Enough Already!

[tomb]

I would camp at Greer, where hwy 19 crosses the river. Wading will be a challenge and might not be doable. That is the blue ribbon trout area though. If it is too high, you could probably go up river to Thomasville and wade fish for smallmouth or go to McCormick lake or falling spring lake to fish smallmouth and pickerel. They are both close to Greer and you can camp at McCormick if you want.

[kslr10]

Thanks for the info. We will be targeting smallmouth, so we might go with the cane bluff area. And as for the camping i like the idea of the gravel bars. I'm not really into the whole camp ground areas. And the better the fishing, well the better everything is.

[Brian Sloss]

there are not going to be a heck of a lot gravel bars exposed right now. Also, there won't be a lot of other campers, if any. Cane Bluff has taken some damage, you'll want a truck to deal with some ruts in the road.

[Mark]

How are the gravel roads into Turner's North and South, Whitten, and McDowell? I see the Bardley gauge is down to about 7 ft today (Monday). That's a good sign. Our trip is in 2 weeks and we were having our doubts. I feel a little more optimistic today. Hopefully no more gulley washers for a while.

[Brian Sloss]

If you are going in a couple of weeks, then they may well fix the roads by then. Turner south has been damaged for sure. The rest are fine though I have not been to McDowell access or Turner north since the floods.

[2sheds]

Orbearider

Jacks Fork is another great smallmouth bass & float stream, but please be advised that it will rise in a rain faster than Current or Eleven Point. River gauge says its down to 4 feet, but this gauge normally reads 18-24 INCHES !!! So this is still pretty high. Contact ONSR Ranger Station http://www.nps.gov/ozar/ to see what they advise.

Closer to Lebanon, I assume you know about Bennett Springs SP and the Niangua River float options.

I think the Eleven Point River is one of the best secrets in the Ozarks. I block my calendar to spend a week out on the river every summer and am never disappointed. I concur with others that Greer Landing (SH19) is the easiest drive-to campsite for wade trout fishing. Other possibilities that should be a safe drive/visit in high water are Riverton (SH160) - at the border of trout-smallmouth waters and The Narrows (SH142) - warmer and smallmouth/walleye territory. However, even in low water (< 2 feet), this river REALLY MOVES, making it a very challenging wade unless you've got a boat to position yourself into the right spot.

Finally, if you're coming to the Eleven Point for the 1st time and want the best chance of tying into some fish, I recommend you seriously consider a guided experience from Brian or one of his team - a good safe way to learn where/how to fish the river that will continue to pay dividends every time you come back ! And if they don't think its safe to be on the river themselves, we flatlanders have no business being out there either.

Be Safe & Have Fun,

TwoSheds from Dallas

[Orbearider]

2sheds

I had heard of Jack's Fork being notorious for flash flooding. I also noticed the gage showed it to come up and go down quickly. All of which have concerned me. I probably will not float this trip I'll just have to come up with something else.

I had heard of Bennett Springs SP but I've also heard of the crowds. I'd rather camp some place more remote and not have as good of fishing if it comes down to it. But I'm not familiar at all with the Niangua, other than that it's there and above Bennett Springs is supposedly better for smallmouths. Is there any place to camp around there other than the state park? I'm look for more remote if possible.

I have heard also that the Eleven Point is hard to wade, that's how I got on to the idea of floating. I am thinking if I camp at Greer I'll try going up river like Brian suggested, thought maybe it is easier to wade, although private property might be a problem. I would love to hire Brian for a guided trip but unfortunately it's not in my budget this trip. So this trip may be more of an exploratory trip and learning the area, which is ok as long as I can get away from the bustle.

Thanks for the info.

[Guest]

deleted

[Don]

Well...a half a dozen of us good ole boys have cancelled our annual Cinco de Mayo trip to the Little Red because tailwater generation is you-know-what for awhile . Anyhow, our options now are rivers with precipitation controlled levels. I've never floated Eleven Point but I'm dying to go, water level permitting. I'm looking forward to my first trip the first weekend in May. Pray that a good report follows this post.

Best Wishes.....Don May

[Brian Sloss]

Don,

Barring any more bad rains, the first weekend of May should be fine.

Brian Sloss