I spent enough time at Roaring River State Park over last weekend I probably should’ve just camped.
Friday’s March 1 opening was one of the finest in recent memory. The weather was perfect, spirits were high and the fish were biting, well mostly.
With this being a leap year, we are finally back in the cycle where I am not facing an imminent deadline on the morning of March 1. Turning out 20+ photos and a story in only a few hours can be a challenge.
Instead, with no real time crunch pressing on me, I got to mosey around a little more than I have in the last few years.
Many of you annual Opening Day anglers may remember Murray Bishoff for his reporting on March 1.
There was no mistaking his calls from the gun to about 9 a.m., “Anyone from Barry or Lawrence counties?”
He certainly had a knack for finding the local folks, and their stories tend to sing cover versions of the same song, “It’s tradition.”
I spent many an Opening Day with Murray gathering photos and stories, then we’d typically meet at the Roaring River Restaurant for the breakfast buffet. My waistline has not missed that tradition going by the wayside.
Murray’s direct approach was effective at gathering stories and at implanting himself in the minds of Opening Day anglers. Many of them still ask me where he is or how he is doing.
I take a much more indirect approach, and I’ll tell you why.
A great journalist, in my opinion, is like a fly on the wall. We are present, we watch and listen, and we do our best to use fair, impartial and community minded judgement when choosing what to report and how to do it.
Opening Day stories don’t tend to rock the boat, but being that fly on the wall is my favorite.
After shooting the gunshot at 6:30 a.m. and talking to whomever received the honor that year, I always make a loop from the pavilion around bridge by the Hatchery and back up to the first bridge at the Park’s entrance.
In that time, I’m looking not only for people catching fish — there’s plenty of those — but people who stand out as groups, or young children who may be experiencing their first Opening Day.
Nothing to me is more fun on March 1 than capturing a big catch or even the emotion of any catch, then to inform the angler I’ll need their name if they don’t mind being in the paper.
I’ve also found if you just mosey around and chat with people, they will be more than eager to tell you their stories. That happened to me this year when I want to get the names of a father-son duo by the falls, intending to circle around and shoot their photo later.
As soon as I’d put away my notepad, I had to get it back out. I accidentally stumbled on four generations of fishermen at that spot, and the first Opening Day for the young one.
While they were not local, their story is quintessential Roaring River. Later, I ran into a few locals like the Seymours and Mike Phillips.
Fran Seymour said her husband isn’t much for fishing, so she dragged her son, Chris Seymour, out on Opening Day, sharing the time with her granddaughter Sharayah Seymour, as well.
Phillips was well up river in Zone 1 and on his own in the morning. His reason for wetting a line was like many of us in Barry County — simply to relax.
Weekend Opening Day festivities always put me in the mood to fish, and I had to wait until Sunday this time.
On Saturday, my wife and I wound up watching three more girls in addition to our two (age range 2-9 for all five).
I’m not quite sure what compelled us to take five girls fishing, but that’s what we did. I tied a lot of hooks, helped in the casting department and untangled more than a few lines. Jordan only had to pull our 2-year-old out of the river once — don’t worry, she was only ankle-deep — and though we didn’t catch anything, we did have a lot of fun.
After braving the quintet of kids, Sunday was my day. I got up at a reasonable 7:30 a.m. and was casting a line by 8 a.m. Turns out I had the wrong bait for the girls the day before. I went an hour with not so much as a nibble using Powerbait eggs, then I switched to an orange and white worm and caught my limit in about 30 minutes.
For my efforts, I was paid the highest honor at the cleaning station. A guy I was fishing next to said I “Came over there and showed them how it was done.”
As the only local person at the cleaning station at that time, and there were no open spots, I was proud to represent for us in Cassville.
Working in news, we cover lots of events but don’t always get to participate in them.
I did finally fish an Opening Day a few years back, but one of the many beauties of Roaring River is it’s always there, and any time is a good time to spend a couple hours on its banks.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and became Publisher in 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE in 2022. He may be reached at 417 847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
