C&R

Threw a black and blue buzzbait last 3 hrs of day on Sun. with great success. Hooked up about 15 times landing bout 10. Mostly largemouth with some real good ones. Lost one that would have been a solid 5 lbs. I got a real good look at him so that helped temper my tears.........Hope that topwater bite will last a bit longer.

I was on a "swt-wc.usace.army.mil" site. That is the one that lost it river level reading. glad to see the usgs still post the river level. Thanks. I seem to remember a guage that showed the river level on the Elk River At Pineville,,,,,,,,,not the one at Powell. Ollie, do you remember that one, and what happened to it?

Looks like we lost the Indian Creek river guage as far as the river level. All I see now is the "Volts,,,GOES" what the heck that is, I don't know. At 18:00 tonight ( 6 p.m. ) it showed 13.53 Volts/GOES at: 13.53. Anyone know what that relates to in river level. To me, the 2' level is the level to fish. A little above and down to about 1.80 is where I like it. Sure wish I had taken some notes on the GOES in relation to what the river level was..........BEFORE THE LAST FLOOD. HELP IF YOU CAN CONCERNING THIS. THANKS C & R

Wow, what a disappointment this afternoon . Put n at Lanagan bout 4:30 and pulled out at low water bridge on the elk about 8 p.m. Water was really moving to fast for me. Nothing but dinks. only 2 that measure "maybe 12". I have really been catching some quality fish lately. Mush have been the cool temps, cuz it was terrrible for us. Saw 2 large canoe trailor rigs n the parking lot at the public Lanagan lauch. Hope u guys did good. Please report how u did.

Did not take the time to measure cuz I wanted to get him/her back n the water after the pic fast so u guys could catch him later. More noticable than the length was how thick his back was.

Floated yesterday with good success. My canoe partner and I doubled with these two. The one he caught was a typical "good one", but mine was my best for the year. Made his 13-14" er look a bit small. I loved it. On my first pass with the buzz-bait, he smoked it twice,,,,,,missing the hook both times,,,,,,,,,,but on the second pass, he fortunately found the hook.

Does anyone think the Elk float from Pineville down to the low water bridge has changed for the worst? To me, the first half from Pineville to Riverside has really changed over the last couple of years. I seems that so much of the water is dead water now with most of the good moving parts that always held good smallies are gone. Also, anyone tried specifically for topwater action on the real flat stretch from the low water bride to Mt. Shira? I typically don't like that stretch cuz of the dead water, and that I usually don't do that well on that part. ,,, thinking the topwater bite might be good now.

Floated from Lanagan to low water bridge on the Elk with my daughter yesterday late. Probably last float for me. Getting quite low, and the numbers are going down. Only about 15 with 1 good one. My daughter lost a good one who did a great leap at the boat spitting out her tube. Least we got to see it before he said, " bye"

Floated with a friend from 4- till dark sun. Actually the lightning ran us off the river, and did not get to fish the last mile. "Numbers" is the word. Seriously caught somewhere around 70-80 with biggest being 16 3/4". Lots from 12" - 14" All on a tube. did not seem to matter what the color was. Once, we anchored up in one productive spot and caught min. of 20 smallies with the best being 15". Never, ever had that happen before in such tight area. All fish are still swimming with sore lips waiting for my grandson to grow up and try his hand at catching his share. Get n the creeks cuz the water is great. Forgot to reduce my resolution on my pics. Sorry, no pics to prove my story.

Need help with a good stretch for floating for smallies this weekend. Doesn't have to be on the Buffalo. The Elk and Indian Creek up here in Missouri are a bit fast for optimal smallie floating and fishing. Sure could use help on a good 4-7 mile stretch on the Buffalo. Thanks for helping.

I usually float for smallies on the Elk, Indian Creek, and Kings from Hwy 62 to Grandview. I looked at the Elk and Indian Creek yesterday. Seems to me the rivers are all a bit fast for good smallie fishing. Anyone have a suggestion for a 1 day float with good water? Want to go Fri.& Sat. (may 17th & 18th), on two separate trips,,,,not an overnighter. I'm in Bentonville, and want to keep driving time under 2 hrs. Thanks for any help.

I floated from Pineville to Riverside yesterday ( Fri.) It was about what I thought, with one really cool exception. Only caught 9 very small smallies. Just way to clear and bright. Talk about GIN CLEAR WATER. I have never seen a turkey while fishing the Elk, and I fish it a lot. One afternoon last year, we had a bobcat show up on the river bank only about 80 feet from us. He seems unconcerned about us while he was slowly walking up river. That was totally something I would have never thought I would see. Yesterday, I notice a large group of what I thought were buzzards on the bank ahead. Then I thought it must be geese,,,never thinking it was turkeys. Well, the current floated me right up close to them. They never seem to notice me until I starting making some noise. Then off they ran in a single file. 16 of them. Plenty of water in the creek and sure did not have to worry about any mosquitos yesterday. A great way to end my smallmouth season.

Call Ronnie at 417-669-2179 at Riverside, which is located about 3 miles downriver from Pineville. He oversees a small canoe and cabin rental place. You can camp at his place too. Water is still sufficient for floating now. A little dragging, Fishing has been very good. I have had really good luck with a frog in the last hour or so in the p.m. good luck

Floated from Pineville to riverside getting off the water at dark. Unbelievable topwater action on my frog. Probably had a min. of 35 good size blowups with hooking up with about 15 that were from 13" to 16 1/2". Half smallies and half largemouth. What fun. Another 15 or so on the tube. Water holding ok, with some dragging. Better get out quick, as the water is dropping.

Just off of the Elk tonight. We floated from Pineville to Riverside and caught about 60. Nothing over 15" and lots of dinks. Sure was hoping for better size fish, but the big ones were eating what we were throwing. Best part of the trip was the topwater action on my frog and an absolutely beautiful sunset. About 8 blow-ups with hooking 4-5 I would say. Of course those caught on the frog were my biggest. Most were caught on tubes. Plenty of water for a canoe for a few days now. Only dragged 2 times.

Anyone even tried to float the elk? A bit of rain lately, but was it enough to allow a canoe on the river? Maybe wishful thinking,,,,,, Thanks,

Phil, Thanks for the maps. Exactly what I was looking for. 6 of us tried to stay at your place last week, but you were full on the lake. We'll try again soon. Thanks, Bobby

I once saw a detailed map of the trophy run pointing out the local names of parts of the river from the darn down. It listed the local names like: the different outlets by the hatchery, rebar hole, rockin chair etc. Any help here would be appreciated relocating that map. Thanks.

I plan to take my daughter floating on the Elk this Wed., so I took her out on Little Sugar Sun. p.m. for a little practice casting. She got this one on her 2nd cast. Also caught two others that were very close to the same size. I am thinking,,,,,,,why take a canoe and maybe she doesn't need practice.