While planning where to stay (we decided on 3 days and 2 nights of fishing), Cris found Sunburst Ranch. It was located on the water, offered float trips, and was able to accommodate a group of our size (5 guys). Let me just say that Justin and Amy, the owners, are as nice of folks as you could ever meet. They were extremely nice and available during our entire stay, not to mention enthusiastic. They did everything they could to ensure that we had a good float and caught fish. Justin had great advice on fly selection and Amy knows the river like the back of her hand. If you ever decide to visit the North Fork, you'll be in good hands with these folks!
The drive from Kansas City wasn't bad and we completed the trek in about four-and-a-half hours. There were plenty of small towns to stop in for forgotten supplies and the scenery in southern Missouri is full of timber and hills. It's great to view from a car if you don't get carsick. If you do, you might want to plan ahead because there's more turns on highway H than an M. Night Shyamalan movie.
We arrived at mid afternoon last Saturday and hit the river as soon as we dropped off our stuff at "The Hangar". This was where we were crashing for the next couple of nights but we were much more interested in the fishing. The section of river that we fished was right along the campground of the ranch. The water was a little fast in most stretches and a little hard to read for some noobs like us. However, my buddy Steve was able to hook a nice rainbow and our collective confidence elevated as a result. We called it quits around sundown and decided a good night's rest was what we needed prior to our seven mile float the next day.
Before I get to the actual floating and fishing of the North Fork of the White River, I would be remiss if I didn't give a big shout out to the fine dining establishment that we patronized Saturday night. The Three Legged Mule is located in charming Caufield, Missouri, was a pleasant surprise. Our waitress was as nice and attentive as you could ask for not to mention that the pizza was amazing. If you like cheese, you'll love their pizza because they don't short you! Also, if you're feeling adventurous and insanely hungry, give the Alaska burger a try. You'll have plenty to take home for lunch the next day unless you split it with four other guys...and I'm not kidding!
Finally, Sunday morning, the day of our float arrived. We worked to prepare breakfast, eat breakfast, and get geared up for the day. To say that fly and rod selection was challenging would be a gross understatement. Online research, local intel, my own ideas, and traveling light were all factors that had to be considered. I finally decided on bringing two 6 weight rods four fly boxes. I had a mix of nymphs, wooly buggers, and articulated streamers. I rigged up one rod with a wooly and the other with a stone fly and hare's ear tandem rig. The big stone was to get the fly down in the water column and the hare's ear would trail behind it. I decided to focus on these tactics rather than throwing everything but the kitchen sink over the course of the day. I decided if I was going to get skunked, then it was going to be on good old, tried and true methods.
Now at some point on the way to Sunburst Ranch, Cris and I saw a skunk running from the road and into a pasture. We joked about this being a good sign or a bad omen. I said that since we saw a skunk, then we got our skunk out of the way for the trip. I'm pretty sure we were both thinking that it could have been a sign from the fishing gods that we were going to get skunked on the river.
Amy, one of the nicest ladies I have ever met, got us all geared up for the day and gave us some directions to the take out point. We ended up putting 4 guys in 2 canoes and me in a kayak. I volunteered for the kayak since I know my way around a yak and felt a lot more comfortable than in a canoe. Unbeknownst to me, his would be a huge key to catching fish over the course of the day. To make a long story short, I caught all of my fish out of the kayak while drifting. The other guys didn't hook anything while drifting from canoes and only had a few hits while stopping to wade fish.
I ended up landing 6 stocker browns and losing a couple more. All of them came on the tandem rig and only one hit the stone fly. The hare's ear was the big winner here and I I'm not sure if I would have caught anything without it. All of my fish came on long, slow drifts near the bank in about 4 feet of water. While I didn't catch any wild rainbows, I was happy with some success on a new river especially catching my favorite species- brown trout.
So the end of the float came and a cold front moved in for about the last mile of floating. The wind picked up and the temps dropped which made coming off the river a little easier. The skunk prophecy held true for some and not for others, but as luck would have it, things changed for the better on day three of our trip. More on this tomorrow.
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| Oh yeah, we found this thing laying around The Hangar and took turns creeping one another out with it. |
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| To cap things off, Amy and Justin got a new puppy that I got to play with. It's some sort of squirrel hunting breed I'd never heard of.
So there we were, at the end of a long day on the river and without many fish to show for our efforts. We unloaded our gear and Cris and I quickly started working on a gameplan for Monday. You see, Cris has fished for wild trout before and understands that they can be tough to catch. They are raised in the wild and educated on a daily basis from their birth. They're not like hatchery raised fish that enter the stream at 12 inches long and dumb as a box of rocks. With that being said, Cris was alright with a tough day on the water. I too have had my tough days on the water chasing wild trout and had a few stocker browns to lessen the blow of tough fishing. However, we wanted the other guys to land some fish and have some fun.
We settled on stopping by old reliable on the way home; Bennett Spring. We figured we would get loaded up and take a little detour by Bennett on the way home to try and land a few fish and put some smiles on some faces. We didn't ever seem to notice that we would be fishing during the slowest part of the day because even Bennett during a slow time was probably going to be more productive than the North Fork after a cold front in canoes. I would be remiss to mention the fact that we saw a good sign on the way. Instead of having a skunk cross our path or spray my truck, we saw three dead skunks on the side of the road while en route. I took this to mean that our skunking was over and a thing of the past.
As we pulled in the parking lot and started getting geared up again, a resounding confidence could be felt among the crew. We had no doubt that we were about to catch some fish and have some fun...and that's exactly what happened. Most of our fish were caught near the hatchery outlets and downstream from the spillway. Mark caught at least a dozen below the arched bridge while Cameron caught a VERY nice fish in the same stretch of water.
The spring break fishing trip ended with smiles on faces, handshakes, and back slaps. Like so many fishing trips, there were highs and lows, optimism and let down. It was also like other fishing trips in the sense that we came home completely exhausted with batteries recharged. I know that sounds contradictory, but it really isn't. While my body was sore and tired, my mind was refreshed ready to tackle the rigors of day to day life again. It always helps to restore my soul by spending time around friends, water, and fish.
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