Family-Outdoors

"Unless you are intending to take the kids to soak salmon eggs for soft- bodied hatchery trout, don't waste your time." "Look for the wet spots on the streamside asphalt first thing in the morning. That's where the truck dumped all the 'fish'." Image by dev null via Flickr "You will be harassed by barking dogs, yelling children who throw stuff in the water, and the ever-present boombox drivers. " A guy on a usenet group I follow posed a question about fishing Bennett Springs and these were quotes from two of the responses. The third, besides the one I posted, told him to forget the parks and head to the Eleven Point River instead. I thought this not an appropriate response since the guy who posed the original question stated he had two evenings free in the area to go fishing. So now I pose this question - Why is it that at some stage of their fly fishing career some guys get so darn uppity? I have fished many of the great trout waters o...

Image by dfellow via Flickr The Roaring River in southwestern Missouri is one fine trout stream by any standards. It has it beginnings in Roaring River State Park, which is designated by the state as a Trout Park.The first stretch of water, or zone 1 is daily stocked with rainbows from March 1 through October 31, and artificial lures and flies only are allowed. The second beat of water, or zone two is designated as fly only, but Missouri definition of a fly is fairly liberal, and some single hooked spinning lures including single hooked rooster tail spinners and marabou jigs are allowed. Zone two is divided into one daily stocked catch and keep section and one catch and release section. This catch and release section is well known for producing behemoth brown trout. The third section of water in Roaring River State Park is stocked twice a week from during the spring, summer, and fall, and is open to catch and keeping fishing with all bait, lures, and flies. In all, Roaring River State...

Catch Image via Wikipedia ing bass in the hot summer months is not only possible, it may be the best time to catch bass. There are a couple of things the angler should keep in mind. In this article we will try and dispel some myths and hopefully arm the summertime bass angler with the knowledge and confidence to go catch fish. 1. Bass Fishing Slows Down in the Summer Months Bass do not stop feeding in the summer. On the contrary, bass feed MORE often and digest food faster in warmer temperatures. In fact, evidence seems to suggest that bass fishing slows down in the summer for two reasons. First, fishermen fish fewer hours in the hot summer sun. Less time with your bait in the water means less fish. Second, and the evidence for this is merely anecdotal, fishermen have heard the myths about bass fishing in heat and have less confidence and this negatively impacts their fishing. I can speak from experience that a bait that I had not previously had success with gets fished less we...

Image by 50%ChanceofRain via Flickr I sure don't want to present myself as the expert on this area. I have been to this park probably five or six times. Of the parks, I do enjoy it the most, especially when I can get there on a weekday. A week or so ago, I fished it with my younger son, he concentrating on the bait area while I stayed exclusively in the "fly area." I put fly area in quotes, because if you are not familiar with the park, spin fishing is also allowed here, but there are restrictions regarding terminal tackle allowed. Generally speaking, there is no negative interaction between spin and fly fishermen here as I have heard there can be in some places. Some of the spin fishermen here have shared pointers with me that even though I am using a fly rod, I have found very helpful. The caveat I will throw in is that there seems to often be a lack of stream etiquette in the parks. This lack of etiquette seems to be equally displayed by spin and fly fishermen. ...