November 2025

 November:

Hybrid Striped Bass (a.k.a. "Wiper"):

Had a stellar day and caught 19 Wipers on fly.  Didn't measure any... but probably averaged around 19"-22" range... guesstimating 4-5.5 lbs?  Really fun!

White Crappie

Spotted Gar dried head... impressive chompers!

Bigmouth Buffalo

nice Common Carp ate the fly

White Crappie

White Bass

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) as seen in Saint Louis, MO.  This night, they were seen as far south as Texas and Florida!

Finished up fishing mid-month with Koi and Goldfish:

December 28, 2024

 After realizing I was close to achieving 500 Koi on fly (lifetime), I decided to get after them one more time this year.

It was tough, fish weren't particularly willing to collaborate with my efforts.  Many more anglers were about than I've ever seen at this location.  Made for a long afternoon... but once the other anglers left, the fishing seemed to pick up.  I ended up catching 9 Koi (exactly what I needed to reach 500), and 6 Goldfish.

Here's some of my favorites of the day:

This beauty was #500!  And it was one I don't believe I've caught before.

Koi above.... Goldfish below:

December 25, 2024

 Christmas Day.  We'd had our family get-togethers a little early, so not much else going on for me on a drizzly late December day.  Could have sought out some stocker trout somewhere in the St Louis metro area.  I've learned that Koi are also often willing to bite in the colder months, as long as there's no ice on the water... so I chose to try for some.  They fight well and can be very colorful, with sometimes interesting fin and scale patterns as well.

It started out very slow, with the water more stained than during my previous visit, and no fish visible at the start.  It picked up as the afternoon progressed.  I ended up landing 16 Koi and 3 Goldfish.  Below are some of them.

December 8, 2024

 Got out mid-afternoon for a couple hours before dark.  Flyfished for Koi.  Caught 12 Koi and 8 Goldfish.