new to Missouri

[markusleroy]

My Family and I are getting ready to return to the states and be stationed at Ft Leonard Wood. We all are looking forward to fishing. Any Info(bait, tackle, rods) on panfishing in the FLW area would be great. Thanks

[coyotewhacker]

Lots of float fishing on Niangua and Gasconade Rivers in that area. Your post rec officer can give you more details, but there is no shortage of good fishing water close to home. Like any place else, a boat is helpful, but not always necessary. The lakes you see us discussing on this forum, i.e., Bull Shoals, Table Rock, Stockton, Pomme de Terre, and Truman are not in your back yard, but are close enough for day trips or weekend forays. If you are arriving in October/November, try to schedule a trip around the Ozarks when the leaves are changing color....should be extra brilliant this year since we had a wet summer.
South of the fort is some of the best canoeing and kayaking water anywhere...Jack Forks, Current River, etc. Lots of outfitters can fix you up if you don't have your own equipment. Check in on this forum from time to time and stay current with most of the fishing opportunities all over the state, but especially in southwest Missouri/Northern Arkansas. Welcome to Missouri.
this report brought to you courtesy of The Coyotewhacker,
MSgt, USAF, Retired....(sorry...just had to do that)

[JimDog]

Couple of things. First of all, welcome aboard, Mark - and welcome to Missouri! And thanks for serving our country.

Secondly - thanks to coyotewhacker for a great reply. Contrast his reply with what we all know would have been the reply if he had asked on some other forum about where to duck hunt. Coyotewhacker is hereby designated the OutdoorMissouri.com Member of September.

[Tigerhaze]

Mark-

Welcome back home to the States.

I used to live in Rolla (about 20 miles from FLW), and I just got a new project there at the Post so I can speak a little about fishing there.

The suggestions CW had for you are good, but you actually will have fishing even closer. The Big Piney flows through the east potion of Fort Wood, and the Fort has a rec area right on the river which has panfish as native warm-water species. They also stock trout there on the Fort as well

Off the post, there is more trout fishing in Roubidoux Creek near Waynesville (just down the road). Any of the nearby rivers (Big Piney, Little Piney, Gasconade, Roubidoux Creek, Gasconade) and smaller creeks have decent panfishing, and you could probably find some people once you are there to get you access to some private farm ponds. I can provide more info if you need it.

[coyotewhacker]

Hey...glad somebody with hometown knowledge chimed in to take care of "one of our own". If Mark wants to head over this way some day, it might be possible to arrange a day trip out on one of our lakes here in SW Missouri. It's even better to walk out the back door and have the kids fishing ten minutes later.
Well, I'll just be hung out to dry....just looked up and saw the nice thing JimDog did....Thank You very much. I will try to uphold the high standards expected from such an honor. Or at least until I forget my manners. BTW, CW is not a duck hunter. Those who do that have my admiration and my total sympathy. My son in law is a hard core waterfowl hunter in western Nebraska and I have the frostbitten toes from goosehunting with him to show for it....no geese, just frostbitten toes. Besides, it takes hundreds of gees to equal one good deer.Good luck to all in both seasons this year.