Three Creeks Conservation Area, Boone Co.

For my final fishing trip in Missouri before our move, I decided to visit Three Creeks Conservation Area in Boone County. I first visited this area sometime in the summer of 2010, when I discovered fly fishing. I was tired of fishing in lakes, and this area offered the closest access to a good, old-fashioned creek that I could find.

I think I caught ~20 fish on various little foam flies on my first visit. All little Bluegill, Green Sunfish, and Longear Sunfish, but I was hooked! So much so that I brought Diana back a few days later and made her fish with me! I started visiting the area every chance I had, and I think I pretty much exclusively fished Bonne Femme Creek.

For my final trip, I decided to visit an upstream part of Bonne Femme Creek that I had never been to. I had a feeling my favorite hole had changed greatly in the two years since my previous visit, and I wanted to remember it the way it used to look.

When I got to the 'new' part of the creek I was amazed at how intermittent it was, even with the recent rains. My usual stretch always had pretty decent flow, but this part was pocked with a little hole behind a tree here, a narrow furrow there, a slow run here, tons of gravel there...

I brought a microlite spinning rod, my fly rod (just in case!), and my tenkara rod. It took a surprisingly long time (~20 minutes) to get the spinning rod and tenkara rod ready to go, but it only took one cast to catch a....wait for it....Creek Chub!

I hope these guys are less abundant in Maryland.

My second cast with the microlite rod was also technically successful:

I wasn't even mad.

After those casts, I was done with the microlite rod for the time being, so I tried to find some minnows or darters with the tenkara rod. I found some little Bluegill, Green Sunfish, and Longear Sunfish, but again, no Orangespotted Sunfish for me.

This poor fish was used as bait for a Longnose Gar I saw swimming around. The gar never bothered with him though, so he was eventually set free, although I imagine s/he had a sore jaw for the rest of the day.

However, the minnows that were present were interesting. I managed to catch at least a half dozen of the species shown below. At the stream I thought, "Rosyface Shiner!" but when I got home I couldn't find that species on any of the range maps/collections for Boone County, so I erroneously assumed the green coloration meant I had Emerald Shiners. Luckily, the helpful members of NANFA set me straight and identified these fish as Carmine Shiners, my third life fish in three days! And life fish #46 overall (either Rosyface or Carmine would be new, so I'm counting it)! At least I was pretty much right with my first guess of Rosyface Shiner (Carmine was split from Rosyface).

In hindsight, that mouth and 'small' eye should have told me, "No! I'm not an Emerald! Stick with your gut!"

I went downstream a bit and found a pool that was about 3 feet deep and maybe 4 feet in diameter behind a root wad. I dropped in a hook and pulled out what I think is a Red Shiner:

There were probably 20-30 of these guys stuck in that tiny pool! They were not too eager to bite, however.

After spending 10 minutes trying (and failing) to catch another shiner, I decided to try my dipnet and I pulled out something unexpected!

I think this is a Stoneroller, probably Central. 

I eventually moved on to a big swimming hole at the confluence of Bonne Femme and Bass Creeks. Downstream of the hole is where the flow really starts to pick up, and in the past I only made it up to the pool one time (I preferred to avoid the crowds while fishing). Unfortunately, the fifth piece of my tenkara rod snapped when I cast it! No clue why, all that was on there was a tanago hook and teeny tiny split shot. This will be the third replacement piece I'll have to order for it! (The first two broke because I was being careless in my kayak in October 2013).

Luckily, if I can say that, it broke near the base so I was still able to fish with most of the rod the rest of the day.

The pool is where I found many more sunfish, a Longnose Gar, darters, shiners, and other minnows. I was blindly casting when I pulled out another Central Stoneroller!

Then I saw some darters and ended up catching three or four Orangethroats in quick succession. I think I'm finally getting the hang of darter fishing! Or, maybe not. We'll see!

Finally, I spent some time trying to catch some little Northern Hogsuckers in a deeper run with some redworm on a size 18 hook. I never caught one, but I did bring in some Creek Chubs, Red Shiners, Common Shiners, and this very eager Largemouth Bass:

And that wraps up my fishing in Missouri for the foreseeable future! I wish I had started microfishing years before I did, and I really wish I hadn't packed all of my fish-related books back in May.

My note taking became less detailed once I started microfishing, but I know I caught well over 1000 fish in Missouri from 2010-2015, with almost all of them coming in 2010-2013. In fact, I think I only caught 5 or 6 fish in all of 2014! Of the 46 species currently on my life list, only two were caught outside of Missouri: a White Pollack in Dingle, Ireland, and a couple Redbreast Sunfish on the New River in Virginia.

Here's a roundup of all the fish species I remember catching or seeing (*) at Three Creeks CA over the years, in no particular order:

1. Largemouth Bass
2. Bluegill
3. Green Sunfish
4. Longear Sunfish
5. Creek Chub
6. Longnose Gar* (had one briefly hooked, but I still haven't caught one anywhere)
7. Golden Shiner* (caught by my friend)
8. White Bass
9. Common Shiner
10. Redfin Shiner
11. Carmine Shiner
12. Central Stoneroller
13. Orangethroat Darter
14. Flathead Catfish* (I watched it swallow my live bait, then I over-eagerly tried to set the hook and lost it! Still haven't caught one!)
15. Red Shiner
16. White Crappie
17. Bluntnose Minnow* (dipnetted)
18. Northern Hogsucker*

Bonne Femme Creek, Boone Co.

I was feeling a bit sick Wednesday afternoon, so, naturally, I tried to see if the great outdoors could make me feel any better when I took off early from work. It didn't, really, but it was worth the try!

I ended up at Three Creeks Conservation Area, and I fished Bonne Femme Creek for about an hour. I only landed one fish (on a size 28 fly hook), but I lost several, including what would have been my first darter. It fell off the hook over dry land, then flipped back into the water before I could grab it. I suppose I could technically count it as a catch, but I'm not 100% sure on the species (although I'd bet you $20 it was an Orangethroat).

With some help from NANFA, I was able to identify the one fish I caught as a Redfin Shiner, lifer #40. I can definitely say I doubt I would have come to the proper ID of this fist anytime soon without the help of NANFA.

Redfin Shiner

In the morning, before trying to work, I fished for about 30 minutes in Hinkson Creek at Hinkson Woods Conservation Area. I managed to lose a tanago hook to a Green Sunfish before catching anything. Once I switched to a size 28 dry fly hook I nabbed a Green Sunfish, a Blackstripe Topminnow, and several Sand Shiners.

Three Creeks CA, Boone County

Despite the cold (35°F) weather, I opted to visit the Bonne Femme Creek at Three Creeks CA (Boone County) this morning. I know of a few deep (>6 ft.) holes that aren't too far apart, so I headed out in hopes of catching my first winter fish.

After a short walk down the trail you're greeted by a view from the top of the cliff. I enjoy the vista because it looks like there is no sign of human activity for as far as you can see.



A little more walking brings you down to the creek. The Bonne Femme eventually drains into the Missouri River, but it has many miles to go from this point. Just upstream from the point in the photo the Bonne Femme connects to Turkey Creek and Bass Creek.

 

I took my 4 weight fly rod this morning, and I started out with a bright orange wet fly that I tied last winter. I made a few casts into the first deep hole and noticed it was bouncing around underwater. Fish!

I watched the fly on a few more casts and decided I needed something a little smaller, so I switched to a size 12 nymph. The first cast brought in my first winter fish ever! A 5" Creek Chub.



Another few casts resulted in a similar sized fish, and a third Creek Chub (5 15/16") was eventually caught.



Despite about a mile of creek walking, the only fish I even saw were Creek Chubs and Orange-throated Darters. Still, it was nice to get out again for the first time in ~4 months and catch a few fish.

Next weekend, weather permitting, I hope to take the kayak to Little Dixie Lake CA with my new wetsuit and fish finder!