Located 500 yards east of Missouri's Bennett Spring State Park
Fishing report for Bennett Spring State Park, brought to you by Weaver's Tackle Store
Friday February 5, 2010
Hello again from Bennett Spring on the last weekend of catch-and-release. Last week I said that next weekend, Feb 13 - 15, was the last weekend for catch-and-release. I was wrong. And if I ever doubted if anyone read the report, I now know that they do! Thanks to all the quick-eyed anglers out there that caught it and thank you for being kind about how you told me. I will work a little harder to make sure that the "facts" I put in the report are actually facts.
The last day for catch-and-release is February 8th and there is no fishing
in the park until March 1, 2010. March 1st is on a Monday this year and
the opening time is 6:30 am. You can fish until 6pm. If you can trust the
Farmers Almanac, opening day will be sunny and cold.
Current Weather and Stream Conditions
The skies spit snow, rain, sleet, and combinations of those three things
all day long. The temperature hovered above freezing and the wind was
slight. It was a beautiful winter day for fishing. Saturday, Sunday and
Monday are predicted to have a chance for snow, but mostly sunny and cold,
highs around 35.
The water was running about 6" above normal, not terribly fast. It's a
little murky from the runoff above the spring. The conditions were a bit
tough for the less experienced anglers, but there were some who were doing
"very well". I was told by one person "If I tell you how many fish I
caught and how big they were, you're going to call me a liar or a
bragger. Maybe both." For some reason, I knew he was neither. Just a
man who knew how to fish.
Who's been fishing
Mark Slemp, from Union was having a good day. He visits the Spring about
three times a year, He had been fishing by the whistle bridge and did
very well with a Jimi Hendrix and salmon pink jigs. I had the privilege a
bit later to watch him bring in a very sweet rainbow. Nicely done Mark!
Wally Wiese from High Ridge had done very
well today. He caught several trout over three pounds using Scuds and
glow balls. The glow balls were a special creation of his son's and he has
had very good luck with them. His father before him had come to Bennett
to fish over 30 years ago and Wally, as well as his son occasionally,
continue to keep the tradition alive.
Eric Dobbs, a college student from Osage Beach, came down to the Spring to
fish with his dad today. He and his dad have been coming to Bennett since
he was a kid. He told me that today he caught four using a black dry fly.
I caught up with Larry Burdittt, who had come down to the spring just to
practice his casting and enjoy the solitude. The people I saw fishing
today were generally men, by themselves or with another angler. These are
experienced anglers who love the sport and know that on a day like today,
they will have a little more elbow room. It's the prefect day to smoke
that cigar they have been saving while working on the perfect cast.
A Visit with the Hatchery Manager
Mike Mitchell was kind enough to talk with me today about how the hatchery
works. He took me to the "nursery" to see the hatching tanks. I am happy
to report that this year's babies are coming along nicely. The Bennett
Spring hatchery produces about 300,000 trout per year. This isn't enough
for the number of trout tags sold, so another 100,000 to 150,000 are
brought in from Shepherd of the Hills hatchery. For every tag sold, the
stream is replenished with 2-1/4 trout. There are about 7 drop off holes
in each zone and these are stocked every night after 10:30 pm during
fishing season. The hatchery is manned 24 hours per day.
Because of the age of the hatchery and the need to import fish, there is
going to be some renovations happening in the park. Mike will present the
updates about the hatchery and J D Muschany will be presenting the
proposed changes in the park at the annual pre-season meeting on
Thursday, February 18th at 7pm. Craig Fuller will update us on the
Niangua River and Brown Trout. This meeting is open to the public and
will be held at Sand Springs.
I will update the report after the meeting for those of you that are
interested.
If you make it to the Spring to fish one more time before opening day,
travel safely and good fishing to you!
Lucy and Rick
Weaver's Tackle Store
11388 Highway 64
Lebanon, MO 65536
Phone: 417-532-4618
e-mail: weavers@missouritrout.com
The word on the trout stream is:
"WEAVER'S has the BEST prices!"
Come in and compare.
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