Trips: Beautiful Day of Fishing at Westover

Beautiful Day of Fishing at Westover Farms

FATC members Bob Born, Vernon Preston, Larry Mangals, and me (Don Varner) took advantage of wonderful weather for an all-day fishing trip to Westover Farms in Steelville on December 9, 2025.

The fish were kind of scattered out in small groups, both in the stream that ran through the property & the meadow, and in Dry Creek as well. It was sunny most of the day and the water was low & clear, and as a result the fish seemed pretty skittish. If your shadow happened to fall over the water or you approached where they could see you, they would scatter. But if you managed to get on some fish, they seemed pretty willing to bite.

Flies that worked included a pink bead Walt’s Worm, Jack Daniels, Big Hurt, and cream-colored San Juan type worm.

One not-to-be-named among us had an unfortunate event where he slipped while trying to land a fish from the bank and fell onto and broke his net. Luckily, he was not injured.

We enjoyed a fellowship dinner at Missouri Hick Barbeque at the end of the day. The time at Westover Farms and also driving and having a meal together gave us a chance to get to know each other better and to share ideas on fly fishing and other matters. For example, Bob shared with us that he intended to add a fishing net to his Christmas wish list.

All-in-all, it was a good day of fishing with weather much better than it had been immediately before or afterwards.

immediately before or afterwards.