Fishing at Bennett Last Weekend

Last weekend, I was able to get down to Bennett Spring to attend a little fraternity reunion.  It was a small deal but was nice spending time with sold old Sig Taus from CMSU (now called the University of Central Missouri) and gave me a reason to do some trout fishing as well.  I arrived on Friday evening and was able to meet the guys and get on the water for a few hours.  On Saturday, I almost fished from horn to horn but had to get off the water at 7:30 because of rain and tending to a soggy campsite.  I fished on Sunday from 6:30 to about 10 and then started the long process of drying out camping gear (rained again late Saturday night) and packing up to head home.

The water was up a little and not its usual gin clear look but the park looked like it has made an amazing recovery from the recent flooding.  I spoke with an assistant hatchery manager and he said that they (the hatchery) wasn't affected too much by the flood and that things are getting back to normal a little more every day.  It was what you should or have come to expect from a Bennett weekend: lots of people (not too many and VERY nice), lots of fish, persnickety fish, aggressive fish, hot flies, cold stretches, and beauty everywhere you looked.  I also managed to do some paddling in my kayak on the Niangua and that was a first for me.  I caught some creek chubs, darters, hooked a smallie, lost a smallie, and landed a largemouth.  I am trying to do something new on every trip to Bennett and while this was a new experience, it will NOT be the last time.

I saw this big boy (maybe a girl, I don't know) hanging out by the parking lot.  I had never seen a snapper at Bennett before.

This actually ended up being my biggest fish of the weekend and what earned me the lunker patch.  The pictures don't do it justice because it had to come close to 18 inches.

I paddled up stream from the boat ramp in the park until I hit some faster rapids and couldn't paddle any further.  There were a few other floaters but nothing too crazy.

A deer track I found on a gravel bar.

Apparently I wasn't the first to walk this path.

Notice the fawn tracks!  These weren't much bigger than a quarter.

This was my first Niangua River largemou

Dear Missouri State Parks, I experienced a strange phenomenon one night.  These tree stumps grew out of the ground and I tripped over them in the dark while walking to my tent.  I expect a full investigation and report into the manner.  I hurt my elbow as a result and I would like to have an address to forward medical bills to. 

I saw a bunch of chickens feeding in the parking lot of a gas station called Pump n' Munch.  This just seemed too strange to keep to myself.