BIG BIG NEWS!
Now Also Guiding on Private Trout Waters!!
See below for more details
New Feature!
I now have an email mailing list of people who want to be kept up to date
on river conditions and fishing success. The people on this list have requested
this information, so they know the best time to schedule their next trip. If you'd
like to receive these emails, all you have to do is ask!
My name is Walt Fulps, and I am the developer and host of Missouri Trout Hunter. This website is more than a means for sharing my passion for trout with the public. It's a means of demonstrating to you that, when it comes to trout fishing, I know what I'm talking about. The secondary purpose is to draw you to this page in hopes that you'll choose me to guide your next trout fishing trip or to teach you how to fly fish.
I taught myself to trout fish on the Roubidoux Creek during the summer of my 9th year, and I got pretty good at hooking them on corn, floating bait, and rooster tails. That winter "The Quiet Man" was playing on TV one cold wet Sunday afternoon, and since we only had three channels (and no video games), I watched it. John Wayne was in it -- how bad could it be? In the movie, Maureen O'Hara seeks the counsel of the town priest while he's trying to hook a big salmon on a fly -- he hooks and loses it, thanks to O'Hara distracting him. Motivated by that scene, I began lugging my new 8-foot fiberglass fly rod down to the creek every chance I got, mercilessly beating the water with my plastic fly fine until I finally caught my first trout on a fly completely by accident. My wife would say it was the worst thing that could've happened to me. Now, 30+ years and a few thousand fish later, I am still wishing I were a better trout fishermen, and I continue to work hard to become so.
Over the years I have caught trout in every public trout water in Missouri, as well as a few super-secret privately owned trout streams. I've also had the pleasure of fishing with some great gentlemen on some storied western rivers as well, and the fish and fishermen taught me great lessons. I have guided clients on a number of different rivers in Missouri, depending on where I was living at the time, and I currently offer guide trips on two area waters.
OPTION #1: The Meramec River red ribbon trout area is perhaps the most challenging larger trout stream in Missouri, because it changes every year due to annual flooding. In addition, the MDC only stocks it with brown trout once annually, with hatchery rainbows finding their way into the river from Maramec Spring Park and wild rainbows migrating into the river from one of several spring-fed feeder creeks that support wild stream-bred trout. If you can consistently catch trout on the Meramec, then you can catch them on any trout stream in the world. Clients catch fish averaging 13-14 inches with 10% of hooked trout measuring in the 18+ inch catagory. I'll teach you how to problem-solve this river, as well as any other river you'll be likely to encounter.
OPTION #2: New this year (2009), I've been given permission to guide clients on one of those super-secret privately owned trout streams I mentioned above. This little creek is an absolute blast to fish. It's wild and overgrown, and we'll have the whole place to ourselves. There are stream-bred rainbows present as well as stocked trout, and the aquatic insect population is amazing, meaning these trout grow very quickly. While the creek doesn't look big enough to support much more than sunfish, we routinely catch fish in the 18+ inch catagory. The techniques I'll teach you on this trip are easily transferrable to any of Missouri's public wild trout creeks, like Blue Springs, Crane Creek and the like. NOTE: This trip is more expensive due to an access fee paid to the landowner + the additional expense associated with being a longer drive.
Interested? If you have any additional questions or you'd like to schedule a trip, click below to email me or pick up the phone & call. If you'd like to schedule a date to go fishing, please keep in mind that certain days will have higher demand that others: Memorial Day will book more quickly than, say, the Tuesday after Christmas, for example. And if you can aim for a weekday rather than a weekend, we'll have less competition from other fishermen and floaters. I don't require a deposit to pencil your name in. Just your word that you'll give me plenty of notice if you have to cancel or reschedule.
Thank for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!
(573) 426-3300 (Ozark Taxidermy shop phone)
OR
(573) 578-2222 (Trout Hunter Mobile Phone)
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