Vacation of a lifetime: Bennett Spring - the Trilogy: Part 3 – Brotherhood of the trout

The plan was to arrive at Bennett Spring early enough to get in a few hours of fishing before the siren went off signaling the end of the day’s fishing.  

But, we were running a little late, so I resolved myself to NOT be disappointed when I wasn't able to fish the day we arrived. 

And of course there was the thought in the back of my head about my fishing trip to Ketchikan, Alaska. 

After flying from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA to Ketchikan, AK and then by float plane to Bakewell Lake, we were on the water fishing for cutthroat trout by 4pm.  My fishing buddies and the guide all caught fish. 

I had a lot of bites, but could not connect with a single cutthroat!

Day 1 in Alaska was a disaster! 

The rest of the trip was great, but day 1 - I try to forget, but it haunts me!

That's me with one of the many Coho we caught on the trip. We also caught Cutthroat trout, shark and Halibut.

So, I reasoned, if I don’t get to fish the day we arrive – I won’t get skunked the day we arrive. 

How lame is that!

So, when we were almost at the park, we stopped at a tackle store I found online where we could buy Missouri fishing licenses and get some info on what flies and which zones were hot.

The store was closed.  It closed early to go to a Labor Day picnic.  

Panic?  Nope – just meant that I wouldn't get skunked the day we arrived.

So on to the Park to check in and get ready for tomorrow. 

But wait! 

What’s that down the road?  

Could it be an oasis or just a mirage?  

(While I convinced myself it was OK to not fish till tomorrow, I was really disappointed.)

There, inside the park, was 

Larry’s Sporting Goods!  

An Authorized Orvis Dealer!  

This was an Omen – a very Good Omen!

There was an Orvis authorized fly shop within the park just a few minutes from the spring – how great is that!  

If you get down that way - you MUST stop at Larry's!

Larry’s SportingGoods. 

Kelly Peace, the owner (Larry’s son), was there and was a wealth of information.  

Larry’s not only had a supply of the RGN - the hot fly per all the latest fishing reports, but the creator of the RGN, Master fly tier Mike Ross, was at the shop! 

I could not have written a better script than the way the day was going! 

Mike told me about the RGN fly and how to fish it.  The RGN accounted for many of the trout I caught including the first one of the trip.

Rainbow #1 - On Day #1 
Thanks to Mike Ross and the RGN fly I bought at Larry's Sporting Goods.

The rest as they say is history.  

We had an incredible time – truly a vacation of a lifetime. 

The problem with this kind of a vacation when writing a blog is that it’s just way too much info to cram into a post – hence the trilogy.  

So, to finally cut to the chase, the rest of the post will be mostly photos and a few captions.  But to dredge up another old adage – a picture is worth a thousand words – and here they are.

The cabin

The dining lodge

Inside the dining lodge

Joyce and the girls ready for lunch.

Humming bird feeders at every window of the Dining lodge.

This is a door mat I saw in the Bennett Spring store - I concur!

The fishing.

It started Here - with my Dad and his friends 67 years ago.

Here are some of the photos that led me to the thought of fishing at some of the places where my Dad (top center photo and lower left and right) fished before I could fish with him.

This is a photo of Dad, on the left, and his friend Chick just upstream of where the dam currently resides.

Here I am - just a bit downstream from where Dad and Chick were fishing.

Preparation is everything. You really need to know The important aspects of fishing to be successful and have fun. 

My Daughters have their own unique ways to get ready for a day's fishing.

Kristin getting ready for a day's fishing.

Meghan getting ready for a day's fishing.

Everyone's ready now!

And this is what we're ready for!

Yes, those are trout. It's about 20' deep in that area - this is where the water from the spring comes out of the ground.

This is about as close as I could get.  I was up to my waist, and just before the drop off it was about 6' deep - very deceptive.

Downstream rainbow - about average size.

Kristin releases another chunky rainbow - these fish did not look or fight like typical hatchery stock - they were very well conditioned and fought hard.

This is a very effective fly.  Named the Chamois fly, it is a piece of chamois tied to a hook.  It imitates a piece of trout guts.  People clean their catch stream side and toss the guts in the water.  Rainbows channel Piranhas and fight for the guts.  It is fished with a slapping delivery to get the attention of the trout. While it does catch fish, it wasn't the most effective fly we used.

Meghan takes a well deserved bow for another nice rainbow.

This is one of the many skulpin covering the bottom of the stream. Most were the typical brown color, but many were this bright green/chartreuse color.  Very aggressive, this one was at our feet and would not be scared off, so I netted him.  I've never seen a skulpin this color before.

Kristin studies the water...

...Makes her cast...

...and hooks another Bennett Spring rainbow!

Kristin releasing another rainbow.

That's me - casting away! Photo courtesy of Mike Ross.

Meghan starts her backcast.

Loads the line.

And delivers a cast as I start MY backcast.

Meghan connects with another rainbow.

One of Meghan's rainbows ready to release - with Mom in background to the right relaxing, and Mike Ross, second from the left stalking trout.

Meghan relaxing with a little friend in the background - to the left under the bench.

Cute little guy.

I hooked this one on one of Mike Ross's foam beetles - a very effective fly.  Earlier, I was doing a snap T spey cast, which drops the fly slightly behind me before snapping out a roll cast.
When I made my forward motion to throw the line, my line, 7 X tippet, tightened and the line snapped.  Looking behind me for my fly, all I saw was a pod of trout.

My take is that when I dropped the fly behind me, a trout grabbed it just as I started to cast, and I snapped my line when starting the cast. 

 That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Thanks for a great fly, Mike!

A very old fish resting on the shore.

Daughter Kristin took this photo on the Niangua River.  Bennett Spring flows about 2 miles and empties into the Niangua.  The Niangua is known for a great population of smallmouth bass.
It was just recently, when reviewing photos for this blog, that I realized the fish Kristin photographed were Smallmouth!  I brought the right equipment for smallies, but didn't have time to try - maybe next time!

Sister teamwork!

Yes, Meghan.  Our Vacation of a Lifetime is over and we have to go back to work!

Packed, again, and ready to head for home.  
We all had an extraordinary time.

The end.

 - or maybe it's just the beginning. 

Planning for Vacation of a Lifetime 2 right now! 

But Trilogy shall never be part of my vocabulary or blog again!

See you on the water!

Dave