Greasy B

The comment “use your fly rod like a spinning rod” was meant to summarize what all the other comments are saying. Basically you throw your bait with the fly rod but you animate it like you would with spinning or bait casting equipment. Dredge the bottom, rake the top, swim and dart your flies in between. What don’t work are the usual trout techniques of dead drifting, nymphing and swinging flies.

The river biological catastrophe of our time goes on while the authorities roll over and pee on themselves.

Maybe another way to look at it is to spin fish with your fly rod.

I've never run across any one smart enough to paddle the canoe well and dumb enough to do it for me.

I would lean toward a canoe that performs well on a river as opposed to one that allows you to stand. Fly fishing from a solo canoe is an exorcize in controlled chaos. If the wind is light it's not to difficult, if it's blowing hard your screwed. Sometimes you just have to let yourself spin and pinball down the river getting a cast in here and there where you can. If you make a huge effort always trying to position the boat for the perfect cast you'll spend all you time paddling instead of casting. An anchor is an option but once I drop it and make a cast or two I'm bored and have pull it right back up to find new water. More times than not I'll hang my foot over the side or wedge the canoe on a rock or tree.

Short List of “Ozark must floats” in no particular order: Mineral Fork was a staple for 20 years; I haven’t been on it since Rivermont closed. Vehicle security has me worried. Meramec float from Short Bend to Woodson, it’s been a few years, I’m not sure if my knees can handle the portage from hell. Lower Niangua haunts me; I got just a taste last summer. Osage Fork Through the militarized zone. Maybe this should be at the top of the list. Gasconade from below the puddle in Hartville to Hazelgreen. I’ve done the lower half; this has got to be one of the quietest stretches of river in the state. It’s a bit of a pipe dream; sitting in a canoe for more than three days is kind of rough. I’d have to bring another canoe for my Chiropractor. Buffalo River, It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I have never been on this most essential of Ozark Rivers. No excuse. James River, heck I’d like to float a bunch of rivers in SWM. There just aren’t enough three day weekends to make the drive worthwhile. Big River from Brown’s to Morse Mill, for the longest time I figured this for a sweet float. After they put in the boat ramp in at Morse Mill I was kind of heart broken, I don’t know if it gets pounded for the whole 17 miles but I’m sure it’s not as peaceful as it was when I would paddle up from Morse Mill and fish by way back. St Francis River, I don’t know how this slipped through the cracks but I have only wade fished it. Little Niangua, if this smaller version of its parent river I need to float it.

Good Grief, It’s difficult not to be incredibly angry. Stream Smallmouth are one of the joys of my life, this is an outrage.

I ended up getting a sweet deal on a great canoe so I’m out of the market until I can find more storage room. I would have jumped all over a little used 158 a few weeks ago, I think it’s the best boat in the Discovery line. Man, I need a pole barn bad!

Hey, what do you know, this thread didn’t explode. Maybe if humor and joviality, were a reality we wouldn’t have to deal with banality.

Subvert the dominate paradigm!

From Baptist Camp to Cedar Grove the river is definitely canoe & yak water. Some stretches are no wider than a fly rod is long. Below Akers it's John boat-able.

What we need is the ghost of William F Buckley to pay the candidates a visit and box their ears.

You go boy!

No offense intended DaddyO. I was once a FF C&R snob, it was just a stupid phase I was going through. An old friend cured me by spending a day showing me how to catch bluegill with a cricket and bobber. I too prefer a fly rod but I enjoy many forms of sport fishing. Good luck on your trip, I'd love to read a report.

One things for sure, this political season has been very entertaining, comical actually. Great fun since the GOP completely abandoned the intellect.

The tradition of gigging as it is practiced began with the arrival of high intensity discharge lights and the jet pump, about 1980.

Don't give up looking, A buddy found a used penobscot 16 on craigs list a few weeks ago. Saved almost a grand not buying new. The 16 is a smallish tandom, works well as a solo if your a big boy and carry alot of gear. I personally would avoid fishing or recreational type canoes they are for people who are not adept at paddling and do not perform well.

Thats it, I've heard enough, I'm going to bass gig central and getting some pictures of the carnage myself.

Tongue in cheek, I have a bundle of worn out spinning rods in my basement, the real reason I favor the fly rod is the darn knot on my fingers from holding the reel stem between them. By the fall of every season my finger look like it has a marble under the skin. Snobs are slobs. Great fish!

These shad got sucked through the generator turbins and spat out of the base of the dam. Not really a reliable way to gather bait but at times they create a situation where all the biggest trout come out of hiding and are catchable.

All reservoirs die by silting in, some faster than others. This one looked just about full, breaching through the base of the dam was probably intended to move as much silt as possible. The ability of a stream to recover from Impoundment is fairly well documented. I would be courious about following this rivers recovery.

Last weekend we fished 3000-6000 cfs. With aid of a boat we found plenty of wadable water. Saturday with the wind calm we were able to drift fish pretty effectively, Sunday the wind blew so hard wading was the only option besides a man on the oars full time. I'm with you on the spin fishing, I would just as soon not fish. I'm afraid if set my fly rod down and pick up a spinning rod my brain would go numb from the boredom.

When I watched it I thought about the way canvas tents smelled, the way my old Grumman canoe sounded when it hit a rock and the hiss of the gas lantern. The canvas tent smell has long been replaced by nylon, the bang crunch of aluminum on rock is long gone and I haven’t heard the hiss of a gas lantern since I discovered head lamps with red filters.

Holy Cow! That was incredible, the eventual fate of all dams whether happening by force of nature long after we’re gone or through enlighten river management in our life time.

I've spent the better part of thirty years chasing Smallmouth in the Ozarks, twenty years doing it pretty seriously. i have only broke the 20" mark one time. Those who say we don't need to revisit Ozark bass regulations could learn a thing or two by hearing about the quality of fish that are possible through limited harvest.