Gavin

Guess it just depends on how you use them...If you keep a Shimano spinning reel high and dry in a rod locker or on in the relatively dry confines of a shiny bass boat while lake fishing, you probably wont have many problems with them......Toss a Shimano spinning reel in a canoe or kayak, and wade fish with it.... Where it get all kinds of water and slop on it every trip. They are gonna bind on you. Who wants a reel that doesnt work well when its soaked? I dont....Thats why I dont buy them anymore. Cheers.

Check the guages http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/current/?type=flow The Niangua and LP are in flood, up 8ft or more.........your best bet right now is probably the Current..its only running at 3ft but still rising...I'd love to be out there right know fishing the rise. Cheers.

Eric, there are lots of resources available if you want to get started. I'd take Tom up on his offer, and if you want to check out vices, tools, and materials there are two excellent fly shops in Brentwood. T.Hargrove Fly Fishing and Feather Craft...they have all you will ever need, good advice, and more. Both shops offer classes, and the Ozark Fly Fishers do several through St. Louis County Parks. I'd avoid a kit, because most of the tools and materials will be junk...Its just winding thread around a hook and adding materials as you go..Work from back to front and keep your thread tight...One tip with bucktail and marabou....Measure it and cut it to length before you tie it in...It makes a much better looking fly or jig that way. Cheers.

Its been a few years....might be closed now...should have been closed then.

Didnt answer #3 and #5 cuz I was on those trips with you and thats me in the pic in #3......Lambeth bridge in #5...way scary...probably one of the worst bridges in the Ozarks. Planks nailed over planks and a dubious 2-3 ton limit... Sure #4 is the O. Fork? Why would you want to float that in the winter?

My Stradic's worked well for a season till they started to bind...Hope you have better luck with them.

Park to Tan Vat is good water...Tan Vat down about 3/4 of the way to Baptist is good too....Easy wading, but a bit crowded for my taste most times. Parker to Cedar.... I hardly ever float that.....But I remember a fairly long stretch of skinny frog water between the spring hole and the top of the Campground, a nice run around the top of the CG, then more frog water till you hit the bridge. The downstream side of the bridge hole usually gives up a rainbow or two. Cheers.

Dry fly fishing gets fickle in October...big bush attractors and terrestrials work, teeny weeny trico's and bwo's work sometimes, caddis work sometimes but your mainly be nymph or streamer fishing...Sculpins, Stonerollers, Shiners are the primary forage for the brown trout and they usually feed early or late even in the winter...Sometimes youll get a winter caddis hatch, but you need a warm night or two to get a decent hatch. Great water all the way down to Akers Ferry. Have fun.

#4 Looks like the Niangua.

#4-looks spring fed and trouty.... and it hasnt been logged....so probably no outfitters...I'll go with L. Piney between 7400 and Beaver Creek a couple miles above Newburg. Amend the last....How bout Mill Creek.

I'd head over the ridge to Bryant Creek if your after smallies...Less canoe traffic and better SMB fishing, IMO. Hope its fishable this weekend.

I swore off Shimano's a couple years ago...Guess there fine if your fishing out of a bass boat, but they dont hold up to canoe or kayak fishing. Get em wet, and they start to bind up. I have two Diawa Exceler's and they are good...bail springs are weak though..Fine for me cuz I close the bail by hand most of the time, but my wife doesnt and she hates them. Have a couple of U.S. Reel Supercasters that I got for half off about a year ago and they are working fine so far. Cheers.

The Current. Little Piney, and the wild trout creeks are the best wade water IMO...The Meramec is wadeable at times...usually if its flowing under 500cfs at Steelville, but much better when its under 300cfs or so...Youll severely handicap yourself if you dont have a boat on the 11pt, or NFoW...Tailwaters can be good to, but they are crowed and your subject to the whims of the dam operators. Look on MDC's page and youll find plenty of access points. http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/sport/trout/areas.htm

Here's a link to a pic of my favorite... http://www.mitchellpaddles.com/paddles/cww/obww.html I've had it for 4-5 years so far and its holding up really well. Bending branches makes a good paddle and you can pick em up at REI or Alpine Shop...but they dont offer a nice paddle with a T handle, and I like a T handle cuz its good for grabbing onto stuff. You will have to buy online to get a Mitchell though..They dont have a local dealer. Cheers.

Looking good!

Dogpatch...havent heard that place discussed in a long time..I'm not sure that it has any Middleton connection....Starlight Creek seems to be a work of fiction, unless you change the word trout to smallmouth ;>)! Then it could be one of many places.

Nice show...bout the only complaint is that its kind of monotonous...Wish they would have spaced it out a bit...one or two shows a week instead of what they are doing.

Spin lures have been well covered...on the fly rod...I like a large sneaky pete or blockhead popper on top...or a sparkleminnow in pearl or brown. Cheers.

I've been using this one recently...good for scouting too, cuz it has links to streamflow information.. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/adrgmap/index.html

http://www.ozarktrail.com/maps/eleven_big.jpg You can find Mary Decker on the map up here...Little Mary is just a short distance below L. Hurricane creek, youll see the creek coming in on river right...and a shoal with a bunch of big rocks and a ledge on river left...thats L. Mary. Big Mary Decker is impossible to miss...Its the remnants of an old logging bridge...Big rocks all the way across the river. Hurricane creek comes in about 3/4 of a mile below...Make sure you take a hike down to Greer Spring on your way in or out...its well worth the 1.5mile round trip. Cheers.

Greer to Turner is usually the best stretch for numbers...Paddle up from the put in to the spring branch and start fishing from there down...Youll find plenty of good runs to fly fish, and lots of deep holes that are better suited to spin fishing or drift fishing. Its usually good around any island, or fast run.. but the fishing usually slows down after you get past Mary Decker Shoal. As for camp spots...There isnt much gravel on the 11pt...there is usually some gravel around Little Hurricane and Big Hurricane creek, but most of the time I camp in the woods near Mary Decker Shoal...in the woods on river right between L. Mary and Big Mary, or on river left by Big Mary. Bring a shovel to bury your poop...Nothing worse than a woods littered with toilet paper bombs. Cheers.

Waders would be a good idea....they arent the most comfortable gear to hike in, but they do a great job of protecting you from ticks, chiggers, and PI. I'd recommend some brush pants and some bug dope at minimum, and be prepared to get your feet wet and do some brush busting because of all the blow downs. Didnt hear the band Gene, but heard some deer doggers on the Shannon County side of the creek. Seems to be popular down there.

The fish may have been a little off last weekend because MDC shocked it last week...The browns were already coloring up and I saw more fish above Ashley than below a couple weeks ago. Cheers.

I'd agree with Gene...he's probably down there more than me.....but friends and I have dropped cars at Baptist, Parker, Cedar, Akers, Pulltite, and Round for years with only a couple incidents. 4-5 years ago a friend had a car break in at Baptist, 3 years ago some friends had some gear lifted out of some tents Pulltite CG...Me, never had a problem. Depends on where you start too....Camped on the river between Baptist and Parker a couple weeks ago...must have had a wind storm down there...lots of blow downs on the old horse trails in some sections. But it was navigable with a bit of brush busting. Its only a 6 mile float, but I probably walked 10. Give us an idea about your plan, and we could make some suggestions. Cheers.

Mohair leaches, small nymphs, and eggs work well most of the time. Good luck.