This last two weeks have been busy. The first I had my grandson with me and he definitely kept me busy. Visited Fantastic Caverns (my first time), then went to Branson for the Haunted House and Dinosaur Museum, visited and hiked a little at Lake Springfield and went to Close Memorial park for the playgrounds and then some more hiking. We kept pretty busy for a six year old and an old man. I took him home Thursday and then I left Friday for Memorial Day weekend at Bunker Hill on the Jack Fork River. Good time with good friends. Three of us fished with minimal luck. Marty probably did best; a few small smallmouths, and rock bass. Nothing to brag about, but better than being skunked like I was.
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent with the WOLF class from Springfield. About 50 fifth graders were given instructions on fly casting and fly tying on Tuesday and on Wednesday we took them fly fishing for about 2 hours. Kids had a good time, learned some and the instructors were rewarded both days with a lunch provided by the parents and lots of "thank yous" from the kids. One little girl tried her best to come up with a dragon fly pattern on Tuesday, but they did not have much to work with. After she finished fishing on Wednesday I gave her a damsel fly that I had. You'd have thought I gave her a thousand dollars.
Tuesday night we had pizza and fished with the boys from Good Samaritan Boys Ranch. Most will not be back next year. This was the first year for our program and I believe it was a real success. We're looking forward to doing this again in the fall. I caught three very nice bluegill that evening. Very nice and fat bluegill.
Today I went with Russ to Crane Creek. Russ has been turned on by Czech nymphing and I went along to try my hand. I do have a 10 foot rod, but its an awfully heavy rod to be holding at arms length while dragging the fly through the water. I was lucky enough to catch two McClouds and a very colorful minnow, maybe an Ozark Minnow in breeding colors, with this technique. Both trout were quite small, the second one probably less than an inch longer than the minnow. Wild trout though, so what a blast. Russ did a little better, more fish and larger. We also saw what we both believe was the largest trout we ever spotted in Crane Creek; it was definitely a "keeper" if we could have caught it and we were into keeping. I'm sure it would have been photographed and returned to the water.
Just realized that in less than a month Gary and I will be back from Alaska. I still need to tie some more flies for that adventure.
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