Silas Gray: Quick trip to Roaring River beats staring out window

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March 18, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Mar 18, 2010, 11:30 PM CDT

By Silas Gray

It was one of those days. I just didn’t feel like being inside.

Although it had been raining all morning, there had been no sign of lightning or anything else that would prevent a fishing trip. It was almost one in the afternoon when my buddy, Ron Vocelka, called. We’d spoken earlier in the morning, and I’d mentioned my inability to work and my desire to go fishing.

It seems like that comment had been working on Ron. He was calling to suggest that we take a trip to Roaring River State Park to work on his skill with a fly rod.

I quickly agreed to his plan. Ron had a few things errands to complete before we could go, and we arranged to meet when those were finished.

It was 2:30 and I was parked under the carport and out of the rain at Ron’s house and arranging gear when he pulled up. It didn’t take long until he was loaded and we were on the road headed for Cassville on our way to Roaring River.

With its open banks and mowed areas along much of the stream, Roaring River is a great place to work on fly rod skills. The park closes at 6 p.m. during the short days of March, so we were limited on time. We arrived with just under two hours remaining to fish.

During the early 1930s, Roaring River was drastically rebuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The original stone hotel, known as the CCC Lodge, was constructed during this time and, for as long as I can remember, that is where daily tags were purchased. However, last year a new conservation store was built, and this was Ron’s first time at the new facility.

It was about four in the afternoon as we pulled up and parked outside of the store. Once we’d both purchased our tags, we returned to the truck and did a quick loop through the park deciding where we’d like to begin. We chose to start at Dry Creek and to work our way back up the park toward the CCC Lodge.

We assembled our rods, I tucked a few choice flies into a single box, and we both headed for the water. Ron tied on a six-foot section of light tippet and a peach fuzzy nymph which had worked quite well the last time I was there.

The water was up and moving fast, so I had Ron start out by making short casts with the heavily weighted nymph, fishing the edges of the faster water close to the bottom. This tight-line nymphing technique is very effective in many fishing situations. Since it doesn’t require long casts but does demand concentration and line control, it’s a great way to get someone used to fishing with a fly rod.

We worked the first few holes very thoroughly while changing flies often. However, we soon noticed time slipping away and knew it wouldn’t be long before the final horn sounded, marking the end of the fishing day in the park. We quickened our pace while working our way upstream, hitting only the best-looking spots with a limited number of casts before moving on.

Although the trout showed great interest in many of the flies as Ron presented them, we managed to land only one rainbow trout. However, the trip itself was a success. Ron did great with his casting and was managing the nymphing technique quite well. Plus, he also saved me from an otherwise nonproductive afternoon of staring out the window.

Address correspondence to Silas Gray at ifish@silasgray.com.

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Silas Gray: Quick trip to Roaring River beats staring out window

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

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