My wife's brothers have moved to the Kansas City area, and I was wondering what kind of river fly fishing opportunities are available when we visit them this spring.
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My wife's brothers have moved to the Kansas City area, and I was wondering what kind of river fly fishing opportunities are available when we visit them this spring.
I could be totally wrong on this, but my guess is you'll have to drive 3+ hours into the Ozarks to find a river with trout.
oldfrat is pretty close. bennett spring state park is gonna be the nearest place to fish for trout and it is about 2 1/2 hours away. taneycomo near branson is about 3 hours away. if you're up for about a 5 hours drive, you can get to the white river in arkansas. there are plenty of great warmwater options in and around kansas city. if you have a float tube, canoe, kayak etc. bring it with you. depending on what time in the spring, you could hit the bluegill spawn. really one of my favorite times of the year to fish.
Bennett Spring State Park like Dpenrod said will be the closest. The spring arm from the park flows into the Niangua River while also holds trout.
Fishing inside the park is just that....park fishing. It's a pretty nice park. There is plenty lodging around, if you are in need of that.
To fish inside the park, you will need a MO fishing license and a Trout Tag from the state park. MO fishing licenses can now be bought online.
Fishing outside the park requires only a MO fishing license. If you intend on keeping any trout outside of the park, you will also need a MO Tout Permit. (Also available online.)
At times there are a lot of canoes on the Niangua. Of course, peak times being: holidays, weekends, warmer weather.
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.
Brian
Yes, there are the "trout parks" ... there are, in addition, scores of trout streams (some blue ribbon) within easy day tripping. The only times the "trout parks" are even tolerable is during the winter. IM me.
Lots of warm water access. They're not trouts, but, good fun.
Bedlam, if there is anyone to hook you up with the "trouts" HRH Betty is that person!! She is also the one to get you any aother type of fishing in that area also, she knows everyone in that area!
Hey, I drive 7.5 hours now to get to trout, so anything is an improvement over that. I do own two Hobie pedal kayaks, but have never really committed to fly fishing warm water. It may be time for me to learn. Thanks for the information everyone.
After reading all the replies I gather .....There Ain't No Trout in Kansas...... :)
Actually, there are at least three fly fishing clubs in Kansas and two of them are fairly close to Kansas City.
The Heart of America Fly Fishers in Shawnee Mission is really close, around 22 miles away http://hoaff.org/
The Free State Fly Fishers in Lawrence is only 38 miles away http://freestateflyfishers.org/
And a bit more of a drive is the Flatlanders Fly Fishers in Wichita, around 200 miles away http://www.flatlandflyfishers.org/
Check out their websites and contact them for additional information about any trout that may be in Kansas.
Larry ---sagefisher---
Fly fishing in spring means crappie and bluegills!
Warm water fly fishing in the KC area should be easily accomplished. The area abounds in man made lakes and I can only expect there is some stream fishing available.
Trout, I have to agree with Betty about the parks. Too many people and "them ain't trout". When we returned from Wyoming 9 years ago I chose Rolla because it is in the heart of Missouri's Blue Ribbon trout streams. PM me if you have any questions.