Femme Osage

Another day off meant I could try to get one stream closer to fishing all eight. I found that Femme Osage bordered the southern edge of a Conservation Area and had semi-simple access. A 1.5 mile hike down a farm road brought me right to the creek. It is becoming a regular feature on this quest to have to hike through some really thick brush. I had to again today and I was really surprised that I saw no snakes--I was in their territory for sure.

I think every fisherman always has preconceived ideas about what the new water will be like, look like, and fish like. Mine consisted of a small, floodplain stream that was maybe 25' across and basically structureless. I was wrong. I couldn't see the creek until I was almost in it, and my view then was of a large stream. It was large enough that I contemplated for a moment if I had taken a wrong turn and ended up at the nearby Missouri River. I don't know exactly what the limits of the term "creek" are, but I know this one stretches it to its upper limit. Compared to LaBarque and Kiefer, this creek is a monster. It'd be like comparing Rhode Island to Texas.

I fished it for a while doing the best I could with the tight quarters, even getting in some drifts up and across the current. True to form for this type of stream, I had no bites, no rises, and no fish--only lots of mud. Having fished it honestly, I began the trek back. On the way in, I hiked past the slough that it either feeds or once formed. It bears the same name and looked fishable, so I stopped there. I caught a few BG and lost a few of my favorite flies.

I'm now at 5 of 8--pretty good progress so far, I think. I'll take Thursday off from my chase for a more insane run at fishing with Chris (more later).