Just looking for a little info about what the area is like first hand from someone that has fly fished the area. I'm thinking about planning a trip down there to fish the tailwaters and maybe hit a lake or two. I know the weather is much wamerr down there during our cold spring months of March-May up in Northern Minnesota.
Don't know if I'll be heading or not, just weighing my options on how to get away from the cabin fever!
I fish that area all the time since it's three hours away. I recommend Branson / Lake Taneycomo (more a river than a lake) up near the Table Rock dam for nice rainbows all year, and great browns in the fall (you can catch them all year, but the BIG ones come up in the Fall). The water is clear and cold year round, the fish fight, and are the closest I've come to steelhead, right down to the color and the fight they put up. The locals call them "Silver Bullets". The fish are stocked regularly (either weekly or monthly, I can't remember which) from the fishery just below the dam run by the state, and the federally run hatchery in Neosho. Lodging is relatively inexpensive and there's Branson just a few miles away if you or any companions are tired of catching fish. Just be careful if you don't practice catch and release. There is a section from the dam to Fall creek that has a slot size limit, so you can only keep select fish in that area. The rest of the lake is open as to size. I catch and release, so it's never a problem. The fishing is challenging, and you have to keep an eye on how many generators are running at the dam, but it's still the best place I know of. You can wade or boat it, depending on how much flow there is from the dam. There are numerous fly shops (two right by the dam), and a big Bass Pro shop in the area, as well as the Bass Pro Shop headquarters in nearby Springfield. Guides are great, and reasonably priced.
There are numerous state parks in Missouri that stock trout (most of them stocking daily). Bennett Springs, Montauk, Roaring Rivers, and some open rivers that have trout living in them. All in all, we have a great selection. I fish Bennett quite a bit, but haven't been to Montauk or Roaring Rivers. You can check out the Missouri DNR or Coservation websites to learn more about them. The fish are not picky at Bennett, I can tell you that.
Then there's Table Rock lake if you want to fish from a boat for bass. The best bass fishing in the state. They spawn in the spring and will hit topwater dear hair frog flies with all the force in the world. I do work for a lot of the fishing tournaments on the lake, and see some really nice fish out of Table Rock of every type. It's not unusual to see a bag of five fish with a five pound average. I'm not a big bass fisherman, so can't give any good spots, but could probably find out.
I intend to come to MN again this Spring to Fish the North and South Shores in April (if that's possible on the South shore, I don't know, not having ever been there to fish before.) Any advice you can give in those areas would be appreciated. My e-mail address, if you want to pass along information, or have questions, is gmmartinassoc@yahoo.com.