Fishing Conditions

Roaring River State Park · USGS 07050152

🐟
Prime
Flow is currently 13% above the historical average for this time of year.
As of Aug 15, 2026 3:10 PM CDT
👑 Tim's Advice
Tim's latest report — posted Aug 11, 2026 at 61 cfs.
61 cfs
Water is clear and running at 68 CFS, providing excellent fishing conditions. A small amount of rain caused a slight rise but did not negatively affect water quality.
📢 Current special note: Fish oil eggs fished on size 16 or 18 hooks with little to no weight are particularly effective and fun; plastic worms can be sight-fished high in the water column due to low water levels. Live bait and micro jigs available at Sportsman's Corner, 5 miles north of the park.
🪝 Fly Rod
Dry flies
elk hair caddis, parachute adams, crackle backs, beetles, ants, small hoppers, stimulators
Nymphs
pheasant tail, gold ribbed hares ear, sow bug, scud
Streamers & buggers
black pine squirrel, leech, black woolly bugger, olive woolly bugger
Other patterns
san juan worms, chamois worms, mop flies, mega worms
Leader / tippet
9 foot leader with 7X or 6X tippet; use 7X for dry flies smaller than size 14; 2 pound line equivalent
🎣 Spin Rod
Lures
rooster tails (black, pink, frog green), gold spoon, copper spoon
Bait
PowerBait, natural fish oil eggs, lucky lady orange and white plastic worms, pink and yellow plastic worms, marabou jigs (ginger, black/yellow, green/yellow, white, dark olive green)
Line weight
2 pound line with a light rod recommended
See original report text

Water is clear running 68CFS this is fantastic water. We did get a little rain this week and it did come up just a little but it did not affect the quality of the water you still need to use 2 pound line or 7X or 6X tippet when a fishing dry flies that are smaller than a 14 I will use 7X and my leader will be 9 feet long. Good dry flies to use right now, are elk hair caddis, parachute adams, crackle backs, Beetles, ants, small hoppers, and stimulators have all been very effective this past week. Nymphing is always good when the water is like this, hard to beat a pheasant tail. Or in gold ribbed hairs ear, a sow bug or a scud is always a good choice, grey or light tan, San Juan worms, chamois worms, mop, flies, and mega worms have been very effective for the past week or so best colors are cream, orange, or light pink. I usually start every morning with a black pine squirrel, a leech, or a black woolly bugger, olive is also a good choice early in the morning. If you Are fishing, marabou jigs, they have been very effective very easy site fishing right now the best colors have been ginger, black/yellow, green/yellow, white, and dark olive green. Plastic baits are always effective power bait has the most sent, but is not always the most fun to fish the family fishing natural fish oil eggs have been a lot of fun last week or two fished with Little or no weight, fished on a very small number 16 or number 18 hook, throw these into the current and watch them tumble out fish will pick them up a lot of times and run off with them, it is a fun way to fish, but you need to use 2 pound line and a light rod to get the most fun out of this. You can do the same thing with plastic worms the luckylady, orange and white plastic worms have been really good pink and yellow has also been very effective, again fish with little or no weight, as the water is pretty low a lot of times you can fish these higher up in the water column and watch the fish eat them. Sometimes you will bounce them a little bit like a jig or sometimes just drift them. The fish are a little different every day. Spinners and spoons are still good early in the morning black has been a good color on rooster tails, but pink has been catching a few also, and I also had a few people catching them on the frog green rooster tails.my favorite spoon is gold or copper colored for me. They seem to work best. If you are needing live bait, you will need to drive 5 miles north of Roaring River State Park to Sportsman's corner. They carry an assortment of live bait, Crappie, bass and trout items. They are your only place to buy stuff when I'm closed up and they carry my micro jigs. And they do tie a lot of their own flies so if you need something custom tied and I'm closed, they're probably your only hope.

Discharge
50
cfs
Fishable below 150 cfs
Gage Height
0.41
feet
Fishable below 1.8 ft
Trend
↓ Falling
-1 cfs since last reading
Historical Average Today
45
cfs typical
0.58 ft typical gage
River Context
Days since last flood
54
Last time gage exceeded 2.5 ft
Days below 150 cfs
48
Consecutive fishable days
vs. Historical average
+13%
Compared to 45 cfs historical avg
Water clarity estimate
Good
Based on days since last flood
7-Day Historical Outlook
Historical average discharge for this time of year, based on 8 years of data. Not a forecast — shows what's typical, not what's predicted.
Today
Aug 15
45
0.58 ft
Fishable
Tomorrow
Aug 16
40
0.57 ft
Fishable
Mon
Aug 17
39
0.57 ft
Fishable
Tue
Aug 18
38
0.57 ft
Fishable
Wed
Aug 19
37
0.56 ft
Fishable
Thu
Aug 20
37
0.56 ft
Fishable
Fri
Aug 21
36
0.56 ft
Fishable
Fishing Technique & Tackle Guide
Based on weekly reports from Tim Homesley at Tim's Fly Shop (Hwy 112, Cassville). The currently active tier is highlighted. Current discharge is 50 cfs.
🐟 Prime Conditions Under 80 cfs · under 1.0 ft
🪝 Fly Rod
  • Dry flies — blue wing olives, caddis, tricos (morning), beetles, ants, Adams, stimulators, cracklebacks
  • Leaders: 9’ 7X for dries, 9’ 6X for nymphs
  • Nymphs — pheasant tails, burlaps (caddis larva), scuds (gray), copper Johns, black & gray zebra midges, sow bugs
  • Streamers — black, olive, and brown woolly buggers; use 5X–4X tippet on bigger flies
  • Other patterns — San Juan worms (orange, pink, yellow), glo balls (apricot, orange), chamois worms, mop flies, cracklebacks
  • Sight fishing is excellent — spot fish and present to them directly
  • Small jigs (1/32–1/16 oz) under an indicator work all day; black/yellow, white, olive, tan, gray
🎣 Spin Rod
  • Line: 2 lb is critical at these flows — fish can see everything
  • PowerBait grubs — yellow, pink, white, orange; 1-inch size
  • Salmon eggs — white, orange, pink; drift under a small bobber
  • Rooster tail spinners — black, pink, white, brown; best early morning, most stop working by 8–9 AM
  • Marabou jigs — fish small ones under indicator all day; heavier ones slow and deep at midday
  • Zone 3: white PowerBait paste, small crankbaits, Rebel crawfish
Tim says at ~33–62 CFS: “Clear and running well — great dry fly fishing. Tricos in the morning, caddis around 10:30 AM, BWOs after 1 PM. 7X leaders for dries, 6X for nymphs. Spinners are good for a bit in the morning but most stop using them by 8–9 AM.”
🎣 Good Conditions 80–150 cfs · 1.0–1.8 ft
🪝 Fly Rod
  • Dry fly fishing is good but gets sketchy above 100 CFS — target slower water and seams
  • Nymphs excel — pheasant tails, copper Johns, burlaps, scuds, zebra midges, sow bugs
  • Streamers — black, olive, brown woolly buggers working very well; lots of people throwing streamers with good results
  • Leaders: 6X for nymphs and small buggers, 7X for dries, 5X–4X for bigger streamers
  • Glo balls, San Juan worms, mop flies, and thread jigs all working
🎣 Spin Rod
  • Line: 4 lb works; switch to 2 lb when river drops below ~75 CFS
  • PowerBait grubs — yellow, pink, orange; still highly effective
  • Salmon eggs — white, orange, pink; good all day
  • Spinners — rooster tails productive, especially mornings
  • Marabou jigs — black/yellow, white, olive, tan; small ones under indicator, heavier ones fished slow and deep
  • Small crankbaits, rebel crawfish also effective in Zone 3
Tim says at 77–105 CFS: “Good water flow. Dry fly fishing has been great, nymphing very good. When the water gets down to about 75 CFS or below, it’s usually time to switch back to 2-pound line. Clearing happens a lot quicker when the river gets below 100 CFS.”
⚠ High — Fishable with Adjustments 150–300 cfs · 1.8–2.5 ft
🪝 Fly Rod
  • Dry fly fishing is difficult — limit to slower sections; some caddis and BWO hatches still producing
  • Big, heavy nymphs — mop flies, mega worms, chamois worms; extra weight needed
  • Woolly buggers — black, olive, brown; fish them slow and deep
  • Leaders: bump up to 5X; even 4X on buggers in murky water
  • Fish the slower seams, behind rocks, and along banks where current breaks
🎣 Spin Rod
  • Line: 4 lb fine; 10 lb if using heavy sinkers
  • PowerBait is the top producer — yellow, pink, fluorescent yellow, orange; key is getting it to the bottom
  • Weight: 1/4 to 1/2 oz sliding egg sinker or worm sinker to hold bottom
  • Spoons — sink fast, lots of flash; very effective in high water, mimic wounded minnow
  • Spinners — add extra weight, fish very slowly
  • Zone 1 is better than Zones 2–3 when extra flow is entering from Dry Hollow Creek
Tim says at 111–152 CFS: “Murky but catching fish. Lots of quality fish caught this week — 7, 8, and a 10-pound trout. Good flies are mop flies, mega worms, chamois worms. Fish can be caught right now — healthy trout go to the bottom where flow is lighter and wait for high water to subside.”
🚫 Very High — Very Difficult Above 300 cfs · above 2.5 ft
🪝 Fly Rod
  • Dry fly fishing essentially impossible
  • If determined to fly fish, use a full sinking line with heavy streamers or mop flies
  • Target absolute slack water behind large boulders or in deep eddies
  • Conditions improve quickly once rain stops — Tim says nymphing becomes viable again soon after
🎣 Spin Rod
  • PowerBait is your best option — pink and yellow most visible in dirty water
  • Heavy sinker required — 1/2 oz or more; 10 lb line recommended
  • Spoons — heavy, fast-sinking; best option after PowerBait
  • Fish only the very slowest water available; most of river is too fast to hold fish effectively
Tim says at 682+ CFS: “Fly fishing was good all week [before the rise]. With the CFS above 100, the dry fly fishing is a bit sketchy. PowerBait will be the best thing to use, especially if the water gets up and murky. When the water is murky, pink or yellow PowerBaits seem to be best.” Tim recommends waiting for conditions to improve before making the trip.
How conditions are determined
Prime
Discharge ≤ 80 cfs and gage ≤ 1.0 ft — low, clear, full technique options
Good
Discharge ≤ 150 cfs and gage ≤ 1.8 ft — excellent fishing, most techniques work
High — Fishable
Discharge ≤ 300 cfs and gage ≤ 2.5 ft — murky, requires heavier gear and PowerBait
Unfishable
Discharge > 300 cfs or gage > 2.5 ft — Tim recommends waiting it out
Rising Fast
Gage height increased more than 0.05 ft since the last reading — conditions deteriorating
Live data: USGS Water Data · Tackle advice: Tim Homesley, Tim's Fly Shop (Hwy 112, Cassville) · Historical averages: local database 2018–present