Rick Flint

Rick Flint has been fishing ever since he could tie a knot. He started out running creek banks with a cane pole and later developed a lifelong passion for crappie fishing, outdoor education, and helping others learn to enjoy the outdoors. Rick began his professional career as a teacher, including time at Penney High School in Hamilton, Missouri, where he helped develop an outdoor education class that is still taught today. After three years of teaching school, he was hired by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1970 as a Hunter Education Specialist, a role that soon developed into Outdoor Skills Specialist. As an Outdoor Skills Specialist, Rick was trained in a wide range of outdoor skills and spent his career teaching others. While stationed in southwest Missouri, he developed a fishing program for the Ritter Springs Handicapped Day Camp and created shooting sports programs for disabled participants. He also gave presentations across the country for Federal Aid programs and other state agencies. Rick’s fishing path continued to grow throughout his conservation career. On his days off, he went fishing. He was introduced to ultralight fishing by Joe Hall, owner of Road Runner brand lures, and because crappie fishing paired naturally with ultralight techniques, Rick began specializing heavily in crappie. Over the years, Rick has given numerous crappie seminars across the region. He was a presenter at the first Bass Pro Shops World Fishing Fair and also presented through Bass Pro Shops’ Fishing University. He later served on the Bass Pro Shops Crappie Pro Staff, doing programs with them for several years. His seminars covered not only crappie techniques, but also the science behind crappie habitat, spawning habits, and fish behavior. Rick primarily fishes Stockton Lake, Pomme de Terre, Truman Lake, Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock, and many watershed lakes in north Missouri. He has fished Stockton Lake for more than four decades and considers it one of his favorite lakes. Before MDC and the Corps began adding structure on a larger scale, Rick put in a lot of his own structure and developed a deep understanding of how crappie relate to cover. His favorite techniques include pitch-and-drift fishing over structure and vertical fishing tight to brush. He has watched fishing technology evolve from paper graphs, circle-style sonar units, early Lowrance color fish locators, and triangulation for finding structure, all the way to GPS, side imaging, and LiveScope. While Rick works hard to understand new technology, he still believes the angler has to make the right decisions and catch the fish. Rick also has tournament experience. During the early years of the Crappie Masters circuit, he and his partner qualified for the national championships five times. They competed in one championship at Grenada Lake, Mississippi, finishing around the middle of a field of more than 200 competitors. Rick also fished local tournaments and placed or won in a high percentage of them, but eventually stepped back from tournament fishing because he enjoyed teaching newcomers and catching fish without the pressure of competition. In addition to seminars and tournaments, Rick has written numerous crappie fishing articles and appeared on many episodes of the Don Berry Fishing Radio Show out of Springfield, where he was given the nickname “Crappie Guru.” He also started and field-tested the first Missouri Anglers Program for schools through the Missouri Department of Conservation, using Lawrence County as the test county. Rick has spent a lifetime studying crappie and still tries to learn something every time he goes fishing. He enjoys seeing former “students” keep pace, practice what they were taught, and grow as anglers. He still fishes regularly, often multiple times per week, and gives fish to older folks and others who are not able to get out themselves. Rick is not a full-time guide, but he still enjoys taking people fishing, teaching new techniques, and helping anglers understand what is happening on the water. His background in education, conservation, seminars, tournament fishing, and decades of practical crappie experience make him one of the most experienced crappie voices in Missouri. Rick has also worked with or represented several fishing companies over the years, including TTI Blakemore Fishing Group as a VIP, G. Loomis as an Elite VIP, Bass Pro Shops’ Crappie Pro Staff, and Road Runner-related ultralight and crappie fishing programs. As a Missouri Fishing Intel contributor, Rick brings unmatched historical perspective, outdoor education experience, and crappie knowledge rooted in a lifetime of teaching, fishing, studying habitat, and helping others enjoy the outdoors. Rick can be reached by email at rcflint@hotmail.com.