Welcome to the Ozark Fly Fishers
Founded 1971
A Missouri 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
The Early Bird Girl Scout event was held Thursday, May 15 in Pevely, MO. It has always been a hope to encourage youth to develop an interest in conservation, science, fishing or some other positive and rewarding aspect of their life.
Participants were:
Scott Darrough and Nancy Krautmann - Live Macro Exhibit Dan Krupa and Susan Krupa - Macro Exhibit / Fly Tying Steve Lekich and Dan Rasch - Tying on Safety Pins Steve Silver - Macro Exhibit Brian Waldrop MDC and Sarah Wright DNR - Working Stream Diorama
Another fine barbecue for the club!
Casting for a Leader
Fellow club members,
As the seasons shift and we enjoy the long evenings on the water, it’s time to turn our thoughts toward one of the highlights of our club’s year-the Annual Banquet. It’s an evening we all look forward to: great food, fine company, raffles, live auctions, fish tales, and maybe even a few lies about the one that got away.
But, here’s the thing- we need someone to help make all this happen.
We’re currently seeking a volunteer to step into the role Banquet Chair. This position isn’t about doing everything yourself; It’s about helping guide a team of willing hands to bring the banquet together. If you’ve ever enjoyed an evening of laughter, raffles, and community thanks to this event, you know how important it is to our club culture.
The Banquet Chair is responsible for:
Helping organizing the raffle, auctions and donations. The venue, food and bar options are taken care by other volunteers. Between all the other help, it promises to be a smooth, fun, and memorable evening.
You’ll have plenty of support-past chairs are happy to share their wisdom, and the board is ready to help every step of the way. Whether you’re a seasoned organizer or just someone with a passion for the club and a knack for getting things done, this is a great opportunity to make a big impact.
If you’re interested or even just curious, please reach out to me. Stepping up for a role like this is how we keep our club strong, connected, and thriving.
Steve Antonic
President. Ozark Fly Fishers
314-401-8874
sjantonic@charter.net
BANQUET REMINDER
Dear Members
The time has come to mark your calendars, saving the date for our annual fundraising banquet.
As you know, our annual fundraising banquet is our clubs largest fundraising eventof the year, providing us the opportunity to sponsor our many events throughout the entire year.
Next year’s banquet and silent auction is on Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
The banquet will be held at the same location as years past. Andre’s at Sunset Hills 13366 West Watson Road Sunset Hill, Missouri 63127
This year’s cost will remain the same as last year, $40.00 per person which includes a nice meal, desert, and open bar. The event will include raffles, silent auction as well as a live auction.
We encourage all of you to bring your spouse, guest and even friends, who might not be club members, to join us for a great night out.
Please mark your calendars, make plans to attend and support your club. Reservation forms will be made available in the near future.
Thank you and hope to see you there.
I've gotten frustrated trying to talk to other fishermen about where they were fishing at Montauk. I can't believe how many people don't even know where the power lines are. Once I point it out to them (often while standing underneath them), they usually say, "Oh yeah. I never noticed it before." To me this spot is important because it kinda divides the upper and lower fly only area.
So I made up a map that contains many of the landmarks and hole names. Even after the recent flooding and river changes it remains reasonably accurate.
Dan Stag
Bennet Springs Update
Hatchery project completion date is now estimated to be January 2026
The list of upcoming events:
July 11-13 - CANCELLED Annual Missouri Stream Team Outing at Montauk
July 24 - Ben Havens - Bennett Spring Hatchery
Aug 21 - Logan Huff, Morgan Guss of The Diamond State Fly Co Arkansas
Sept 25 - Jeff Mace, Feather Craft
October 9-12 Taneycomo OUting
October 23 - Joe Oelke - Urban fly fishing in St. Louis
December 11 - Holiday Party
Thanks,
Paul Jackson
CONSERVATION EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
If you have questions about the following events,
contact Scott Darrough at: 314-560-1335 or swdarrough@yahoo.com
ATTENTION! – OZARK FLY FISHERS NEEDS YOU!
CONSERVATION RELATED POSITIONS THAT NEED TO BE FILLED.
LOWG – LEAGUE OF WATERSHED GUARDUANS BOARD MEMBER TO REPRESENT FOR OZARK FLY FISHERS.
- Dan Rasch resigned from this position after holding for several years.
MISSOURI STREAM TEAM CAPTAIN FOR BLUE SPRINGS CREEK, BOURBON, MO
- Glenn Bish dedicated many years of monitoring to this location.
MISSOURI STREAM TEAM CAPTAIN FOR MILL CREEK, NEWBURG, MO
- Bill Leslie dedicated many years of monitoring to this location
July 11-13, 2025: 15th Annual Missouri Stream Team Outing - Montauk State Park
CANCELLED
With regret, this outing has been canceled. If anyone has questions or concerns, contact Scott Darrough at: 314-560-1335 or swdarrough@yahoo.com
July 26, 2025: 29th Annual Watershed Celebration –
Meramec State Park - by invitation from Stream Teams United
Do not miss this “Grand Picnic”! There will be opportunities for members to volunteer for casting and fly-tying instruction, tying safety pin flies and manning the Stream Team macroinvertebrate display. This event provides an opportunity to promote conservation and recruit new members. It is also a fun time.
https://www.streamteamsunited.org/watershed-celebration-picnic.html
August 23, 2025: 58th Annual Operation Clean Stream –
Byrnes Mill City Park - by invitation from the Trashmanian Devils Stream Team 3797
Ozark members are invited to attend this clean-up of the Meramec watershed. Details will follow in the months to come.
MSA is Helping Get the word out…
Gateway TU Tornado Relief Fundraiser
@ Llewelyn’s 6/19
Join the local fishing community as we come together to support those impacted by the recent tornadoes in the St. Louis area. This is a casual social event open to everyone — you do not need to be a Trout Unlimited member to attend.
Thursday, June 19
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Llewelyn’s Pub, Webster Groves
Raffle drawing at 8:30 PM
Gateway Trout Unlimited will be providing complimentary appetizers (served at 6:30 PM), and we’ll be holding a raffle to raise funds — 100% of the proceeds will go directly to local families in need.
This is not a formal membership meeting — just an opportunity for the fishing community to get together, have fun, and help those who need it most.
Want to help more?
If you’d like to donate a raffle item, please email evan.muskopf@gatewaytu.org
We’re also collecting essential supplies to deliver directly to affected families.
If you’d like to bring items, here’s what’s currently needed:
Diapers & wipes
Baby formula
Non-perishable food esp. pop top canned goods
Bottled water
Hygiene products (toothpaste, deodorant, etc.)
Trash bags, paper towels, and cleaning supplies
PPE like dust masks, gloves, eye protection
Your presence, donations, and support will make a real difference.
We hope to see you there!
Lake Taneycomo Outing
October 9th, 10th and 11th 2025
Ozark Fly Fishers fall outing will be held at beautiful Lake Taneycomo the second weekend of October. Lodging has been arranged at Lilley’s Landing Resort. This has always been an enjoyable outing with the chance to catch some really large fish. We have reserved four cabins for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night October 9-11, 2025.
Cabin # Type Per Bedroom
19 or 20 2-bedroom LF $346
23 3-bedroom OL $311
17 4-bedroom LF $260
(LF=Lake Front, OL=Off Lake)
The “per bedroom” amount is what each person would pay for all three nights during the event.
The 2-bedroom cabins have two queen beds in one bedroom and one queen bed in the other and can be reserved by the room ($346) or the entire cabin ($692) for up to 4 people.
The 3- and 4-bedroom cabins have either one king bed or two twin beds in each room. They are reserved by the room, so if you want to double up with somebody you each pay half.
Please contact Ed Heist (1-618-201-7195) for reservations and further information.
Reservations must be made by June 30th, 2025. Please make checks payable to
Ozark Fly Fishers
PO Box 31473
St. Louis, MO 63131-0473
Lilley’s Landing has its own trout dock with jon boats that can be rented by the day. For those interested in renting boats or guide services, you can reach out to:
For those interested in renting boats or guide services, you can reach out to:
River Run Outfitters
Historic Hwy 165
Branson. MO 65616
1-417-332-0460
https://www.riverrunoutfitters.com
Lilley’s Landing
367 River Ln 2626
Branson, MO. 65616
1-(417)-334-6380
https://www.lilleyslanding.com /
Thanks, Ed!
Fly of the Month
Mike Ott - Fly Tying Chairman
Montauk middle of the week
Jeff Cohen and I took a mid-week day trip down to Montauk. Forecast called for rain but we decided to test our luck thinking it would drive away most anglers. Got our first cast around 8am and the rain did not start until 3pm.
The stream was stained and up a little but still fishable. That does not mean they were biting however. Nothing consistent seemed to work for them. Got a couple on Pheasant Tail nymphs (two casts in a row) and then a whole lot of nothing. Started with a whole catalog of flies in my vest and again caught two in a row on what I call a Soft Brassie, soft hackle with a brassie wire body that gets down in the current quickly. Then, you guessed it, nothing.
There was another angler getting strikes and Jeff asked him what he was using to find it was size 18 midges. So I tried to midge-match but it was more of a mis-match. I was getting bumps fairly often on Olive Leeches but no committed fish. An orange and black egg pattern worked for one fish and Jeff was getting hits on egg patterns but they were not staying in it. The fish caught were all on the smaller size, most around ten inches, with one nice 14.
Overall a nice day, and the park was nearly empty. Never had more than three anglers in site and saw a young boy with his father (who claimed it was 'already an adventure'). Since they had similar success as us, they moved on and I think to the bait area.
About 3pm the rain started and we were about 5 minutes too late to miss the downpour. The drive home was pretty much the I-44 crash scene as there must have been 15 or more incidents. I saw more vehicles being brought to tow trucks than fish to my net.
Oh well, the weather was beautiful for I guess seven hours and my new waders did not leak. Think I might do Bennet instead next time.
Dan Rasch
Fly Casting Tip June 2025
Let’s, once again, go over Lefty Kreh’s four principles of fly casting, from his book “Casting with Lefty Kreh”
1) “You must get the end of the fly line moving before you can make a back or forward cast.”
2) “Once the line is moving, the only way to load the rod is to move the casting hand at an ever-increasing speed and then bring it to a quick stop.”
3) “The line will go in the direction the rod tip speeds up and stops—more specifically.
It goes in the direction that the rod straightens when the rod hand stops.”
4) “The longer the rod travels on the back and forward casting strokes, the less effort is required to make the cast.”
Regarding principle 1-- to make a cast the rod needs to bend (be under a load). The rod will not load unless, or until, the end of the fly line, (i.e, the fly), is moving. The rod is then “pulling “ against the weight of the fly line.
Until this happens there is not enough weight to load or bend the rod. Keep in mind the casting stroke does not begin until the rod is bending, (loaded), so you want the end of the fly line moving as early as possible in the cast.
Also, always remember, any slack, almost any time, in the line is bad as it means there is little to no load on the rod.
Bill Armon