Scott25.stl

Lately I've been playing with Google Earth and this: http://www.missouricanoe.org/river-maps/beaver.html There's a drop-down for other rivers. Those two along with what everyone else said is a good place to start.

Nice report and looking forward to the pics. I'm anxious to try out the Gasconade as I've never been on it. Probably will have to wait until late summer or fall though.

Wow. Very interesting! Wasn't excpecting that.

Dang! Nice Al. That sounds like an awesome day!

Thanks for chiming in, Al. Man, that's kinda sad to hear. Still might hit the Big sometime though. Sounds like this guy did pretty well! http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/index.php?showtopic=33027&pid=231233&st=0&#entry231233

Sounds like I need to get a 115. Ha. Just another excuse to add to the collection! I know it probably doesn't matter much, but I have to pick one anyway and there are so many choices. But, what color do you guys like on the Missouri rivers? I have something like chartruese shad in the 100 and my 85 is ghost minnow.

No problem! And thanks to Al for figuring it out!

I agree. Quality control on a $15 lure needs to be much better. I'd have returned mine but I guess I got too lazy. Now I'm stuck trying to drill a hole in it to make it workable. That's some BS! Nonetheless I'm going to try it because I think the Sammy is that good. I might try that other one though... maybe. How does the 65 work in comparison the the 100 and 85?

I never tried a 115. I also have trouble getting the 85 to "walk" effectively. It seems to be caused by a less than efficient balancing of the bait. In this thread Al Agnew discusses modifying the Sammy 85 to make it easier to walk. You need to drill a hole, take out a rattle/weight, and fill in the bole with epoxy. I might need to try this out on mine. http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/index.php?showtopic=26856

Dang! Nice pics Joe! I was actually considering this stretch for a trip until I read a post from last year about the Big in this area being hit hard by mine tailings. http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/index.php?showtopic=30050. Know anything about that? I may have to reconsider and hit up the Big on the next outing. Even if the fishing hasn't come back yet, that scenery alone might be worth it.

While I haven't yet thrown top water on the Ozark rivers yet, on the lakes that I did, I generally switched over around 9ish depending on the bite. If I may be so bold to throw out another similar question. What time in the evening do you start throwing topwater again? For me it's generally been after sunset when it's dark, but I may start earlier next time.

Thanks guys! The clear water of the Huzzah is absolutely gorgeous! it was really fun to wade and see the structure and the fish. But I see how it can alter the game plan as far as presentations and effective lures. Not a fan of Bandits, huh Joe? They seem to have some good action kinda like the Wiggle Wart, which is also on the smaller side. What bigger crankbaits do you like? I definitely want to fish the Huzzah again, but I'm planning on wading another small stream or possibly canoeing the Gasconade for the next trip. I'm trying to hit some different water before I circle back and refish the rivers I've already been on. Though I've only been out twice, I'm pretty sure I'm officially addicted. Now I need to find more time to get on the water and, of course, catch some bigger fish!

No doubt! Entertaining for sure!

Hit the Huzzah a bit today down by the conservation area. It was a beautiful day for wading and the fishing was alright too. I started with the mindset of fishing cranks all day to get a little more practice working them in the current. I threw rebel craws in the small and medium sizes with not much success. The small one caught an 11 inched but that's it. I switched to a bandit 100 in chartruese shad and had some followers and one hit but no hook ups. I saw a hole with a downed tree over it that held several smallies so I switched to plastics to drift them through and work the area. They weren't digging my 4 inch senko at all so I pulled a small trailer craw trailer off a big jig and rigged that to a small jig head with a single weed less wire. This improv bait was the ticket for the area! I pulled out 12 smallmouth over an area about 100 yards long just letting it drift/drag along the bottom. Wish I had more craws or tubes with me. Nothing big but smallmouth nonetheless! I did SEE some larger fish, including two fairly good size largemouth in a slack water area, but thise guys had zero interest in what I was throwing. Not sure why. Maybe that area is too pressured? This was my first time wade fishing and second time out--first was in a canoe on the Meramec. Overall, I enjoyed wading and felt more like I was actually fishing versus piloting a canoe and flying by good fishing holes. I lost fewer baits to snags too--just one. I definitely did not cover very much water though since I was walking. I may look into a sit on top kayak to try and get the best of both worlds. I also saw two big black snakes and a really drunk elderly couple who were yelling at each other. Not sure which was worse: hammered old grumpy folks or the snakes! Good times overall though. Now I just need to catch something with some decent size. The little guys are fun but I'd like to get something picture worthy!

I think I will, Mitch!