For the 11th year, this week I set the earliest alarm of my life.
I got up at 5 a.m. on March 1, 2014, to attend my first Opening Day at Roaring River State Park. Outside of overcoming my sleepiness, as I was not much of a morning person in those days, I was excited to cover an event I was told was a local tradition, something you can’t miss if you want to know anything about Barry County.
It wasn’t long before people jovially started in on me as to why I had a camera and notepad in my hand instead of a fishing rod — after all, my last name is “Troutman.”
Truth be told, I wasn’t much of a fisherman at prior to moving to Cassville. More of my fishing time with my friends was spent raising a beverage than raising a catch from the water.
Roaring River, as it does for so many every year, changed all that. Prior to that March 1, 2014, I had only been in the park itself on two occasions, once when I was introduced to the area by our former publisher, and again in the week preceding Opening Day to take our annual photo of the park, hatchery and concessionaire staff.
Eleven years later, I’ve learned it is more common to find someone casting a line at Roaring River who will honestly tell you, “My grandad and his dad before him always fished this exact hole with this exact bait,” than it is to find someone who is visiting the park for the first time.
Yet, I was the greenhorn back then, and, I was 100 percent bitten by the trout bug. As I said, Having rarely fished before, I found myself in Tim’s Fly Shop looking at more kinds of bait than I knew existed, with not a single clue what to get.
It took me even longer to learn how to properly tie a hook, and after about a dozen trips to the park, it took me until 2015 to learn my 8-pound line was never going to catch much other than sticks.
Through 2016 and 2017, I learned a few more techniques and developed a system. I would go every few weeks and for 4-6 hours at a time, but I was still losing more fish than I actually caught.
You would think with my name, I would be some sort of whisperer, but the only whispering happening was the fish murmuring to one another to avoid my line.
As all new anglers learn, persistence and patience eventually pay off, and on March 24, 2018, I caught my first limit. That was a six-fish day for me, as many as I had caught in all of 2017.
That summer, I dug in and made the most of enjoying my new success. I think I caught my limit every weekend for two months. I ate so much trout I actually got tired of it and put a dozen in the freezer.
That led to a true Troutman Thanksgiving that year. Next to the turkey and ham was a serving plate of smoked trout, and man, was I proud of it.
Those days seem so behind me on so many ways now. Fishing is a much different experience with my 8-year-old, but I enjoy the role of minute-by-minute rod-and-reel technician all the same.
I have passed many of my fishing methods, which are still only mediocre, to any and all of my family who come and visit or anyone who asks me what I do to catch fish at Roaring River. In coming years, I hope my daughters take a more vested interest in the activity, though if they’d rather climb the tree by the falls and feed the fish rather than catch them, I am perfectly happy with that, too.
As I prepare to set my alarm again this Friday for yet another Opening Day, I am reminiscing about Roaring River’s effect on me over the years and how much I have grown to love the gem of Barry County.
I’m at the point now that I recognize many anglers practicing their March 1 traditions, year by year, in their same fishing holes, sometimes with dad and sometimes having just become one.
I’m excited to see all those smiling faces again and to meet some new ones. Happy fishing to all, and good luck out there!
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.
