Tales of an Ozark Campground Proprietor

Eli's First Deer

2011-11-28T13:34:00.019-06:00

Some may think that 8 years old is too young for a child to become a deer hunter. Most who live in the rural Ozarks would argue that 8 years old is getting a late start. Either way, this year Eli finally talked me into letting him pursue his quarry armed with more than just a BB gun. Being somewhat skittish of loud noises from a young age I had my doubts about Eli actually enjoying the firing of a high powered rifle. Being rather frugal I decided to borrow a rifle from a friend this year to make sure Eli would take to the sport. Friend and fellow campground owner Craig Pettit offered up his .221 fireball (which his son had used the previous 2 years) for Eli to use this year. A week before youth season Eli and I met Craig in his campground for a little target practice, and to see how Eli took to the shooting. After getting set up with a rest and using several cushions and a block of wood to get him up to the proper height the young prospective hunter was ready for his first shot. Ear muffs secured upon his tiny head, crosshairs were centered on the target. "Gently squeeze the trigger when you are right on the red dot" we instructed. The shot rang out along the river valley, and Eli was up quickly. Turning away from us, Craig and I feared he was going to take to the hills running after his first shot. As he turned toward us we were relieved to see and smile on his face as he was ready to examine the target. Half and inch to the right of the bulls eye at 50 yards was his reward, and the groundwork was now set for what would turn out to be the demise of a careless doe. Throughout the week leading up to youth season we spent time target practicing and talking about shot placement. A ground blind was placed in the woods for our hunt, and Eli was even able to watch several deer in his scope one evening on the shooting range.

Finally opening day was upon us, and we met the morning with much anticipation. I had moved the ground blind the previous day to a place we had seen deer crossing on the previous two mornings. They had crossed about 30 minutes after sunrise so we decided to get to the blind 15 minutes before it began to get light. After watching the woods come to life as light filtered through the oaks we were startled by the warning wheeze of several deer back behind us. With the wind at our favor, and no windows on the back side of the blind, the deer must have noticed the blind and recognized it as being something out of place. I was afraid of this, but knowing the deer traveled this route I couldn't resist the temptation to try this spot. Unable to find a good spot to conceal ourselves in this area we relocated the blind to a new spot for the following hunts. Walking to the blind that evening we quietly watched as a lone doe passed in front of us unaware of our presence. Too far for a shot from the small caliber rifle, but a good sign. That evening was uneventful with the typical sightings of squirrels, and a chipmunk that nearly came in the blind with us, but no deer. Day 2 was met with renewed hope due to our new blind placement. Just as the day before we again heard the blowing of several cautious deer behind the blind, but no deer were seen. Fearing Eli was beginning to get discouraged I was happy to see the evening hunt was still a high priority, although I was starting to wonder if success would elude us. After getting settled in the blind once again, we sat quietly for a while and I could see Eli's thoughts were beginning to wander. Armed with the Ipod touch for a distraction, I encouraged Eli to play a few games while we waited. Another hour passed and then I spotted it. Coming slowly toward the opening in the woods where we were set up a doe grazed slowly along the path. I pointed out the doe to Eli and we readied the gun in case we were awarded a shot. I had placed a bench and some blocks in the blind so Eli would have a solid rest from which to shoot. As the doe slowly came into range the gun was steadied on the blocks and Eli firmly pressed it to his shoulder. At 30 yards Eli easily got the deer in his scope and I instructed him on relaxing and making a good shot. As he slipped the gun off safety I urged him to put it behind her shoulder for the shot. "What's a shoulder" he replied. My heart sank, what had our week of training done, the time spent aiming at my archery deer target, watching live deer through his scope, had he learned nothing? Slowly I talked him through this and felt he understood, I then told him to put it on her shoulder and when he was steady he could shoot. No sooner had I finished my sentence than BANG he had taken the shot and the deer was gone. I had seen the deer buckle at the shot and knew he had made a good hit, but being unfamiliar with the small caliber rifle I decided we would give the deer some extra time, just in case. We walked back to my in-laws cabin told the story to the family and watched the video I had taken. After 30 minutes we were back in the woods and while finding no blood we found the deer down not 30 yards from where it was shot. After field dressing and hanging the deer in the barn youth season had come to a successful end.

The next week was spent eating backstraps cooked on the grill (twice) as well as deer tacos, deer chili, and deer meatloaf. With each meal of venison that Amy served you could see the pride Eli took in providing for the family. I could not have been more proud, and was probably more excited than Eli when he finally achieved his goal. I spent the regular firearms season "hunting horns" with Eli in a buddy tree stand, and while we could have shot many does only a few bucks presented themselves. One decent 8 point came in behind us not offering a shot, and the bucks that did offer a shot Eli decided he would let walk since I told him they weren't big enough to put on the wall. We will have one more chance with a late youth season in January, but even if we don't get out during that time we have had a successful year in which Eli learned to become a responsible deer hunter.

Shocking with MDC

2011-10-04T11:35:00.005-05:00

This week the Missouri Department of Conservation is conducting their yearly trout sampling on the North Fork River. I was fortunate enough to be asked to join them for their first day of sampling on the upper stretch of trout water. We put in at Kelly Shoals and they went upstream to Lamb Shoals where they started the sample. Hundreds of rainbows were sampled with the biggest being about 22". We also sampled smallmouth which showed up in mass with good numbers of fish between 12-17 inches. We ended the sampling just below ROLF where we got the biggest fish of the day a 26" brown. Several other browns over 20" were also sampled, as well as quite a few bows between 15-18". The young of year rainbows were few and far between, which does not surprise me considering the low water we had last winter during the rainbow trout spawn. It was a fun, yet backbreaking day, clipping fins and measuring fish. Gives me a new perspective on how many fish are in this river, and how few I catch in relation to what is there.

Fishing at Sunburst (fantasy Island)

2011-09-23T10:40:00.002-05:00

Here is some video I shot around the island here at Sunburst Ranch. I hope to do more of this on the river so you can get your river fix even in the winter!

Nice Day at Dry Run Creek

2011-09-22T08:07:00.007-05:00

The kids had last Friday off so Eli and I decided to head to Dry Run Creek for a few hours. For those who are not fishermen, Dry Run Creek is an area below the dam at Norfork Lake that is reserved for children or handicapped people. It is full of trout and has been landscaped with the best interest of the fishermen and fish in mind. This is a great place to introduce a child to fly fishing, and Quarry Park is located just across the highway so Mom or Dad can fish after the children are worn out. I am trying to include a link to video from that day, but having a little trouble. I couldn't get a direct link, but if you copy and paste this next line to your address bar it will take you right to it. Sorry I'm technically challenged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdhaZsRGWQM

Wonderful Weather for Whites and Wise

2011-04-16T14:24:00.003-05:00

Thursday morning I received a call from friend and guide Brian Wise wondering if I had time to go chase some White Bass over on Bryant Creek that afternoon. We have been trying to put together a trip like this for years so I said sure and hopped on the mower to quickly finish up the remainder of this weeks mowing. A 1:00 rendezvous brought me to Tecumseh where Brian met me, leaving his truck and trailer at the ramp and hopping in for the ride back up to his boat. We arrived at Cook's Landing and after loading the boat and drinking a beer we warmed up our casting arms briefly before setting off for more productive waters. A drift through the mill pond rewarded us with a few carp and walleye sightings but no takers. We eventually floated down through a hole or two and after switching up streamers Brian found the one they had been looking for. Naturally it was one of a kind, and the only one we had so I proceeded to watch him catch several keeper whites and a nice largemouth before we jumped back in the boat and headed downstream. Being the gentleman Brian is he lent me his rod as we drifted through the next hole and I was finally able to get the skunk off with the smallest white of the day. Proceeding downstream we witnessed groups of whites spawning in the shoals but those fish were interested in only one thing and it wasn't eating. Below the spawning shoal we found the fish that were willing to bite staging up in a short run and Brian pulled several fish out while I managed one on a white zonker and one on a prototype streamer that may end up in production later in the year. With a nice stringer of fish in the boat we set out toward the forks as the sun sank towards the horizon. We rounded the bend toward Tecumseh and saw fish breaking the surface near the bank. I masterfully delivered the perfect cast (not hard with splashing white bass all around) and was rewarded with a nice sow to end the day. This was the first time I had pursued whites without my spinning gear along as a crutch and I must say it was much more rewarding than throwing swimming minnows at them. Thanks mainly to Brian I ended up taking home ten nice fly rod whites some of which were fried last night with fresh morels, and a few which made a wonderful fish sandwich for today's lunch.

The Legend of "Happy Ending"

2011-04-07T08:40:00.005-05:00

Within the crystal clear waters flowing in front of Sunburst Ranch lurks a monster that only a few have been fortunate enough to see. Prior to April this fish had only been seen lurking amongst the shadows preying on unsuspecting baitfish and crawdads. Occasionally fishermen might see a flash and feel a quick tug only to be disappointed by a missed hookset or sudden breakoff. Last Friday this denizen of the deep would meet his match as gladiator of the fly fishing world Chris Conant would be treading on his territory. Armed with only a fly rod Chris would hook, and eventually bring to hand this legendary trout. A glorious trout wearing a suit of gold adorned with brown jewels and white accents had finally been conquered. My sharp ears were able to pick up the sounds of a skirmish occurring on this field of battle, and I arrived in time to witness the culmination of a vicious fight. I congratulated Chris on his victory and watched as the ousted king returned to his lair. Following this release Chris announced that his week long campaign would end now as no further battles were needed.

Fast forward five days and welcome the arrival of a new gladiator from the other side of Missouri. Kevin Keens had been on a successful week long quest throughout the state of Missouri in search of legendary trout. While a successful campaign had taken place, Kevin decided to go looking for one final battle prior to heading home. Several nice fish had been brought to hand that morning when a jarring strike reinvigorated our weary warrior. An epic battle ensued ending in a well earned victory for Kevin, albeit at least 100 yards downstream from the front lines. I was once again summoned to the river so record of this monumental battle could be burnt in film for further generations to enjoy. As this 23 1/2 " monster was released Kevin raised his fly rod in victory announcing this too would be the final battle of his campaign. As the only one to witness both defeated opponents I am left wondering if this could possibly be the same fish. One would think a king such as this would not fall prey twice in the same week, but the size of the fish and location thereof lead me to believe this could be the case. We will never know for sure if this is the same fish or not but we do know both were released unharmed and continue to prowl the run in front of Sunburst Ranch. Hopefully the next few weeks will provide more battles in his home waters adding to the lore of the fish we now call "Happy Ending".

Freedom!

2011-04-07T08:36:00.003-05:00

As I sit here this morning with sore buttocks and shins the memories of a warm wonderful Sunday will hopefully remain fresh in my mind even as a cold Spring breeze blows everything else away. Somehow until yesterday I had not managed to teach my 7 year old son to ride a bike without training wheels. It seems like we took the training wheels off years ago, but a few quick lessons had gone unfinished. As I watched him play his DS yesterday morning something made me decide that today was the day. I asked Eli if he wanted to learn to ride his bike today to which he unenthusiastically replied sure, and off we went. Part of the reason I have been reluctant to teach him to ride is our lack of a good smooth surface on which to learn. This day we started on the gravel road in front of the campground and then progressed to the slight downward grade in front of the log cabin. This spot is on packed grass and is quite bumpy, but provided a soft landing for crashes, while the downhill start provided increased speed for easier balancing. Amazingly, within 10-15 minutes of me helping him to balance he was off and riding. We continued to walk to the base of the hill for easier starts, and within and hour or so he was taking off on his own, and swirving up and down the campground running into the fence twice, the truck once, and the four wheeler several times. The art of breaking still has not been mastered, but I have witnessed good form when bailing off the back of the bike just before big downhill crashes were to occur. Surprisingly I think I feel more beat up today than Eli does from bending over to help him balance and running along side him on those first solo flights. Looks like he may be more coordinated than his old man, seems like I remember more blood, tears, and frustration when I was discovering my freedom.

Winter's Big Project

2011-02-02T13:32:00.003-06:00

We have been staying somewhat busy catering to fishermen this winter, but between relaxing and everyday chores we have found time to work on expanding the campstore. The addition will more than double the size of the current "showroom" and will be air conditioned. This new space should add to the available items in the campstore and will also house the highly anticipated Dead Drift Fly Shop. This will greatly increase opportunities for fly fishermen who venture to the North Fork River in search of wild rainbow and monster brown trout. I have been putting together a website for the fly shop and would encourage you to check it out at deaddriftflyshop.net

I have done some fishing this winter and while the river is the lowest I have ever seen it the fishing has still been good. Lots of small rainbows caught on eggs as well as a few decent sized ones coming more often on nymphs. Great time to check out the river and see the bottom better than you have in the past. Bookings for the cabins and RV's are coming in hot and heavy (very few weekends available for the riverhouse all summer). Call early and often to ensure you get your favorite spot and shuttle time. Look forward to spring and another busy summer. Hopefully I'll have some more things to write about in the upcoming weeks and months, I've been uninspired as of late but plan on sharing some more river happenings as the weather warms.

Fall fishing is HOT!

2010-10-05T09:30:00.004-05:00

I have only fished a couple times in the last two weeks, but each time have been rewarded with about 6 fish per hour. The water is low and clear and the wading is as easy as it gets on this river. The algae is starting to die off but you will still hook some when you are on the bottom. Caught the pictured brown yesterday afternoon and the coloration and condition of this fish makes me think it may be a "wild" brown. Just a gorgeous fish with white on it's fins and some of the reddest spots I have seen. This fish jumped and fought like a rainbow, and until I got it to me I thought it was just a dark colored bow. Been catching most of my fish on a size 8 rubberlegs type fly that I tie with peacock herl at the head, and a little something special added to the chenille. Olive has been best for the rainbows, while the orangish brown has been best for the browns. Yellow has caught both. I started by dropping a hare's ear from it and caught a few bows on it, but didn't seem to help me catch more fish so took it off to lessen the algae catch. With no rain in the forecast looks like conditions will be like this for a while. Great time to come give it a try as wading conditions are a little easier than many times of the year. The fish are fighting really hard and jumping often with the cooler water, and the leaves should begin to change in the next couple weeks adding a little more incentive to come give it a try.

Enjoying the Bounty of Nature

2010-09-23T12:03:00.003-05:00

With the popularity of all of the survival shows on the Discovery Channel it has many of us thinking how we might do if we were stranded in the wilderness and had to survive on our own. If I were stuck anywhere I think along an Ozark stream this time of year would be my best chance for survival. With fish biting, young dumb squirrels gathering nuts for winter, and many edible fruits and fungi ripening I think I could live for quite some time right now armed with a flyrod and a .22 rifle. A few days ago Amy found several different kinds of edible mushrooms growing as well as many paw paws ripening on the trees. In addition walnuts and hickory nuts are also falling adding another enjoyable edible seed to the mix. The mushrooms found their way into a pasta dish last night, and today we hope to find some more so we can add them to the deep fryer when we fry the suckers we hope to gig this evening. What a great time to be a hillbilly!

Good summer at Sunburst Ranch

2010-09-16T05:49:00.003-05:00

As the season winds down we are once again able to take a deep breath here in Southern Missouri. Both kids are now in school with Eli turning 7 on Sunday and Molly 5 years old and in Kindergarden. The summer was hot and fairly dry with very few rainy weekends, what rain we did have on weekends was relatively quick and then gone. Weekday buisness was steady and our new rental RV's went over well, being full every weekend and quite a bit during the week. The hot weather really helped cabin rentals during the week as people did not want to sleep outside with lows in the 80's. Campers were very well behaved for the most part, we had a few noise complaints but were not called in the middle of the night at all this year (that's a first). We continue to have more and more repeat customers which allows us to weed out the bad eggs and send them elsewhere. As we look toward off season projects our major renovation will be to expand the campstore. Amy is looking forward to having a bigger (air conditioned) space to show off here wares, and I am looking forward to having an area designated for fishing supplies. Each year we are getting more and more fishermen which helps extend our season later into the year, and starts it off earlier in the spring. Another project will be to put a deck on the back of the riverhouse which overlooks the river, and that paired with last years riverhouse renovations will make it a really great rental house every month of the year. I have added a wood stove in the great room which really heats up a space that before always stayed cold in the winter. With the fireplace and propane heater in the other living room the riverhouse now stays toasty warm even on the coldest nights. We are kicking around the idea of renting the riverhouse like a trout lodge in the winter allowing people to rent it per person, with several groups being able to rent it at the same time. The whole place can still be rented for $150 per night, but also offering it by the person if it is not yet rented might keep it full more in the winter. Let me know what you think about this idea, with 2 bedrooms and 2 living rooms I think there would be plenty of space for like minded trout fisherman to coexist.

Trout fishing has been outstanding the last few weeks, I've been out at least once a week for the last 3 weeks and have been catching several fish per hour every time out. Last night caught 3 rainbows and 1 brown in an hour, and a few weeks ago landed a 21 3/4 " brown on Eli's 4 wt (see picture). That evening was my first time out in months and with my leaders in shambles I decided to use Eli's rod which had good leader and tippet. I hooked this fish right in front of the house and was quickly taken down to my backing. In typical brown trout style he dug deep and bulldogged around doing as he pleased. With no net I was finally able to follow him into shallow water where I could scoop him out, get a few quick pictures and send him on his merry way, one of my biggest fish ever on the smallest rod I have.

We've still been putting a few people out almost every day with Saturdays being 20-30 canoes, but the river has been very quiet and most days I have been seeing less that 5 canoes go by. Great time to get out on the river if you are looking for a nature fix. Hopefully with the rain we have been having it will lead to a colorful fall and not wash the colors out, it has sure been good for the river.

Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

2010-06-01T18:56:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone who was here for the weekend had a good time. The weather was as good as possible for the weekend with highs in the mid 80's and only a little shower around McKee Bridge on Sunday. The campground was very mellow for the holiday weekend and we kept away trouble makers by charging $14 to camp if you were not renting canoes. People ask why we do this and it is primarily to keep the campground from filling up with people that come here when they see that the free campgrounds are full. This makes for a better experience for those of you who pay us good money to camp and canoe for the entire weekend. This is also the reason that if you bring your own canoes and don't pay us to shuttle you pay the higher camping rate. If you are willing to pay that rate we are more than happy to accomodate you, but generally we come close to filling the campground with people who are renting canoes, and with only about 14 busy weekends we have to make hay while the sun shines. The river was rather laid back as well with water patrol saying they had no major problems all weekend. For those looking for a good weekend to camp I think Memorial Day (at least on the North Fork) is one of the best. One of the next best is 4th of July. Our biggest weekends are the weekend before and after the holiday weekend, with the 4th usually being our slowest of the summer. I think everyone avoids the holiday thinking it will be packed, and it ends up being pretty slow. The three day weekends usually have a few groups that stay all weekend, with many people from nearby staying Friday and Saturday, and those from farther away coming Saturday and staying until Monday. This spreads out the same number of boats we would normally do on a Saturday over 3 days which makes the river seem relatively empty. Looks like we have a nice weather weekend coming up again with a few tent and RV spots left. Weekend after that is full, and it should stay just about as busy through July. Hope to see everyone soon. Oh yeah, fishing was good all weekend even with the boat traffic!

Where the EFF is Greg?

2010-05-25T13:42:00.003-05:00

Things here are picking up trying to get ready for the upcoming holiday weekend. I have included a link to a blog from a camper writing about his adventure last weekend here on the North Fork. I was going to write a blog on it myself, but he did such a good job, and had more details to share, so I will let him tell you the story. Please take the time to go and read this, just another story from the river, and this time it is not because of drugs or alcohol that things went awry. Hope you enjoy the story, I sure did! Why a picture of one of our lambs, cause it's so cute, that's why (He'll sure be tasty this fall)

http://web.me.com/backcountry/altitude/Camp_Blog/Entries/2010/5/21_North_Fork.html

Great Fishing!

2010-04-22T09:30:00.003-05:00

Here is the latest report from our friend Chris. This came from last weekend.

It seems like every time I go down to the North Fork of the White the fishing gets better and better. The fish god's have shined on me on recent trips. Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking my friends Melvin and Deborah from Jefferson City. Each year I donate a trip in my drift boat for the Capital City Fly fishers Banquet. This is the Mid Missouri FFF chapter. It's my opportunity to play guide for a day with some good friends and raise money for a good cause. Thanks to the generosity and hospitality of Sunburst Ranch, this trip went off without a hitch. I was debating on floating the upper or lower and decided on the lower to get away from crowds. Turned out to be a good choice. We put in at Patrick 9:00 AM and floated until about 6:00 to James Bridge. Overcast skies and flows were around 750 CFS. The day started off great on Pat's Rubberlegs and didn't stop all day. Pat's were the MVP and quite a few on Shop Vac and RU Experienced Caddis Pupa patterns. We nymphed all day and caught more fish than I have ever boated before on the NFOW! The fishing was unreal, it seemed like every likely spot was holding at least one fish that wanted to eat. Melvin and Deborah had multiple doubles throughout the day. One of the lessons from the day was that on lower flows which I would classify 750 as beginning to be "lower" fishing can still be great but overcast skies are the key factor. At the end of the day when the fishing was over, I told Melvin and Deborah that the good news was that we had an Epic Day but the bad news was that it may not happen again for quite some time. Tight Lines,Chris Gates

The only way to have days like this is to get out and try. When you come down please listen to my advice, not that I am a pro, but if you are not experienced on this river you will struggle (like I did when I first started) if you don't do things a certain way! I will share anything I can with you so please ask.

2.06 Inches of Fish per Minute

2010-04-21T07:36:00.003-05:00

Remember that you heard it here first. The new Sunburst System for reporting fishing success. I have come up with this system which takes fish size as well as the number of fish caught and puts them in an easy to understand format for determining fishing success, expressed as inches of fish per minute. This system won't get me rich or famous but should soon be taught in schools along with the Dewey Decimal system, and New York's public transportation system. You may ask how this system came into existence, keep reading and you'll find out.

It all started yesterday at about 15:45. My mowing was done, Amy and Molly were in town and I found myself with 45 free minutes before the school bus was due to arrive with Eli. I could either relax and catch the last half of Dr. Phil or sneak down for a little fishing in front of the house. Fishing it was! I quickly donned my waders, grabbed my rod and camera and headed to slippery riffle for a few minutes of chucking and ducking. I entered the water at around 15:55 and on my third drift hooked and landed a 12" brown. At this point it was 15:58 and I was off to a blistering pace of 4" fpm. After a quick release I continued nymphing down this quick run and several minutes later was brought to attention by an explosive take. Now I have caught hundreds of trout a few over 20", but this fish hit like no other I can remember. It took the fly with such force that I immediately looked down to make sure I didn't have my fly line wrapped around anything and as I did so I heard a thunderous splash. With fly line cleared I looked up to see a tsunami headed my way. Granted, this was not a large tsunami, but anytime a fish throws a wave like this when it jumps you must have something good. Wishing I would have seen the creature jump, my mind was racing wondering what was on the other end of my line. Lime green fly line tore off my Galvan reel as my quarry once again showed itself. Shooting out of the water like Shamu at Sea world was the biggest brown trout I had ever seen hooked to my fly. As the fish entered the water it once again took off peeling line as it went. In typical brown trout style this fish settled in the deepest swiftest current and bulldogged it's way around slowly taking back line that I had worked so hard to gain. After a few minutes I fought the fish onto the shallow shelf where I was standing. She quickly showed that this was not where she wanted to be, once again taking off like a bonefish on the flats, again shooting out of the water in an attempt to free herself. This tug of war would go on for what seemed like an hour, and with no net several attempts at grabbing the fish were met with disappointment. Eventually this athlete tired, as did the fish and I was able to bring her to hand. I luckily had a tape measure and camera in my waders and quickly snapped a picture and took a measurement. My worthy opponent, a beautiful female brown trout, measured right at 23" and while I didn't get a girth measurement she was fat, looking like a rugby ball each time she lept from the river. My fishing officially ended at 14:12 only 17 minutes after the trip had started, half of this time spent fighting the biggest trout of my life. Catching 2 fish while waiting for the bus didn't seem that impressive to me, but catching 35 inches of fish in 17 minutes did. While I don't plan on getting a patent for the Sunburst System I hope this blog will make it's way to the history books in the near future as the story that popularized a new way of measuring fishing success.

Big Stones = Lots of Fish!

2010-04-05T08:10:00.002-05:00

Took a float in Steve's drift boat with Amy and the kids on Good Friday, and absolutely wore the fish out. I think I even commented to Amy that the fishing was "off the hook" whatever that means. Doesn't seem to be a good phrase to be used when fishing. We put in at Patrick Bridge at about 1200 cfs and Amy had two fish by the time we reached the big island above Riverside. Stopping there for lunch I grabbed a rod and immediately brought in a 13" brown. Two drifts later a beautiful par marked "wild brown" was landed, and within another 10 minutes I had caught a total of 4 more browns up to 15", with several others spitting the hook. The fishing slowed and I decided to eat a sandwich. As I played in the river with the kids we started flipping rocks to see what bugs might be around and under the first rock was a large stone fly larvae. I showed it to Amy and the kids, and we commented on how this must be why the fish were so turned on to the large stonefly imitation we were using. I put the fly back in the water and soon was wishing I would have taken a picture. Not long after, Eli asked me to come over because he had found a "crawdad or something". It was another big stonefly and this time we took the opportunity to get it on film. After an hour or so of playing on the island we set off amidst a flotilla of canoes. Wondering if the canoers would spook the fish we soon had our answer as Amy caught several nice browns drifting in front of Riverside. Battling 20+ mph gusts I worked to row and Amy worked to cast, but every 10 minutes or so our efforts were rewarded with fish after fish falling victim to the fly. By the time we reached James Bridge Amy had boated at least a dozen browns and two rainbows, with many others coming unbuttoned before we could net them. The kids had fun netting a few fish and Amy had fun catching fish after fish. Overall a wonderful day on the river with the family, who knows how many fish we could have caught if fishing had been the number one priority.

Bryant Creek White Bass

2010-03-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago my father-in-law found a barely used "white river" boat on the side of the road for sale. Because my brother and sister-in-law had recently purchased a house in Norfork he correctly decided this boat would be perfect for fishing the tailwaters of the Norfork and the White rivers which converge in the small village. Yesterday Danny's motor arrived and after having it installed we decided a shake down run up on the lake was in order. It just so happens that the white bass have started to run, which worked out quite well. We put in under the 160 Bridge at Tecumseh and headed down into the lake. The boat performed wonderfully behind the power of a 15 HP Nissan fourstroke. This quiet motor pushed the 20' longboat along wonderfully and we quickly arrived at what appeared to be the honey hole. Ten boats were gathered in a 100 yard stretch of lake so we figured this must be where the fish were. After an hour of fishing we had each caught one nice white bass, and not seeing others catching fish decided to try a different spot. Being a river rat, I convinced Danny that we needed to run up to the confluence of the North Fork and Bryant and see if the fish had moved up there. After a few nervous moments navigating a rocky shoal we arrived at the confluence to find a dozen bank fishermen pounding the water with live bait. We decided to head up Bryant Creek to the first riffle and start there. As we drifted through the last hole on Bryant Creek I quickly hooked a decent male white bass that joined two others in the live well. We drifted down to the confluence with no more hits and decided to try it once more. The fishing was slow but Danny picked up a nice male just as we were about to call it quits. Great afternoon on the water, and while the fishing wasn't great it was good enough to keep us interested, and we even took home enough fish for a good meal!

Fishing the First Day of Spring

2010-03-21T09:14:00.003-05:00

Spring has sprung, with rain and snow for some folks. We have had several groups of fishermen here for over a week with mixed results. Those new to this river have struggled some, but most have caught fish. Then we bring in the old veterans who have been fishing this river for several years. Each time they fish they undoubtedly learn more, and continue to prove that while North Fork trout can be tough to catch, there are plenty of fish around if you can figure out a way to fool them. Chris Gates has been sending me his reports following numerous trips this winter, and he confessed that after struggling on this river years ago he, like most who consistently catch fish on this river, took advice from other successful North Fork fishermen and put this knowledge to use to become a fisherman who can consistently catch fish on this challenging river. If you are new to this river and float here I will give you any and all information I can on how I catch fish on the NFoW. I also will hook you up with a few flies that are proven to work consistently on both browns and rainbows from 5" to 25". The fishing here is much different from most other rivers and streams in this state, and if you put to use the methods that other successful anglers use, you will eventually get a feel for it and start to catch fish. This weekend we had a young lady who is a senior at Mizzou fish the river for the first time. After getting some advise from Chris and myself she went out and caught several fish including a brown that was reported to be over 16". (Pictures are supposed to be on the way) One thing you must do on the NFoW is forget everything you know about fly fishing, listen to those who fish here often, take that advice and use it. Before purchasing Sunburst Ranch I was a pond fly fisherman, and a saltwater fly fisherman while living in Florida. The only trout I had caught on fly were in trout parks and I fished the NFoW for a month before catching a fish on fly. I then started watching and listening to what successful fly fishermen were doing on this river, and slowly over the years have learned the ins and outs of catching fish on this river. Here is a report from Chris after fishing this weekend, the pictures included show you why we fish and love the North Fork.

Had a great time down at Sunburst Friday and Saturday. Friday we put in at Kelly and floated all the way down to James Bridge, caught fish all the way down but was bit slower in the middle of the day. We listed to the Tiger's basketball game on the radio in the drift boat, pretty cool. Pat's Rubberlegs and caddis pupa droppers were working well. In the evening it was all Pat's and Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs. The fishing was ok on Friday but sunny skies with lower water around 570 cfs slowed it down. Saturday was a different story, we put in at Sunburst at around 10:00 and floated until about 4:00. Overcast skies. We banged them up all day on Pat's and Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs. Saturday was one of the best days I have had on this river! We caught a ton of fish, just wished we would have gotten on the river earlier and fished later. See you in a few weeks!

Fishing Report Friday March 5

2010-03-06T09:44:00.002-06:00

Friday Mar. 5th.

Floated from Kelly to Sunburst, bluebird skies and 680 CFS. High was about 56 today. The day started out real slow as we started at Lamb shoal and fished down. Good drift after good drift wasn’t producing much. I think we had caught 3 fish and had missed 4 or 5 by lunch time. Mostly the Pat’s Rubberlegs. Not what I was looking for after I had been talking up the NFOW to my buddies Steve and Nick the whole way down from Jefferson City. Nick had been on the river once before and Steve had never fished it. After lunch we finally started hooking some rainbows in a swift run where we held the boat steady and drift Shop Vac’s under the Pat’s, there were Mayflies and Midges everywhere, a few caddis. This activity corresponded with the sun going behind the clouds for a while. After this flurry of activity we continued to catch fish on Pat’s Rubberlegs as we floated down to Sunburst.

It was a nice day on the river, weather was great but I think was a bit tough as far as fishing weather goes. It always seems my best days on the NFOW have cloud cover, this one did not. I think we ended up catching close to twenty fish and missing that many more. Thanks for the shuttle and the fisherman cabins rental.

Chris

I Have A Genuine Duck Dog

2010-02-27T08:30:00.000-06:00

If you head to the White River Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas the weekend before Christmas you will likely hear the frantic quacking of numerous ducks as they are frightened by shot after misplaced shot. Each year I accompany my father-in-law and a group of fathers and sons, to the Fowl Play Lodge in DeWitt, Arkansas for a wild weekend of hunting and general debotchery. Normally we come away with a few ducks for the freezer, and a years worth of stories to tell and retell. This year was special for me as I was bringing along my Boykin Spaniel "Finn" for his first Arkansas duck hunt. I have spent countless hours training Finn to be a retrieving machine, and while he does well retrieving dummies, he had only retrieved a few ducks and pheasants in his limited hunting experiences. Finn was one of two dogs we would be taking this year, and not being a fan of other male dogs we knew we would have to keep Finn and Ike (the black lab) apart as much as possible. Neither Finn nor Ike enjoy the presence of other male dogs, and it was not long before they had a confrontation in a van packed with 12 hunters and two dogs. Finn escaped with a minor scratch on his nose, and Ike with another notch on his collar. Unfortunately we didn't learn our lesson, and a second altercation ensued, this time with my brother-in-law's finger getting in the middle of it. Just another hunting trip story resulting in a new nickname, "dog finger". With the bleeding stopped we rolled into the lodge and were greeted by several guides with which we have hunted with for years. The jokes quickly began, and most of these centered around the make and model of my hunting dog which they dubbed the poodle. Not knowing what to expect from Finn's first big trip I kept my mouth shut, and anxiously awaited the next morning's hunt. That evening I was informed that we would be hunting from boat blind, which would make it difficult for the dog to see and retrieve downed ducks. This was fine by me as at least Finn would get to experience the hunt without much pressure to deliver. Finn would be the only dog accompanying us this morning as the guides decided their young labs would not fare well in this hunting situation. Ike would be hunting with his owner at a different location. Four o'clock came with the smell of cooking bacon, and following a quick breakfast we were off on a boat ride weaving in and out of flooded timber along the flood plain of the White River. While we were all feeling a bit groggy from the antics of the night before the cool morning breeze quickly woke us up and as we transferred guns and shells to the boat blind we awaited legal shooting light. Soon after light fell over our decoy spread the first group of ducks came in, it was now time to see what we could do. As the mallards set their wings they were met with a barrage of gunfire, and three green heads fell from the sky. Now it was Finn's turn. I had pulled back a section of blind material from the front of the john boat and postioned Finn on the front of the boat. At the first sound of gunfire Finn quickly jumped into the bottom of the boat and began jumping against the side of the blind as if wanting to get out. I finally wrestled him back into postion but by this time the ducks had begun to drift to our left in the moderate current of the flooded river. I tried to line him up and send him on his way but he was unsure of how to get into the water. The deck of the boat was several feet above the water line so he was going to have to dive in to the water in order to make his retrieve. Unsure of how to do this Finn stood on the front of the boat barking and whining at the water below. Having no other chioce I was forced to aid him in his entry by tossing him into the water. Finn immdiately headed out into the spread of three dozen decoys where the downed ducks once resided, hopefully his training would get us both out of this mess. I quickly blew on the whistle to stop him, a command we had practiced a million times, Finn promptly ignored me and continued on his way. After yelling and blowing I finally got Finn's attention and he began to turn back. Using handsignals that had also been practiced time and time again Finn eventually listened enough to catch sight of one of the ducks as it drifted 50 yards downstream. As Finn made this retrieve the guides retrieved the other two, as we knew Finn (who weighs less than 40 pounds) would need a little break following this debacle. Finn finally returned after a long upstream swim with a beautiful mallard drake clutched in his jaws. I was excited that Finn was finally able to make the retrieve, but I also knew it was going to take a little more precision on his part if he was going to be considered a valuable part of the team. Not knowing if Finn had learned anything or not I again positioned him on the front of the boat as we waited for the next flight of ducks. We didn't have to wait long as another group of mallards and gadwalls were quickly duped by our decoy spread. Again our aim was true, and this time Finn was ready to go. He was focused on the flock as it approached and after watching a gadwall fall he was off the deck as the duck hit the water. Completely submerging, the curly coated Spaniel popped up like a cork and promptly retrieved the duck like he had been doing it his entire life. I hoped this was a sign of things to come, and as flock after flock came to the gun we continued to shoot well, and Finn continued to retrieve like an old pro. By 8:45 that morning the best duck hunt of my life concluded with a limit of 36 ducks and Finn had retrieved every duck that we had sent him after. While Finn was not perfect, he exceeded my expectations and followed up the next morning with another great performance prompting the guides to go from calling him a poodle to asking how much I wanted for my dog. I knew taking an odd breed of retriever to duck camp was opening myself up to ridicule, but I think everyone who hunted with us would agree that watching him work made the hunt a much more rewarding experience.

Sunburst Ranch is now on Facebook!

2010-02-23T08:31:00.002-06:00

Amy informs me that she has set up a Sunburst Ranch page on facebook. This will be her baby as I know very little about facebook. I'm sure if you are familiar with facebook you know what you can do here, I don't. Enjoy and you can look forward to seeing some things we have been doing around here to get ready for the upcoming season.

Kelly to Sunburst Fishing Report

2010-02-21T20:15:00.004-06:00

Chris, Ryan, and Nathan came down this weekend fishing from Chris' drift boat. If you have been on the NFoW you probably recognize McKee Bridge in the picture. Here is a report he sent.

Thanks for the lodging and the shuttle. We had a great time floating from Kelly to Sunburst. We put in at Kelly around 9:00 AM and got off the river at 4:00. Shorter day since I had to get home early. We started the day by rowing up to lamb shoal and then floating down. Ryan caught several nice bows and smallies on this stretch. First two casts were fish. We continued to float down and pick up fish as we went, mostly on the Pat’s Rubberlegs and a few on Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs. I kept waiting for the fish to start keying in on Caddis Pupa but it never seemed to happen. We also through streamers, Yuk Bugs and Berrett Stone’s but nothing seemed to work except for the Stonefly nymphs. The sun was bright and probably slowed the fishing a bit but all in all we had a good day, probably boated around 25 and missed at least that many more on quick releases and hook sets. It was great to get out and scratch the Spring Fever itch with the great weather and wild rainbows. Thanks again for your hospitality.

Chris

Big Brownies have been the Rule

2010-02-21T15:29:00.001-06:00

When the weather and water have been cooperative the fishing has been outstanding this winter. We have really had to pick and choose our days with the cold and the high water. Almost every time I have been out we have caught at least one big fish 18"+. The 20" brown in the picture (judging by the look on my face it was very heavy), was caught on a tan Zonker right out in front of the riverhouse. We have been fishing big streamers on this lower end of the river and on cloudy days have been tearing them up. Our hook rates are pretty low, but watching a fish hit the streamer is fun even when you miss the fish. Friday we floated from Patrick to James and I caught a brown just under 18" again on a zonker, caught a bunch of 10-14 " browns on a Pat's rubberlegs, and lost a 20"+ brown right at the boat also on the zonker. The best part has been not seeing another fisherman on the river the whole time.

Phenomenal Phishing on the North Phork

2010-02-08T18:28:00.002-06:00

I was watching it snow on the river today and after feeding the livestock without freezing to death I decided an afternoon float and fish was in order. I aired up the pontoon and took off with a rod and a cell phone so I could call my wife to pick me up at a location to be determined later. I immediately hooked up with a small rainbow right in front of the house and would hook and lose a big brown just above fantasy island. The water is cranking at about 1500 cfs so all the fishing was done from the boat. Those first two fish took a yellow/brown pat's rubberlegs #6, and the big brown took it in some swift deep water filled with big boulders and snags. I had him on for a minute or so and he rewarded me with a big jump before I finally was forced to pull too hard trying to avoid a downed tree. The hook simply pulled loose and I was bested by yet another big fish. I reached Patrick Bridge without any more action and decided to continue on down to James Bridge about 4 miles downstream. By now I had lost all my yellow Pat's, remember you must get it on the bottom on the NFoW! I now had on a coffee and black Pat's (tied with a little bling)and quickly caught 2 browns in the water leading up to Riverside. Most of the riffles I was flying through out of control so I actually caught more fish in the slower water today. I continued to pick up brown after brown all between 10-15 inches until another big boy ate. As I approached the last riffle above James Bridge I snagged what I thought was the bottom, I set the hook and it flew out of the water and landed in my lap, it just so happened to be a sculpin. Being in red ribbon water I decided to leave the sculpin hooked up and drag it through the riffle (not exactly purist, but all the old timers say sculpin are the best bait). I flipped my rig over a shelf as I floated through and immediately saw a submarine come up and grab my "nymph". I set the hook and after a big tug my line snapped as I palmed the reel a little too hard. That's what I get for bait fishing!! What a wonderful 2 1/2 hours on the water. Nothing big brought to hand but lots of little guys, big clear water, only me the eagles and the deer on the river. If you've never fished in the snow it is an experience like no other, catching fish is just icing on the cake!

Trip to the Florida Keys

2010-02-05T14:04:00.005-06:00

Leave it to us to pick the coldest week in the history of the Florida Keys to take a week away from the Ozarks. Amy spent weeks researching where we should go this winter to get away from the cold, finding a nice Key's house that would easily fit a group of nine of us. She found a nice house on Marathon complete with swimming pool, hot tub, and a boat dock if we wished to bring or rent a boat. We left here and headed to Memphis for the flight to Miami, and at 12 degrees when we left we knew anything would feel warm. After going through the excitement and fun of Eli and Molly's first flight we arrived in Miami to a balmy 48 degrees. The next few days would find highs barely above the 50 degree mark, and the wind too strong to bother with renting a boat or going fishing. We tried fishing a little in the canals around our rental house but we were having no luck getting any takers. Finally on the third day the wind subsided and the temperature rose to near 60 degrees so we decided to rent a boat. As we headed out to sea to attempt our first real fishing of the vacation we discovered why no fish had been biting. We passed a commercial lobster boat as they were coming in and one of the crew yelled to us that there were fish floating everywhere offshore. The 10 pound mutton snapper he held up told us that his story might be true. Not fully believing what we had been told we headed offshore to a small patch reef we had seen on our chart. As we approached we began to see fish bellies, and as we continued on we ran into a weed line that held hundreds of cold stunned reef fish. Many different kinds of snappers, groupers, grunts, boxfish, and even queen angelfish floated at the surface either dead or dying. This was quite a sad site to see and as a scuba diver I know what these patch reefs should look like, and how many fish they can actually hold. Naturally we didn't catch any fish as they were either dying or too cold to have an appetite, but we did witness an event that they say happens only about every 40 years. As the week progressed the weather slowly warmed however the fish continued to float up for several more days. The water was a little rough to head out to the main reef so the fishing in the colder shallower waters continued to be relatively pointless. We did catch a few fish, which was refreshing to know they weren't all dead, and we managed to eat fresh fish every night which was a treat. Our last day there we finally awoke to the typical humid ocean breeze, and enjoyed a warm day that might even have broke 70 degrees. Despite the inclimate weather it was fun to get away with Amy's family, and take the kids on their first vacation. We are kind of stuck here in the summer so the kids feel fotunate to miss some school in order to get in some family time. With the snow we endured following New Year's and our vacation the kids were gone from school for a full month. Somehow they didn't seem that eager to get back. Amazingly when we got back the temperatures quickly rose into the 60's feeling as nice as it ever did in the Keys, maybe next year we should go skiing.

Spring approaches, fishing good

2010-02-05T08:43:00.003-06:00

We have been here trying to get through a wet, snowy, cold winter. Started renovating the riverhouse, redoing the bathroom and tiling most of the floors, I think it will turn out nice! The phone has started ringing, and cabins are already becoming scarce for many weekends. We are hoping to build two more sleeper cabins before memorial day, hopefully it will dry up enough that we can get that done. I hope to post more blogs in the next week or so, I have been working on a few stories telling what has been going on this winter, I have been lazy with my writing and for that I apologize. I'm sure everyone is on the edge of their seats wondering what has been happening. Look forward to seeing and hearing from everyone soon, we are ready for spring to be here! I have attached an e-mail we recieved from Chris Gates who fished with his dad this week, hope it helps anyone coming down soon to fish. The water is flowing strong, but is clear and gorgeous.

We fished fromPatrick down to James, started about 9:45 and fished until close to dark. In the morning we caught them on Pats Rubberlegs and Red Fox Squirrel nymphs.During the warmest part of the day I saw some splashy caddis rises, we switched the dropper to an RU Experienced Caddis Pupa and started hooking them on that. Actually caught 3 fish where we would see the rise, then setup and fish a pupa to the riser, he would eat. Fun targeting those fishlike that. Finally the fish moved back to the Pats and that's what they atein the late afternoon once no caddis were coming off. We had a fun day with consistent fishing all day, no real slow part. No real big fish, 18 inches was the biggest fish and every fish taken was a brown. Thanks again for your hospitality.

Pheasant Hunt 09

2009-11-24T10:46:00.003-06:00

Thursday morning I set out for central Kansas on my annual pheasant hunt with long time friend Mike Conroy and members of his family. Leaving here at 8:00 I met up with Mike's father big Mike in Fort Scott around 3:00 and we proceeded to Ottowa to join Mike and the rest of our party before heading to La Crosse. The little town of La Crosse, Kansas was our home base from which we hunted Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. Friday morning started cold and windy and due to malfunctions in guns, gloves, fingers, and aim the first couple of opportunities came and went with no birds to show for it. We finally shot a couple of quail and then a pheasant which hit the ground running. Despite a fine brace of hunting dogs including Luke the beagle, Jack the German shorthaired pointer, and of course Finn the Boykin Spaniel, we were unable to locate this pheasant that had fallen in a thick stand of Indian Grass. After searching for a while we continued our hunt and things continued to be slow as we flushed a number of hens but had very little luck finding any roosters within gun range. We focused our efforts on WIHA land which is leased by the state of Kansas from landowners for the specific purpose of adding hunting opportunities for the general public. This program has allowed thousands of hunters the opportunity to hunt a variety of game in areas that are otherwise devoid of much public hunting ground. This has obviously had a positive impact economically to areas that other times of the year have little or no outside visitors. As we drove through small towns and down county roads we saw hotel and restaurant parking lots full, and trucks filled with hunters from places as far away as Ontario. We continued to search out fields to hunt and were finally able to put a pheasant in the game bag. As evening began to fall over the Kansas prairie we found a farmer outside his barn and after talking with him we obtained permission to hunt a large field of milo stubble. This field quickly yielded the second rooster of the day, and before the hunt was over, two more pheasants were added to our total. Day one ended with a meager total of 4 pheasants and 2 hard earned quail. Day 2 would begin optimistically with a large field of native grass surrounding a cut milo field. While this looked like perfect pheasant habitat, after completing the drive we had only one pheasant and a few quail to show for it. This was rather disappointing as we had added to more hunters and two more dogs to this days hunt. We decided to pay our friendly farmer another visit and again were given permission to hunt his fields. This time he decided to join us and showed us several new fields, but once again the hunting was slow and only one more pheasant was shot. We decided to move on with a few more fields being hunted and only one more pheasant and a few quail hitting the ground. It is not unusual to see big numbers of pheasants flushing out of range, or having lots of hen flushes throughout the day, but in our case we were just not seeing many birds anywhere. Following a lunch of ham and salami sandwiches we decided it was time for a change in strategy. We decided to shift our efforts to the north hoping to find more birds, and the rest of the day was spent scouting for new, and hopefully better places to hunt. As we drove the dirt roads we spotted a group of hunters, and observed pheasant after pheasant flushing in front of them, a good sign of things to come we hoped. Just down the road we found a good looking field of grass and our small party of three decided to give it a try. We took a quick hike around the field and kicked up nothing, deciding the pheasants must be running around our small line. We then joined back up with two others and hunted a cut milo field just before dark. In this field I was rewarded with a rooster flush directly to my left, and was fortunate enough to drop it with my first shot, ending the day on a high note. Day two ended with a beautiful Kansas sunset, and a meager harvest of 4 pheasants and 4 or 5 quail. Day 3 would break slightly warmer than the previous two, and we headed out before dark to a field where some of the guys had seen 20 or 30 pheasants flying in to roost the night before. Unfortunately for us, another group had beaten us to the field and we were forced to scramble to another location before legal shooting light. We found a nice half section of CRP grasses and could hear the roosters cackling in the pre-dawn glow of the prairie. Quietly we entered the field and began the final push with 10 hunters and 4 dogs. Quickly several hens flushed and a covey of quail got up prompting several shots but no connections. As we continued across the field pheasants continued to flush wild, with only a few hens flushing within range. My dog Finn had several good flushes on hens, and picked up a few flushes on several of the quail that had set down in front of us, but we were able to hit only one quail, and had no good opportunities on roosters on our first pass. As we watched a small mule deer buck bounce up the hillside in front of us we excitedly planned our next pass through this vast field of native grasses. Finally we were seeing birds, and although shooting opportunities were few, like most hunters we were happy to finally be seeing a good number of pheasants. The next pass would only bring us a few hen flushes, and as we lined up for the third and final pass of the trip, we sent several hunters down to "block" the field in an attempt to catch any roosters that might try to flush wild on us. I walked the far left side on this pass, and following several close encounters with pheasant hens, a rooster made the mistake of taking flight within gun range to my left. I quickly spun and shot, dropping the rooster to the ground, Finn had seen the pheasant fall, and was immediately on its trail as it weaved it's way through the clumps of Indian Grass and sideoats. After a short chase Finn collected our prize and as I wrung the roosters neck he got the final laugh by spurring me in the pinky leaving me with blood running down my hand. As we approached the blockers another rooster was harvested from the other end of the line, and a large covey of quail erupted in between all of us. I hit the ground as I feared for my life, but everyone was careful in their shot selection, and 4 more quail were added to our tally. Two of these quail were retrieved by Mike and Matt Conroy who along with the rest of the hunters and dogs spent 10 minutes or so chasing two winged quail around in circles until they could be pounced upon. By now it was nearly 9:00 and with a long drive ahead of us we decided to leave the rest of the birds for next time. This one field had yielded two roosters and five quail, as well as many wild rooster and hen flushes. Finally we had found what we had been looking for, but like most times, about the time you figure them out it is time to head home. Despite the low number of birds being harvested I think everyone enjoyed our time afield, and thanks to the WIHA program put forth by the state of Kansas with a little planning this type of hunt can be enjoyed by anyone. At about $45 per room, double occupancy, and good inexpensive restaurants, if you make reservations early a successful Kansas pheasant hunt can be enjoyed by anyone for very little money. If we had been a little smarter and shifted our hunting area sooner we might have even come home with enough pheasants for a Thanksgiving feast.

P.S. Trout are biting good right now, while I was hunting we had Hargrove and his guys down catching fish after fish, including a 19 1/2 " rainbow, and a 30" BROWN!!

If Woodpeckers Were Deer. . .

2009-11-16T16:36:00.003-06:00

As I sat in my deer stand opening morning listening to shot after shot, I felt as if I were the only person in Ozark county not having any luck. Following three hours of listening to what sounded like a Fourth of July fireworks show, all I had to show for it was a distant doe sighting, and a sore rump. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time watching squirrels, mice, chipmunks, lizards, vultures and lots and lots of woodpeckers. If woodpeckers were deer I would have to get another freezer. I wonder if I went woodpecker watching if all I would see would be deer, might be worth a try. Saturday evening my hunt went much better. While I didn't shoot anything I had opportunities to harvest a forkhorn, a nice young 8 point, and a doe. I didn't take the doe as she was being pursued by the 8 point and also by a larger buck that I was never able to get a good look at. All in all a magnificent hunt that culminated in the doe being chased directly under my stand by the 8 point buck, neither of which had any idea I was there. My good friend Reid joined me for the opening weekend hunt, and he too drew a blank on opening day, although he saw several does, and passed on a spike which he brought in with his grunt call. Day two would prove to be a different story. Rising once again at 5:00 a.m., Reid and I enjoyed some coffee as we dressed for what would be a deadly morning. After careful strategizing we decided on which stands would give us the best opportunities and proceeded to them with the caution of a young Cherokee Indian on his first buffalo hunt. Slipping silently into my stand I eventually found a comfortable position and sat watching and listening for any sign of deer activity. A heavy fog greeted us Sunday morning and seemed to slow the deer's movement until it lifted. It was well after 8:00 before I saw my first deer, and nearly 9:00 before I had two does within range. I was hunting on the edge of some thick woods and the deer were staying back about 40 yards from my location with trees and shrubs blocking my view. After watching the deer for 30 minutes they disappeared only to return a short time later. As before, I watched the larger doe through my scope waiting for a clear shot through the woods. Eventually the doe stopped in a narrow opening between two trees and with my heart pounding I was able to take a shot that found its mark putting the second deer of the morning on the ground. As Reid drove by my stand I flagged him down and told him I had taken a shot but wasn't sure if I had hit it. As I approached his truck I noticed a big doe in the back and congratulated him on the first deer of the year. We went to the house, put on some cooler clothes and Reid, Amy and I went to see if we could find my deer. I thought the deer was about 60 yards from my stand when I shot so we started looking in that location but found no sign. We continued crossing back and forth further from the stand and I soon spotted the deer down on the forest floor. Relieved to have found my deer, we discovered that she had only gone about 30 yards from where she was shot, and I had misjudged the distance from the stand considerably. Now that the deer were recovered we field dressed the deer down by the river, and have enjoyed watching eagles swarming the offal yesterday evening and today. Today as I fed cattle and took care of the third coon I have trapped in the barn in three days, I saw deer everywhere. I guess there are plenty left, and like always they know they are safe in the campground and along the driveway.

Veterans Day Float (Thank you Vets!)

2009-11-12T08:02:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a another gorgeous day in the Ozarks, and on a day where we all were thinking of brave grandfathers and fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, granddaughters, grandsons, cousins, nephews, nieces, and second cousins twice removed, Amy and I decided to honor them by taking a float down secret creek. Secret creek refers to one of the many tributaries that feed our lakes and rivers here in the Ozarks. Following high water these streams can provide some of the best and most exciting floating available. Unfortunately you never know what you are going to get on these waterways until you are on them. Many times if these creeks are big enough to show up on a map they can be floated at times of high water. The particular creek Amy and I found yesterday was one we had been on before but this time we would float a longer section as we were granted access on private property. As we put in on this crystal clear stream we were soon mesmerized by the shear bluffs and boulder strewn riffles of this hidden gem. The valley was much narrower and riffles much sportier than anything you find on the main float streams of the Ozarks. As we darted through rapids, and bounced off boulders we were surrounded by unspoiled wilderness. A large family of otters played on the banks as we floated by, and a flock of turkeys was seen flushing in the distance as Amy shrieked from a near capsizing. A few mysteries also remain following this float. Two ducks were seen feeding in the distance and as we approached they dove never to be seen again. At this same spot Amy also swore she saw a big goldfish swimming around, and as we rounded the bend we saw something in the bushes Amy firmly believes was a wombat (might be time for an intervention). Floaters must also be cautious as these untraveled waterways are often filled with fallen trees often lurking unseen around a sharp bend. With little information available about many of these creeks, if you decide to try it you may end up having the float of a lifetime, or you could end up dragging your kayak around trees and over shallow spots all day long. Regardless of what the float might bring, it is definitely exhilarating floating new water for the first time, and the sound of water rushing around boulders as it drops through narrow canyons is sure to get your heart pounding as you approach unseen obstacles waiting just around the next bend.

Bucks and Beards

2009-11-10T18:54:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful strech of weather we have had ever since the last big rains! The river did come up big (nearly to the top of the boatramp), and those of you who like to camp on gravel bar right need to bring some gravel next time you come, as mother nature is trying to make a new island in that spot. The last few days the river has gotten back to a fishable level and yesterday and today we had some fishermen float from Kelly to Sunburst catching about a dozen fish per person per day with a 17"rainbow and 18" brown being the two braggers of the trip. Most were caught on rubber legs with a few being taken on crayfish patterns. Rifle season is almost upon us in Missouri and with that I have been busy moving stands and planning strategy. I have bowhunted only twice with no luck and have discovered most of our deer are hanging out in the campground where we have created a refuge from hunters. This is great for the deer but not so good for me (the hunter). I also drive past 3 deer that bed within 15 yards of our driveway at least 3 times a day and they just smile as I go by. Lucky for them I am a sporting fellow, and also have a freezer full of Inky! The rut has really gotten under way and we have seen a nice little 6 point chasing does up and down the drive, like most bucks I see he'll be good next year if no one shoots him. My trail camera captured a nice little 8 point that should be a great deer next year (good luck my friend). The trail cam also has been taking shots of a group of about 5 gobblers that I wish would walk by my bow stand (wouldn't fresh wild turkey be a treat on Thanksgiving). I am excited about our neighbor not allowing any deer hunters on his place this year as it had gotten out of control over the past few years with more and more people hunting. They would always take anything that walked by so little bucks were always on the menu. While I don't go out specifically looking for big bucks, with the abundance of does (which are much better eating) I don't understand why anyone shoots those small and medium size bucks just to cut off their antlers and throw them in a box in the garage. I have only shot 3 bucks in my life, the first deer I ever shot was a little spike, and the other two are on the wall (not my wall unfortunately, maybe someday Amy will understand). Good luck to any of you deer hunters out there, and if you can come down and fish it looks like the next few weeks should be ideal (you might have to drag me out of my deer stand to get shuttled). Maybe you should call Riverside!

Rain Rain Go Away!!

2009-10-29T10:30:00.003-05:00

Once again I sit here in a chilly house wishing the rain would stop. The entire month of October has been rain for three days, half a day of sun, rain for three more days. After a while this starts to get old. Normally this is a month we can tackle a few new projects and get all of our cleanup done before the winter sets in. I can usually work in a little fishing and bow hunting into the mix also. I have managed a few fishing trips, although water has been high and fishing tough, and have sat in a deer stand a grand total of one time. Yesterday turned out nice and I was able to get a few projects done such as cleaning out gutters, getting limbs of roofs, throwing away the ladder that broke in half while I was on it cleaning out gutters (yes it hurt, but luckily I was on my way down, only up on the third rung). I unfortunately haven't had a chance to clean out the chimney so I have yet to light a fire for fear of burning the house down. With only baseboard heaters in the house we rely heavily on wood heat to keep our heating bill from being outrageous. My elbow continues to bother me so I have tried to take it easy so it will heal. Hopefully I have enough wood stock piled to get us through until I can begin cutting some more. I have taught myself to fly fish left handed, but with chainsaw I think I will just wait to heal, or I may have to learn to fish no handed. We hope today and tomorrow's rain will not lead to a big flood but always must remember how big this river can get. The pictures posted are of the flood we had the spring before last (taken after the water had receeded several feet), one of the many hundred year floods that seem to happen every 5-10 years. I'm not as worried about global warming as global wetting, I guess climate change will effect the earth in many different ways at different times, at least no hurricanes this year!

Relaxation comes to those who farm and fish

2009-10-09T11:24:00.010-05:00

As torrential rain loomed in the forecast yesterday, I felt an overwhelming need to try my luck before the river became unfishable. Unfortunately a number of events tried to prevent me from my relatively simple goal. First of all I had scheduled the demise of our beloved steer "Inky" for yesterday morning so these proceedings took a few hours out of my morning, and while providing a lovely meal of fresh liver and onions it cut in to my precious fishing time. An unseen consequence of Inky's butchering was the violent reaction Richard had to the loss of his pasture mate. At first Richard just bellowed and made pitiful sounds, a reaction to the smell of blood on the ground, or a sadness he felt to the loss of his friend, that's for you to judge. I really don't know, but what I do know is this perceived sadness soon changed to rage, and Richard decided he no longer wanted to be fenced in. After breaking free once, Amy and I were able to coax him back into his pasture where he remained for most of the afternoon. Fast forward to 1:00. With Amy getting ready to head to the chiropractor and the kids in school I slipped on my waders, tied on a hot flash and began walking down the hill to slippery riffle. As I approached the river with trout on my mind I heard Amy yelling from the deck to come back to the house. I quickly returned to the house slightly out of breath, and was informed that the school had called and Molly needed to be picked up as she was sick. With Amy headed to town I loaded a booster seat in the van (yes the same van that transports the drunks and fishermen to the river) and headed to Dora to pick up my sick kid. After picking Molly up I returned home eagerly awaiting the return of my beloved wife hoping she would be here in time for me to continue my fishy conquest. Fast forward to 4:30. Amy returned from town and graciously allowed me to suit up and head to the river for an hour or two of fishing. I stepped into the water eagerly casting to a riffle that I was sure would be teeming with hungry trout. After about 10 minutes of futile casting I was able to coax a tiny rainbow to bite my fly, and while this may seem insignificant I was thrilled as I have slowly been improving my left handed fly fishing technique and now am starting to catch fish. (The tennis elbow I am suffering from has not been improving much so I decided to start fly fishing left handed which is much like starting over. Amy and I fished on Wednesday from Patrick bridge to James and casting and catching quite a few browns improved my confidence in my off handed presentation.) I continued fishing for 10 or 15 minutes to no avail and decided to change to a smaller beadhead stonefly nymph that friend and local guide Kyle Kosovich had given me earlier in the week. Another 10 minutes passed when my line was suddenly shaken by what I perceived to be a better fish. My assumption was correct as he swiftly ran downstream upon feeling the hook pull in his mouth. This run was stopped in it's tracks as the fly line rudely wrapped around the reel handle and held fast. Fearing my line would snap I frantically worked to unwrap the line and allow my opponent a chance to run and wear himself down. I accomplished this task and was then faced with fighting a good fish offhanded, with my reel still set up for my normal left handed retrieve. Prior to catching this fish I had simply been stripping in the smaller fish as there is really no need to get them on the reel unless they are big enough to take some drag. This fish was big enough and I struggled mightily to get him on the reel where I felt confident I could then fight him. After getting him on the reel he continued to run downstream in a series of quick short bursts which I countered by flipping my fly rod over and reeling with my right hand. I soon realized I wasn't gaining any ground, discovering I was actually panning line out to him by reeling this way. I changed the direction of my reeling and brought him toward me ever so slowly. Throughout this process my unseen quarry continued making run after run forcing me to rethink my tactics. I flipped my rod back over and held pressure on the fish using my good arm, anytime he would let up I would quickly switch to my bad wing, bracing the rod with my elbow and quickly reeling in as much line as possible. Once he began resisting I would again switch back to my left arm to continue the fight. This circus went on for several minutes until this hard fighting rainbow finally began to give up. As I brought the fish to hand I was delighted to see one of the most colorful rainbows I have ever caught, and while not the biggest at around 17" it was one of the hardest fighting trout I have ever caught. After snapping a quick picture I began casting again and after a few minutes heard Richard bellowing and carrying on again. Hoping the wily bull had not flown the coop again my fears were realized when I heard Amy yelling my name at the top of her lungs. As I emerged from the river I was amused to see Amy on the mule chasing around our herd sire in hopes he would return to pasture. As she was doing this she informed me that there was someone here to talk to me, and to my chagrin it was a longbearded Ozarkian deer hunter looking for his deer stand that he believed I had stolen. I did in fact have this deer stand but it was given to me by my neighbor who had found it on his property. Needing another stand, I had promptly put this one up along a deer trail I felt looked promising. While this man was chasing me wondering about his stand, I was chasing Richard who by now was chasing the dogs who were also being chased by Amy, it looked like my fishing might be over. I sent this man to the neighbors house, as he still believed he had permission to hunt there, and I assured him when he returned I would take him to get his stand. While he was gone Amy and I attempted to coax Richard back into his pasture, which I doubt would have held this Edwin Moses of the bovine world anyway. Richard continued to get more upset, and this normally gentle Dexter bull quickly took on the persona of legendary bucking bull Red Rock. As we discussed our next course of action, ZZ Top in camo returned for his deer stand and confessed that while he was given permission to hunt the neighbors land years ago, he had not been back in contact and assumed this was a lifetime deal, which it was not. After delivering some firewood to some nice ladies in the riverhouse I took this man to get his stand and sent him on his merry way. As I headed back to deal with Red Rock I was stopped by fellow fly fisherman Steve Farr who generously handed me a much needed adult beverage. After consuming this tasty brown ale I concluded that Richard would probably be okay enjoying a night of freedom either staying close to the barn, or heading up to be near his ladies on top of the hill. This morning Amy found Richard up by the mailbox and was able to reunite him with his beloved herd of Dexter cows. I thought this time of year was supposed to be relaxing.

Amy's first hunt

2009-10-05T08:02:00.003-05:00

A few days before the close of teal season Amy and I left the kids with my beloved mother-in-law Valerie and packed up the Subaru with guns, ammo, and two smelly Boykin Spaniels. My father-in-law Danny has a nice farm with a 20 acre pond that sees some duck activity from time to time. I had taken Eli here to fish two weeks prior, and we saw about 2 dozen blue wing teal in their normal feeding area. We arrived at the pond about 5 that evening with a few decoys and several fishing poles. We fished our way down to the end where the teal usually congregate, and after catching a mess of fish for dinner we threw out a few mallard hen decoys and headed back to the cabin. That evening we enjoyed a healthy dinner of fried largemouth bass from the pond, fried coral mushrooms from the woods, fried zucchini from the garden, and cold beer from the Busch family mixed with a little bloody mary mix to class things up. The next morning we awoke just before dawn, enjoyed a cup of coffee, and proceeded to our spread. We tucked into some small trees along the edge of the pond with dogs at our side and watched dawn break over the glassy water. No ducks seemed to be flying that morning but we enjoyed watching a pie-billed grebe swim amongst the decoys, and did see two wood ducks fly in at the opposite end of the pond. Scratching the idea of shooting any teal that morning, we proceeded to shift tactics and try to shoot a few doves that we had seen feeding in a newly planted wheat field. As we approached the field about 15 doves took flight and landed in the tree line bordering the field. We snuck in and took position in some brush about 20 yards from where we had seen them take flight. After 10 minutes or so a pair came flying by, and I dropped one with my first shot, while leaving the second one unscathed. Finn the wonder dog did not see the bird drop so I took him over to the field and sent him in the direction of where the bird had fallen. After a little searching he soon found the dove and happily brought it back to me. Amy and I decided our set up was not a good one, so we crossed the field and hunkered down in the treeline on the opposite side of the field. After a few minutes I spotted a dove in the distance and told Amy that one was coming, and as I was telling her it was a little out of range I was rudely interrupted by a loud BANG echoing from her 20 gauge. This dove was not impressed and continued on his merry way. Not long after another dove came in flying directly toward us, fearing it might land on Amy and peck her eyes out I quickly jumped up, dropping the unsuspecting flyer with my first shot. The momentum of this swift flying acrobat took it across a hogwire fence blocking the path of retrieval for both the wonderdog and myself. With Finn only weighing 40 pounds or so, I decided to pick him up and put him on the other side of the fence and then try to direct him to where the dove had fallen. I spent countless hours with Finn as a pup teaching him to retrieve with hand signals and he has learned that when I point my arm one way or the other that is where he is supposed to go. This works well, but a spaniel does not "line" as well as a Labrador, as they seem to think they know where to look better than you do. By directing a dog over and over again to their reward, they eventually decide to trust you over their instinct and will improve on their lining skills. Unfortunately Finn still thinks he knows best, and while he will follow the signals for a distance as soon as he picks up another scent he quickly turns, and starts to hunt himself. I forgot my whistle that day, so after stopping and sending him with voice commands for what felt like forever, I finally got it through his little pea brain where the bird was and he picked it up and returned with it like he had done a splendid job. I wouldn't have one any retriever titles with that performance, but I ultimately got the bird back to me without having to climb the fence. By this time it was starting to get late, and our stomachs were starting to growl so I decided to go get the mule and bring it back to get Amy. I hadn't walked 15 yards when I heard several shots followed by a string of words that would make a sailor blush. Amy is acting like a seasoned dove hunter already!

Coral Mushrooms are up!!!!

2009-09-24T18:34:00.004-05:00

For those of you mushroom lovers out there, one of my favorites is making its appearance a bit early this year. The coral mushroom is one that even I can find, and finding enough for a nice side dish is seldom a problem during good years. Here at Sunburst we find them on our hillsides and up on top of the hill in the wooded areas growing in rocks and on soil directly in the leaf litter. Most of the time the mushrooms are at least as big as a pool ball, and often as big or bigger than your fist. The ones around here range in color from the pale ones in the pictures to a bright yellow with an orangish hue. Look around closely once you find one, there are usually more nearby and finding clusters of two or three is common. The first time you eat them go lightly as some people may experience a little gastrointestinal distress if too many are eaten (I know how you like me to mention your name in my blog Valerie). To cook them Amy usually deep fries them cut into bite sized pieces rolled in flour, or they can be mixed with eggs for breakfast or cooked in spaghetti sauce or cream of mushroom soup. Unlike morels which can be tricky to see, finding corals is as simple as taking a walk through the woods and looking around. If they are growing in your area at that time they will be hard to miss. Good luck with your mushroom finding, and as always be sure you know what kind of mushroom you have before you eat them. We have several books and were just discussing whether a mushroom Amy found today is a chantrelle or not. We weren't sure so in the trash it went.

Real Housewives of the OC (Ozark County)

2009-09-24T11:57:00.003-05:00

Now that things have calmed down a bit here at the ranch and we are working normal hours for a retired couple in their late 70's, Amy and I have had time for some recreational activities OZARK STYLE. A couple of Amy's friends and her like to get together once a week for a little girl time. This started with a movie watching experience on Amy's birthday and has quickly evolved into a cornucopia of hillbilly activities. One morning they sheared a couple of our sheep which was long overdue and came up with a new slogan for our business. Sunburst Ranch, where the women are women and the sheep are scared. Looking at the haircuts they gave those sheep, they should be scared. The next week they decided to take to the woods for a squirrel hunt. I fixed Amy up with a .22 and instructions on how to use it, and off she went in pursuit of her quarry. With Jessi shooting a .410 and Sherri and Amy shooting .22's they came home with 2 squirrels, both shot with the .410. They also came home with a new understanding about how game can seem to disappear when you are trying to hunt it. All of you hunters out there know exactly what I am talking about, and it is nice to have a wife who now understands that while you might have deer in your front yard every day, when you go to hunt them it is not always just a matter of walking out and shooting something. Amy's thirst for blood led us to the discussion of purchasing a gun for her that could be used for all kinds of activities. We soon decided on a 20 gauge semi-automatic shotgun and several days later went to pick up her new Charles Daly youth model (I think he must import them because they are made in Turkey). That afternoon we took the gun out and patterned it on a cardboard box, and gave Amy her first taste of shotgunning. She was a crack shot at 30 yards, but unfortunately rain spoiled our chances of shooting any clay pigeons that afternoon. The next day with both kids at school I set up my thrower in the front yard and out we went to shoot a few clay pigeons. Amy's first shot at a moving target. I started by throwing a few birds with Amy just tracking them with an unloaded gun to get the feel for what she would be doing. After a few of these it was time for the real deal. Now I have shot a fair amount of clays and realize that it is not always that easy, and with her only shooting a shotgun once and never at a moving target I was hoping she would at least hit one or two so as not to get frustrated. I carefully placed the bright orange disk on the thrower and held the string in anticipation of Amy giving me the signal for the throw. PULL! she yelled and soon the disk was zooming through the air anticipating a safe landing out in the freshly mowed grass. BANG! Amy pulled the trigger and to her delight the clay pigeon exploded, the result of expert instruction I am sure. "Son of a B*I*@H" I shouted not believing what I had seen. I was hoping she would hit some, but this would really put the pressure on me. I proceeded to throw more clays for her, and when she remembered to load a shell into the chamber she hit over half of the clays that I threw for her, otherwise her gun went click and she cussed and I laughed (at least 4 times). With this outing being a success Amy decided her next girls outing would be a clay pigeon shoot in our front yard. The girls came over, all packing heat, and commenced to shooting clay pigeons. I was fortunate enough to be the trap master, and enjoyed watching their hits and misses, while using this as an opportunity to train Finn with some retrieves around gunfire. By the time we were done the girls were shooting pretty good, and Finn was sitting steady to shot, until I would send him after a thrown retrieving dummy. Let this be a lesson to you when you come down next time. The real housewives of the OC all have guns and they know how to use them. Stay tuned as my next installment should include Amy's first teal/dove hunt.

Peculiar Story

2009-08-31T08:07:00.002-05:00

A group of rafters from an unnamed Missouri town (town's name in title of Blog) joined us this weekend for an end of summer campout. They set out for the settlement of Dawt Mill late Saturday morning with three rafts and 13 souls. We only had three groups going to Dawt on Saturday, and after picking up all of our canoes we were waiting for the rafters to call us so we could end our day at Dawt. Late that afternoon we received a call from the Ozark County Sheriff's office saying they had found a person walking up the road from James Bridge who said his canoe had sunk and he was walking back to Sunburst where he had rented it. Knowing we had already picked up all of our canoes we thought they must be mistaken so we chose not to go searching for this lost soul. Finally around 7:15 Kevin and I decided to head to Dawt as we knew the rafters would be in soon as daylight was beginning to fade. When we arrived the drunken rafters were arriving wet, cold and drunk after a long day on the river. When I asked how the float trip went I received mixed results with some saying awesome, and others saying they would rather not talk about it. After taking some photos on the hood of the bus with Kevin, we finally got everyone into the bus and returned them to their campsite for the evening. The next morning a group of them came in and said that they thought they had lost someone on the river yesterday and wondered if we had any suggestions. We called the sheriff's office who had not seen him, and the other outfitters we called were unaware of any extra campers lurking around their campgrounds. With little to go on these bedraggled campers broke camp and set out on a search for their missing man. After several hours we had still heard nothing and assumed they must have found him wondering the streets of the OC (Ozark County). Later that morning the phone rang and with this call the mystery would be solved. It turned out the missing rafter who had had a falling out with his group, took to the highway to return to the campground. He was subsequently picked up by a good Samaritan and somehow ended up in Howell County. While in Howell County this good Samaritan who was not so good, was pulled over by the cops, and taken in for DUI. This leaves our lost rafter once again without a ride and no place to stay. This problem would quickly be solved as the sheriff's office ran the rafter's information and discovered he was on probation and was not supposed to be drinking. He evidently could not hide his intoxication and found himself spending the night in the company of Howell County's finest. He used his one phone call to call his "friends" and tell them he would be receiving a free transport back to his home jail in a few days so they need not worry about his whereabouts. Peculiar!

The Sunburst Stimulator

2009-08-27T20:59:00.004-05:00

While I enjoy living out in the middle of nowhere, sometimes simple things lead to big frustration. Amy has taken two trips to town in the last two days in an attempt to get a new cordless phone to replace the one that blew up due to a lightning strike. When you buy something new that doesn't work and you are 30 miles from town it really sucks! When you go back the second time and get another that doesn't work it sucks worse. When you also get an oil filter for the mule that is wrong that doubles your pleasure. When you take the old filter in to show them the second time and return with the wrong one again, you want to shoot the parts guy who swore it was the same filter. I guess I will take my second trip to town since May and see if I can come back with the right filter. If you are still reading this whiny blog you may wonder why I am telling you this. After Eli and I failed to change the oil filter on the mule, that frustration led us to the river for a little fishing before dark. While Eli picked flowers and threw rocks I slid out just below the island to see if any trout were in the mood for a little dinner. I picked this spot because it is the only place on our property to keep an eye on a 5 year old while having a realistic chance at bringing a few fish to hand, and bring a few fish to hand I did. As I tied on my new favorite fly (the golden hot flash) followed by a bloody mary dropper, I became excited as I noticed a little haziness in the water. I have found that the fish are more apt to ignore my tripping and fumbling around if the water has a little color to it, and tonight looked like it might just be perfect. Not long after my first cast I was slow to react as my indicator took several dives on successive casts. Daddy I need to go poop I hear from the bank. Luckily we were just down from the bathhouse so after a quick potty break back to the river we went. Just as had happened before, perfect casting technique (Eli is a witness) was rewarded with a sudden pause in the indicator and this time I was ready. I lifted the rod tip high and was met with a quick downstream run as I caught a glimpse of pink flash near the surface. After a quick battle I brought the 15" rainbow to hand and had Eli take a picture for posterity, promising him that he could reel in the next fish. Several casts later another rainbow was hooked and after reeling in the slack line I handed over the rod to Eli who courageously fought and defeated his first fly rod trout. Several other fish were caught and several were lost along with the bloody mary whose only trout was the first trout of the evening. While this was the only bloody mary I have ever owned I was not disappointed for this opened a spot on my line for my newest creation, the sunburst stimulator. This is a fly tied on a #6 hook with red and black chenille two short rubber legs at the hook end, and silver flash tied almost like hackle where the wing case would be. Once again I got bored when I was tying up my golden hot flash, and this new fly was the result. I tied this on as a dropper below the golden hot flash and went back to fishing without much faith in the little feller. As before, the fish continued to bite and a tiny streambred rainbow was caught as was a 10" brown, but each time I brought the fish to hand my disappointment grew as the sunburst stimulator continued to dangle from the golden hot flash that was nestled in the corner of each fishes mouth. Then it happened, as the sun faded over the horizon and fog settled over the North Fork, a perfectly placed cast was met with a violent flash beside a large boulder which had been the lunker's lair. I lifted the rod tip high and the pain in my tendinitis stricken right elbow told me this was not your run of the mill fish. I could see the a dark silhouette thrashing amidst the rocks in this run and new it had to be a brown. With no choice but to follow I yelled for Eli to circle around and meet me on a gravel bar just downstream. Skillfully playing this fish while talking Eli down to my location, I was finally able to bring a fat healthy 18" brown to hand. As I held the fish in the water I had Eli grab the camera out of my pocket and take a picture of me with my prize. Unfortunately Eli had taken the memory card out of the camera and the built in memory was full with pictures of Christmas from two years ago. We found one or two to delete, and amazingly the fish waited patiently as I gently held him in the current just knowing he would dash to freedom before we could get proof on film. Eli stepped back took aim and took the first picture in which I had no head - delete. Second picture a quarter head - delete. Third picture - half a fish -delete. Fourth picture -most of my head and good picture of fish, we'd decided we'd better not press our luck and headed home with proof. Unfortunately the picture did not capture the fly to which this lunker fell, but the excitement of catching an 18" brown was amplified many times over when I brought this fish up only to see that peeking out of the toothy grin of this broomtail was the red glow of the sunburst stimulator.

Things slowing down, fish heating up

2009-08-26T07:51:00.004-05:00

Weekday business has slowed to a crawl which has allowed me to pursue a few other activities for recreation. Yesterday Amy's Dad and I planted a few acres of alfalfa for wildlife on his property, and I have been brush hogging some plots that are in need of replanting this fall. We have several acres of food plots here that I typically rotate year to year for birds and deer. Last spring I planted millet and sorghum in several plots and as it is now maturing, songbirds swarm out of it as you drive by, blue grosbeaks, indigo buntings and goldfinches seem to be the main visitors. I will soon mow some of that down and plow it which will bring in the doves, and then reseed with wheat and clover for deer and turkeys. These plots are down around the campground and because we enjoy watching the wildlife we don't hunt in the riverbottom.

Monday morning I received a phone call from Brian Sloss the owner of Eleven Point Canoe Rental who wanted to come over for an afternoon of fishing. He arrived at around 1:00 and since my shuttles were done I decided to join him. We both were a little apprehensive about the fishing prospects as a bright sun shone directly overhead. This apprehension was quickly put to rest as I quickly caught and released a parr marked rainbow on the far side of the island. As Brian worked down stream ahead of me he caught several small browns and hooked and lost several others. It seemed like red was the color they were after as I caught my first fish on a red soft hackle, and Brian was catching his on a Bloody Mary #10. Brian saw the beating he was giving me so he waded up and gave me one of his magic flies. Not long after I caught a 10" brown quickly followed by a slightly larger one. Disappointed with the performance of the hot flash, under which the bloody mary was tied, I decided to put on a yellow variation which I had just started tying this week. Not long after putting this on I hooked into a gorgeous 15" bow which took me for a ride all over the run just in front of the campstore. Not to be outdone, the original hot flash which Brian now had tied on caught the biggest brown trout of the day, a fat 14 incher.
After catching and releasing a dozen or more fish we moved down to slippery riffle where I had hopes of another dozen hookups. That was not to be the case but we did add another 4 or 5 fish to the count, mine caught on the golden hot flash and Brian's caught on a squirrel nymph. The squirrel nymph is tied with a yellow body and seemed to be working nearly as well as the bloody mary. We concluded that red and yellow were definitely the colors of the day so when you come down be sure to have an arsenal with plenty of those colors in tow. It did seem like the larger flies were catching larger, but fewer fish.

Good fishing despite the hot weather

2009-08-10T12:27:00.004-05:00

Here is a fishing report we received from a fly fishing friend from St. Louis who was here this weekend. Thought you fishermen might enjoy hearing from someone besides me, fishing the same old fly in the same old place, a few more weeks and maybe I'll have some time to explore other parts of the river.

Justin and Amy,

Thanks for another great trip down to Sunburst. As always the hospitality is great and my buddies loved the setup down there. I am sure they will be coming again. We had a slow day floating from Patrick down to James on Friday afternoon, probably around a dozen browns on a Size 10 Red Fox Squirrel Nymph taken under a Pats. Saturday we we’re able to stay ahead of the crowd and had a nice day hooking a lot more fish. We fished from Lamb Shoal above Kelly to your place. We hooked several big ones and turned them but they got off early. Thanks again and looking forward to getting down there in Sept. & Oct. a lot after the crowds slim down. Talk to you soon. I attached a photo, not of a big fish, just one we caught. See ya next time!

Chris

Fishing Still Good!

2009-07-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

We have been experiencing unbelievable cool weather for the middle of July, and following a day of rain yesterday I was able to sneak out in front of the house for a little evening fly fishing. After battling the algae in the fastest part of slippery riffle, I realized I would have to lighten up my offering a little and fish higher in the water column. I feared this might keep the trout from finding my fly, but those fears were quickly laid to rest as I soon hooked up with a 7 inch brown. The department of conservation denies any natural recruitment of brown trout in the North Fork, and then says they stock nothing under 10 inches. Last night I caught several browns in the 6-8 inch range, and several rainbows that mirrored the size of those browns. Browns are stocked here in the fall, so they should be even larger than 10-12 inches by now. VERY INTERESTING. As a wise church lady once said, "you be the judge". Just as I was about to give up on catching anything larger than a minnow, my indicator took a sudden dive, and I quickly set the hook. I immediately knew this was no young of year trout, and as I adjusted my drag for the upcoming battle, I saw a beautiful cherry red rainbow break the surface just below me. I quickly got the trout into the shallows out of the main flow, and as I gently gripped it for release I was certain I had caught a fish that might reach the 18 inch mark. I held my rod to the fish noting where it fell in relation to my guides, and following release measured the marks to find out what I had really caught. This brightly colored healthy North Fork rainbow surprised me by measuring just a tick over 16 inches. If anything I usually underestimate the size of my fish, but the girth and color of this fish had me excited to the point that had I not measured it, I would be telling everyone of my 18" rainbow. Let that be a lesson to you, don't ever measure your fish and like everyone else you can tell me of the 20 inch brown you caught.

For those of you fishing the float from Hammond to Sunburst, we had a big group last week that caught and released dozens of nice smallmouth, some good goggle-eye, and several "20 inch trout". Above the spring they caught most on 4 inch plastic worms, and said many were caught just dragging the worm behind the boat. These guys grew up fishing Ozark rivers and know what they are doing, so reports like that assure me that there are plenty of smallmouth, many of which push the 15 inch mark, swimming in the waters of the North Fork.

WE NEED HELP!

2009-07-15T09:13:00.004-05:00

I know many of you come year after year to the North Fork River because you have gotten fed up with the wild partying and huge crowds on some of the rivers located closer to the major metropolitan areas of Missouri. I fear that recent proposed cuts to the Missouri water patrol could lead to increased inproprieties on not only our river, but on other lakes and streams throughout the state. Our lakes and streams are natural treasures that without some supervision can become places unfit to take families for a weekend of recreation. As a group, the outfitters on the North Fork try our best to keep our campgrounds and float trips more family oriented than some other rivers, and while we don't always succeed, the loss of our single water patrol officer would certainly hurt our efforts. I hope you will read the attached newpaper article and contact the governor's office and whoever else you might know that could help. The state government of Missouri needs to rethink their priorities, and put the safety and well being of its' residents ahead of something such as the Tour Across Missouri. If the safety of our lakes and rivers is put in jeopardy the state will certainly lose more revenue than it would by cutting a bike race that comes around once a year. Read the article and you will know what I am talking about. Thanks for listening and if you can do anything we would certainly appreciate it, let's keep the North Fork River a place we can take our families and youth groups year after year without worrying too much about what they might see or hear.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/289EDED1E4824FB8862575F400077B2F?OpenDocument

Busy Times at Sunburst Ranch

2009-06-30T07:23:00.003-05:00

It has been quite a while since I have had a chance to sit down and tell about what has been happening down here in the Ozarks. We have enjoyed full campgrounds the last few weekends as well as good water and good campers. Despite the campgrounds being full we have been continually praised for how quiet the campground has been, and how well behaved our campers have been. While our campground security guard (AMY) has a little to do with this, the real credit has to go to you campers, who while having a good time are usually respectful of those around you. It helps that we have so much repeat business and personally get to know most of our campers over time. For those who cause any major problems, we just simply don't allow them back (no camping for you!). Since I last wrote, I have enjoyed visits from my sister and her family (we actually rafted down the river one day and had a great time), two visits from my mother (thanks for the cookies), we had a wedding in our pavilion (complete with lights and beautiful decorations), and also a visit from my mother-in-law Valerie's family who all floated from here to Dawt Mill (there Valerie I got your name in the blog twice just like you wanted). The upcoming 4th of July weekend will be a little slower than most summer weekends so if you are looking for something to do give us a call, looks like a chance for early rain on Saturday but a nice somewhat cooler weekend after that. Most people can't believe the 4th isn't busy, but everyone calls for the weekend before and after the 4th trying to miss the busy weekend, making those two weekends our busiest of the summer. Just a reminder for any of you who like to rent cabins here, at this point on the weekends we have no availability for cabins until the end of August, we occasionally get cancellations, but keep that in mind when you are thinking about booking for next year, we get calls every day from people looking for cabins, unfortunately you must think months in advance to secure lodging for a summer weekend. I guess we'll try to build a few more sleepers before next year. Sorry about this rather boring informative post, but I think I dropped my creative writing bone in the river down at Dawt and it washed over the dam into the lake.

Bode Miller has nothing on me!

2009-06-02T08:10:00.004-05:00

I will choose to take the high road and not risk upsetting the fish gods by talking trash, but yesterday evening they had nothing that could stop me. The water is finally flowing at a normal level and is nice and clear, so I decided to take a walk down to slippery riffle for an evening of fly fishing. I started at my normal spot at the head of the riffle and worked my way down, skipping over the slickest part so as not to fall on my face again. I fished down my usual 75 yard stretch of water and picked up one nice 15" brown on a hot flash. I was a little disappointed as I had fished for 45 minutes with little to show for it. I had tried several droppers fished below the hot flash with no success, until I put on a jay yellow. That is basically a tiny white jig head with yellow thread tied around the hook shank. As I worked my way back upstream I picked up another nice brown on the hot flash, and then a 15" rainbow on the jay yellow. This particular fish I caught between about 5 canoes that were floating by (I couldn't hear very well but I think one young lady commented about how I looked like Brad Pitt out there fishing). I added one more 13" brown on the hot flash, and on my final cast of the day I landed a 12" rainbow on the jay yellow. The fish gods would test me on this fish. I had once again skipped over the slickest part of slippery riffle and gone above this point for a few final casts. After a several casts I finally placed the fly just across the main channel to the edge of an eddy where I have caught many fish before. As I put a large upstream mend in my line the strike indicator abruptly dove, and using my catlike reflexes I immediately set the hook. This rainbow quickly swam for the swift current and headed downstream, not realizing it was only a 12 incher I decided I should follow. As I turned to face the fish, the current dislodged my left croc, which was now being held between my two biggest toes, this led me to stumble down the river onto the slippery bedrock below where I had been fishing. This is not the first time this has happened so I knew to face downstream and bend my knees sliding down the rock much like Bode Miller skiing a black diamond in Aspen. For once this tactic worked and I was rewarded with another beautiful stream bred rainbow, and a fully intact tailbone. When all was said and done I had caught 5 fish in about an hour and a half, managed to keep my footing and somehow was able to get my shoe back on while fighting a fish in heavy current. I'd like to see Bode Miller try to get his ski boot back on in the middle of a downhill race, I don't think so Bode!

Calm after the storm, and goooood fishing!

2009-06-01T07:37:00.003-05:00

The weekend following Memorial Day is typically laid back and slow at the Sunburst Ranch. We had enough action to keep us busy, but much calmer than last weekend. For anyone enjoying a half full campground and less crowded river this is a good weekend to come. From here on out we will start to get busier and busier until school gets ready to start around the second weekend in August. We had quite a few fishermen in this week and weekend. The Episcopalian men's group from the KC area covered much of the river from Wednesday to Sunday and reported good catches of smallmouth and goggle-eye from Hebron on down (thanks for the fried goggle-eye by the way). We had another group of that fished from here to Dawt on Sunday that said they had good action the entire trip. And then we had several of our fly-fishing friends from STL fishing from their drift boat. They reported good catches of both browns and rainbows, many of which were taking caddis imitations. The river is flowing wonderfully right now, and is in perfect shape if you don't want to paddle much. Looking forward to taking a couple guys way up river for a 3 day float this week, so we'll see what conditions are like up north.

Wet, wild, wonderful weekend!

2009-05-26T10:01:00.003-05:00

Despite rain off and on over the entire Memorial Day weekend the Sunburst Ranch faithful had no problems breaking out of the winter doldrums and curing that cabin fever. Memorial Day weekend brings out a little more party crowd that our normal two day weekends and this weekend was no exception. Even with a full campground throughout the holiday, noise complaints were contained to only a few spots in the campground. Our night security guard (Amy) was only called down once, and took care of a little noise problem on Sunday night, and although there were several other small incidents no one was hurt, and only one leg had to be amputated. It was great to see our old friends, some of which had not been down for several years. Campers joined us from as far away as Tuscon, Colorado Springs, Denver and Tampa to reunite with old friends around a blazing campfire. I would like to thank the majority of our campers who are respectful and courteous to those around them, as you make our job a pleasure. For those on the other side of the coin which were very few, you have already been added to the NO CAMPING FOR YOU list. I apologize to anyone unfortunate enough to have been camping next to someone not living by the golden rule. I hope everyone found our staff courteous and helpful, I think we have the best, hardest working crew around, and am thankful every weekend that I don't have to worry about them showing up and doing their jobs. The only complaint I had about our staff was that I was not a very nice person, and that is being dealt with from within. In my defense I think most people would agree that I am a very nice person (comments are welcome, however I probably won't publish the bad ones). In conclusion, thanks once again to all of you, you are the reason we can continually purchase new canoes, and upgrade our facilities. I encourage all of you to drop us an e-mail with any advice on how we can improve what we do, and look forward to seeing you all again later this summer.

Fishing the Upper North Fork

2009-05-09T08:14:00.004-05:00

With severe weather looming in the forecast, I decided Wednesday night I would take advantage of the last nice day of the week and head upstream for a little smallmouth and goggle-eye fishing on the upper reaches of the North Fork. After dropping Eli off at school, Amy took me to Hale's crossing which is 26 miles or so upstream of Sunburst. I would float from there to Hammond covering a distance of 14 miles. Putting in at Hale's I was happy to see the river flowing bank full, and although somewhat murky I couldn't have asked for better water conditions. The section of river before you reach Hammond can get much too low to be of much fun by the time summer arrives. Today this was not the case. I told my fishing buddy Finn (my loyal Boykin Spaniel) to load up, and he took his place in the front seat of the canoe. We quickly were forced to negotiate some rather treacherous rapids, which on this section of river are very narrow with sharp turns and often times guarded by fallen trees. This being said we came through the float unscathed, although there were several times Finn questioned my canoe handling skills. The fishing was just fair, I hooked and lost what felt like a nice smallmouth early in the float, and later brought a nice 12 incher to hand. I also broke off a 15" smallmouth by setting the hook a little to hard with 4 pound test. The goggle-eye (rock bass) did keep the action steady although most were only fat little 6-7 inch fish, big enough to make a meal if I was camping out, but too much trouble to take home. I also added several green sunfish, and longear sunfish (aka punkinseeds) to my creel. While my favorite smallmouth bait is a 4" worm, fishing by myself without an anchor made this type of fishing almost impossible with the river running fast. I caught most fish on a good old beatle spin. If you ever get a chance to come to the river when the water is really flowing, I would highly recommend a float on the upper part of the North Fork, you will see beautiful bluffs, lots of wildlife, and with any luck at all you should enjoy catching a mixed bag of colorful Ozarks fish.

BIRDWATCHERS: NOW IS YOUR TIME !!!

2009-04-30T09:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday as Amy was leaving to go pick up Eli from school, she ran up and told me to come quick she needed my help. Being a wonderful husband I quickly ran down to lend assistance for what I thought my be changing a flat tire, or jump starting her car. The problem I faced when I arrived on scene was a frantic robin hopping around between the grill and radiator of Amy's car. She informed me she had hit a bird while coming home from the grocery store, and miraculously it had squeezed through the impossibly small opening in the grill and had become trapped between the radiator and grill, where it traveled 20 miles before arriving at it's new home. There was virtually no opening for the bird to escape, and after pulling on the plastic underside of the bumper, I was able to push the bird out with the handle of a rake thinking this would free the bird and it would fly off to live a happy life. Unfortunately the bird was exhausted and had a broken leg, and after flitting a short distance collapsed in a heap on the ground. I quickly scooped it up and placed it in a pet taxi gave it some water and a few worms. The worms have disappeared so I guess it is eating, and now I suppose I need to devise a splint to see if it's leg can heal. What a waste of time to save a robin you might say, and normally I would agree, but don't pass judgement until one day the miracle robin of spring comes knocking on your grill.

I am a self-proclaimed bird nerd, and here at Sunburst I have catalogued around 80 species of birds on our property alone. Spring is a great time to see migrating warblers (or at least hear them), and marks the return of many birds that raise their young in the Ozarks. Last summer we had a pair of Summer Tanagers, Orchard Orioles, and Bluejays all nesting at the same time in a single white oak tree in our front yard. Some of the common birds of summer we see here at Sunburst that might be of interest include indigo buntings, blue grosbeaks, and eastern kingbirds (these are usually seen at the top of the hill sitting on the fence as you drive in). We occasionally see yellow billed cuckoo's, road runners, and all kinds of woodpeckers including the pileated woodpecker which everyone enjoys seeing. These are but a few of the many birds we see along the river, the next time you are down floating or camping be sure to bring your binoculars, you will be amazed at what you see. For all you other bird nerds out there, if you are interested in a list of all bird species catalogued here at Sunburst drop me a line and I would be glad to send you one.

This fly is so good a monkey could catch fish on it!!

2009-04-28T08:15:00.003-05:00

As a fly fisherman I am always striving to find the perfect fly. The fly that is easy to tie, easy to use and catches every fish that sees it. I think I may have found it. I'm not going to say that it catches every fish that sees it, but I am convinced that it catches more fish than any other fly I have used. What is this fly, and where can I get it you might ask. Be patient my friends. Fortunately for me the only place you can find this fly is in the fly box of yours truly and in the mouth of an 18 inch rainbow trout, that broke off as I was unhooking it last evening. This tie is a modification of a simple rubber legged stonefly imitation that was taught to me by a young gentleman working at Hargrove's fly shop in St. Louis. After tying a dozen of these I decided to pimp them up a little. Then it was off to my laboratory to see if they were in fact an improvement. I have now tested this fly two different times, against several different flies including the original version of the rubber legs. Last night's test session proved to be a raging success as I landed 6 fish in just under two hours all in slippery riffle (the riffle in front of my house). Not only did I land 6 fish, but 4 of these fish were larger than 15 inches. (15 inch bow, 16-17 inch bow, 16-17 inch brown, and a big fat rainbow nearing 18 inches that still has possession of the magic fly). I caught several on the fly I have named the HOT FLASH, then took it off to see how other flies would stack up. After catching no fish on anything else I was stripping in line to switch back to the hot flash, when I caught a small brown, other than that fluke, all other fish were caught on the HOT FLASH. In addition to having a great test session, I managed to keep my footing and returned home as dry as when I had started. Fish Gods-4 Justin - 3 For those of you who camp and fish at Sunburst Ranch be sure to ask me about this fly next time you are down. I would be happy to give you one, and then sell you many more for outrageous prices. Better get here quick though because my time for fly tying is running out, and you better be sure that I'm keeping a few for myself just in case I have a few minutes to fish this summer.

Happy Birthday to me (I think)

2009-04-19T16:42:00.005-05:00

My birthday which falls on February 3rd came and went with the promise of a new fly rod and reel from my wife and her family. Naturally I was quite excited as I figured that with several people going in on this present it was bound to be a wonderful set up. Week after week passed with no real mention of the promised present. Finally I was told that several rods would be arriving with the fly fishing group from T. Hargrove's and I would have the opportunity to try them out and choose one. Chris showed up with a nice selection of Sage, Winchester and St. Croix Rods, and I found the 9' 6 wt St Croix Legend Elite to be most to my liking. After fishing with it for a day and catching and losing a dozen or more fish I decided this would be my trusty side kick along the runs and riffles of the North Fork for years to come. A few days later I received my Galvan reel in the mail and promptly put it on my rod where it will stay probably until I break my rod and have to send it in to be repaired. Excited to try out my new birthday present I headed out to my favorite run on the North Fork, which just so happens to be 30 yards or so in front of my house. Unfortunately for me the fish were not biting readily that afternoon and after foul hooking one small rainbow, I saw a little break in the current where the fish had to be stacked in like cord wood. As I slid my way into position to make the perfect cast, my footing gave way and down I went into the chilly water of the North Fork river, water filling my waders quicker than could be imagined (my wading belt helped very little as it hung by the door on my deck). I quickly sloshed to the house, emptied my waders, and warmed up in a hot shower. Fish Gods - 1 Justin - 0. This was far from the first time I had taken a cool weather swim in the river, but little did I know it would be the first of a continuing streak. Several days later everything looked perfect for another shot with my new birthday gift. Down I went to the same riffle, and as I was pulling off fly line preparing for my first cast, a 13" rainbow decided to grab the fly and hook himself, once again showing how skillful a fly fisherman I am. I took this as a good omen, and proceeded to fish for 30 minutes or so to no avail. I decided then that a change of scenery was in order. Amy was just coming outside and gave me a ride to the island at the upper end of the campground where I was sure my luck would change. I decided I would wade out and fish the opposite side of the island, where a few fish over the years have been fooled by my woeful attempts to catch them. As I fished from the top of the island down, I had a few perceived strikes but no hook ups, and grew excited about fishing the tip of the island as it grew closer. As I looked for a good place to cast I saw a little break in the current where the fish had to be stacked in like cord wood. After making several perfect casts to no avail I decided to retreat to the island and make my way back over to the mainland. Unfortunately the river had different ideas. I stood thigh deep in water facing current that would not allow me to move. After attempting to fight this current and having the gravel from my feet slowly washed away, I had a real Mexican standoff on my hands. The unrelenting persistence of my adversary finally won out and I was forced to stare the beast in the eye, and take the plunge. After a short refreshing float downstream, water filling my waders quicker than could be imagined (my wading belt helped very little as it hung by the door on my deck). I finally found footing on the bottom and made my way over to the bank. After breaking off my fly that had become hung on the bottom as I drifted, I emptied my half full waders, and took a long cold walk back to the house, where I once again warmed up in a hot shower. Fish Gods - 2 Justin - 0. Several days later the atmosphere seemed perfect for an evening of hookups along the banks of Sunburst Ranch. Amy and the kids were gone, and it would be just me and the fish all evening long. As I stepped into the river in front of our house I saw a little break in the current where the fish had to be stacked in like cord wood. As I spotted this honey hole, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my tail bone, and felt a cold liquid filling my waders quicker than could be imagined (my wading belt helped very little as it hung by the door on my deck). I quickly regained my footing, and managed to only take a moderate amount of water into my waders this time. This day, unlike the others was quite warm, and a little slip wasn't going to end my evening of fishing. I quickly regained my composure found a safer area to fish, and proceeded to make a few casts. I noticed quite a few brown caddis that looked to be a size 20 flying around so I quickly put on a pheasant tail nymph expecting to catch fish after fish. While this didn't happen I did fool one small brown, and began to see trout after trout rising to these hatching caddis flies. Naturally I had no dry flies with me but decided to go in search of some, after running around and finally locating a few elk hair caddis I made my way back to the river, by this time it seemed quite a bit colder than before. The fish were still rising constantly, although along an eddy across the main channel, and I was convinced I could get one of these fish to bite. After trying to no avail and getting very few drifts I felt good about, I decided that instead of trying to get closer to the eddy I would accept defeat, and head inside for a hot shower. Fish Gods - 3 Justin- 0. I know most of you have seen the movie Rocky, and this is the part of my tale that I hope will begin a big turn around, however only time will tell. Last weekend Kyle Kosovich of Longboat outfitters was back for a guide trip on the North Fork, and asked if I would like to take a short float from Sunburst to Patrick bridge on Saturday evening, to check out his boat and wet a fly. Naturally I was excited to do this, as I had wanted to see his longboat (a 20' wooden johnboat he had built himself) and see how it performed. The boat was more impressive than expected, it floated great, and Kyle handled it beautifully. The fishing was slow, although we did catch several fish, but most importantly my waders for once in a long while stayed dry on the inside. Fish Gods 3 Justin 1. This brings us to this weekend the final chapter in today's tale. David Stineman from Lawrence, Kansas was down for a weekend of fishing, and I decided to join him Friday evening in front of the house for a quick presentation. After about 15 minutes and one lost fish, we slowly made our way downstream and I entered the slick zone. Being extremely careful due to my poor track record of late I prepared to cast to a little break in the current where I knew the fish had to be stacked in like cord wood. As David peered upstream as if to say that looks like a good spot, I quickly lost sight of him and was staring at the clouds, once again feeling cold water enveloping my body. I quickly popped up although was unable to stop on the slick limestone bottom. I quickly shuffled my feet downstream trying to stop my forward momentum, and was once again greeted by the cold hand of the North Fork getting in my pants. I once again regained my footing and eventually came to a stop less than 5 feet from David, where I found him holding my fly firmly in his hand. Once David stopped laughing and I caught my breath, he decided to head upstream to fish where there was better footing, and I was left alone to fish slippery riffle all by myself. It was once again a warm evening, so I decided to fish a little longer, and was rewarded with 2 browns and a rainbow all caught on a modified size 6 Pat's Rubber legs we have decided to name Justin's Hot Flash (as I tie it with some flashabou in place of the rubber legs). For official scoring purposes I feel like this was almost a draw since I caught 3 fish in less than an hour, and only fell twice and slipped and slid 30 yards or further. I think I will reward both myself and the fish Gods a point, if anyone has an opinion on how this should be scored let me know. Fish Gods -4 Justin - 2. Only time will tell how this battle is going to play out, but one thing is for certain. I am sure glad I didn't get that fly rod on my birthday because it is a hell of a lot colder in that river at the beginning of February than it is this time of year.

Trout picture

2009-04-01T10:10:00.002-05:00

I'm new to this blogging thing let's see if i can get the picture I promised in my last post to come through in this one.

Trout Fishing Nirvana

2009-04-01T09:28:00.003-05:00

This past weekend of March 28, 2 groups of fly fishermen joined us at Sunburst Ranch. Despite the rain and cold everyone caught fish and several fishermen boasted of a career trip. Tom Hargrove of T. Hargrove's fly shop in St. Louis came down with about a dozen of his regulars and they enjoyed a weekend of consistent hookups of both rainbow and brown trout. I had the priviledge of fishing with Steve Farr in his drift boat on Monday, and we each had steady action all day long catching mostly brown trout between Patrick bridge and James bridge. The other group of fishermen were old college buddies from Missouri State that came from an area of Bella Vista, Arkansas to St. Louis to try out the trout fishing. This was their first time to fish the river and while the weather prevented them from floating they had two good days just fishing the water here in front of the campground. I have posted a picture of a 17" brown that Jeff caught right off the island on the upstream end of our property.

The water is flowing great right now and the fish are biting. Everyone stayed warm this weekend in one of our 5 cabins, which are still being rented at off season rates. We would love to have more fishermen down before the weather gets too warm, and the river gets busy. Thanks to everyone who was down for a great weekend and a fantastic fish fry we were invited to at the riverhouse.