Jan 14th, 2021 Busch Wildlife

Winter Trout Fishing in St Louis

Precipitation: Trace of rain overnight; None to speak of.
Forecast: rain drizzle, in the afternoon
Weather Conditions: Thursday, cloudy. Occasional spit of rain. Highs in the upper 30s and low 40’s (38-45 F). Westerly winds 12-14 mph (shifting, in the face, at times)
Barometric pressure: 29.57 and rising

The group met at the Busch Wildlife Conservation Area; Lake 28 parking lot.

This lake is 3-4 miles from the entrance and is one of the most remote lakes from the entrance. Once there, it was discovered there is a small lot located off MO Hwy D which is much closer.

“You’d have to be crazy, to winter trout fish”, the man said. To be truthful, it does actually seem to help a bit.

Dressing in layers and gloves with rubber/plastic gloves underneath provide some relief from the elements. It’s not for sissies, you know.

The 10 FATC fishermen who joined were Mike Oldani (trip captain), Bill Byington, Jim Anzer, Bob Trigg, AL Harper, Bob Hassett, John Best, Jim Petersen, Dan Staggenborg and Sid Aslin who joined later.
For many lake fishing for trout was a new experience, several guys showed up simply to see how it is done, and to meet and re-connect with friends.

After suiting and gearing up, everyone spread out to various spots.

Lake 28 is shaped somewhat like a “D” shape with the parking area along the bottom of the D. The far bank has softball sized rocks and is pretty straight. Along the right from the lot, around the bend of the lake are various (2-3) “wing” areas that jut out into the lake and allow fishing all around them. Several of the guys went to the right and hit those wing areas.

Only AL Harper was able to net fish on those. He got 3. AL was fishing with a small (1 1/2” long) red San Juan worm that had a silver bead on it. He was fishing it below an indicator. No additional weight was required to get the nymph down since there’s no current. This eliminated the need for any additional split shot and made the very subtle bites from the fish to be easier to detect. AL noted that there was vegetation in the water within 4-5 feet, all long the banks, but once beyond that, there seemed to be a flat bottom that the fish were working.

AL said he had found that lure in the parking lot at the prior week’s Bennett Spring trip and decided to use it. Don’t know exactly what the definition of luck is, but finding a fly and catching 3 fish on it must be pretty close to it.

The first fish of the day was caught by Mike Oldani within 10 minutes of arriving, 10 feet off the bank at the parking lot. Mike was using a rig that had an egg pattern on a 3” tag, with a brown Wooly Bugger under it. He fished it with 5-6 feet below his indicator. Mike seemed to feel that the egg pattern may have been an attractor that drew the interest of the fish enough for it to get a closer look. That Brown wooly seemed to actually work pretty well for the rest of the day for guys that caught fish.

Mike Oldani stayed and fished the whole day and ended up with at least 12-15 fish. He slayed ‘em !

Bob Trigg caught at least 1 fish on a mop fly under an indicator. Bob gets the award for the most dedicated fisherman. Even though he had a morning work meeting/telecon, Bob got to the lake early and fished as long as he was able, living relatively close by. That is being a true trout fanatic !

Bill Byington didn’t venture too far away and fished the immediate area near the parking. Bill said he had several light hits/bumps but didn’t hook the fish. He suspected they were bluegill, but the trout were hitting very lightly (as they always do in winter fishing).

John Best was kind enough to bring along pheasant tail feathers that he stated with anyone who wanted them. There just might be a few pheasant tail nymphs coming his way in the future…

Jim Petersen had fished the wing areas without a great deal of success at first, but made his way over to the flat area of the “D”, along the rocky bank, and caught at least 2 trout there and had one get off after a short tussle.

Bob Hassett was working the wing areas, around to the rock bank, and really getting the feel of his new rod. I see a happy, new long term relationship forming there, between Bob and his rig. Bob fished all day also and ended up with 2 fish, one of which may have been the biggest fish of the day, measuring at least 17”. Bob caught his on the brown wooly bugger also.

Sid Aslin surprised us by getting to the lake right as we were taking a lunch break. Sid was showing off his new 3 weight 5 foot long fly rod. Some guys accused him of having a spinning rod, but it was definitely a fly rod with a fly reel. Sid silenced his skeptics by not only catching fish with his new rod, but getting the pictures to prove it.

Once the group broke for lunch and to warm up, there was lots of good natured ribbing and story telling. Sid, as expected, broke us all up with his story of the fat lady falling in a Montauk and getting a dirty look from her after he let her get out on her own.

Many other falling in stories were followed. Anyone who fishes any amount at all, will not openly laugh at other fishermen falling in (other than secretly), since we all know sooner or later that will be us !

About 1:15 pm Thursday afternoon about half the guys decided to leave the “conversation area” and head for home; cold and wind had gotten to some of us. Sid Aslin, Mike Oldani and Bob Hassett continued on as the rain threatened and started pelting them at 1:30 pm. (being crazy helps, right?). They are committed fishermen. They reported that a bald eagle circled overhead for a good portion of the afternoon. Always a beautiful sight!

The award of the trip went to Jim Anzer, who opened his fly box to show one of his flies. Jim was soon declared the winner of the much coveted (but little known) “most organized fly box award” by Bill Byington. Jim confessed, that’s what happens when a guy has too much time and not a lot to do with it. We all joined Jim in a good laugh about that.

Reading the water observations: As anywhere trout live, there was the occasional stir on the water, even mid January. This was perplexing since without any current to move the water, and with any lower sustained temperatures, the lake would have had a thin layer of ice. So what was on top that was attracting their attention ? Was there even a small bug hatch or possibly minnows (which might make more sense) ? Lake fishing for trout is quite different, but no less confounding, just in its own way.

There were several other fishermen scattered around the lake. In the farthest corner, away from the parking lot was a fellow using a maribou jig on a spin rod. He caught about 4 while we were there. He said he’d used black & white, and a brown jig. The spinning rod worked better casting than the fly rod due to wind being in our faces when along the straight side at the rock bank.

This created difficulty not only in casting a light fly and set up, but also since the indicator was being pushed into shore. Not a huge problem, but the alert fisherman needed to be aware to keep the slack out of his fly line on the water, or he’d miss the set on a take. (Same principle as the need to mend in a stream with differing speed currents.)

Amusing Story:

Dan Stag, just curious see how the whole lake trout fishing thing was done, didn’t rig his rod. After walking around the lake “annoying” the other fishermen, Dan met Mike Oldani who kindly offered his own rod to give lake trout fishing a try. In a stroke of simple dumb luck, a fish was soon hooked, played and on its way to the net. Mike O insisted that it be netted using the net Mike had attached to him. DanStag wanted to let the fish off without netting it. Mike kept insisting. Before the fish could be netted, when it was right at the bank, it broke off losing Mike’s last bead headed wooly bugger. (Thanks a Lot, buddy! That’s what I get for being a nice guy…) Profuse apologies, and promises of replacement flies, somewhat smoothed things over. In truth, Mike was a very good sport about it.

In summary: The day was a pleasant one, considering it was mid-January, for bunch of guys who enjoy fishing, each other’s company and getting outside. Having the different venue (lake fishing) and some success to go with it, made the day rewarding. Seemed we all had a good time, in spite of the minor hardships of the cold. We learned a lot, plus got a chance to practice our fishing skills without spending hours driving to and fro.
A good day with nice people. (as always…). Thanks to Mike for getting us all out of the house.

Final thought/joke: “I’m at that delusional age where I think everyone my age looks waaaay older than I do.”

submitted by DanStag