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The following is a recap of the experience we had fishing/floating the North Fork from ROLF to Blair Bridge April 8-10, 2005. This was our second trip to ROLF and a bit more humbling than our first trip one year ago.
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My 7-year old son Caden accompanied my friend Andy Nelson and I on the trip.
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This was Caden’s first river float/trout fishing trip and he was not disappointed. |
The stretch of river from ROLF to Blair Bridge has several riffle-run-pool combinations and a lot of fishable water. This is our favorite stretch of the river to fish. Allow yourself a good 6-8 hours to float this section in order to fish it thoroughly (focus your effort on productive water - i.e., current seams, riffles, inside bend of runs, etc.). Fishing was tough because of clear skies and bright sunshine, but we did manage to catch fish of various sizes at every stop along the way. Our trip last year at this time, under more favorable conditions, yielded several 14”+ fish and a really nice 20” brown trout (#10 mohair leech).
On this trip, I fished a tandem rig with a #6 black rubber legs (orange head) and either a #16 BH brassie, #16 BH killer caddis, or various #18-#20 BH midge larvae patterns. Andy had good success with a #14 or #16 Mercer's Biot Golden Stone (the big fish of the trip came on this pattern). Scuds, San Juan worms, and peach eggs also produce fish. Streamer patterns (bunny leech, mohair leech, buggers, etc.) work well at times on the river, too. |
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| My son Caden was fascinated with the aquatic invertebrates found in the river. We spent a significant amount of time just shuffling through the cobbles collecting bugs. Giant stoneflies, golden stoneflies, free-living caddis, case-building caddis, mayflies, crane fly larvae, hellgrammites, scuds, and sow bugs are all abundant at various locations throughout the river. When fishing slows down, bug collecting is a great time killer. |
Our stay in one of the newer cabins at ROLF, Tree Top Loft, was great
– very scenic and comfortable.
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| Myron was very accommodating with the shuttle service and as hospitable as any person you’ll ever meet. We cannot wait until next Spring to return and will probably make another trip this fall before the browns start running on the Little Red River. Mark Gilliland (Columbia, MO) |
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