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| During
our six hour drive to the River of Life Farm, my spouse and I wondered if our arrival
would see dry river beds. But despite scorching temperatures and little rainfall, our
experience at the North Fork of the White River was quite rewarding. Missouri's natural springs once again prevailed and proved to provide
excellent fishing grounds for me, a now avid fly fisherman. If you are a true fly
fisherman, you know there are many excellent feeding grounds for trout, namely in Montana
and Colorado.
While I do not have many years of fly fishing under
my belt, I have done most of my fly fishing in the Colorado Gold Metal waters of the
Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers. Although I humbly consider this some of the best
fishing, I was pleasingly surprised that the North Fork of the White River was very
comparable to those out west.
While the scenery is quite different and Missouri's
natural springs offer aquatic vegetation, and solid rock bottoms, which Colorado does not,
I set out to let the "Show Me" state reveal its potential.
Upon our arrival at the River of Life Farm, my wife,
Carol, and I were quite pleased with the accommodations and were welcomed by Myron, Ann
and Toby. After discussing the local fishing patterns with Myron, we unloaded our
gear. Anxious to try our hand at our new trout find, we ate a quick bite and setout to
test our luck at Jack's Riffle, located just below the Chalet,
our home for the stay.
After approaching the riffle and checking the depth
and flow of the water, I decided to try a nymph pattern consisting of a number eight black
rubber leg with a number 12 prince trailer about a foot or so deeper. I twisted on some
lead about two feet up from the rubber leg and a red yarn indicator around three feet
above the weight. Positioning myself below the riffle, I placed my cast in the seam
between the main flow of the river and a calm area behind some rocks. With the aid of some
slight mending, I was able to present a good drift down the seam about 25 feet to the
tailing edge of the calm water. Realizing the quarry I was after were all wild fish, I was
amazed that on the third cast I hooked a 22 inch brown, the first fish of the trip!
Continuing with the same pattern for the next half hour, I landed two more brownies and
then noticed some rainbows surfacing after the evening hatch. Tying on a number 10 green
drake ( a good dry in Colorado), I proceeded to hit the seam where I had previous success.
After about four casts, a 13 inch rainbow nailed my drake and headed downstream. I
finished the evening with the last cast being too dark to see my fly drifting by. Morning
couldn't come fast enough, as I wondered if the rest of the river was this good or better. |
| The next
morning Myron set us up for our canoe trip back down to the River of Life Farm. The trip
should normally take about three to four hours, but stopping and fishing along the way
made it last almost the entire day. I would strongly recommend to anyone to float this
river; the rock bluffs and dense trees are very beautiful and make for a relaxing time.
After we arrived at Rainbow Spring, the water temperature dropped about ten degrees and we
began noticing trout swimming under our canoe. |
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this point on, I had my fly rod handy. I stayed with the same pattern I had used the
previous evening and caught a couple of fish at almost every riffle between the Spring and
the end of our float to the McKee's farm. Even though the temperatures were nearing
the high nineties, the cool water and shaded river made for a very enjoyable day. I rate this stream as one of Missouri's trout treasures. If you
really enjoy the sport of fly fishing, you must visit the River of Life Farm. The
tranquility of the farm will make your fishing excursion enjoyable even if you don't net
"the big one." We saved the lower North Fork of the White River for our next
stay with McKee's. And after sharing some of our "fish" stories, it sounds as if
we have a few friends that would like to join us. |
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