Winter Fly Fishing Outing Dec 2012

Dan and I had a great time down at the Winter Outing of the Heart of America Fly Fishers held anually at Bennett Spring State Park. We stayed at Sand Spring Resort as usual and fished the park Saturday and Sunday, and then with the awesome 70 degree weather, we canoed the Niangua on Monday. We were on the River from Fort Niangua to Sand Spring. The club outing had their usual stream-side lunch up by the spring on Saturday (chili, hot dogs, etc) and then the banquet that evening up at Ollies. The fishing in the park seemed a little slower than usual to us but we caught quite a few trout, and of course it's catch & release in the winter time. Best flies seemed to be midges along woolleys and some nymphs. The weather was so great that we only needed a light long sleeve shirt from morning to night (not bad for December!). They were also doing construction in the park below the dam to improve access and provide for wheelchair fishing. In the river, we caught a couple of rainbow trout but mostly smallmouth bass. Best fly here was definitely the black woolley. What a great time to be all by ourselves on the river. Here are a few pictures from the trip, or for the complete album, click on this link:

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Terry

HOAFF Club Lunch 

 Whistle Bridge

 Rainbow Trout in Park

 Park Bridge and Dam

 Starting Canoe trip at Fort Niangua

 Beautiful Niangua River bluffs

Nice Smallmouth Bass by Dan