Trout Disneyland
I recently took a weekend long trip down to Southern Missouri with my dad and good friend Kevin Hansen. While we were there we had some good luck with some bigger and smaller fish, and also found some streams with native rainbow trout that are protected by the state.
The journey started on Friday afternoon. I got out of school at 3 o clock and drove straight to the DSM International Airport. From there my dad and I got on a plane that would fly us directly from DSM to Fort Leonard Wood in Southern Missouri. After the flight we rented a car and drove to Montauk State Park. After we arrived we met up with Kevin who had driven down earlier to do some scouting of the water for the following day. Montauk State Park is one truly like no other. Every morning a siren goes off inside the park at 7:30am signaling the start of fishing that day. The same siren sounds at 7:15pm signaling the stop of fishing that day. It may have been the most interesting way that I have seen people go about fishing. These visitors in the park would be ready on the water at 7:00am waiting for the siren, and as soon as it sounded they would wade in and stand 5 feet from each other and roll cast into runs that didn’t look promising. I was in awe that places like this exist. We ate some buffet dinner, looked at the spots we were planning on fishing on a map, rigged up our rods, and went to bed.
Day 1 was underway with some breakfast and a quick drive to the river where we began the day. We drove outside of the state park to the Current River. From there we geared up and waded upstream only to find some incredible pools holding some really nice fish, including Kevin’s 14in brown and my 11in rainbow. We fished upstream for almost a mile before calling it a solid morning and heading back to the car to grab a snack and head to the next spot. Our second spot of the day ended up being in the Montauk State Park, where we nymphed through deep pools to find some really nice fish. After a couple of hours there we drove a couple miles back to the Current River where me and Kevin waded downstream to check out some of the water. I did not have any luck that evening, but Kevin did get into a few little fish.
The second day of fishing consisted of a very early start and a drive to a small creek where we would fish for native rainbows. After some bad coffee and a glance at the map, we hit the road. Thirty minutes later we were inside the Mark Twain National Forest where we threw dry flies and zebra midges to small native rainbows that had spawned just a few months earlier after seeing their size. We did not catch any bigger fish, but I thought that it was really cool that I could fly an hour and a half and catch fish that have been reproducing there for decades.
After a solid morning on the stream we broke down the rods, packed up all the gear, and set off to the airport. Other than being stopped by an officer at a military checkpoint, the travel went smoothly. The places where we fished this past weekend were nothing short of beautiful, and the fishing was quite fun. I am writing this blog in a coffee shop in Des Moines wondering about the next time I will be able to break out the rod and reel before the start of winter. Maybe a trip to Northeastern IA to fish some of the favorite spots? Maybe. But until then I hope everyone keeps their lines tight and their hatches strong.