Ham

I live local so I have not had a lot of personal experience with staying at the resorts. I have a friend at work who is the sister of the lady that owns Stetsons. It would be my choice on the upper River. I know Gary and Paula Flippin at Rim Shoals a little bit. I know several ppl that have stayed with them multiple times. They have some nice accommodations and will help you any way they can. They have boats for rent. They would be my choice mid River. the OA group has stayed at Rikey's Station. They have boats for rent and are good people. The cabin the group stayed in was very nice. Certainly nice enough for me. I would recommend them as well. I've posted a lot of fishing trip reports. If you can catch fish at Taneycomo, you can catch them on the White. You will have flowing water. I jig fish and I struggle in >15000 CFS flows. I have to find reduced flow ares and concentrate my efforts there. By struggle ! I mean 5 fish an hour of fishing instead of 10-20 fish an hour. Better shot at pigs though. I've been seeing some beasts.

That's awesome man. I'm super jealous.

Good for you man! I love that section of river. It is tough fishing when the water gets muddied up by The Buffalo River, but it isn't really hit as hard as some other sections. I'm not sure that is still an official catch and release area. I haven't fished all the way to Calico, but I've fished to within a mile or two of it. It's good fishing.

Lordy Phil! I've gotten dyslexic in my old age. AO it is.

My beloved wife bought me a Jackson Coosa for my birthday. I am enjoying the new boat, but I had been in a Tarpon 120 so long that I had all my gear all organized and I'm having to work that out with the new boat. The small cooler I liked for my Tarpon would not fit with my preferred tackle bag on the Coosa. Well, the smaller cooler had a progressive handle failure. It still keeps things cool, but is a pain being sans handle at this point. So, I needed a new cooler and was looking for cooler I could use with my tackle bag behind me on the Coosa. i researched soft side coolers online an opted to try an AO cooler that I bought through Amazon. It was low $40's range. The size I got is meant to carry 12 cans and 5-7 lbs of ice. It has a lot more insulation than Normal soft side coolers. When tested side by side, it is said to perform as well as the Yeti Hopper. At this point, I have used mine four times. Not all the days have been Sahara like, but it seems to hold ice for 24 hours. It would likely not last for a multiday trip too well, but it does great for a day trip. Some bulkier items won't work with it, but it holds 20 oz plastic bottles just fine. It fits next to my tackle bag and clips on easily. The zippered top means ZERO chance of lost drinks in a roll over. it does not leak and it has a minimal amount of exterior sweating. Ie : it would be fine in a car for a road trip. I'm happy with my purchase and I would recommend it if you are looking for a soft side cooler. It is also offered in a 24 and 48 can size.

It will fall faster as the level drops right. At a higher level, it is a bigger bowl. I trust that the experts know more about it than I do.

I'm sure there is the odd magical day or two where all is right with the world and the creek is floatable and fishes ok. I don't believe for a minute that there are magical places that are hidden. Google maps ended that speculation. I just think your time is better spent on the other stretches of the river. You can look at the google images and see where the river likely ponds during really low water years, but I doubt hot, stagnant water is really great for smallies. Better than dry rocks to be sure.

It is several miles, but it doesn't matter as that is not floatable. I'm not sure why, but there is simply not enough water to get to the White from Hwy 101 at fishiable water levels. ie if there is enough water to make the trip, the water will likely be very swift or very stained or both. I've seen the riverbed dry as a bone as far as you could see in both directions at Hwy 101 just a few years ago.

I wish all smallies were catch and release only, but that isn't the law. This kind of stuff is exactly why I don't post anything on my creek trips.

Like it or not, the local lakes are Flood Control lakes. The lakes also provide us with lots of entertainment. If we're going to fish them, we have to deal with fluctuating water levels. I would guess that the water level changes on average about 20 foot up and down each year. The lakes will never have much in the way of grass beds as a result of all that up and down. That bums me out, but it is what it is.

There are a lot of drum in the lake. No WHITE Bass?

I've only made one trip over and that was in the Spring, but I know the fish are in there. Lots of them.

I think we'll all be sad when the last installment is done.

Thanks so much for sharing. I will say the Mrs seems happier when she is holding a fish than when is having to gear up, but I suppose that is true for all of us.

I love Sadie. I'm loving the fish and scenery. Awesome eats to be sure.

Nice Cuttie! Work kept me from fishing, but I sure wanted to do so.

Bring on the Red Ears!

move to Missouri

I've seen guys running big glass bass boats in the White, but that's a gamble I'll never take.

20,000 CFS in my 42 inch Supreme keeps me on my toes. I'm paying more attention to detail. Zero floatation in the boat and cold, cold water and high current puts you in a life threatening situation very quickly if you screw up. Those boats sink quick.

I haven't been on the lake in months. I do not mean to be a wet blanket, but at these water levels the lake will not fish anything close to normal. Just don't get discouraged if it isn't great this time around. I usually fish the lake from March thru Juneand then again in October thru mid January. I can help you more then. Good Luck. Enjoy your trip.

Yep, I like throwing jigs. Jerkbaits are a lot harder on the fish as well. I've caught several Big Browns on jerkbaits and seen others caught on them so it's not like I don't know the potential. I am using the high water to learn how to fish areas during high water, but when I have a FULL day, I'll likely go somewhere else.

If you are coming this way, Buffalo River, Crooked Creek, and North Fork of the White are all in play. A further east and you pick up Spring River.

It's the cheese