UnCivE

Looks like a Missouri bull shark to me.

You ain't jokin. If I'm off, the river's been blown out and it's raining cats and dogs.

Yeah Paul, I remember the fishing that year quite well. I believe I got out a grand total of twice until my daughter was sleeping through the night. Good luck brother.

What's your limit as far as river height and flow and fishin? Seems like to me, if the gage height at Hazelgreen (my nearest station) is above 6 ft, I need to be pretty careful. Maximum CFS is probably 2000 for me.

I'd say you can't go wrong on the gasconade or the meramec. There are some other members here with a lot more experience than me (Al Agnew) that will probably be able to help you out.

New owners go by the last name Hartzog and they've got a Maine address ... according to GIS anyway.

No problem. I drove by there last year and early this year and the property is closed up and clearly marked no trespassing. I doubt you can even launch a boat there now. ..

They're not in operation any longer. The next closest outfitter is Gasconade Hills Resort(573) 765-3044, there's also Boiling Springs further down the river. (573)759-7294

Hmmm, there's quite a few ponds here, was it a commercial operation perhaps?

Ollie- Doesn't really matter how many rods I take with me, they never end up in my "personal area" anyway. I could theoretically take 7 rods, but a couple would end up in my backswing and that gets a little irritating. I think the type of kayak you've got makes a lot of difference.

High dive platform for the 2013 Ozark Olympic Games.

Usually at least 3. I normally fish all baitcasters medium-medium heavy 7 fters. One rigged w/ topwater, one with worm/jig/plastic and one with a crankbait or a spinnerbait. I like to be able to switch back and forth quickly dependent on the structure I find.

I buy my jigs for tubes and grubs and such from http://www.gophertackle.com/mushroomjig.html I like the "Big John" jig heads, personally.

I've had a couple really close calls on LOZ during tournaments because people drive like morons (especially people in big boats). I'm sure Ike was flying, and he made a mistake, stuff happens.

I'm always looking for kayak fishing partners, too. I fish the G-nade a lot and some of the creeks off Lake of the Ozarks. Willing to drive a bit for some good spots, too.

Great pictures.

Personally, I don't use anything exceptionally stinky for cats. It's not worth it to me to put up with the smell, the problems transporting it, getting it all over my boat... etc. I'd rather use hot dogs or fresh chicken livers or dough bait than deal with super strong messy stink bait.

They're perfect for fun floating. If I was just gonna take em out every once in awhile and have a float, I'd probably prefer the shorter boat. I need a bigger one because I'm a bigger guy that most, and I fish standing up alot.

Yeah, I believe I could just make up a fishing report that was at lleast as accurate as that one seems to be.

I wouldn't want to paddle an 8 ft kayak. My wife has a 10 and it's even a bit too waggy for me. The shorter kayaks tend to track worse, turn better, and be slower. My wife has a 10 ft Bass Pro model and it wags side to side with every paddle stroke. Drives me crazy. My 12 ft kayak with the same hull design is way nicer to paddle. Maybe if you've got to lift it up on top of your car every time , but not if you've got the room in the truck (IMO). Good luck, whatever you choose.

I tried this recently, too, out of a can. It's ok, but I'll not likely buy it again.

200 Missouri Smallmouth Adventures by Chuck Tryon is a great resource to have, and it can be had by the cost of membership to the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance (they'll mail you a copy).

HA! Yeah, I guess I should say "Don't try to put a boat in at highway 7, unless you've got 4-wheel drive and a hovercraft."

You're in the right spot, for sure. If you intend to take out the 10' jon boat, you'd probably outta have a motor or a troller or something to move you around. I'd imagine it'd be rough to paddle a jon upstream for any period. Anyway, I'd recommend Riddle Bridge (which is a lot closer to Ft. Wood than hazelgreen) and the area downstream to HWY 28. It's a special management area, so you can only keep 1 smallmouth, but the fish should be larger (in theory). I usually fish around the HWY 7 access, Schlicht Springs access, Riddle Bridge, or even Adams Ford if I feel like driving. All of these spots have boat ramps (hwy 7 is a little sketchy though). You can find directions at: http://www.missouricanoe.org/river-maps/gasconade.html or even better, the google earth KMZ file referenced above by Gavin. You can also checkout the Big Piney, which flows right through Ft. Wood and intersects the Gasconade downstream of HWY 28.

PC is a drop in the bucket compared to the many thousands of residences dumping untreated sewage into the lake.