Fishing at Bennett Springs State Park has been good to me and bad to me. That first year got me hooked on trout fishing because I caught my limit every time out. But each successive year my fishing was more and more unsuccessful. And last year I didn’t catch a single trout. I ended fishing the stocked pond at our cabin. But this was all with a spinner rod. Now I’m a fly fisherman. This year would be different...
Last weekend was our seventh trip to Bennett Springs. Having fished at Bennett Springs in the past I knew that I would be doing more casting than I've been able to do in my few fishing trips this past year. I was looking forward to practicing the roll cast on this trip. The instructor at Fly Fishing 101 had explained it to me in a way that I felt made enough sense that I could try it on my own this weekend.
Bennett Springs State Park is beautiful. Hills and trees surround the spring-fed stream that runs two thirds of the park. They have camping and cabins on site. Park maps detail the hiking trails that run from 30 minutes to several hours long. They also have a free fishing weekend that does not require a fishing license or a daily tag. The park is packed with fisherman on that weekend. Last year we were there on the free fishing weekend and no one was having much luck. We all said we needed to make sure we didn’t plan the trip on the free fishing weekend ever again.
Unfortunately we did. Last weekend was the free fishing weekend and Spinner rods and Fly rods alike were everywhere! If you caught a fish you could count on at least one person magically appearing by your side to see what you’re using or to get their line and fly in your water before you can get your fish of the hook. A couple of times my line got tangled with another and I swear that one other fisherman cut my fly off my line rather than untangle them. After two years in a row there is no way we won't make sure our trip is NOT on the free fishing weekend.I started of the morning with a small wet fly and a Thingamabobber
indicator (Click the link if you don't know what they are). I'm starting to get used to seeing the a small colored bubble floating down the water. But I still don't see it go under the water much. Either I was completely missing strikes or the fish didn't think much of my fly. It was at this point that I lost my fly at the hands of another fisherman so I decided to try something different. We are in the middle of cicadia season here in Missouri. So I put one on the end of my leader and gave it a whirl. Almost immediately I had a strike. But not expecting anything so quickly I mistimed setting the hook and lost it. After another twenty minutes without another nibble I gave up for the morning.
After lunch we rested for a couple hours and then headed back to fish. We staked out some water just upstream of the bridge. My brother and brother-in-law had caught a few fish that morning with what I think he called a "White Murderer." We were all trying it. It was a little white wet fly. I think it was designed to look like an emerging midge/nymph, I'm not sure. My brother-in-law told us to leave about about one and a half times the the depth of the water under our indicator. Cast the line out into the stream and be patient. He said the key was to not pull your line and recast too early. Wait as your line turns. When the lure hits the end of that turn and starts to rise up off the streambed, that's when the fish will hit. After two casts I hooked a fish... and then lost him. A few more casts and I finally caught a fish.
I ended up catching two fish in all. But my second fish proved to be more an illustration of how sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. In an attempt to not cross over anyone's line in my casting I somehow got my fly line tangled around my rod. I hauled everything in and grabbed the leader to make sure that as I freed the line it wouldn't start drifting into anyone. So I'm standing there with my rod stuck under my armpit holding my leader in my left hand and trying to untangle my fly line with my right. I know that I looked like the novice that I am. And then I felt a tug on my left hand. My second fish. I felt like a complete goof. One end of my rod was still under my armpit and the other end still had my fly line wrapped around my it. I could just let go of the leader to finish unwrapping my fly line and likely lose the fish. That wasn't going to happen. I dropped the fly line and pulled the fish in by hand. And I caught my second fish.
Always remember that no matter how much skill and knowledge you acquire in fishing, or in anything else for that matter, it never hurts to have a little luck. And a fish that wants to commit suicide.
indicator (Click the link if you don't know what they are). I'm starting to get used to seeing the a small colored bubble floating down the water. But I still don't see it go under the water much. Either I was completely missing strikes or the fish didn't think much of my fly. It was at this point that I lost my fly at the hands of another fisherman so I decided to try something different. We are in the middle of cicadia season here in Missouri. So I put one on the end of my leader and gave it a whirl. Almost immediately I had a strike. But not expecting anything so quickly I mistimed setting the hook and lost it. After another twenty minutes without another nibble I gave up for the morning.After lunch we rested for a couple hours and then headed back to fish. We staked out some water just upstream of the bridge. My brother and brother-in-law had caught a few fish that morning with what I think he called a "White Murderer." We were all trying it. It was a little white wet fly. I think it was designed to look like an emerging midge/nymph, I'm not sure. My brother-in-law told us to leave about about one and a half times the the depth of the water under our indicator. Cast the line out into the stream and be patient. He said the key was to not pull your line and recast too early. Wait as your line turns. When the lure hits the end of that turn and starts to rise up off the streambed, that's when the fish will hit. After two casts I hooked a fish... and then lost him. A few more casts and I finally caught a fish.
I ended up catching two fish in all. But my second fish proved to be more an illustration of how sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. In an attempt to not cross over anyone's line in my casting I somehow got my fly line tangled around my rod. I hauled everything in and grabbed the leader to make sure that as I freed the line it wouldn't start drifting into anyone. So I'm standing there with my rod stuck under my armpit holding my leader in my left hand and trying to untangle my fly line with my right. I know that I looked like the novice that I am. And then I felt a tug on my left hand. My second fish. I felt like a complete goof. One end of my rod was still under my armpit and the other end still had my fly line wrapped around my it. I could just let go of the leader to finish unwrapping my fly line and likely lose the fish. That wasn't going to happen. I dropped the fly line and pulled the fish in by hand. And I caught my second fish.
Always remember that no matter how much skill and knowledge you acquire in fishing, or in anything else for that matter, it never hurts to have a little luck. And a fish that wants to commit suicide.
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