So things are looking up after a long winter. And be aware that April, May and June are busy months with the Ozark Fly Fishers. Dave Mayers, a Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries biologist will be at our meeting on April 26 to talk about the status of the Current River. Tim Plaska, a Missouri River guide, will be in town for a program on rainbow fishing on that river on May 24. (Yes, technically the same muddy Missouri River that runs through St. Charles but just a bit to the north in Montana where it runs a tad cleaner and colder.)

We've got outings planned for the Norfork River in Missouri in April and a little bluegill outing that may take place May 20 at the Busch Wildlife area. Another possibility is a stream team project on the Current River on May 5-6. A possible White River outing may be in the offing in early June.

All of these activities take time and people to accomplish. If you have a little time to help out it will be appreciated. Let us know if you can help out with, say, programs or with teaching fly fishing classes or in helping out with outings this year. Any help would be appreciated.

New regulations that have been in effect for several years have begin to show signs to returning this fishery to what many of us remember. And, what's also interesting, is that the trout fishery on the Current may have the potential to become even better.

Dave Mayers, a fisheries biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, has studied the fishery and will be at our meeting on Thursday, April 26 to talk about his findings--which are positive. He also may discuss the potential for enhancing the trout fishery outside the eight-mile area between the Park and Cedar Grove on the river. Rainbows have been stocked on a put and take basis for years from Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry with trout being caught even further down the river. Be there at 7:30 p.m. to hear all about it. At the Museum of the Dog on Mason Road. 1721 S. Mason Rd, St. Louis, MO 63131.

This year we will be staying at the Sunburst Ranch, phone number 417-284-3443 or email roeyer@webound.com.

This is a camping facility located on the trophy trout section of the North Fork river in Missouri. The cost is $5.00 per person per night for tent camping and $8.00 per person per night for RV camping. We will work on the honor system with people keeping track of their time spent at Sunburst.

Most people will either arrive on the 20th or the 21st. The lucky few will arrive early on the 19th. This will be a chance for new club members and old to get to know each other. This will also be a time for instruction on the many aspects of fly fishing if someone needs help. We will have the "far end" of the campground reserved and it should be a good time! I look forward to seeing you there. M. Webb

This will give many people to learn about the Current from members who have fished it many, many times. Keep in mind that this is "our" stretch of the Current designated to us by the Stream Team program. If you have any questions please contact me at: 636-724-6293 or email MWEBB17132@aol.com. Thanks! Michael V. Webb

Michael Webb

On Friday, June 8, we will have an informal get-together at campsites 75-77 to tie flies, tell lies and imbibe in your libation of choice. We have reserved the park pavilion for the Saturday evening potluck and the traditional NoArk Flyswap.

If you have Internet access, please see our website at http://www.geocities.com/drflyfish.geo/ for additional information. Any Ozark member interested in attending should contact me at a general meeting, by phone or email.

Larry Carli
618-659-1579 or 659-1580
Ljcarli@aol.com

I head down hiway 67 to Fredericktown, switch to hiway C and go through the Rockpile Wilderness area. This scenic road has many of our taller mountains surrounding it. They're at elevations of 1300 and 1400 feet. That's only a couple of hundred feet short of Taum Sauk at 1700. I wind through the beautiful Saint Francis River watershed and come to the town of Annapolis on 49. I pick up hiway K for a spectacular ride across the upper Black River and Sinking Creek and then cruise down into Ellington. It's time for a break so I circle the town looking for a good saloon.

A beer sign beckons and I see 'Tim's Old Time Tram Bar'. Looks pretty good. The parking lot is full of pickups. As I walk across the lot I notice that one of the trucks has a floor-mounted scabbard with a 270 in it. That's pretty serious. Maybe I ought to think about this a minute. The 'Fear Factor' scale in my head just went up. One of my ratings for saloons is the 'Fear Factor'. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a new joint and everybody turns around and checks you out. How you feel at that moment is the 'Fear Factor'. So this 270 has raised my 'Fear Factor'.

Yeah but I need to hit the can, get something to eat and I want a cold beer. As I walk through the door I hear the Beach Boys 'Surfin USA' on the jukebox. No Waylon or Merle. Lowering of the 'Fear Factor'. The regulars look up at me then go right back to their drinking and talking. A dog comes up to me and wants to be petted. 'Fear Factor' gone.

I slide onto a stool at the bar and order a beer from the attractive, friendly barmaid. Nothing like country girls behind a bar. I order a couple of burgers and notice that they also serve microwaved frozen White Castles for late night munchies food.

The bar is named for a small train that hauled logs around the area. It has a nice happy buzz about it. The flat top burgers are great and the beer is ice cold. It's a nice place to take a break and think about the next phase of my trip.

I guess I'll head down to Powder Mill campground and spend the night there. I was thinking about camping by one of the beautiful springs in the area but there's just too much Ozark magic around them. I'd have to get drunk and dance naked around the fire. I don't need anything that heavy this trip. Plus I left all my 'Head' music at home. Maybe next time. I pay my bill, leave a nice tip and get a warm smile from the barmaid. This just might be a good place to spend a late night sometime. I'll be back. I gas up at the Gitn' Go and head for the river.

I'm the only one at the campground. I pick a spot with a nice river view. It's a beautiful afternoon so I get out a book and a beer.

About an hour later a logging truck pulls in and heads to the far campground. A couple of guys get out, crank up a boombox and start drinking beer. More trucks pull in and pretty soon there's a good group of guys down there. All right! Friday afternoon loggers Happy Hour.

They're far enough away where I'm not bothered. It's pretty good entertainment. The music's okay, mostly top 40 country with some heavy metal thrown in. They hoot and holler for a couple of hours, clean up their cans and leave to get ready for some serious honky tonkin that night.

Not a half-hour later a couple in a Saab pull in. As they go by me I wave. But Saab people don't acknowledge beat up old van people like me.

They pull down to the campground the loggers just left. Well now, I'm thinking that those old boys drank a lot of beer and didn't go far to get rid of it. So basically these two are setting up their tent in the middle of a piss swamp. Now if they would have been a might more cordial I'd walk down there and tell them. Wait till tomorow when the sun bakes that area all day. Wheweeee! Man, It'll smell like a gut shot rabbit down there. I pop another beer and smile. Sometimes things just work out.

The next morning I hump a trail that parallels the creek I want to fish. When I think I'm even with a promising section of the creek, I shoot a compass heading and follow it. Two ridges and a thorn-filled river bottom later, I'm in the creek.

I rig up my fly rod and put on a popping bug. The creek is full of boulders and the bass are in the slicks behind them. They rise eagerly to the popper and though they're small they fight with the tenacity of their species. I work the creek slowly enjoying the beauty and the isolation. Hours later as the sun dips below the ridgeline it's time to start the trek back out. Backtracking my heading I cut the trail an hour later. The last part of the trail runs on top of a spectacular bluff overlooking the river. I take a break and light a cigar. The smoke curls up and through the old cedars on the bluff. These trees were probably here when the Spanish came into this area. Their gold was more elusive than my flashing gold smallies of today. It seems I found at least a part of my 'El Dorado'. I finish my cigar and start the last section of the trail that leads to my car.

I don't think I'll take the scenic route back but I will swing by that bar in Ellington. Maybe that barmaid is working today. I'll just stop by for one. Yeah Right!

Scott Heywood at Angling Destinations recommended Grey's Point Bonefish Inn on Acklins Island in the Bahamas. Scott has arranged a couple of trips for Jerry Clark and I and has not steered us wrong yet. I told Scott I wanted peace and quiet, my own flats, and I didn't want to find another boat already on the flat when we came around the mangroves. I didn't need luxury but an A/C in the bedroom would be nice for sleeping. And I wanted at least a few bones with a chance at a double digit fish. That pretty well describes Grey's Point Bonefish Inn to a tee. Except there are plenty of bones and definitely some fish that will best a 10 pound tippet. If you're trying to decide where to go, I strongly recommend you contact Scott Heywood and Brad Wolfe at Angling Destinations, 1-800-211-8530; scott@angling destinations.com.

I couldn't find anyone who knew why it was called Grey's Point. But Newton Williamson owns the Bonefish Inn. The property has been in his family for as long as he can remember. Newton and his youngest son, Garron, decided to start the inn about 4 years ago. Garron is head guide, organizes the other guides, and plans the daily itinerary. Shirley, Newton's lovely bride of only three weeks (she said the honeymoon was still going on) runs the house and is a magnificent cook. She likes to serve traditional Bahamian fare and makes a delicious shredded crayfish with dirty rice and pidgeon peas. She's never in a bad mood and was extremely helpful trying to get my wayward bag delivered. The lodge sits on a low hill overlooking expansive, hard sand flats. Bahamas Air flies into Spring Point on Acklins on Saturdays and Tuesdays. There's also a flight to neighboring Crooked Island on Wednesday and a ferry that runs twice daily between Crooked and Acklins. Bahamas Air isn't known for it's timeliness so leave yourself a couple hours to make connections in Nassau and expect the worst. Of course, if they couldn't get to Acklins on Tuesday you'd just have to stay over until the following Saturday, darn.

Garron and his cadre of guides, Terrence, Elvis, and Fidel all have great eyes and are good boat handlers. They all worked hard to find fish in all tides. They run a friendly competition between themselves each day and strive for at least 10 fish a day. Terrence and I had a very windy, overcast day and still managed to boat 7 fish and lose several others in the mangroves. I fished with Garron on my last day, never left sight of the lodge, and lost count of the number of bones we fooled. One of the other clients there had a Boga grip and argued every night that no one can accurately weigh bonefish by hand. I don't cotton to hanging fish up by their lower jaw just to see how much they weigh. If you want to weigh your fish bring a net. We didn't have a net or a Boga grip but one fish I caught with Garron came very close to double digits - we guessed 8 pounds. One fish we found feeding in ankle deep water had to be a good 24 inches between his tail and dorsal fin. It took Garron and I fifteen minutes to literally tip toe into a decent casting position to that fish. It was the kind of fish that makes everyone whisper. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I made the cast a smaller bone that we hadn't seen raced in for the fly and the monster fled leaving a sandy trail across the flat. Garron and I could only look at each other and say "Whooo!"

There are also plenty of BIG, hungry barracudas. I had a 'cuda that I guessed at 20 pounds grab a #4 tan & white clouser (there's that fly again!) and burn a groove in my finger before cutting off my fly somewhere around 200 feet away. Unbeknownst to us he had followed the boat. There are deep azure channels between flats that harbor jacks and snapper. Garron told me about one client who comes over, catches a couple obligatory bonefish, and then spends the rest of the time dredging the deep channels for big jack crevalle. They have a few spots that hold tarpon in warmer weather and there are more than a few permit photos on the wall in the dining room to verify their presence. Even the little black tip and lemon sharks acted like they would readily eat your bonefish fly if you let them. The only thing I couldn't get interested in my fly was a big ol' box fish we came across one day.

You can tell from this report that I am now an Acklins Island fan. Ozark member Tom Merker has also been there and tells of catching his share of bonefish in a rainstorm. Bring 7, 8 or 9 weight rods with floating lines. Simply 9 foot leaders with 8 or 10 pound tippets work fine. Bring a 10 or 11 weight for the 'cudas, tarpon, permit and jack crevalle. Mosquitoes and sand flies were plentiful so bug repellent is a must while sitting on the lanai in the evening swapping stories and drinking a cold Kalik. For flies, I found size 4's worked best. Tan sqwuimps with pink noses had bonefish turning around and coming back to eat them. Tan & white clousers in deeper water on windy days worked well. Bring a few tan grass shrimp patterns with either small bead chain or no weight for the really shallow flats. There are a few weedy flats so bring a few flies with weed guards, too. I think just about anything tan size 4 will work. And take a lesson from me and carry on enough clothes and gear to allow you to fish in the event your bag takes a detour.

If you want to experience Grey's Point Bonefish Inn on Acklins Island I'm happy to answer questions you might have or offer any advice I can.

Oh, and my lost bag did finally show up on Wednesday evening on the ferry from Crooked Island. As they say in Australia, 'she'll be right, mate'.

We are coming out of the winter months and our activity level has picked up. So to with our friend Pisces. Fish, especially smallmouth bass, are looking for a big meal to put on weight that was lost during the winter. Many fish have also gone through or are coming into a spawn. Both require putting on weight. What better way to put on weight than eating some sculpins or minnows.

Early spring is a good time to go streamer fishing. Because you are casting larger flies, you should use a 6-7 wt. rod. A floating line should do, unless you are fishing especially deep or fast moving water. This is one of the occasions you might consider using a sink tip line to get the fly down faster. You can also use split shot on your leader. The fish will be feeding on the bottom so you need to get your fly down there for the fish to see. If your fly isn't ticking the bottom, then your chance of catching a fish is greatly reduced. You should be losing a few flies. I like to use a 7 1/2 foot leader that is 2x-3x. The fish aren't going to be leader shy.

Since we are trying to imitate small fish, flies I like to use are muddler minnows, sculpins, matukus, black nosed dace, mickey finns, and black and olive buggers. Generally, you want to fish something in a size 4, 6,or 8. Black is good for off color water. Lots of people like to fish white or gray patterns. Get a couple of each color and experiment.

Generally, streamers are fished across and downstream. Try dead drifting your fly through a run or pool. Remember to mend your line. At the end of the drift take a few short trips and see if you get a strike.

Some people like to actively strip the fly while drifting downstream. A guide in Canada once suggested to me that instead of mending my line upstream, I should put a downstream mend in the line. As you strip your line the fly is moving downstream. His reasoning was that wounded fish don't swim upstream against the current. They are more likely to get pushed downstream with the current. Try the downstream mend to see if works for you. Again vary the speed of your strip.

Fish all areas of the riffle pool combination. You'll be surprised at how many fish you catch at the end of your drift in shallow water. I also like to give my line a little twitch or jigging action as it is drifting. Upward movement can trigger a strike.

Finally, I'd like to mention that with higher water in the spring, fish close to the bank. Often the water moves slower next to the bank because of its cushion effect. Fish big and small move to this slower water to conserve energy. Who's going to hang out in the fast water of spring floods? So if the water is up from a recent rain, but fishable, try casting to the bank.

Tight lines,
John

For me, Ed Jaworowski was an inspirational speaker. Admitting to middle age and a few extra pounds, he shows what I can be if I put my mind to it. Now if I only had his contacts......A great speaker and a fine selection.

Looking for a little international flyfishing on the cheap? Check http://www.budget-angler.co.uk
on your Internet. Mike Mortimer, an occasional visitor to St. Louis and known by several of us has his own website dedicated to international angling on a budget. Good stuff.

Several of you have asked me for help in selling some of your better used equipment on the Internet. Anyone needing advice or assistance, give me a call. Digital camera, will travel. 314-432-8911 Did 13K last month.

Several Ozarkoids, including two past presidents, and eight former board members traveled en masse to the San Juan River last month. Space this month is at a premium so look for the Truth about the San Juan in next month's issue.