Gavin

Better watch out for our bunch too..We had an awesome time on our float between Akers & Pulltite last Saturday. Fishing was the last thing on our minds. Only one person fished...and it wasnt me.

I just avoid the circus when I want to fish or I'll join it when I want to float with non fishing friends. The problem is that folks have unrealistic expectations and dont ask enough questions. Their fault, not the outfitters, or law enforcement. Folks who are having fun and getting a little loud...do not bother me. Folks who cross the line do, but not all of those behaviors are illegal. Its pretty easy to figure out who the trouble makers are. There are numbers on the side of most rental boats. If you have an issue....write down the canoe number, paddle on, and report it in to the outfitter. I know that Justin and his wife Amy have asked people to leave and not come back. I'm sure that other outfitters do the same.

There are tons of great rods out there Tim...I like a fast action 7wt with a weight forward line..Sage's high end models are the best fast action rods on the market IMO...but if you dont plan to use it much, I'd go down market.St. Croix, TFO....In reels, get one with a good disc drag. Lots of great reels out there too. The Lamson Konic is hard to top for the money. If I wasnt long on reels, I'd be buying those...In flies....most of my topwaters are size 2-1/0...Gaine's Sneaky Pete's, variations of Tim Holschlag's blockhead poppers, Murdich Minnows, some #4-8 Madame X's if they are really picky...most of my subsurface flies are 3-4" long..usually on a size 4 or bigger hook..Mostly Shenk's Minnows, Sparkleminnows, Sex Dungeon's, and Circus Peanuts. Have fun.

Tim the Enchanter in your avatar...Like the new look Ness.

Mill, Spring, and the Little Piney are all within 10-15 minutes of each other..You could fish all 3 in a day. Pray for some rain...I'm sure they are all incredibly low.

Very nice catch! Good for you!

Go....you may drag for some short distances...but otherwise fine..

Maybe this will help you out Ness. Tie 3-4' of 30lb mono to your fly line..The Thingamabobber goes there...then tie on 6'-8' of 12lb Flourocarbon, Tie on 12-18" of tippet and a fly. Crimp your split shot (or several) above the tippet knot...and add another fly if you choose. Its been a pretty good NFoW rig....3-4' of bobber depth adjustment on the butt section, and you can take the bobber off if you want to high stick,plus you wont destroy and expensive tapered leader....If I was sight fishing with nymphs on smooth water..I'd use a long tapered leader usually something in the 12'-16' range and no indicator...mabye a palsa, or half of one to help deal with glare on the water.

Here's the spread, and the report...All I could really conclude is that 1>15"MLL is good for growing more 14.5" bass, and I need to fish the James. 1060_001.pdf 1059_001.pdf

Dunno....but call a fly shop..plano boxes will be allot cheaper.

Do walk up from Patrick and fish though...after your camp is set, no stuff in your vehicle. The water in front of Justin's place is pretty darn good too. Hit that in the AM or PM. Hope you have a great trip!

Did the numbers awhile ago Mitch...and they on another computer...Think the spread could use a bit more crunch in the miles sampled, fish per mile area....but it was just for fun...and I made my conclusions. I really do think that we regulate what we catch in this state....Most of my better fish come from special regulation areas. places close to them, or on overlooked waters with difficult access. Will send to those interested. Chief, I wouldnt rely on those tables...all the data is lumped together and some of the special management areas did allot better than others...and 18" smallmouth bass were rare to begin with..Impiment a reg that increases the number of protected fish in the sub 15" range, and the PSD of 18" fish is bound to decrease. I'd LOVE to see the data on the 18" MLL waters. .

Dan makes a strong case for higher minimum length limits...I'm no biologist, but I'm a pretty good number cruncher...Did a spreadsheet analysis of some of MDC's sampling data on the smallmouth management areas....Its public if you hunt around a bit on MDC's website. Big River and the Meramec had the most sampling data pre-reg, post reg....There was a nice increase in the numbers of fish, and big jump in the numbers of 12-15" bass when the 1>15" length limits were imposed. The 1>15 reg didnt do anything for the number of 18" fish, but those fish are all candidates for the skillet or the taxidermist. I would love to see some numbers from the Jack's Fork & Gasconade Special Management Areas but I cant find anything with hard figures in a publically available document.

Good for you and Thanks..Headed down early on Friday...Baptist to Cedar Friday...then a fish in the cooler float between Akers & Pulltite on Saturday.

Pretty much.....once you know when, go back again next year.

Dont overlook spoons for covering water...Kastmaster's in gold and silver...

Great report! Sorry I had to canx.

Patrick Bridge can be tweekerville at times. Camp up the road at Sunburst for a couple of bucks and bring your fishing tackle.

Thanks will have to check it out when we're down next week

Are they gonna let people park,launch, and take out there?

At least you made the picture.......Most cover shots are all jacked up anyway. I have a good friend who caught a stellar fish on the lower Madison...It made the cover of at least 3 fly fishing rags but he was never IN the picture.

Good for you...sounds like a great trip.

Nice spot...Looking forward to a float below James on my next visit!

You will have to hop out and walk/drag the boat for short distances, but youll be floating the great majority of the time. The narrow channel, and the portage at Cedar will be bigger challenges. You should have a fun float trip.

There are allot of shallow riffles between Baptist and Cedargrove...but it seems to get deeper about a mile above Medlock Cave. Hope you like company. Baptist to Cedar doesnt see that much canoe traffic....but its a zoo between Cedar and Akers on the weekends..lots of canoes, plus lots of drive ins and horse people around Flying W and Medlock Cave. Have fun.