Gene K

Parker Ford is 37.43778 -91.62361 And for anyone who wants to figure coordinates out on there own, just pick whatever spot on the map you want the GPS coordinates for, open Google Earth and locate that spot, mouse-over the exact location and make note of the longitude and latitude coordinates. Then convert those coordinates to GPS decimals. If you don't know how to convert, just google longitude latitude gps conversion and you will find all sorts of little web utilities that will do it for you. Ideally, we should all pitch in with some kmz files and mark everything on the river and post here on the forum. Lots of neat things you can do with GEarth...

Are you referring to Merritt Rock cave (see map)? If so, here's a pretty close estimate: 37.31889 -91.47222 Copy and paste it into GoogleEarth or maps.google.com.

It appears that Ted Nugent has purchased something like 1800 acres near the mid Current. He has been seen at Wally World in Salem, driving his zebra striped Hummer. Word is that he is constructing a game preserve of some sort.

I used to love Gazetteer's, but that was long before things like Google Earth. A Gazetteer shows very little in the way of access points on the upper Current. It's almost worthless for planning purposes, especially when compared to Google Earth. The Parker access road is only 6/10 mile east on YY from the Baptist Access road.

Baptist is the upper most location to put in at IF using a commercial float trip outfitter for canoes. If you have your own canoes/yaks, then yes, putting in at Tan Vat would be worth while for sure. Taking out point is highly dependent on how much time you spend fishing given locations. And, IMO, would also depend on the time of the week you would be there. IOW, if you were to be there during the weekend (in the summer), you might want to spend more time within the Tan Vat - Baptist stretch, as general float trippers don't use that stretch. While some general float trippers put in at Baptist, more opt for Cedar. So, the aluminum hatch is far less from Tan Vat to Cedar. If going mid week, then it just depends on how much time you want to spend within the blue ribbon section.

Morel's are out down there. Send them to the woods with a bag! (if you are talking about this weekend)

Depends on what their ages are and what they like. Aside from fishing, floating the Current is an obvious one. Maybe hiking, as there are trails all over the ONSR. A visit to Bo's Hollow is worth while. I would say horse riding, but the stable nearby encountered some health problems with many of their horses. So, they are in limbo for the time being. Oh, you might also check the Salem website. They have a tourism link, and also an events calander that you can look at.

Just as Sam said, the water is high and swift. I passed on fishing this morning, but there were a few that were out in canoes and yaks on the upper Current. Color wasn't too bad. I went down to the park for lunch, and didn't see a single person wading the bait area. Didn't stop to examine it to see if wading was even feasable, but it didn't look that bad. At Cedar last night, the water was still over the low-water bridge.

Ditto, what level will flood the hatcheries? The level is 9.62 right now, still raining and looks like it won't stop for a while. Just drove from Springfield to StL, and the rivers were a sight. All sorts of road closures on the MODOT page, and the Fox 2 virtual rain gauge shows that one of the hardest hit areas is around Salem, currently near 7 inches of rain having fell. Guess the upper Current gets stocked with Bows this year... Edit: Gauge now at 9.84 just a few minutes later.

Talk about a day! That rocks...

Very nice! That's one big girl. Glad you took your time reviving her. No photos?

I heard a storm just rolled through the Licking area. Just keep an eye on the water level by going here: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?07064440

You might need a new watch there Brian! 7.9 miles, and for a human walking average speed (on firm and level ground) it would take just short of three hours. Now, toss in a stream to wade ... oh, and a tad bit of fishing along the way. And if you get into all those 10 inchers, you're going to be a bit late getting to Cedar Grove.

If you mean going 68>19>K>E>YY, yes - no problem. If at night, watch for critters on YY. Once YY turns to gravel (near Baptist) there is s bit of wash boarding as you start down the hill. After Tan Vat there are always some pot holes (but it's usually graded about this time of year), but everything can easily be avoided.

Going 68>19>K>E>YY shaves off at least 20 minutes. However, there's always a slight possibility of slow moving traffic on 68. Slow traffic that could be too many cars long to pass.

I like the idea, quite a bit. Good thinking! Heck, I'd be in favor of a more permanent type tag that people would have to display in the blue ribbon area (and Montauk CR season). Say a pin-on type placcard that replaces a trout stamp, maybe 2"X3" displaying only the permit ID #.

Night fishing is definatly on my list of musts for this year, but it's not something I would do solo. Snake haven down there, and it's hard to ID them at night. Heck, I used to not be able to tell one from another in the day time - unless they rattle. And I did happen across my first rattler last summer while clearing some rocks. Almost peed my pants. Had to spend some time learning what is what. See Copperheads routinely up away from the river, and see many Northern Watersnakes, which can fool many people.

Everything is relative, but in my humble opinion, yes - the newer cabins are most definitely worth the money. I guess it depends on what you are after, but if you want some real nice accommodations, and a bit of evening relaxation luxury, then try to get one of the new units with a hot tub. There is absolutely no comparison of them to the lodge units. None whatsoever, and that's not subjective, withstanding price.

I'm going down, but I will be arriving about the time you are coming back home. Thanks for the invite though!

Tan Vat to Baptist is 1.2 miles Tan Vat to Parker is 7.4 miles Baptist to Parker is 5.4 miles Baptist to Cedar is 7.9 miles Baptist to Akers is 14.6 miles Pick your "short float just for a day." Yea, I have the fever too. In fact, that fever kept me in bed last week end instead of fishing. Hopefully this weekend will be different!

Who's going? I'll proabably be down Friday and Saturday. Anyone interested in an after-fishing get together for a few bevereges?

I wonder... - whether or not he ran for cover when the whistle went off. - how many he had on a stringer when you or someone else saw him later. I mean how can you go to a state park to fish and not even check to see what the rules are. All the time I see locals bait fishing in the blue ribbon area, but they aren't being ignorant. They know full well what they are doing is against the law and just chance it. This guy is either more bravado (not likely) or just ignorant.

Interesting stuff. The first two browns I ever caught on the Current were on Streamers. Haven't used one on the river in two years.

Winter season typically ends the second Monday of February. I'm down there almost every weekend, although I don't always fish. I'd love to meet up with some of you if you get a weekend setup.

I have been down the last two weekends, and everything I have caught has been on 20 and smaller. Half dry and half wet. Largest was a 4# on a 22. However, I watched one guy tromp into a riffle I was fishing (I had stepped back to the shore to tie on a new leader) and he hammered at least 8 in a row, literally, on some sort of streamer. I was a bit too PO'd to go make conversation with the guy and find out what it was. Oh, and my son caught his very first trout on a fly rod (Xmas gift), and it was on a dry fly!