Winter Catch-and-Release Season

Catch and Release season is going to be here before we know it this year.

The water is in great shape should be a good winter opening. The season
starts on the 9th of Nov. this year. Fishing is always good the first few weeks, the fish are usually good sized, the Conservation Department usually stocks some really good sized fish, and a few lunkers to make
things interesting. The first Friday I usually get by using 5X tippet (4-lb. line) and do so
most of the first weekend, it is always good to land the bigger fish as  quickly as possible so as not to injure them, we all want to catch them a
few times. I start off most opening mornings with glo-ball or a woolybugger the mohair leeches are always a good morning fly for me. I like an olive, black,
or a brown bugger or leech most mornings, but if you are seeing a lot of  big fish, I tend to throw something a bit brighter at these big fresh lunkers, for the first few weeks they seem to like flashy and bigger flies. Now if you just want to catch a lot of fish, small copper johns, zebra midges,  gold ribbed hare's ears, sow bugs and scuds will always catch fish here at the
park. If the water is murky use a flash back nymph or woolybugger with a flashy tail.

There are some good hatches in the winter, lots of caddis in the afternoons,  midge activity most days and on nice warm days we will sometimes see ants and even some beetles if the weather is warm for a few days.

My favorite dry flies in the winter are black caddis, tan caddis, Griffith's Gnats
#18 and smaller Adams, Renegades, and B.W.O.'s are usually good.
Crackle backs are great producers everyday unless the water is off colored or muddy. I like a crackle back with a holographic body, green is my favorite here at Roaring River. Small thread jigs fished under a indicator will catch fish everyday, I like white the most,  but when the water is off colored or higher sometimes the brighter colors work best, chartreuse is always a good producer when the water is murky or muddy. I like to start off with the heavier 5X tippet, and as the weekend progresses, I use lighter tippet, as the fish get more tippet shy, I don't go below 6X very often unless I'm fishing small dries. Sometimes as the season goes on the fish do become very line shy, and the use of 7X tippet (2-lb line) becomes useful, but if you are targeting the larger fish you should probably use 6X most  the time, so you can land them faster.

Sometimes in late December  I can get the fish to hit big streamers and big colorful bunny bugs and  brighter flies, the rainbows become aggressive when they are starting to spawn, the male will  chase anything that comes into his area.

Good luck on the start of the C&R season looks like it will be a good one this year. Fishing will be Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The store hours will be 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll be closed Mondays.
 

    Updated 11/04/07

Tim's Fly Shop

Route 4, Box 4088

Cassville, Missouri 65625

(417) 847-4956  phone

(417) 847-0826  fax

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