slayer of lunkers

So I just called the outfitter with a few questions, and here's what he told me - I didn't want to email this stuff to the group in case it gave Bobby a reason to back out b/c we're camping on the river. Anyway - no concerns with private property really, all sandbars are fair game for camping. He suggested packing 1 or 2 good coolers with just ice only because there is no where to get any on the stretch we're doing. With water levels where they're at and expected to be, no concerns with running into any white water stretches. He said we need to make reservations with them so they are ready for us. What time do you want to meet on Wed morning? Is 8-9am too early? I'd love to get as much time on the water as possible so we aren't having a big stretch to knock out on Friday. Looking to be finished at 2-ish on Fri afternoon? Looking forward to it! Let's hope there's no real cold nights that tend to shut down the bite. Cheers Darbwa! Dino

Hope for rain in the next few weeks to give you some more options or else you might only be able to float some of the spring fed rivers. The 11 Point is great - Alton, MO is the hub. If you want trout and smallies, put in at Greer Spring and start with the blue ribbon trout area and when you near Whitten you should start getting into smallies.11 Point Canoe is who we've used & Brian was good to us. The Current is ok during the week, but if you're hitting it on the weekend it'll be what you're trying to avoid. The NFOW is spring fed, but mainly trout. The smallie section above the springs probably won't be floatable in July without some serious rain. Good luck!

When I heard the river would be crowded, I was expecting to run into maybe a few dozen other canoes or rafts - I wasn't prepared for the procession of 1,000 + that we saw. It was definitely a different day of fishing on the Elk, but it was a blast nonetheless. I would love to go back and hit it during the week when it's much more quiet. Each float takes on a personality of its own, and this one had quite a Mardis Gras flavor on Saturday, with some decent bassin mixed in. When the fish were hitting, they were hitting everything - top water, jig n pig, soft plastic worms & craws as well as cranking craws - that's what the boys who were catching em on Indian Creek on Sunday were using. Glory Daze - we decided on the float that whoever bears the cross of Andi in a canoe is definitely Andi-capped. We just don't know what number of fish to allocate for having that Andi-cap. I'd like to say that knockin back cold ones is the reason for not boating fish, but if that were the case, none of us would've had any luck! Ollie - love your signature quote...can't wait for the euros to start on Friday. Hup Holland!!! Russ & Jean Ann's hospitality is unbeatable, and I hope to make it back there sooner than later. Unfortunately, I live in St. Louis so it's a bit of a treck to hit it multiple times in a year. Thank you both so much! Hog Heaven it truly is.

A few of us floated the 11 Point from Kane Bluff to Turner about a month ago, and the smallie portion was dynamite. Once we hit Greer, the blue ribbon regs begin and only one of our crew had a good grasp of trout fishing to have some success. I just heard from the outfitter we used that the stretch we would want to fish would be a tough go b/c of the lack of rain. It would be too far to hit this year but is definitely on the radar for future trips. I've been told the best time for smallies is April - June 1st or so (given average rainfall I imagine)...has that been your experience? An outfitter on the NFOW said that if we put in at Hale Ford & took out at their place a little past Hammond, the smallie fishing should be solid & right now the water level is adequate - low but floatable without much dragging. If our crew (I'm with Darbwa) floated that stretch I believe we would only have the final 2-3 miles in the blue ribbon area, does that seem right? Still praying for a few inches of rain leading up to & following Memorial Day. Cheers...

Chief - Can you give a report on the fishing on the Big Sugar? Is it small mouth or large mouth or both? Since it's not spring fed, I assume it's float-ability would depend on the rain... Thanks