Wild Trout

As far east as you can go toward St Louis-to about Steelville-on the Meramec river you'll find some wild trout. Reproduced in the river from trout stocked in earlier years. Even a stocked trout that's been in the river four seasons, displays the behavior that changes my "five fish per hour" standard to, "...wonder if I can catch five...today."

This far down the river fish surveys in summer may document things like "...five trout per mile." But the benefit of fishing in otherwise questionable conditions of winter is trout will swim from quite a distance to post up in a deep pool. I found one the other day. As the sun was setting. Of course. I went back to it today. It was loaded with midging, excessively wise and almost as spooky, trout. But I planted my feet and fished that pool for over three hours.

Everything shown except the browish/yellow San Juan worm "moved a trout". Means either caught, missed, or really missed (indicator stopped floating with the flow and I was brain dead about setting the hook). I don't know what I was trying to tie when I tied that little black fuzzy thing at the top. But I was genius. I'd already caught what looked to be a wild about the second cast on the tiniest black midge pictured, when I decided to tie this black thing on because maybe it resembled a gnat...or a midge out of the shell now with legs...or an ant. That's the unplanned genius-it looks like whatever may be on the menu, if it's black!

But the star of the day is the indicator. We call them bobbers when they're bigger and used in conventional fishing. I spent a little time end of day at another smaller pool near the access where I parked, and like the deeper pool east, trout were all over this indicator. I was pretty sure the biggest of the day ate the indicator, jumped and of course, "got off". But a number of casts later I realized my cream colored sow bug/scud had broken off. That larger trout had probably hit the intended target and simpy did an aerial, trying to lose it. Mission accomplished.

I keep telling fellow fishermen I'm going to load these indicators with a hook. It's not a stretch. The dyed in the wool fly fisherman will actually use a dry fly as an indicator, It's just a matter of tying in this case, a hook on a short piece of line loop knotted to the mainline. These are screw top indicators-I could include that short piece of hook line in the indicator groove, along with the main line. Hook protruding slightly to hook these Ninnies that want to chase my indicator after I work for hours to tie the perfect meal a short distance below it.

The best benefit of fishing hard to catch fish is, it exposes all of your weaknesses. Luckily, my only weakness today that resulted in a few less trout was my watching the indicator do anything different than the even floating with the current-and not setting the hook. My biggest weaknesses continue to be, whether roll cast or back/forward cast, I begin bearing down like I'm chopping wood. There is nothing in fly fishing that's going to work right if you "bear down". This weakness continues because of my switching to conventional fishing between fly fishing trips.

Nine trout caught, six missed, and about six more "really missed" (I just didn't set the hook.). Not a bad four hours in a population of spooky Wisen-heimers. And the only trout water within reasonable distance of me right now, that's not hard water.