Crane Creek Missouri

[darrelln09]

Crane Creek is a Missouri Blue Ribbon Trout Stream that runs through the small town of Crane in Southwestern Missouri. The narrow, gravel-bottomed, spring-fed creek is home to the McCloud Redband subspecies of the Rainbow Trout. During the prime fishing months, the spring is augmented by the runoff from even smaller creeks that drain the rolling hills and valleys surrounding it. During those months, I almost exclusively use the Euro Nymphing technique and usually manage to catch a few in the faster, deeper pools. It's quite a peaceful and enjoyable place to fish if you love the rugged outdoors and the challenge to outmaneuver some really wary stream-born trout.

However, during the late summer (and this year, well into fall) the lack of rainfall slows down the flow to a point where Euro Nymphing is not very practical. In addition, the substructure of the Ozarks is quite porous so there are even sections of the stream that go completely dry, only to reappear later downstream. It's pretty crazy but the real question is ... so what's a Euro Nympher to do about it?

And the answer is ... Dry Flies! I caught the beauty below, and a few others, yesterday on a Purple Haze. A Royal Coachman was also very effective. A few weeks ago, an Egg-Laying Caddis and a tan BWO Mayfly were also good. Every riffle with the slightest of chop to it seems to be holding fish. Some are small and some are even smaller but I get great satisfaction out of every strike on my dry flies.



And now after 2 inches of rain today and much more on the way this week, we should be able to get back to Euro Nymphing.

[turfdawg]

I’m sure hoping to make a trip before long.

[jonbo]

So, Darrell, you get to fish CC every few weeks? How do I hate you? Let me count the ways. 1) You get to fish CC all the time... Well, that's it. Nice fish, man!

[darrelln09]

Oct 27, 2020 10:53:25 GMT -6 turfdawg said:

I’m sure hoping to make a trip before long.

With all the rain this week, the flow of the creek will definitely pick up and Euro Nymphing should be the way to go. Right after a heavy rain, the flow can actually be too much but with how dry it's been the stream should settle down in a week or two. Good luck on your trip!

[darrelln09]

Oct 27, 2020 15:51:44 GMT -6 jonbo said:

So, Darrell, you get to fish CC every few weeks? How do I hate you? Let me count the ways. 1) You get to fish CC all the time... Well, that's it. Nice fish, man!

Ha! Thanks jonbo. I fish Crane Creek because it's an hour closer to me than Beavers Bend and there are no crowds. I rarely see more that two or three fisherman even on a Saturday. Catching stream-born fish can be frustrating sometimes but they are definitely not impossible to catch since I can do it. Finding out that they would take dry flies in the late summer was quite a discovery for me this year. I really enjoy fishing dries! With the recent rains, Euro Nymphing should pick back up again and I enjoy that technique almost as much. You really need to make a trip up sometime. It's barely an hour's drive from Branson so that's a good place for the non-fishermen in your group to hang out.

[jonbo]

Sweet, man!