In an effort to enjoy a little more fall fishing, I — Al Harper — joined a Kansas City fishing buddy for a mini adventure on the Niangua River the last week of October.
Chris Holman and I joined Augy Knickmeyer, a guide favored by other FATC fisherman as well, for a six mile floating and fishing excursion.
Augy faced some additional challenges on this trip due to a mechanical issue with a boat trailer and then a deer with a death wish leaped in front of his vehicle as he departed for Lebanon. But, ever resourceful, he tied up the loose ends with bailing twine and soldiered on.
Another challenge for all three of us turned out to be very strong winds and a river clogged with the leaves the wind blew into it.
Once underway, our first effort was upriver where the Bennett Spring empties into the river. A deep hole there about twenty yards from shore was teeming with trout. Once we got the range we enjoyed great success with Marabou jigs under indicators. Ginger was the color favored not only by trout but by several Goggle Eyes and the occasional smallmouth bass as well. From Augy’s inflatable drift boat we enjoyed several doubles and at one point we got what we deemed a triple when two trout were in Augy’s oversized net and we hooked into a third one before he could release them.
We did so well at that spot it was hard to weigh anchor but the takeout (and Augy’s vehicle) was miles downstream so we stuck with the plan.
The river itself was low from weeks of the late season drought and while the spring boosted its flow it was down considerably compared to previous trips.
Down river from the confluence with the spring were many riffles and troughs that looked promising. We picked up a fish here and there but it took more effort than it had at the hole located just outside the trout park. We floated on through clear, deep pools and stretches of water with rocky bottoms and an occasional fish redds visible. The water invited streamer fishing.
Letting our streamers sink before stripping them in seemed to yield more strikes but there were so many leaves in the water that getting a fly down even with a long sinking leader became tricky. Another technique that was helpful was dropping the rod tip into the river to help ensure a deep retrieve all the way back to the boat. This practice we employed cautiously in the right water and was only possible thanks to skillful boat handling by Augy.
We fished hard as we floated through beautiful terrain that featured soaring hills and cliffs but the wind increased in intensity and the topography sometimes created a windy canyon-like dynamic. Fortunately the gusts came mostly from behind us, or upriver, and with a seven weight rod and the sinking line we were able to get surreal distance on our casts by standing up in the drift boat. We caught some nice bows that afternoon but also hooked into a lot of tough but soggy Cottonwood leaves as big as a dinner plate. Hooking a leaf felt annoyingly similar to a trout’s strike. Despite that annoyance, we eagerly hit every spot Augy recommended and reached our takeout with only a few minutes of daylight remaining.
Chris and I had planned to enjoy a second day of self-guided floating and fishing in an inflatable drift boat I brought along. We couldn’t resist returning to the same confluence for more of the action we’d had the day before and the magic hole didn’t disappoint us. It again yielded numerous large healthy trout that fought hard. The only problem was the wind was even stronger than it had been the day before. Gusts reached up to 45 mph. So after success nymphing jigs and stripping streamers at “the hole” we had to yield to the adverse conditions and shorten our float and alter our techniques to include more wading downriver.
The catching downstream was pretty good and I was even able to land a fat bow with a blue crackleback Chris loaned me (apparently that is a go-to favorite by those who fish the Niangua often). Chris scored well with a Tiger Tail unweighted streamer he had picked up elsewhere. I also had some luck stripping a weighted white streamer in surprisingly shallow sections of the river that afternoon.
After a burger in nearby Lebanon, we decided to have one more little adventure by undertaking night fishing on an open stretch of river where outfitters launch hoards of party floaters in warmer weather. We had fished the stretch earlier in the day and felt confident we knew where drop offs were.
I have tried nightime angling two or three times before, once from a drift boat. I found it pleasantly engages the senses if I resist the natural urge to use my pen light and rely instead on sound and feel and try to “visualize” my cast and retrieve. If a fisherman has been casting all afternoon it is eerie how muscle memory can assert itself in the dark. This evening moonlight wasn’t a factor. I wet waded and enjoyed the sensation of water rushing around my legs while I gazed up at bright stars and ever so slowly retrieved a mouse fly. In the quietness I was encouraged when I heard a couple of strong surface strikes somewhere nearby. Finally I felt, but didn’t hear, an interruption in my retrieve. I cussed what I initially thought was yet another leaf but the tug increased in intensity and I heard splashing. I was then treated to a brief blind battle. I savored the anticipation of discovering what I might have on my line.
My first glimpse of a foot long smallmouth came when I finally clicked on my pen light when I judged him to be within reach. I had forgotten my net but would probably have fumbled around with it in the dark anyway. In the small light beam I noticed his eyes were intensely red in color. Minutes later Chris landed a nice bow stripping a streamer in the dark just upstream from my position.
P.S. Fishing in the river seemed better than the park right now. At least it was less crowded and there was the construction going on which, of course, will benefit everyone when completed. Good fishin’ to ya brothers.
