahead of the weekend traffic so it was an all around great day.