jwitt618

Yeah, we were shocked that any sort of motor was allowed. Doug (that's his name, it's all coming back now) steered us toward some great looking spots and suggested some patterns from our boxes, but man those slow fishin' days really separate the beginners and the experienced anglers. We also met some folks that live up the hill from the ford. Real nice folks.

Sounds like a great trip! Last time my buddies and I spent a weekend hitting those spots (Late Oct) we struck out all weekend but enjoyed perfect weather- nice in the day and chilly at night around a nice fire. An excellent rainbow mocked me for a good 15 minutes near Tan Vat- he'd jump out of the water literally 5 feet from me, then dive back into the depths, only to do the same thing a couple minutes later. Darkest colored rainbow I've ever seen! A fellow with a jet boat put in at Parker's every morning- he agreed that the fishing was slow (except he knew what he was doing and still caught a couple fish each day). I'm headed out for a 3 day float trip 1st weekend of June- not going to be tons of time to fish but I'll get to wet a line a few times each day and the scenery is amazing.

Thanks for the tips! Looks like we aren't hitting the Spring after all, but I'm holding on to this info for the future. My buddy contacted some outfitters and they didn't seem too interested in arranging a multi-day trip for us. Since we're going June 5-8, we're doing the upper Current. The USGS gauges look perfect right now, and none of us have floated above Akers Ferry. (hoping that the "float season" hasn't kicked in yet since the weather's still mild). It will be neat to canoe sections of the river I've waded. Gonna have to make stops at some fishy spots.

Enduring that hardship will be made easier with a couple gallons of 2012 homemade apple wine, 16% abv. I've been too lazy to bottle it...I mean...I was holding it in case I need to put some in plastic bottles for treks like this. Pack light

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting- I've been coming to this site for a few years to dig up information for canoe trips and fishing trips. Quite a good online community. Anyway, a friend of mine has the dubious honor of planning our annual 3 day float trip, contacting outfitters, cat-herding everyone into forking over cash and bringing the right provisions etc. I just show up with a big knife and a fly rod, scoop some caddis flies out of the air with my hat, and play the wise angler (knowing that the fish will get a good laugh when I throw whatever I pick). Great times for sure. I don't usually get to do much fishing, but I try to call lunch and camp stops near fishy looking places. People are pretty receptive since they might get a tasty snack out of the deal. Since we've been on just about every notable river in MO that's long enough to jive with our "2 nights on gravel bars" format, Eric picked out the South Fork for this year. There's next to no information available, but I know I can find some here. 1) He's of the opinion that we would be better in kayaks than canoes since we'll be running multiple falls. Of course, that takes away most of the luxuries we're used to hauling- which is both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. More like a trek, less like a guided safari complete with china plates. But...no cooler of beer. Any opinions on choice of boat? 2) I read the horror stories about the Spring River's hooligan visitors. Not terribly worried- we're all in our early-mid 30's and know how to keep our noses clean, but we like to avoid crowds as much as possible. I assume the South Fork is much less popular and we have nothing to worry about? 3) Any specific outfitter recommendations? 4) Fishin' on the South Fork? Species, rigs, locations? Especially if we run kayaks I won't be taking both a spinning rig and a fly rod- I'll have to pick one and roll with it. From my reading, we're headed to smallmouth heaven. I've only ever caught a few, randomly stripping streamers in fishy looking spots. Thanks in advance for whatever wisdom you guys might be able to pass on, Joe