Welcome to the Ozark Fly Fishers
Founded 1971
A Missouri 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
Upcoming Events
May 23: Brian Waldrop, MDC Stream Team on midges
June 27: TILLIS PARK BBQ, 5pm
July 19-21 Stream Team Weekend at Montauk
July 25: Chris Behlmar, taxidermist – fish mounts and reproductions
August 22: Jeff Trigg, redfish fishing
September 26: Michael Kidd, subject TBD
Video of some great caddis patterns by Matt Grobert:
Casting Tip by Bill Armon
This is a rewrite of a post from 2013. The idea is that in all skills there is normally one part of that art that is most limiting the improving of that skill; a bottleneck so to speak. What are the bottlenecks of Fly Casting?
If one can identify the part of the cast that is their limiting factor, and then if they can “open that restriction” the entire flow improves. But, then a new part of the skill becomes the limiting factor. The caster then improves that and the cast improves again. This process goes on until the caster reaches the goals desired.
To start this process the skills or parts of casting that can become “bottlenecks” need to be identified. However, this is no easy task as casting is a very complicated skill at its most advanced level. Starting with the very basics, we will delve deeper as more newsletters come out.
The very basics that must be correct are: Stance, Grip, Stroke, Arc, Timing and Power Application. Stance, grip, arc and stroke have more than one option which can be correct. Timing and the application of power need to be correct regardless of the stance, grip, arc or stroke that is used. Which, if any, of these basics are your bottleneck?
Another Saturday on the River
I was on the Current river last Saturday. It was a medium t slow day but when the hatches came the fish were keying on tine BWO and Caddis emergers.
These are usually tiny bugs in patterns that are size #18-#24.
The fish were seen sipping at the surface more that nailing the fully formed Duns drying their wings on the surface. Some of this was happening too but not as regularly as the sipping.
The two emerger patterns I am going to tie are the Barr's Emerger creater by John Barr in 1975 while fishing Nelson's Spring Creek in Montana. It was originally tied for PMDs but can be adapted for many other bugs as well. The other is Ed Engle's Bubble Wing emerger. It has a cool glass bead that is meant to replicate the gas bubble that forms on the back of an emerging mayfly. Two very cool patterns that should be part of you box and fished year round.
See you all at 7pm on Wednesdays
Best, Thomas Reed
Mid-April - MONTAUK OUTING
ate like Kings, Fished like Fools
A group of Ozark members spent a few days fishing at Montauk for the Club’s Spring Outing. This year the trip was on a weekday, rather than a weekend.
Attendees: Bill Leslie, Jerry Kniepman, Jeff Cohen, Paul Jackson, Dan Rasch, Randy Hilger and the author, Dan Staggenborg (DanStag). The weather was cool but nice.
We met at noon Monday at the picnic tables next to the Naturalist’s office across from the hatchery building for lunch. Some guys had fished in the morning and only had middling luck at the start. We made our way to the “off the beaten path” cabin of a friend, near the park to drop off our gear and then were right back to fishing.
Several of the guys fished above the dam, again with tough luck at first. The guys picked up a fish here and there, until Dan Rasch, Paul Jackson and Jeff Cohen discovered that soft hackle was the ticket. Randy and Dan fished up below the spring run in the “Blue Hole” near the upper parking lot. We each caught only 1 there. The fish seemed to be hugging the bottom, but at times you’d see a swirl just below the surface. An astute fisherman would have seen this as a sign that soft hackle was the ticket.
Stripping a brown leech and crackle backs near the Boulder (up from the dam on the right side) was quite frustrating for the author. For the last 6 months, a tree had fallen across the stream and greatly altered the shape of the hole. Much of the area was silted in with the only deep area being just downstream and behind the boulder. The tree was recently removed, with another one falling down on the side of the stream, opposite the boulder. Most surprisingly the hole didn’t appear to contain many fish. I only personally saw a couple and didn’t catch any after spending several hours trying.
The other guys worked above the dam with increasing success.
One unexpected spot that DID yield some fish for Randy, was in the S curve about 75 feet above the bridge that goes to the campground. Randy said he caught 8 fish in an area about 7 feet wide, most without even moving his feet. The fly that the fish wanted was a Red-Ass with a plastic bead that looked silver but didn’t add much weight. Randy said dead drifting it through a riffle there was very productive.
Monday evening, Randy Hilger hosted us for a delicious dinner at his motor coach. We each brought a steak and Randy provided the rest: Numerous appetizers, baked potatoes, salad, pork and beans. We had apple pie for dessert. We ate like kings !
On Tuesday night we all drove to Bigo’s Mexican restaurant in Salem. The half hour trip there was worth it for the good food and camaraderie. Funny dinner story: At dinner, in talking about stream etiquette or lack there of, Bill Leslie told about years before, how some guys (unbeknownst to him) walked behind him while he was making a backcast and how Bill hooked a guy in the cheek. Randy, straight faced, asked Bill if he “released him”. Maybe you had to be there, but we all laughed until we had tears at the quip and the timing !
As many people are aware, the hatchery at Bennett Spring is under construction and (it is rumored) the Montauk hatchery is supplying fish to Bennett. It has been said that Bennett is stocked with over 2300 fish two times per week, on Monday and Thursday evenings. In contrast, Montauk only stocked 400 and 350 fish on Monday and Tuesday respectively. There didn’t seem to be a lot of fish in the stream.
The majority of the fish caught seemed to be in the 8-12” range, with a few over 14, but very few. This may have been due to the number of spin fishermen who were keeping the nicer sized fish.
As an aside, Paul Jackson reported that he caught a 4 inch trout. A buddy said a hatchery worked told him that there was a leak in the lower hatchery and a lot of small fish escaped into the river.
Flies that were productive: Soft hackle in orange, yellow, and green wire bodies, sized 14 & 16. A few were caught on a brown egg-sucking leech and on a green holographic crackle back. A tan scud in size 18 and a size 16 Prince Nymph, plus a caddis nymph with 2 glass beads and a dark collar all produced fish. The big hurt and glow balls worked too. The author caught a couple on a chartreuse egg which seemed to hold a lot of promise, until I was scared back to the car by the brief rain shower.
All in all, everyone had a good time. We ate well, caught a number fish, made new friends and got to know each other a lot better. That’s pretty much the purpose of the Ozark FlyFishers, after all, isn’t it?
Submitted by Dan Staggenborg - April 26, 2024
Continuing on Dan Stag’s experience, I had good success with the soft hackle patterns. They seemed to prefer a black hackle, and I alternated between a wire body to get down in the column to a regular thread body. The oak trees did not care which one I used, they ravished bother patterns. When these slowed down, a crackle-back had some success, as did spaghetti and meatball droppers. The Bennet Springs Killer and Montauk Murderer were just ignored and an egg—sucking leech got their interest but they just looked and circled it. Seemed promising but just ended in frustration. Fishing down from the jetty hole was slow until, much to my surprise, I started landing them down stream in the shallow waters. Then waded down to the wire, where it got even better. When the rain blew in, I had enough for the day and it was dinner time, anyway. All three days, the bite was slow, but steady and fun.
Dan Rasch – April 15, 2024
picked up a nice oak tree, but then a splash!
Reel Recovery Outing
Just wanted to send a quick note and thank the club once again for donating some flies to the Reel Recovery program. The flies donated are placed in a fly box supplied by Reel Recovery and given to the participants as a take-home gift during their closing ceremony. This gives them a tangible memory of the time they spent on the retreat and a fishing related gift that they can use down the road. It really is an important part of their experience and a great memory. So thanks once again for your help in making, our retreat of success.
Steve G
2024 Tri Lakes Expo – April 13, 2024
Several Ozark Boys were demo tying in Clinton, MO, featuring Jeff Trigg
Mike Swederska Sr - Fly Tier Of The Long Table
