Ditch boat fishermen, try on your waders

Every year the clear cool streams of the Ozark Plateau draw thousands of anglers. They come not just from across Missouri but from across North America and beyond.

And why shouldn’t they? Most Ozarks streams flow through scenery beautiful enough to make all but the most die-hard fisherman spend lots of time looking far beyond the end of his line, despite the risk of missing a chance to catch a trout, smallmouth, goggle eye or other piscatorial treasure.

An overwhelming majority of these anglers rely on a centuries-old method to move themselves from place to place along the stream.

That method is floating downstream in a canoe or Jon boat, while casting to likely looking spots as they pass by.

Should one of those spots rate high enough on the likely scale, pausing for a time by anchoring the boat in mid-stream or beaching it on a gravel bar is within the rules of float-fishing etiquette.

The just-described approach to fishing moving water is popular because it’s both productive and a whole lot of fun. There are, however, two big flies in the ointment.

First, Ozark streams draw tens of thousands of people whose only interest in the stream is to use it as the setting for a moveable feast, beer party or other social event.

Please don’t misunderstand. Unlike in most states where anglers might have a semi-valid complaint, every Missourian helps pay for conservation with sales tax dollars and, therefore, has an indisputable right to enjoy being outdoors in any legal way he or she might choose.

Fortunately, flotillas of banging, clanging aluminum canoes don’t disturb fish nearly as much as they do anglers.

Second, floating is a complicated undertaking whether the required boats are rented from an outfitter or are owned by the angler.

Floating is expensive and requires more pre-trip planning and scheduling than a lot of should-be stream anglers either can do or are willing to do.

There is another way to fish an Ozarks stream: wading. For reasons I’ll make no attempt to fathom, practically no one  routinely gets into the water with any species of fish other than trout.

This is a serious oversight, because having a wonderful day almost anywhere on an Ozarks stream with no means of transportation other than a pair of wading shoes or chest waders is easy.

Although gaining access to a stream at a bridge crossing or even by obtaining permission to hike to the water across private land is possible, most wading anglers begin and end their day at one of the public access sites used by boaters.

The moment boat or boot enter the water, any similarity between the two modes of transportation ends.

The only practical direction for a paddle-powered canoe or Jon boat to proceed from its put-in point is downstream.

Wading anglers who relish having a stream all to themselves work their way upstream during the morning hours, while letting their boat-bound counterparts move farther and farther away.

More often than not, some of the stream’s best holes are within the first mile downstream from an access site.

An unwritten, but rigidly observed, rule states that no one who’s fishing from a boat will stop less than a mile from a stream access site or a lake boat ramp.

This rule does not apply to any angler wearing waders or wading shoes. Wait until evening when all of the canoeists are long gone and then cast those downstream honey holes to a froth.

Streams and fly rods are a match made in heaven even for novices. Anyone who can get 20 feet of fly line onto the water in more or less a straight line has all the casting skill he or she needs.

Terminal tackle can be equally minimal. A dozen woolly worms — expect to lose some to snags — a half-dozen poppers and a spare spool of 6- or 8-pound tippet material is all that’s required to catch a satisfying number of bass and goggle eyes.

Anglers who prefer light or ultralight spinning tackle can use flies and poppers by attaching a small float a couple of feet up the line to provide casting weight.

Plastic crank baits shaped like crayfish, grasshoppers and other natural prey items found in streams are excellent choices, and in-line or safety pin spinner baits are another.

Stick with small-sized baits for goggle eyes and the maximum number of bass. Use larger baits to tempt trophy smallmouths.