Gavin

I dont have a problem with any of the directives. I talked with the Park Super and the Parks head enforcement officer a couple times last year and they really want to crack down on the bad actors. I think the jello shot ban was because most folks pack their jello shots in individual serving size plastic containers so they can distribute them like Mardi Gras beads. The containers are a pretty common litter item. As for the decibel meters...I've got no problem with folks who want to bring a radio and listen to the ball game or some music in camp, but there are folks who like to blare them all day long. I guess that NPS wants to be able to substantiate the level of noise in court. I dont really think that it will change all that much. Most of the bad actors are drunken young men between the ages of 15-25 and they are going to do just about anything they want to do anyway. Cheers.

You cant pin this on me, 6 beers, no jello shots...Looks like we'll have to go someplace else on the 4th of July!

Here's a link to the Park Superintendant's directive. http://www.nps.gov/ozar/parkmgmt/rowdiness.htm They also ask that you bring only 6 beers per person per day, but its not a regulation. The canoe outfitters on Michigan's Au Sable enforce a similar 6 beer limit, but I'm not sure about any other rivers. Party Floaters usually get around it by stashing there extra beer downstream. Cheers.

It depends on how much you have to spend, but you cant go wrong with the boats from Outcast (made by Aire, maker of serious WW Boats). A lot of my friends float Fish Cat 9's and they are very happy with them. The main cost in the boat is the pontoons. Better pontoons cost more as due things like aluminum frames, casting platforms, etc. North Fork Outfitters (Dan Scadden) makes some really nice pontoons as well. Toons work great on the NFoW and 11pt, but they are little wide for snaking between the log jams on the upper Current (Montauk to Cedargrove), but they work really well in the Cedar Grove to Akers Stretch. As for the Niangua, theres not a lot of productive water, so I'd go with a canoe or yak on that river to get from place to place faster. Cheers.

Wow! Good for you!

The reg only says that you have to fish with "flies", it doesnt address the number of "flies" that you can use. Since the number isnt specified, I'd say its fine to fish more than one. I rarely fish the parks, but when I do I fish occasionally use droppers, and I see folks doing it all the time. I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket for it, so it must be OK. Cheers.

This is a guys trip right? Pick a date & place. If the fishing is good, fish. If the fishing stinks, drink beer & play cards. Cheers.

Dunno...

The Park Service hasnt designated Tan Vat, Baptist as campgrounds, so they could give you a ticket if they really wanted too. The trail will take you to a decent gravel bar about 1/4 mile down from Baptist, and theres a decent spot about 50 yards upstream of the gravel lot at Baptist. Cheers.

Where do you plan to start? The Mill Dam at Dawt will require a portage if you start your float above Dawt (portage to the right if coming downstream). If you want to start at Dawt, I'd toss in by the bridge, not at the boat ramp. FWIW, Last time we took out at Dawt, they had the boat ramp cabled off. No big deal, but we had to hump our gear and boats up the hill. Cheers.

Missouri Hatch Chart Meramec River Hendricksons-Mid March (sporadic) Sulphurs-May/June White Fly- August/September Current River Little Tan Caddis- Jan/Feb/Mar Big Brown Caddis-April/May Light Cahills-Early May Trico’s-September/October Terrestrials- September/October BW0-Sept/November Heres a few that I've run into on occasion

It depends...fishing a dry fly on a tailwater is usually a midge or terrestrial, or just a plain attractor game. The Current, Meramec, Bennett, and some of the small wild trout creeks in Missouri have fishable hatches but the hatches dont seem to be as intense as those you encounter further north, out west, etc. As a rule, terrestrials will work everywhere, July-November. Cheers.

Dunno, hard to tell without seeing you cast, but my guess is that your starting the roll without enough line behind you, leaning forward into your roll cast, or pushing forward with your arm (maybe all 3). When it comes to roll casting, more line mass behind you is good, Pushin is bad, pulling is good......Do whatever you need to do to get a big loop of line behind you, and try to lead with your elbow and pull the rod through your forward cast to a firm stop. Its kind of like driving a big nail into a wall at shoulder height. Cheers.

Sorry, looks like I cant read...Its a 40hp limit between Two Rivers and Round Spring..It would be OK between Round Spring and Two Rivers if was a 50hp head with a jet drive though (50/35). Cheers.

He can run his 50hp on the Current below Round Spring, but not above. Above Round Spring its a 10hp limit in the summer time and 25hp in the winter months. Outboards only. No Jet Ski's or Mokai's. Here's a link to the HP regs in the Ozark National Scenic River site. There is also 25hp limit on the upper section of the Eleven Point. Cheers. http://www.nps.gov/ozar/planyourvisit/horsepower.htm

Terry old fly lines were sized by diameter not weight. It was an inconsistant system, because the silk lines weighed more than nylon lines on the same diameter. They switched to the line weight of the first 30' around the time that 3M invented PVC fly lines. FWIW, a modern PVC line will be a lot thicker than a silk or nylon fly line of the same weight. Cheers.

Dano is correct, the old GBG and GBF line designations are the equivalent of a modern 8wt. That old conolon might be a good rod for tossing popping bugs for bass, but you might want to look into a new 5wt outfit if you intend to do a lot of trout fishing. Cheers.

My wife and several friends have the older model (Canon XT) and all of them are very happy with it. I'd also take a look at the Nikon D series. It would be hard to go wrong with either. Cheers.

Try the Jack's Fork above Alley Spring during the week. The stretch above Rymers offers lots of partially submerged rocks, twisty bends, and a couple small drops that to make it fun, the scenery is great, and you can usually catch a few fish. There will probably be some Smallmouth on spawning beds in May, please leave them alone. You can avoid most of the spawning fish by fishing a spinners, crankbaits, and top waters instead of bait or plastic on the bottom. Cheers.

Well Brian, how can you not support development? You book your trips through one of the biggest developers on that river. The drought took its toll, but something seems to be wrong with that river. The river wasnt clogged with moss 20 years ago, and the hellbenders are dying off. Whats up with that? Both the moss and lack of hellbenders seem to indicate a decrease in water quality. Wheres all the pollution coming from?

Cedargrove to Round Spring can be a good 3-4 day float. The scenery between Cedar and Akers is some of the best on the river and the trout fishing can be good if its been recently stocked. Akers to Pulltite is a nice float, good scenery, but its usually poor fishing (no stocked trout, to cold for smallmouth). The smallmouth fishing is a little better from Pulltite down to Round Spring, but the lower river is much better. You shouldnt have a hard time finding a good gravel bar to camp on, firewood can be scarce. Baptist to Cedargrove offers the best trout fishing, but be aware of the 1 trout> 18" no bait or no soft plastic regulations. Also, there is a low water bridge that at Cedargrove, you'll have to portage if you want float from Baptist to a spot below Cedar Grove.

I dont get your logic Brian..If your agree that developement has something to do with the decline in fish numbers, why do you support more of it? You selling lots down there or something?

Sorry Brian, but you got me started...I fished the NFoW for the first time in the late 1980's and it was a lot different that is know. IMO, its pretty forked up from developement. The trout population isnt even half of what it was in the early 1980's and early 90's, the biologists arent finding any hellbenders, and every year there are more cabins, fewer trees, and more algae..Its not Lake of the Ozarks, but if that aint forked up by developement, I dont know what is. Its ashame really.

Depends on what you want to do. If you want to camp on the river, float above the trout water. 14 to Kelly Ford is a pretty stretch. Its skinny water with fair fishing for smallmouth, goggle eye, and the occasional trout. The trout water between Kelly and Dawt Mill is mostly private land and its heavilly developed. Welcome to the subdivision. If you just want to catch trout, your best bet is to stay at ROLF, Sunburst, or the campground at MDC's Patrick Bridge Access and day float. I wouldnt recommend Petit's or Riverside. Kelly to Blair has been good to me in the past, but I've had more consistant fishing between Blair and James bridge in the last 3 years. Cheers.

I've only floated it once from B to Dry Knob. The water was up and the fishing was poor. Nice float, but it was too much for one day. 14 miles of frog water is a lot to get through if you put in late. I've explored it a bit up around Empire Ranch, but most of the access points were loaded with cattle. It might be a lot better down closer to the Gasconade. Cheers.