Osage

That is a beautiful fish and sorry about your misfortune.

Just got off the river at Cox myself a bit ago. Yes the water was dingy; not a light algae green, just dirty. I'd of thought it would be clearer than that the way the river is coming down. 805 at Galena gauge now. Nice looking fish.

Sorry. What was I thinkin'? I put the answer in the quoted portion. I looked at the map and what you're calling Mud Bank is at 46.1 mile. Then I wrote the locals call that river access area, The Marble Ground. And then I wrote, the Highway V bridge over Golf Creek is out and you will have to pick an alternate route to get to Kerr's Landing.

Ah, OK I guess. I live close; was more just getting out of the house than serious fishing. Motored my freighter canoe up past old Limberlost to the east bend and floated back down. Quite a few strikes and caught a 12" or so brownie on a ned rig. Wind was out of the NE and it was almost jacket cool after that front passed through. Lots of current. I got most of my strikes in pools close to a current seam, that seems to be where they're holding with the river cooking along like it is. Good luck!

Just took out at Cox before dark. The river is up about a foot and not stained at all. Clear water in the shoals and the holes are that good opaque green color.

Yep, just a bit over 5 miles. Real easy to find the river miles by using the 'distance function' on Google Maps

I haven't been up that far in years. That's pretty skinny water. There use to be a bad place with ledges about a mile or so above Blue Springs. Kind of hard to get through. Lot's of folks are surprised when they catch crappie out of James River but they are native, just like the walleye. It's the smallmouth that are the newcomers. They've only been here in the Ozarks the last 100 years or so.

All of James River goes down in mid summer unless it's an exceptionally wet year. What's your point?

That's a tough walk. Plus a mudhole when it rains. Ya, you worked for those fish.

Very good Jeff, that's a nice sized fish. I'm curious, where did you put in at? I'd of thought with the recent rain and the river up Blunks would be too nasty to put in a boat.

A nice rain, some warmer weather. This ought to jump start James River and get the fish active.

Just came back from Springfield over Nelson's Bridge. That's pitiful skinny water. Yaknar, I think you'd have been better off pedaling a bicycle through there than trying to float a kayak down. I feel bad for the fish that have to live in it.

Maybe this little rain storm will give the fish a drink. Put a little oxygen in the water.