Roam With Friends

Tag: fly fishing

Rocky Mountain National Park, Part One The West Side

We have visited numerous national parks and I am always left wondering, “can a person ever spend enough time in such a place of wonder?”

We spent five days in Rocky Mountain National Park in June 2019. The second longest amount of time we have spent at any national park (Yellowstone remains the longest time we have spent). And I still walk away knowing that we failed to cover so very much. The only saving grace for me is I know Rocky Mountain National Park is a park we can and will easily re-visit.

East vs. West

We stayed on the west side of the park at Winding River Resort so the majority of our activities seemed to be on that side. I have no scientific research but it feels to me that the majority of visitors to Rocky Mountain Park enter from the east side, through Estes Park. I know when we went over to the east side it seemed more crowded. I can say that the west side of the park is home to moose and that is the primary reason for our visit. Today’s post is about our experiences on the west side.

West Side

We started our time on the west side at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center where we were given advice on hiking trails and fishing. We selected an easy hike, the North Inlet Trail. Wildlife sightings is what we sought and what we sought advice from the rangers on. Well, wildlife sightings is what we found. We saw marmot, deer, snakes, and even moose. We hiked the North Inlet Trail about 1 1/2 miles when we noticed how late it was getting to be. Afternoon had left and we were approaching evening when we turned around to hike towards home. We never made it to Cascade Falls (it was another 2 miles further). Our most memorable moment on this trail was when we noticed three bull moose staring down on us from above the trail. We attempted to pass them by walking softly forward. However, the moose had other plans as they started running down the hill straight for the trail. So, we decided to quietly but quickly back up just trying to create as much space as possible. The moose crossed the trail and started feasting on the marsh side of the trail and then the three moose started getting aggressive with each other! We were treated to such an amazing show on our first night but we did decide we had seen too much excitement and quickly maximized the diversion to get out of that area!

Our second hike on the west side was the East Inlet Trail. My dear friend Harry came to visit us from Denver and after we enjoyed a great lunch at the local Snack Shack we took off hiking to Adams Falls and beyond. The trail to Adams Falls was a bit crowded. A lot of people turned around and returned after the falls but we kept going. We ran into a group of artist painting in a clearing. I have never been an artistic type but those women on that day inspired me to come home and purchase watercolors. I have yet to take them hiking with me but I still think that is in my future.

We headed to Coyote Valley Trailhead for dual purpose. Wayne and Jackie (who joined us for part of our trip) set out to flyfish while Olivia and I hiked from Coyote Valley Trailhead to Bowen/Baker Trailhead. Olivia and I started off on a defined trail and them we ended up on a different type of trail. Maybe it was a social trail or a game trail? I am not sure but we soon found ourselves wondering through trees, meadows, and crossing the Colorado River four or five different times. As we hiked, the fisherman were working their own way up and down the Colorado River. Olivia and I spied more moose and Wayne and Jackie did catch wild trout.

Bowen Gulch to Never Summer Wilderness was our final hike on the west side of the park. Never Summer Wilderness is actually not in the national park but it is in the Arapaho National Forest. We hiked the trail toward Parika Lake for a few miles before turning around and heading back. While the environment seemed likely for wild animal sightings we did not have any on this trail.

Overall, the river was full from spring thaw. The water was running swiftly. Jackie, Wayne, and eventually my cousin Dennis had a great time attempting to catch trout. They had enough luck to consider it a successful trip.

We started completing and collecting Junior Ranger Badges years ago when we first started visiting national parks. This visit was no different. Olivia completed her program and visited the Kawuneeche Visitor Center to get sworn in. These visits are always fun, the rangers take valuable time away from their other duties to make each child feel special. They each vary slightly based on the rangers individual personality. At Rocky Mountain National Park, the ranger took her own hat off and put it on Olivia’s head! It was a wonderful moment. But as different as each one is, they also share something very similar. They inspire the kids and adults alike to be better, to do better, and to protect more. I am thankful she has not grown out of this.

The west side of the park met every expectation that we had. We had more moose sightings than I could ever write about. We went hoping to see one moose and came home seeing dozens of moose. In fact, in our feature photo, the one of us in front of the Rocky Mountain National Park sign, a moose was walking out of the trees and walking directly to us. We had one eye on the camera and one on the moose just to see what his next steps were going to be.

Come back later and check out our east side activities.

January 9, 2020
The Adventures of Betty, Roxie, and The Rockwood: That’s WY!

Do you ever hear a song that speaks to your soul? The one you turn up a little louder every time you hear it. You catch yourself humming along to it even when it is not playing. This summer that song for me is Highway Vagabond by Miranda Lambert. I can’t get it out of my ears…

I wanna go somewhere where nobody knows
I wanna know somewhere where nobody goes
Following gold lines on the ground, northbound, southbound
There’s something ’bout the way I feel when the wheels go round and round and round

Highway vagabonds, living like hippies
Moving right along to the next big city
Okay, jump off the exit
Truck stop, rest stop, next stop Texas
Caravan like a wild west show
I don’t care, man, as long as we go
My way
Get off one and get on the other
Highway, vagabonds

For us, the next stop is not Texas. It is Cody, Wyoming and I did feel like we were caravaning like a wild west show. Partially because we were caravaning. Three big trucks pulling three big travel trailers down Highway 16, also knows as Cloud Peak Skyway Scenic Byway, that goes up and over Bighorn National Forest. Partially because we were heading west to a town made famous by a man who made wild west shows famous. Partially because we were on no time table and we found ourselves leisurely wandering from one destination to the next; just like a vagabond.

We took one highway to the next winding our way to Monster Lake Ranch just outside of Cody, Wyoming. Pulling into Monster Lake, I did feel like we were somewhere where nobody knows and we had found a place that nobody goes. But, that really isn’t true. People do go to Monster Lake. It is known for its world-class fly fishing and bird hunting, which is exactly how we ended up landing there. But, in the moment of being there (the only guest on property) it did feel like we were in a secret location. A place just like Miranda sings about.

Fishing at Monster Lake has been on my husband’s bucket list for a couple of decades. His father and uncle have raved about the monster trout they caught on their trips out there and he wanted his own shot. We offered to let the group go ahead of us and we would meet up but they all decided that Cody had enough things to keep everyone entertained and when we found out they had RV sites we quickly made plans to stay three days/two nights at Monster Lake, 8 miles south of Cody, Wyoming.

On our only full day at Monster Lake Ranch, we each went a different direction and experienced different things. So, go find that Miranda Lambert song, turn up the radio, and follow along as we walk you through our time in Cody, Wyoming.

Monster Lake Ranch (Wayne’s Cody Experience):

Visiting the wild west sounds fun, but for some of us, visiting it is simply not enough. If you want an activity a little more hands on for a chance to call victory of the wild in the west then Monster Lake Ranch is where you should go. If your bucket list includes bird hunting, fishing, trail riding, pistol or rifle shooting on a beautiful, scenic ranch surrounded by mountains, then this is the place to visit.

Monster Lake Ranch is a 10,000 acre working ranch with a nearly 200 acre lake stocked with monster sized cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout. When I say monster size, I mean easily 6 pounds, often over ten pounds, 15 inches or more girth, and shy of two feet long. These are the type of fish you dream of catching. Monster Lake is a private lake. The price to fish here is steep: a half day rod fee is $150 and a full day is $200. Guided trips are available starting off around $450 for a half day. You can bring your own personal water craft, rent one from Monster Lake, or the guide will take you out on a drift boat.

Before I even went, I got some advice from my uncle and my dad who had fished Monster Lake before me. They recommended a five or six weight rod, full sinking line, and 2X leader and tippet. My Uncle Dave even gave me a large box of flies that I have never fished with before. I was also able to purchase an “old” fishing raft hat he had previously used at Monster Lake.

The night we arrived, three of us spent a few hours casting into Quick Lake, which is significantly smaller and at the entrance to the property. We found ourselves casting the full sinking line into the wind, which proved to be a game changer for my fishing buddies and I soon found myself the solo fisherman the next day.

I started off deciding to do the full day unguided trip. I took my all made over for monster sized trout rods and my “new to me” inflatable fishing raft with foot flippers to maneuver the lake. The guide, Mike, met me early that morning and actually repeated all the advice my uncle had given me. Mike then gave me a few top water flies, a quick Monster Lake entomology lesson (that is life cycle of bugs in case you wondered), a quick layout of the lake, a few specific casting techniques for this area, he even told me what birds to look for, and sent me on my way.

I started casting. I started to notice a few of the signs Mike had told me to look for. I saw a few insects and I mean a few. I saw a few of the birds he mentioned. But the birds could not find the few insects that showed up. Which also meant there were no fish showing up. I kept casting.

Around lunch time, my wife called to check in. I was feeling pretty discouraged. I was not sure if I was missing the signs or they were not there to see or if my technique was off. My wife could not give me any advice on the fishing but she did one of the most important things ever; she told me to call Mike and hire him as a guide.

By early afternoon, Mike was back. I was out of the inflatable raft and in his drift boat. He took me all over Monster Lake. He had confirmed that my technique was right on. Man, that was a relief! A few hours later I threw a dry fly (afternoon fishing the insects come back and lay eggs) close to one of the few rising fish we had seen that day. I saw him take the fly so I set the hook. This was my moment. After nearly a full day of discouragement I was so ready for this!. As soon as he took the fly, it felt like I snagged a log. He took the fly straight down, shook his head twice, and I felt the line go slack. I stripped the line to check my fly and I was surprised to see it was still there. But then on closer inspection I could see that my hook was nearly straight. Total defeat. Fisherman 0 Trout 1.

Shortly after this near miss, Mike and I called it quits. Mike was super discouraged that the insects had failed to show up that he volunteered to take me back out the next morning. I went back to the RV to ice my now sore arm. Mike felt pretty badly I had a crappy day of fishing so he graciously offered to show my family around Monster Lake. He took us back to Cowboy Camp. We walked up to a huge cliff and watched a storm move in. A giant rainbow appeared over Monster Lake Ranch that evening. I had hoped that would mean a better day of fishing in the morning.

The next morning, Mike and I hit the lake fairly early. We only had a half day to fish because we were packing up and heading to Yellowstone. I wish I could say that our second morning was more successful than our first. The weather was perfect; sunny, hot, not a cloud in the sky, with little to no wind. The rest of the group called it perfect, the first nice day of our vacation. But those perfect days make the worst days for trout fishing. I am pretty sure I am the only person who has ever come to Monster Lake with the hopes of catching a monster trout and who walked away with nothing but a sore arm from all that casting.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (The Master’s Cody Experience)

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We decided to tour The Buffalo Bill Center of the West while in Cody. The cost of admission was pricey ($19 for adults and $12 for children ages 6-17) but the admission covers two consecutive days to the museum. This museum is huge and you could definitely use two days to explore the entire thing. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West houses six different museums in one building: Buffalo Bill Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and McCracken Research Library, as well as special time limited exhibits. We explored all of the museums but not the library. The exhibit was closed for set-up during our visit. I’m embarrassed to admit, but as we entered the center it dawned on me that this was the first real museum the kids had ever ever really been in. Our biggest worry was what the kids would think and how they would behave. We were pleasantly surprised – they were both well behaved and they both LOVED it. When I asked the kids what their favorite part was they simply said “all of it!”

We started our exploration in the Whitney Western Art Museum. Each painting was tied to a number and you had access to headphones and recorder that provided a recorded information on the artist and the painting. The kids loved this – they walked around the entire art area typing in the numbers and listening. We loved looking at the paintings of Yellowstone knowing that was the next stop on our road trip.

After the art museum we explored the Cody Firearms Museum. This was amazing; truly a sight to see. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures of the guns because there was just so many it was almost overwhelming. There were guns of all shapes and kinds. Guns from years and years ago to present. My husband and I really enjoyed this area. During our time here, we kept thinking about our loved ones not on this trip with us. I know my father-in-law would have also been fascinated.

Next we journeyed through the Plains Indian Museum, which was probably my second favorite area. Looking at the items the Indian people made and the details in these items were fascinating. My girl loved the baby carriers the Indian people made and transported their babies in. My boy enjoyed learning about the Bison and all the things the Indian people used from the Bison. Bison have become his new favorite animals.

Next we explored the Buffalo Bill Museum. We traveled through this section very quickly because the kids were anxious to get to the Draper Natural History Museum. There were many interesting things I never know about Buffalo Bill and his life; he was really quite accomplished. The Natural History Museum was probably where we spent the most of our time. There was an area you could see the animal habitat and see what they eat, touch their horn or antlers, and touch their hides. There were all sorts of animals in this area from chipmunks to elks, to bears. The kids really like this.

Overall we really like Buffalo Bill Center of the West. There was a great deal to see and I’m sure we missed plenty in our short visit. If I had the opportunity to go again I would and I would want want to explore my two favorite areas more thoroughly – the Plains Indian Museum and the Cody Firearms Museum.

Old Trail Town (The Taylor’s Minus Wayne’s Cody Experience)

During our visit we got to help Old Trail Town celebrate it’s 50th anniversary of being in business. They gave us a gold sticker to wear around for the day. We even left our anniversary sticker on after we left. Old Trail Town is more than a collection of historic buildings. Although it is exactly that; a collection of old buildings. You will also find relics throughout the restored buildings that give you a glimpse of what life was like for early western settlers. My ancestors were not western settlers but I recognized several antiques that my great grandparents had in their homes.

Old Trail Town collection has 27 buildings, which date from 1879-1901, one hundred horse drawn vehicles, as well as extensive memorabilia from the Wyoming frontier and Indian artifacts. Some of the homes can be entered and others you can’t. Several homes had beds in them. We can’t help but wonder, were people really that small? My husband and I have a king sized bed and when I am looking at the beds in these homes, I am shocked at how small they look! Have we supersized our entire lives?

Three of the buildings located at Old Trail Town are buildings used by “The Hole in the Wall Gang” which Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid were apart of. You will still find bullet holes in the door of the saloon. I think I need to do more research on my wild west villains. I kinda need to admit I thought Butch Cassidy was a good guy, maybe because Robert Redford was in the movie and he can’t possibly be a bad guy, right?

In addition to the buildings and relics, several historical figures are buried at Old Trail Town including Jeremiah “Liver Eating” Johnston. Maybe you have seen a movie also starring Robert Redford? Jeremiah Johnson? It is one of my favorite western movies. I think I just realized how infatuated I am with Robert Redford. Anyway, after the release of the movie, Jeremiah Johnston was relocated from his pauper’s grave in California to Old Trail Town. Robert Redford even served as a pallbearer in the largest burial service in the history of Wyoming.

Ticket prices to visit this attraction are $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids 6-12 years of age. My parents took me to Old Trail Town on my first visit to Cody. I would not say much has changed. It remains a place where the wild west lives. Even if it is contained to two acres.

Buffalo Bill Dam (The Todd’s Cody Experience)

The Shoshone River runs right through Cody, Wyoming. Six miles west of town, on the way to Yellowstone, you will drive through a series of tunnels and then pass the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was built in 1910 and was the highest dam in the world, at that time. We also found it interesting that the dam was originally built with no reinforcing rebar.

We found ample large space parking in the parking area just west of the dam and visitor center. We were greeted by a man driving a golf cart who offered us a ride up to the visitor center. He told us after the 9/11 bombings they put up barricades and no longer allow parking close to the dam. We would not have minded the walk, but the gentleman driving us was a treat to spend time with.

On the way into the visitor center we learned that the water level was as low as it has been in the past 20 years. At the visitor center, we wandered around outside. The sound of the water rushing through the spillway is loud. The sun bounces off the falling water and created rainbows. The water on the other side of dam is calm and quiet. We lingered outside to enjoy the views.

Inside the visitor center we watched a movie about the making of the dam. Our daughter was fascinated by the number of people injured or even killed during the building. I think the movie made a huge impact on her. We got our national passports stamped and walked back to our truck. There are a few artifacts on the way to/from the parking lot to the visitor center; namely a ball plug and a hydraulic valve.

Sadly, we were in Cody just days before the start of their summer season which meant that the nightly rodeo’s Cody is known for had yet to start. I do wish we had been able to attend a rodeo but we picked our dates to beat the large summer tourist season at Yellowstone National Park. Life is certainty about balancing choices.

We spent two nights and a few days in and around Cody. We enjoyed the “down” time before our next stop. Thanks so much to the staff at Monster Lake for helping make our time in Cody what we had hoped it would be.

July 30, 2017
Fishing in The Great Smoky Mountains

I consider myself a fly fisherman. I’ve been fly fishing for roughly 15 years, my dad and uncle taught me in the cold clear water of upper Lake Taneycomo, just below Table Rock Dam. I don’t consider myself a great fly caster, but I’m a really good fisherman. Like my dad, I can cast just good enough to be an extremely successful fisherman. We can usually go anywhere in Missouri or Arkansas and catch a ton of trout. We normally fish in tailwaters or trout parks. I know… trout parks are not REAL trout fishing but that’s the trout fishing we have available in our area. Here in our tailwaters and in our parks I’m a really good fly fisherman. I know where to go, what to use and how to fish. I research and study techniques and equipment, 90% of the time, I’m successful at catching trout. I’ve taught several others how to fly fish. I tie nearly all of the flies I use. Even the guys I fish with use the flies I tie and they catch a ton of fish. In my world, I can hang with the best of them. I make it look easy. I feel like I’ve mastered my craft. That is until our visit to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Like any fly fisherman worth their salt, I did my research. I put Google through its paces, I looked up non-residence licensing requirements, I searched for where to go, what flies to use and how to fish them. I poured over online fishing reports and where to find local resources all in close proximity to where we were going to be staying in Townsend, TN. My online searches lead me to the following conclusion:

There are 1,001 places in or around Townsend, Tennessee to fish.

Armed with that knowledge, I moved onto Plan B; wait until we got to Townsend and talk to the natives. From where we set up camp at Big Meadows Campground, the local fly show was less than a mile away. At my first possible opportunity, I headed to the Little River Fly Shop.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by a couple of the guys working in the shop. This is a tourist town, so I didn’t really even have to explain my situation; they talk to 50 guys a day just like me. The first question they asked me was if I was planning on fishing inside or outside the national park. As they explained, fishing outside the park in the Little River in July was a challenge because of the tubers floating down the river, plus it required an additional $30 for a Tennessee trout stamp. A trout stamp isn’t required when fishing within the national park. They also explained to me that the trout in the Little River were stocked Rainbow Trout and most of the fish within the boundaries of the park were Appalachian Brook Trout. So, that made my decision easy, I can catch stocked fish at home, I wanted to go after the native species, so I told them I’d fish inside the park.

Now that we determined that, he focused in on where inside the park I should go. He brought out a map, and being totally unfamiliar with the area, it took me some time to get my bearings. He started marking up my map with some yellow highlighter and telling me everything I needed to know. I was on information overload! I walked away from that conversation with a few simple guidelines: first; the higher you go the better the fishing is. Second, wild fish spook easily so presentation is everything. Third and finally, keep moving, cast a few times and move upstream. Armed with my new guidelines, I bought some flies, a Tennessee fishing license and I walked out feeling ready to go.

My first venture fishing in the Park was on a hike with the family. I brought along the fly rod and we started hiking up the Middle Prong Trail and fishing the Little River. This trail has a steady rise in elevation and for the most part, the Little River runs right along the trail. Although there were numerous places that had very easy access to the river finding a good spot to fish proved to be difficult. Due to the heavy rains the night before, the water was rushing through this narrow river. I stopped in a few places but the water just seem to be running too hard to get a drift going and forget wading; the rushing water and extremely slick rocks made it difficult to keep any sort of footing at all. After nearly falling in the rushing water more than a few times I gave up. I was done. I did enjoy the trail and the hike very much. The Little River is a beautiful stream and full of little water falls.

I did realize that fishing in the mountain streams were a whole lot different than where I usually fish. I fish in wide, deep, slower moving tailwaters and streams. These require a long casts and a good long drift. Usually, you can stand and fish in the same spot for a long time. The river beds where I’m from are often sandy, gravel or rocky bottoms that are fairly easy to stand and move traverse. In contrast, the mountain streams are narrow, shallow, and fast moving. The rocks in the river bed range from pebble sized to boulders. Most have been rounded smooth by thousands of years of erosion and they are slick. I know rocks in water are usually slick, but these are crazy slick. Round rocks and river slim make walking in the river downright dangerous! Or, you could be walking along on some rocks and all of a sudden you can step into a crack that can swallow your entire leg. I learn rather quickly that mountain stream fishing is totally opposite of fishing the way I fish.

Casting in a narrow mountain river requires extremely short casts. The guide at the Little River fly shop said to make about 3 casts in a spot then move upstream. In this fast narrow river, that takes approximately 30 seconds. The features in the river that hold fish are short and with the fast moving water a drift is over in seconds. So you are constantly casting and moving. The problem is, if you are not used to moving over that type of terrain, it can be extremely difficult.

I gotta tell you I was kind of surprised at the difficulty I experienced in fishing in the Smoky Mountains.

The next evening, the whole crew went for ice cream. I was standing in line behind a guy that I could tell, just by looking at him, he was a fisherman. So, I struck up a conversation with him and sure I was right, he was a fisherman! He said he’d grown up in a town near by and had been fishing the Smokies all his life. While we ate our cones, we talked about: fishing, fish, and trout. By the time the cones were gone, we had plans to meet up the next morning and go fishing. His name is Brandon Carr, he’s a softball coach with a passion for fly fishing and the Smoky Mountains. Some of you might find it odd that I made plans with a relative stranger to go fishing but my gut told me Brandon was good people. My gut is seldom wrong and it was not wrong about Brandon.

In the morning I met with Brandon and we took the short drive to the Middle Prog Trail head, exactly the same trail that we had hiked and “fished” a couple of days before. (By the way, there is nothing cooler than riding into the mountains in a Jeep!) We parked the Jeep and started hiking up the trail along the stream. Now, I’m not the fittest guy in the world but I’m no couch potato either. I try to stay active by doing a little jogging, bicycling and we like to hike. But trying to keep up with Brandon took serious effort. What was cool about hiking with him, was that it was like having a person tour guy for the Smokies. I learned a lot of history about the logging company and how they used the stream and other resources available to them to move giant logs from the top of the mountain to the bottom. We even paused a few times to look at different artifacts left behind by the loggers such as an old Cadillac and some rigging that helped anchor cables for moving logs. Most of which I would have missed if he had not pointed them out. As Brandon effortlessly bounded up this trail, I was happy he was doing all the talking and so I could just concentrate on keeping up. I’m not exactly sure how far we hiked, but I’m pretty sure it was close to three miles before he even suggested we wet a fly. Just like the guy the fly shop said, the high you go, the better the fishing. We also talked about what flies to fish, how to rig the flies and how to fish them. Pretty much exactly what the guys at the fly shop said. I was surprised to see how different the stream looked compared to the just two days before. The water was much clearer and the stream had slowed considerably. With the water not moving as fast, I thought that traversing the stream would be easier, boy was I wrong.

I started to cast and move, like I was supposed to… and wham, I caught a snag on the other side of a large pool and lost my flies. I survey the damage and discover I needed to retie my tippet as well as the flies. As I go to snip my 6x tippet off the spool, I realize that I can’t see it. Now I know I’m getting a little long in the tooth and it won’t be long before I’ll be needing to carry around reading glasses with me everywhere but that time has had not yet come for me. Well, not until THAT day. By this point the sun was up, it was a bright sunny day, or as far as I could tell it was… The thick forest canopy was filtering out some of the sun light. I don’t know a lot about the spectrum of light that the sun emits, but I can tell you that the forest filters out the light that allows a human to see 100% fluorocarbon tippet. As I went to tie on my tippet, I could see the leader, but the tippet just wasn’t there. I could feel it but I couldn’t see it. It was like it was under some sort of evil spell of invisibility. I guess it was pretty obvious that I was struggling, because eventually Brandon came over and help my tie my flies on.

With my rig finally being good to go, I was ready to get back to fishing! I got back in the water, because that’s is how I knew to do it (and how we do it back home…in the water. I struggled to keep my footing on the rocks, making my casts and moving. Pretty soon, I began to realize that between the hiking and wading I was exhausted. Every time I’d look up to see Brandon, he’d be way up stream. Which is good, because I didn’t want to slow him down and I didn’t really want him to see just how badly I was struggling at just standing! I decided to rest a little and just watch Brandon fish. I was amazed at how he moved along the stream and fished. Not in the water like I was attempting to do but on the rocks, pausing to cast in the shallowest of features and moving quickly. Brandon’s not a small guy, but he leapt from rock to rock with the grace of a mountain goat. I was amazed at how quickly he could cover the stream and moved onto the next feature to find fish in places that I thought couldn’t possibly hold anything. I also having trouble keeping my leader from being sucked back through my eyelets. In my tailwater world, we use long leaders 7 1/2 to 9 feet to get the fly deep into the water column. As I watched Brandon fish, I noticed that the leader he was using was much shorter and his dropper was not nearly as dropped as mine was. I also watch how he was moving along the stream, not in the stream but on top of the rocks and along the banks, not in the water like I was trying to traverse the stream.

I decided that I had to just stop and reassess what I was doing and how I was doing it. Against my better judgment I cut the flies off my line. I completely retied, fortunately for me, the sun was a little higher in the sky and I was able to see my fluorocarbon tippet well enough to tie my knots. I also tried to move on top of the stream and not in the stream. I fished features, that I thought couldn’t possibly hold fish… and then it happened, I got a strike. And another. And another. Finally I hooked up! I caught a wild native Appalachian Brook Trout. It was one of the most beautiful fish I’ve ever seen. It was small, only about 5 inches long, but to me it was a prize worthy of mounting! I’ve never worked so hard to catch a fish in my life. It was well worth it!

I’d also like to say thanks again to my new friend Brandon Carr for letting me tag along with him. He’ll never know how much he taught me about the Smoky Mountains and catching wild native fish in mountains streams.

Happy Fishing!

Wayne

November 2, 2016
Fly Fishing At Montauk State Park

When most think of trout fishing they think of exciting places like Colorado, Montana, or maybe even Tennessee. I am pretty sure Missouri is one of the last places people would think of. I am here to assure you, there is amazing trout fishing right here in the great state of Missouri.

Missouri State Parks operates three trout parks in the state: Roaring River State Park, Bennett Spring State Park, and Montauk State Park. This post is about our time at Montauk State Park.

Montauk State Park is located just outside of Licking, Missouri. From Kansas City, that is a 245 mile drive southeast, from Springfield it is a 110 miles east and slightly north, and from St. Louis it is 140 miles southwest. The drive is longer than we would make for a two day weekend so we usually add a few vacation days and stay for at least three-four nights on trips to this park.

The park is a state park so camping fees are very reasonable (approx $25 per night). There were no full hookups so we camped in an electric only site. Missouri State Parks offer an online reservation system that allows you to see photos of each site. When we camp in an electric only site, we always try to select a site close to the water source in case we need to refill during our stay.

Setting up and settling in was relatively easy. We took a tour of the park and hiked around exploring the spring that feeds into the river. The Park stocks this river each night with trout. The fishermen like this river for fishing because they say there is more space to fish in, which means a less crowded fishing environment, and larger fish to catch.

The women judge the campgrounds by the campsite and the activities available to keep the young non-fishermen kids entertained while the Dad’s, brother, and papa spend hours each day fishing.

The Campground:

I wish we had brought our bicycles. We opted not to bring them as we were visiting the Ozark Mountains and honestly felt we would be required to bike up and down hills all day long. On the contrary, the park is relatively flat. At first inspection, it seemed that the shower rooms were really far from our campsite, but in actuality they were only a short walk away.

We lost all cell reception a mile or so before we reached the entrance to the park. We noticed there was wi-fi available in the park but we could not connect to it. We had no TV reception but that was not a big deal. Our electric box kept blowing the circuit but a quick call to the camp office and someone came out and replaced it for us. (We learned later it was not just a maintenance man but actually the park superintendent!) On Day 3 of vacation the superintendent came back to our site to fix the “broken wi-fi” which we had no idea was located between our two sites. As soon as he fixed it, we could once again interact with the outside world (still no cell service).

Our camp space was huge! The staff were nice host. They even came by and cleaned out our fire ring while we were visiting. My only complaint is that the trash dumpster was located right in our site and since the fish cleaning station was closed for repairs, there was a lot of fish parts going into the trash dumpster. Unfortunately, that made for some pretty foul smelling air. Our buddy, The Superintendent, did tell us that the dumpsters get emptied and washed out three times a week. That did help the later part of our stay but there was two days of unpleasantness to get through!

Camp Activities:

Each night of our stay the park had a scheduled event. One of the events, a candle-lit bat tour, looked like a lot of fun to us. However, we never managed to make it there. I do wonder, are we the only people who lose track of time when camping?

Hiking:

There are hiking trails at Montauk State Park. There was a short hike to the spring as well as a Lake Trail. Both of these hikes were easy and the short people in our party loved hiking them. We passed the hatchery, the lake, and we saw a variety of wildlife even during the short hikes.

We did convince the kids to hike the Pine Ridge Trail despite it having a rugged label. The Pine Ridge Trail is listed as a 1.5 loop trail. I think our girls were finished before we even hit the 1/4 mile point. That is when the complaining started. By the time we were 1/2 of a mile into it, the girls’ complaints were getting more desperate:

Short Person #1: “Mom, I think there are ticks on my socks!”

Mom #1: “No, honey, those are not ticks, that is dirt. You are fine, let’s just keep going!”

Short Person #2: “Mom, there are ticks on my legs and they are crawling all over!”

Mom #2: “There are no ticks, you are fine, stop complaining!”

Big Brother #1: “Those are not ticks, you are sweating and it is tickling your legs.”

By the time we reached the 3/4 mile point, it was obvious to all of us adults that in fact we had walked through a nest of seed ticks and they were hungrily crawling up our bodies at a very fast pace! We could no longer brush the short chic’s (aka our daughters) complaints off as just whining! We rushed through the hike as fast as possible, went straight to the showers to wash as many off of us as possible.

In case you have never seen seed ticks before, I found this photo online. Those might look like oil spots on the jeans but in fact they are seed ticks. It took us hours to remove all we could find. And if that were not enough of a vacation time commitment, it also required a trip into Licking the next morning to visit a laundry mat so we could wash all clothing (including our shoes) to really make sure we had eliminated them.

And as if this were not enough, I should also say that we not only were eaten alive by the seed ticks but we also encountered more than our share of spiders, spider webs, and apparently mosquito and chiggers. Our bodies were covered in bites and required weeks to recover from being the main course at the human buffet table.

Swimming:

There is no swimming allowed at Montauk State Park. Or wading for any purpose other than fishing. Or canoeing. The sole purpose of the river at Montauk State Park is for trout fishing.

However, with that said, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is very near to the state park. A short drive outside the park will lead you to Tam Vat, or other areas on the river perfect for swimming. I should warn you, the water at Tam Vat is near to the spring and therefore it is cold. Very cold. That of course, did not stop our short people from playing in the water.

Sight-Seeing:

My mother has a first cousin that lives in Licking, Missouri just a few miles from Montauk State Park. He invited us to go exploring with him and his family on our second day of vacation. We arrived early and the girls were able to assist in doing chores of their animals before we headed out of a day long trip.

The first part of our tour was a very personal one for me. The first place my second cousin took us to was my Great Grandparents grave sites. My mother has longed to re-visit this place as I think the last time she was not yet in kindergarten. In addition to the cemetery, we also drove past their former property. Some of the land has been redeveloped into a shooting range, so maybe the landscape has been altered but I can say it is not at all what my four year old brain remembered.

After we chased my Mendenhall family roots, the cousins took us to Alley Spring and Alley Mill. The mill is a 100 year old grist mill near a natural spring that pumps out 81 million gallons of beautiful turquoise water a day. The water feeds into Jack’s Fork River and Current Rivers.

The Mill is not functionable but many of the tools used to grind flour 100 years ago are still located inside the mill and are available not just for viewing purposes but we were able to open them and explore how they actually operated. What is funny about Alley Spring is that as I am standing looking at the beauty of this bright red building surrounded by turquoise water, I got the largest sense of de ja vue. I knew I had never been there before so it took me a few moments to realize, I had seen this building before; on an old calendar hanging in my growing up home!

A nice hiking trail surrounds the spring and leads you along the river’s edge. The rocky bluff to the right of the river is full of small caves that our short people enjoyed poking their noses (as well as whole bodies into).

After Alley Spring, we headed to a public access area on the Jack’s Fork for a mid-day swim. The water was perfect! Clear as you can imagine, crisp and cool but not cold and frigid! The short people had so much fun jumping off the log embedded in the river. We watched people cliff dive into a deep pool right across the river from where we were. What a wonderful day to spend a summer day!

After our swim, we headed in another direction from Eminence, Missouri to visit Rocky Falls. Rocky Falls is a shut-in, a narrow passage way or a constriction in a waterway. Rocky Falls is on the Current River and has a steep cascading waterfall that empties into a deep pool of water. People from all over flock to the area to sit in the water, slide down the rocks and just enjoy this geological space.

The short people loved it! The mommies were very disappointed that we did not bring our swimsuits! Instead we settled for cooling our toes, our feet, ankles, and maybe even calves in the water. If Rocky Falls had not been 2 plus hours away (one direction) from our campsite we might have returned to play another day!

Alley Spring, Rocky Falls, as well as Round Spring, Big Spring, Blue Spring, and Welch Spring are all located within minutes of Eminence, Missouri and are all part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. They are surrounded by National Park Services and have many campgrounds. This area is also part of the United States Bicycle Route System (Highway 76) so watch out for bicyclist as you visit this part of the state!

The Fishing:

Despite the fun we had exploring a part of the state we had never visited, the men folk never left the state park. They came all this way to fish and fish is what they did!

They got up early, they fished until the bell rang in the evening. They caught large fish. They caught small fish. They kept some fish. They threw back some others. Lines got tangled. Daily limits were met.

Other odd things happen when you least expect them to. The Husband ran into baseball friends of ours at the lodge one day. They were down to enjoy the canoeing on the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers and happen to come to the lodge for dinner one night. The Husband invited them to try trout fishing and they did. (Is it harder than it looks? I promise you should keep trying!)

We caught enough fish during our four days of fishing to host a fish fry on our last night. Threat of storm did not prevent us from enjoying the freshly caught trout.

To summarize, fathers taught sons a few lessons. Students might have out-fished their teachers. Best friends shared more than a few frustrations and developed a deeper appreciate for how tough it is to get the fish with a little mouth to open up and bite the tiny fly. But as our time at Montauk State Park came to an end, everyone agreed that the any vacation that includes trout fishing is a good vacation!

March 9, 2016