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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

Lateral view of a Clostoeca disjuncta (Limnephilidae) (Northern Caddisfly) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
This one was surprisingly straightforward to identify. The lack of a sclerite at the base of the lateral hump narrows the field quite a bit, and the other options followed fairly obvious characteristics to Clostoeca, which only has one species, Clostoeca disjuncta.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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CKLifeBelow has attached these 2 pictures to this report. The message is below.

Report at a Glance

General RegionMissouri - Ozarks
Specific LocationRock Bridge, Mo
Dates FishedApril 27, 2018
Time of DayMorning - Afternoon
Fish CaughtRainbow Trout
Conditions & HatchesSunny, Cool, Clear

Details and Discussion

CKLifeBelow
Missouri

Posts: 2
CKLifeBelow on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 4:19 am EDT
Hey guys,

Just wanted to post a video with my highlights from a rainbow trout fishing trip to Rock Bridge, Mo. This is probably the 5th trip I've made there and this was by far the best action. I decided to bring my GoPro along with me this time and capture the action. I realize there are many improvements to be made when capturing footage for the video, which will hopefully be improved upon in subsequent attempts!

All fish were between 2-4 lbs. I used Joe's Flies short striker flies for the first time and they were incredible. I removed the trail treble hook and just used the single hook. Unfortunately, the hook straightened out about halfway through the day, but was able to be bent back to shape with no issues. Let me know if you have any questions and I'm happy to give more info!

https://youtu.be/PFlG5mqm7Mc
Adirman
Adirman's profile picture
Monticello, NY

Posts: 479
Adirman on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 5:39 am EDT
Congrats to you on your success but a shame keepin those fish ☹️
CKLifeBelow
Missouri

Posts: 2
CKLifeBelow on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 6:03 am EDT
Congrats to you on your success but a shame keepin those fish ☹️


Thanks for the reply! I'm sorry if you aren't a fan of "keeping your catch;" I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone. If it helps, none of the fish were wasted and fed our family some delicious meals :-)
Adirman
Adirman's profile picture
Monticello, NY

Posts: 479
Adirman on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 7:25 am EDT
That’s a good thing at least and there was a time when I used to keep em too so I do understand 😊
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 9:23 am EDT
If those are stockers, they're food!! I fish a stocked lake up here in my neck of the woods (northern lower MI), rainbows (and now browns!) planted at 6-7", not legal to keep until 12"...my biggest weighed 3 pounds and fed four people! Big perch come out of that lake too, and they don't get released either.

MO is a beautiful state, lived there for almost 4 years total and hit the Ozarks for trout a few times. A really wonderful (and challenging) stream that is strictly no-kill, artificials only is Crane Creek in southwest MO. Pure-strain redband rainbows from CA were planted in the 1880's and not since, so it is catch-and-release only, and patrolled by an armed MO conservation officer! I lost a rainbow at least as big as the one above, a male with hooked jaws and a bright pink stripe on his side! Got a 10" hornyhead chub on a nymph too. Pretty country!

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 12:00 pm EDT
By the looks of the caudal fin on the larger rainbow and the general overall poor condition of the fins on the fish on the stringer I would bet one of my fly rods they are all stocked trout. Also considering the gentleman caught them on the Ozarks of Missouri that is even more reason to assume they are hatchery trout. Missouri has many true spring creeks and for some reason unbeknownst to me prefers to stock the dickens out of them and call them "Trout Parks".

http://www.missouritrout.com/

http://www.maramecspringpark.com/
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Jun 5, 2018June 5th, 2018, 12:48 pm EDT
Yep, been there, done that...the fish that don't get caught get everything known to man thrown at them and get ridiculously wary. I tied up #16 Sulphurs to match a hatch and fished them on 6x tippet, and watched those trout swim up under them, follow them for maybe six inches, and turn them down...bastards! Once had a big beautiful brown swimming around right in front of me turn his nose up at everything, except he almost hit a hot pink Woolly Bugger...?? Like fishing in a swimming pool. There are some seriously wild trout fisheries down there, as I said Crane Creek is a true technical trout stream experience, small gin-clear waters with sparkling rainbows, and not easy. I also fished a Capps Creek once and managed to wrangle out a nice brown and a couple of rainbows on dries. I ate some of those trout too...

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...

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