Last week I went to Key West to join my family for a much needed vacation and partake in some flats fishing. The weather was beautiful, water was warm, and the scenery phenomenal. Now back in dreary Kansas I can only hope to return soon.

A week and a half ago, Bret and I made the trek through the Ozarks to Bennet Spring. Having heard so much about this trout fishery, accompanied with tempting weather, we had to check it out ourselves. 

First we saw the trout hatchery itself, this is impressive to say the least. If you ever visit Bennet be sure to walk up and down the hatchery. I have never seen so many fish in my life. Thousands of trout ranging from a few inches to a few pushing several pounds. 

Yes, those are all trout. 

After seeing the hatchery, Bret and I hit the water, choosing the least populated spot we could find. There were a ton of people, far too many for my standards, and at an estimated 8000 trout per square mile we didn't think we could go too wrong in choosing a location with less people. The spring itself is gorgeous and the surrounding scenery is quite nice as well. 

That said, the fishing was poor. We saw very few bent rods throughout the morning. Trout after trout looked at our flies, only to turn away inches after inspecting them. All seemed most interested in the initial fall of the fly more than the drift, a trait I believe I came to understand earlier. 

After migrating downstream, we saw a group of guys slaying fish on fly rods. Upon closer inspection we learned they were using glo balls--repeatedly hitting the water, creating a splash, then picking it up seconds later to repeat. These guys easily could have been having 100+ fish days. Finding it much to crowded at that spot we went a few yards upstream. Bret put on a glow ball and I a green hares ear. Bret imitated the pattern we observed and immediately hooked in to a trout. I hooked into one on my hares ear, but had to horse it to prevent it from crossing the lines of the 25+ people not far downstream. Not that they didn't mind crossing my line repeatedly and hanging me up.  That said I lost the fish. 

This is when we began to notice something. Pellets--everywhere. Lining the banks on the bottom of the spring were pellets. These fish were gorging themselves just as they were raised in the hatchery, and the repeated splashing of glow balls tricked these fish into a feeding response. 

Finding it too crowded and with me passing borderline angry at the disrespect shown by fellow anglers we headed to our original location. Both Bret and I tied on Chamois pattern onto our lines and were able to hook into a fish each. Even here though we were only able to get fish interested by dragging the fly along the bottom and noticed pellets everywhere--which we hadn't previously noticed. I believe this explained, in part, why the fish were so interested in the initial fall of the fly, they were checking to see if it was a pellet. 

Overall, Bret and I left with a distasteful experience of Bennet. There were too many people for comfort, which was heightened by their lack of courtesy, and the fact that the fish seemed interested only in pellets and that this could provide so productive compared to traditional patterns annoyed me. 

Now I am far from a trout snob, in fact I am a trout newbie all things considering. I have nothing wrong with stocking trout and am not even willing to participate in the wild v. stocked debate. Given the number of anglers on the water, in some fisheries stocking is required, and I do not have a problem with that. My main issue was the pellets lining the stream. On other stocked waters, the trout have to naturalize quickly in order to survive, resorting to insects and fish as sources of food. Here it remained pellets. I view fishing not as a means to put fish on my table or even to see how many fish I can catch. While no one wants to be skunked, the experience is far more important to me, in other words those moments when you don't have a bent rod. Bennet just seemed unsporting.  

Now I know and have talked to anglers who have fished Bennet and had fantastic dry fly action, or great success on other patterns. I know there are several members from the club which frequent Bennet and I am not one to judge others. Perhaps my experience was an anomaly. However, given the drive and my ever expanding list of waters to explore I do not expect nor desire to return anytime soon. 

First fish of the year, Rainbow Trout, Chamois Fly. 

It was a good year of angling for me this year. I learned a lot of new skills, caught a few new species of fish, and honed in the skills I already have. I purchased my first boat, my kayak, which I still baby and love. And I was able to fish a lot of new water. More importantly it is the experiences shared with nature, friends, and family that I cherish most. Ultimately that is what fishing is about--the process. It's tying the knots, reading the water, putting down your rod to observe a sunset, jokes with friends, dreaming of tight lines, countless hours researching and studying technique, and that constant itch be on the water. I love to fish and I am incredibly passionate about it. 

New water I fished included: the Driftless in Iowa, the White River in Arkansas, Milford and Kingman in Kansas. Kingman still leaves a dirty taste in my mouth as it got the better of me in my pursuit of esox, but I will be back in early spring of this year to renew my pursuit of teeth. Location-wise my only regret is that this year is the first in several where I didn't make a trip up north to Minnesota. Minnesota will always be a special place for me: its where I learned to fish, where vegetation in lakes is the rule rather than exception, and where those species nearest to my heart (Pike, Muskellunge, Smallmouth, and Walleye) are most prominent. Hopefully this year!

I also caught several new species this year. First Brown Trout(s) ever and first Rainbow's on a fly rod. Caught my first Carp and gained a whole new respect for this often overlooked species, and on the rough fish side I also caught my first Gar (Shortnose) and first Smallmouth Buffalo (14lbs, biggest fish of the year). 

My home water remains Clinton, and while there are far better fisheries in the state, I always enjoy my time spent there. My guilty pleasure remains my honey hole pond, chalk-full of 2-5 lb largemouth bass. 

It was a great year, here's to the expectation and hope that 2012 will be an even more productive year of angling. 

Following ground breaking movies Drift, and Rise, Confluence Films has brought us a new fly fishing film named, Connect. Quite simply I think this is the best yet from Confluence. The locations are exotic, the anglers superb, and most markedly--dynamic cinematography. Simply put, Connect is eye candy sure to make any angler weak in the knees.

The documentary travels to Africa for Tigerfish, Yellowstone for Trout, Maine for Stripped Bass, Cuba chasing Permit and Tarpon, Yamame in Japan, and Pike in Alaska. 

Again I cannot, emphasize enough how beautiful this film is to watch. Fishing aside, you want to be where the anglers are just to be able to take in the scenery. Further I felt this film focused less on the personalities of the anglers themselves and more on the locations and angling than the previous films. This means less talking and more eye candy. 

Great film, easily one of the best I have seen. Do yourself a favor and watch it. You wont be disappointed. Below I  have posted a link to the trailer. 

With the high winds this month, when I have been able to get onto the water I have been fly fishing less and engaging in conventional styles a bit more. Coupled with the long hours I have been working at my new job, time on the water has been limited. That said I have been visiting my favorite pond quite often and throwing crankbaits with a lot of success until the past week or so. Fish have been ranging from 1 to 3 1/2 lbs. Green, sexy shad, and bluegill have been my dominant patterns, with a slow steady retrieve being the most productive. All fish have been in 12+ feet of water. 

After a failed attempt to catch trout at Lake Shawnee I decided to give Lawrence's own trout hole a try. Now I have some reservations about Lake Henry. The idea of a put and take fishery is not exactly appealing for an angler like myself who prides in the catch and release mentality. Its not that I am against stocking fish, that in itself is necessary to meet the fishing demands in many fisheries across the country, however stocking trout in a lake that is unable to sustain them year long is a bit disconcerning when you think about it. That aside I guess I shouldn't be too critical as I do participate in fishing there. 

I spent about an hour and a half fishing Lake Henry, totaled 4 trout, all on a black wooly bugger with fly rod. 

Beautiful and largest trout of the day, 1 1/2 lb. 

Another pretty but small Rainbow. 

Went to Arkansas a few days after fishing the Driftless, to chase more trout. Had a great time in March and couldn't wait to get back. I again went down with the Free State Fly Fishing Club for the Southern Council Fly Fishing Federation's Conclave. Overall it was a great trip but the fishing was mediocre due to the damn at Bull Shoals running lots of water. During my last trip they were running no generations for the majority of the time which allowed us to wade anywhere in the river and really target specific structural points. This trip the lowest they dropped the water was to 2 generations with as high as 6. This meant the water was several feet higher and with a very swift current which made wading from most points all but impossible. In preparation for this higher water I brought down my Kayak, but had difficulty going upstream anytime the water was flowing over 3 generations. In addition I went with a fellow club member, Rick, in his drift boat and floated from Wild Cat to Cotter on the White. This allowed us to fish lots of water over several hours and by far was the fishing highlight of the trip. Overall I caught only nine trout, all smallish rainbows, but the camaraderie and time spent conversing with club member still made this trip more the than worth it. 

The last day afforded only 2 generations which provided the best full day of wading. Black Wooly Buggers were hot, which meant with my 4 weight I had to open up my loops considerable to cast.