Trout Fishing on Missouri’s Current River

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Missouri has a nice surprise for those unfamiliar with
either the beauty of Missouri’s Ozarks or the regionally outstanding trout
fishing.  One of the several places where
this all comes together to create something truly magic is the Current River.

The Current River starts like rivers in few places do: from
its outset it flows from the confines of Montauk State Park near Licking and
Salem with strength. It emanates from the first of many springs which give it
life and the cold water necessary to sustain its brown trout and rainbow trout
populations.  While most of the trout
that inhabit this stream are stockers, some from the hatchery at Montauk State
Park where the river begins, and some from Shepherd of the Hills near
Taneycomo, there are a small number of wild trout.  

Learning to fish this stream requires first a
short description of the sections of trout water available.

As mentioned, the stream begins in Montauk State Park and
also hosts one of Missouri’s entertaining trout parks.  In the park a hatchery supplies rainbow trout
while browns are brought in smaller numbers from Shepherd of the Hills.  The park is a really fun place to spend some
time and a great place to learn a few things about trout fishing.  We will come back later to specifics on
fishing the park section.

The moment you pass the cable overhanging the river
designating the end of Montauk, you enter into the Blue Ribbon trout section of
the Current River.  This section continues
down to the Cedar Grove Access/Low-water Bridge/Campground.  All together, the Blue Ribbon portion of the
Current River trout fishing is a bit les than ten miles.

From Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry, the regulations change to
White Ribbon rules.  This stretch of
water is approximately nine miles.

Each of these three sections has different regulations, but
also requires slightly different tactics for the fly or spin fisherman.  We will spend the balance of our time
discussing tactics to get you catching fish on any of them.

Fishing Montauk State Trout Park is a great place to get
started in the sport and in some really beautiful country, albeit in a setting
with plenty of company.  The park is
stocked during the Catch-and-keep season daily based on the number of fishermen
that have bought trout park tags.  The
catch-and-keep season runs from March 1^st through October 31^st
as is the case in all of Missouri’s trout parks.  The park is closed for a short period and the
rest of the year is catch-and-release. 
The winter catch-and-release season can be a great time to visit as
crowds are greatly diminished.

There are three basic areas with three sets of regulations
at the park.  There is a fly-fishing only
area that is designated catch-and-release only all year round.  The second zone is fly-fishing only but
subject to a four fish limit (any combination of rainbows and browns – no size
restrictions).  The third section is open
to any legal fishing methods, including bait fishing.  In this park, fly fishing also can include
spin fishing but using single hook spinners and other artificial baits that do
not include soft plastics or scented presentations.  Please review the regulations through the
park when you buy your tag to make sure you are abiding by park rules.  Conservation officers are present at all
times when fishing is permitted.

Fly fishermen have much success nymphing under an indicator
on 6x monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. 
Popular presentations include prince nymphs, pheasant tails, copper
johns, egg patterns, scud patterns, and san juans (please be aware we know some
of these are not in fact technically in the nymph category – but are fished in
a similar fashion under an indicator and we are thus lumping them together).  The princes, pheasant tails, coppers, and
scuds can be fished effectively in #16-18 sizes.  The woolies work nicely in the sizes of
#8-#10 and should be beaded. The egg patterns should also be beaded.  If you had to pick two flies try orange egg
patterns and olive woolies.  All of these
patterns are available at the park store for a reasonable price.

If you want to go with dries, during the winter afternoons
you can usually find a few fish rising to blue winged olives and midges.  Summer months usually find fisherman having
success fishing tricos and caddis patterns. 
Don’t hesitate during these times to use royal wullfs and coachman
attractors.  Terrestrials such as ant
patterns and hoppers can be a nice option during the warm months as well.

Spin fishermen typically use marabou jigs in the fly
area.  You will occasionally observe fly
fisherman throwing these as well.

Bait fishing is extremely effective in the bait area.  There are many commercially prepared baits
available, with perhaps the Berkeley Power Baits being most popular.  The park store carries some other options
that work very well.  Additionally, corn,
and homemade prepared baits work very well. 
Worms will even work.  The “Social
Hole” at Montauk has become locally famous. 
If you are not the type to turn up your nose at bait fishing, you can
really have some fun meeting some interesting folks here.

The fishing (and the atmosphere) changes dramatically in the
mileage below Montauk State Park. While the Montauk water is stocked once a day
with trout during the regular season, the eight mile Blue Ribbon stretch from
the Montauk lower boundary to Cedar Grove is only stocked once a year with the
notoriously wily brown trout (which supplement the rainbows that make their way
down from the park.) This has two effects, one positive, and one negative; the
positive being that it reduces the number of anglers greatly, the negative
being that there are obviously a lot less fish, and the ones that are there are
more difficult to catch. That said, trout remain incredibly plentiful; indeed,
only compared to the insane numbers of trout which roam the park waters would
the population seem slight.

The factors that really affect the fishing in this stretch
have little to do with fish numbers. Still, nearly every cast will have your
fly seen by a trout or two. The two most important differences are the bait
restrictions and the more wild nature of the trout. Because this is a Blue
Ribbon (otherwise known as ‘trophy trout’) section, the minimum length limit is
high and only artificial lures and flies are allowed. This means the dough bait
and worms which are so effective aren’t going to be an option. That’s okay
though, because this section is best suited to fly fisherman anyway (though
this is not to say that plenty of spin-fisherman don’t have success.) 

The
quick, rocky riffles and deep pools are an inviting place for the fly angler.
It seems that backcasting room abounds, and the nature of the current usually
allows for easy drifts. Hatches occur almost daily, from the tricos of early
summer mornings to the midge and blue-winged olive hatches on warm winter
afternoons. This of course means that a healthy number of trout can be taken on
dry flies just about the year-round. But don’t overlook nymphs and streamers;
or more specifically, don’t overlook the egg pattern. Small egg patterns (or
glo-bugs) account for a huge percentage of the trout taken here. I don’t know
why supposedly selective resident trout are gullible to such ‘uncivilized’
fare, but they are, and why ask questions if a fly works? That said, a fair
number of fly anglers can’t make themselves use egg patterns, and that’s okay
too. Pheasant tail nymphs, Hare’s Ears, and even woolly buggers work quite well
most of the time. A decent number of people do spin-fish here too, and small
(1/32 ounce) spinners are usually great. The same is true with marabou jigs of
the same weight.

The best two accesses to the Blue Ribbon stretch are at Tan
Vat and Baptist Camp, each just down the road from Montauk Park. You’ll find a
fair number of anglers around these accesses, but at least outside of the
summer months, a short walk will get you to open, unfished water. Tan Vat tends
to be a bit more crowded due to its (slightly) closer proximity to Montauk
State Park.

The White Ribbon stretch (from Cedar Grove on down to Akers
Ferry) doesn’t get a whole lot of press, and in some ways there is a reason for
that. It’s stocked more often than the Blue Ribbon section, but unrestrictive
regulations largely make up for that. The quantity of trout is just fine, but
there aren’t a whole lot of lunkers here. Bait is allowed, and this is a great
section to try Powerbait, worms, and even small minnows. The float from Cedar
Grove to Akers Ferry is a bit long, but takes you through some awesome trout
water, especially if you like to bait fish (and keep trout.) This is a
wonderful place to catch some trout and eat them for a shore lunch with next to
no regrets. These stocked rainbows allow for that.

The Current is a wonderful trout stream that takes many
characters through its long stretch of trout water. From the crowded but
trout-filled Montauk State Park, to the wild blue ribbon section, this is one
of the true must-fish streams in Missouri. In our opinion, it’s the best trout
stream in Missouri, although that can certainly be argued. But the ambience of
this wild river mixed with the excellent trout fishing is always going to be
tough to beat.

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2013-01-31 20:47:47

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