Woodland Artisan

Thank you very much, Brian. Unfortunately, I won't have a chance to get some before my trip tomorrow up north, again, for some trout fishing. It's supposed to get down to 15F. But, I'll pick some up for the next cold fishing trip ... maybe in 8 months!

I was using a 7# rod/line and caught 3. If I hadn't been paying good attention I would have thought they were the same fish. Almost identical looking 5" perch. It was nice being out there with all of the snow, geese and quiet even though it was so cold. A few days before that I was out at Jolly Mill and caught a few there (1 small trout) while wearing short sleeves. Had to go up to northern Missouri a few days ago so I took a look at what kind of trout opportunities there were. To my surprise, there's a stocked 'lake' (pond) in Kirksville so I decided to take the fly rod up there and get some more practice in. Everything is still frozen up there. Ponds, lakes, everything. But, not enough to do any ice fishing.

I thought it'd be a nice day yesterday, 3/2/14, to head down to Shoal Creek between the Wildcat Glades Conservation Center and Mc Clelland Park south of Joplin and have my 2nd day, ever, of fly fishing. I was doing alright casting, for my 2nd day ever of fly casting I suppose, except that my fly line was getting a bit more stiff and curly along with some ice buildup on the end line guides. Enough ice to completely stop the fly line from moving through it and, hence, completely messing up my wonderful casting. <grin> My question is, can anything be done to either the line or the guides to help prevent this? You know, other than going out fly fishing in 4 degree weather, that is.

I'd be all for doing that, Wayne. I MUCH prefer to camp in solitude and have no problem doing a little work to find a suitable place to hang the hammock or a tarp. But, this time at least, I'm going to have to go the campground method. And, really, I guess it works out really well that the campgrounds are spaced out the distance I'd planned on doing each day (~10 miles). And, being late Fall, there shouldn't be too many people around (????). I just need a place to pull the kayak up, pitch the tarp, heat up some supper and fall asleep. Then do it again the next day a little further down stream (so to speak). Thank you Lead Head and everyone else for the information and advice. I'm sure I'll be asking more next week. Leaving in the morning to go up to northern Missouri to do some muskie fishing and get used to the cold water for a few days. Till then ...

Confirmed by COE-KC. Hawker Point will be re-opened on the 12th. So, that doesn't affect my paddle.

Thanks, Lead Head. I think I have that covered as a friend is going to drop me off and wife is (supposed) to pick me up. However, if that falls through, I may be taking you up on that. I got a gas tank lock several years ago when gas got too high (>$1.50) and was in the cities working quite a bit at the time. Never had gas stolen since, except when hiking in rural Wisconsin.

I believe that hunt is on the 9th and 10th, Lead Head. But, I'll call tomorrow and verify. Thanks for the heads-up.

Indeed, Hawkers Point IS open. I just checked the KC COE website and it'll be in its' shoulder season. Not sure what I searched on and found early this morning to find that it was closed, though. I looked up Crabtree and Cedar Ridge and planned to camp at those but, for some reason, saw that Hawkers Point was closed. Oh, well, I'm glad you all set me straight. That'll all work out nicely, then, at about 10 miles between camps. No problem about the electricity or water. Don't need it. Is it legal to set up a tent camp in the flood pool on Stockton? I have no problem stealth camping, myself, as I regularly do it on rivers and bigger lakes, but that involves pulling up a ways into the treeline. And, I might have someone else with me that wouldn't be interested in doing that (another reason for tent as opposed to the hammock).

I'm finally getting down to planning where I'm going to camp on my 4-day thru-paddle of Stockton in a couple more weeks. The first night is going to, probably, be near Hawker Point. Hawker Point is closed for the season, right? Anywhere close to that for a tent for a night and near-ish the water? And, by 'close', I mean kayak close and not jet-boat close. ha!

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I've tried a few of the ideas (sewing mat, snow sled) but, from a suggestion elsewhere, I'm using a section of truck bed liner. It's light, very durable, rolls up and stores within the kayak easily, fairly slick and, best of all, it was free. Normally, I wouldn't bother with a skid plate like this but I'll be doing a few multi-day (and MULTI-day) trips here in the Ozarks in some really rough places over the next year and don't want to risk the wear and tear.

Lots of family stories but I'm too young to have my own pre-dam. The family moved into the white river valley in the late 1700's from TN. My favorite story from my pappy was on one of their standard 4 day trips when, late at night and at Penelope Sink, their jingle bell river alarm went off. River was rising and fast. Dad, as a boy, climbed up as far as he could on a paw paw and tied the jon off. Paw Paw's dropping on my uncles head as he went. The group then hauled everything they could up another tree and spent the next day and half waiting for the water to get down enough for them to see the river banks. They had thought about having my uncle make his way, through the trees, over to the bluff and climb out to get more rope in order to haul everybody and everything up and out of there. But they didn't. Just waited. When the river did go down enough, they climbed down with all of their gear. The boat, however, didn't come down. It was wedged into the branches of a tree, still tied up, and they couldn't get it down. So, they took their canvas bags, dumped a few of them and used them as floats going down the river to a place where they could get up the bank and walk to a cousins house. It took them a few months to get back and get that boat out of the trees, but they did eventually.

Thanks, MOPanFisher, I know you guys will do your best. You're going to be busy!

Seeing as this whole Government thing seems to be over (THIS TIME) soon, how fast would we guess COE / "The Feds" will get the campgrounds, accesses, etc. open once the Government officially opens again? Same day? A day? Past the weekend?

I'm with Ollie and F&F ... I just had 2 and 7/8th tons of TP delivered. It'll be the new currency.

How does that throw-tent work for you? I've seen one 2 other people on hikes on the AT using them but didn't get a chance to talk to them about it. Does it handle wind well? They're easy to setup ("just a throw") but how about getting them back into the pouch? I've been wanting to try one out but since I rarely do a tent, I haven't justified it to myself, yet. It's light and compact except that it's just awfully wide. Really terrible, I believe, for hiking in rough terrain with a wide sail on your back. Probably not too bad for kayaking but I'm sure it'd capture a lot of wind. Could it possibly be made to go into a smaller circle?

Yeah, I mentioned it but didn't elaborate on it. I use my Hennessy unless someone else doesn't have anything and then it's just a small 2 person bivy that we use. I use the hammock for both swinging and ground use if need be. Much prefer it up in the trees, though. It just increases my options so much more in where and how I can spend the night. Especially for those stealth camping opportunities. I also use a thermarest-like air mattress and, for the cooler weather, a felt lined dry top (multi-usage!) to block the wind and cold underneath. Some people find hammocks too cold but I love it. And, it packs smaller than all but the most ultra-light 1 person tents. Wouldn't trade my hammock for anything.

I've done a lot of solo overnighters and two-fers on a small kayak here in the Ozarks and Midwest. And, I'm working out plans for an early Spring 60-70 day trip next year so I'm giving these kinds of things some serious thought as well. Here's just a few tidbits I'll throw out there for your 1-2 overnight water trip here in the Ozarks soon (aka not in terribly cold weather and relatively close to 'civilization'). Different situations and conditions require (sometimes radically) different things than below ... Water: People pack WAY too much water or WAY too little. Or just simply don't pack it correctly. Even in last years' (2012) horrible 100+ degree heat, I was able to keep a hydration bladder cold over 2 days without exterior ice or cooler. I was out last month (upper 80's) for 2 days and still had ice in the bladder and had to lay it on the kayaks' deck just to melt it! Just freeze about 1/3rd of it before the trip and fill it up before you leave. Pack that bladder between insulating items in your pack. I wrap what is, in essence, a foil lined semi-rigid tank insulation around it (which doubles as a wind-shield for the stove mentioned below and a few other things). It has air pockets all through it and insulates well. Around that, I wrap the packs' liner (which is trash compactor bags .. very durable!) when not using it for the liner usage. I do the same with 1 (and only 1) collapsible water bottle. I carry, at most, 2 liters of water for 48 hours in the Ozarks Fall for just floating or light flat-water paddling and fishing. If I need more, I use local water (NOT directly from the pond/lake/stream ... nature filtered methods) and boil it. If I'm still iffy about it, I chemically treat it. No modern filter. Food: For a 1-2 night trip, I rarely take hot meals. No need to. Even in Winter. A warm tea (coffee for those inclined) is plenty for a morning or after an unexpected Winter dip. But, for those times where I do: Home dehydrated meals. Nothing fancy or expensive like those commercial ones. Mainly just leftovers where I made too much. I take 2, 1-quart ziplock bags and that'll do for 48 hours. The rest of the food is cold and has been well documented. I take 30% extra food as reserve anytime I go out and don't touch it unless I'm in terrible circumstances. I'm not one of those that treat outdoor trips like they should be fancy dinners at a restaurant. I go out there to get away from all of that. Just give me fuel to get to where I want to go or do what I want. I eat well (read "tasty" things) but I have no time or inclination to "dine well". Stove: I take this anytime I go out. Even day trips. Not necessarily for food (see above) but for emergencies where I need to ensure my water is safe or need it heated for other reasons. I treat it as safety equipment. For this, I use a homemade alcohol stove. All fuel, utensils, fire making, primary windscreen and anything else related to that stoves' use fits inside the stove. The one I use for solo trips holds about 1.5 cups. The one I use for groups is 5 cups. The stove doubles as my cup/bowl as well. Why take something else? Just more to have to clean, store and haul. General: As someone else pointed out: Good dry bags are a MUST. Even the best wear out. I replace them every couple of years as my safety depends on these almost as much as my knife. Other than a dry bag, I use compactor trash bags a lot. Very durable and they come in very large sizes. I use them as pack (even dry bags sometimes by rolling and taping) liners and even emergency ponchos, water carriers, etc. Even have used them as a liner inside the kayak to hold the dry bags/stuff sacks in there. Every bag I take has at least 2 1-gallon sized ziplock bags. Extremely useful little things! For kayak trips, I use many small bags rather than small bags. Much easier to pack inside a kayak. I also use a LOT of stuff sacks. Keeps everything organized and together. I have color codes for my bags, too. I always know, for instance, that blue bags are medical/emergency related bags. Makes a difference in a hurry or stressed situations. I never pack extra ice (cooler). I don't pack any more clothes than a full set given the season and expected weather for a 1-2 day trip. 4-7 days and I'll pack an extra set of some pieces. I never take a chair (other than what I'm sitting on in the kayak). I pack everything inside the kayak except for what absolutely MUST be gotten to while paddling. That keeps things dry ... the dry bags and vacuum sealing everything (including medical supplies, etc.) takes care of the 5% rest of the time. I don't treat the deck of the kayak like a floating barge. Way too dangerous and inefficient. I pack into the kayak in this order .... Cooking/food, Camp stuff (hammock or tent as some are inclined, sleep bag, etc.), Clothes, Medical/survival. For a 1-2 day paddling trip at this time of year here in the Ozarks, I wouldn't be taking anything more than I would for a hiking trip. Except for a few lures. 5 days and longer, I pack a bit more food and a few extra clothes. For my 60-70 day trip, I'm still thinking....

I'm looking up the size of some regional lakes and something surprised me. Table Rock is listed as having about 745 miles of shoreline while Stockton is listed at around 300. Stockton is a bit under half. It just seems like Table Rock would have a LOT more shoreline than Stockton. Anyone else? On the same subject, would would you consider the furthest points of Table Rock lake itself? Highway P to 86? Or maybe Arkansas 187 to Arkansas 311 ?

I'm looking for ideas on what to use for a skid plate/pad for a kayak. Already have wheels for it on flat ground but those won't help for rough terrain. I'd like to find a material that I can fit onto the back/underside of the kayak as needed (rather than gluing to the boat) when portaging or pulling way up shoreline. It'll need to be wear resistant (obviously) and somewhat flexible so that it can be rolled up to store in the kayak when not needed.

I'm looking for some Sil-Nylon to make a shelter and other things. Preferably camo or brown, tan, etc.. Somewhere here in the Ozarks, if possible. I could always order online from wherever but I try to source things locally/regionally if I can. Heck, I'd even buy ripstop nylon if I can get it larger widths and without having to pay $7/yd and then siliconize it myself. Anybody know of a place around here?

Flysmallie: Yeah, it's the adhesion to the plastic (which is Polypropylene in this case) that I'm wondering about. The clear overlay is to help with the rocks, limbs, etc. but, as you say, it'll eventually get scratched. It's easy enough to do touchups if that's the only problem. If the paint just flakes off, that's another story. Fishinwrench: Hmmmm. Never even though of trying a dye on plastic! I have lots of water and alcohol analine dyes I use in my woodworking along with some natural dyes I make myself. I'll have to see if I can find some more polypro plastic and give it a try. Thanks.

Anyone tried it ? How long has it lasted, if so. Now that it's nearly Fall and the temps and number of people on the local Ozarks waters are going down, I got a new Bending Branches for the kayak for the season. It's bright yellow. I really hate that (if I want to be seen, I'll make a special effort when needed) and painted it with some Krylon Fusion to give it a camo-ish look like the kayaks. Then topped that with some Krylon clear for a bit more protection. Just wondering about alternatives or even if someone did the same as I and how long they might last with normal use.

How about a jon boat? Dad and I put a calf in ours on the Elk about 30 years ago. We were fishing and came upon a calf stuck half way down a high embankment. It was being pelted with rocks and beer cans by the floaters up ahead of us until we got to yelling at them. Anyway, we got the calf un-stuck and put into the boat and went downstream a bit where we could get it out and back up into the field. Never have been back to the Elk. Too much trouble with the rec crowd to make it worth it.

The one I used for that trip was an Ascend (Basspro brand) FS10 Sit In. Got a deal on a new one so I bought it mainly for small river use. Just posted another trip report a minute ago on Flat Creek and this is the kayak I used on that one, too. The James is a decent river for that area during much of the year.

The water was up, which is fairly rare these days, on this little creek at a gauge of about 5.8 ft. I hadn't been on this creek for a long time even though I used to float and wade this thing weekly for 20 years. And, I had some time. So, why not? Took the new small kayak out to test it on a good running river to see how it'd handle and maybe do a little fishing. The fishing wasn't too great but then I didn't think so given how high and fast it was. Caught 1 smallmouth (8") and a couple of bluegill. Those, I caught while stretching my legs and doing some video-taping of the waterfalls this wet weather has created lately. I must say, things have changed on this stretch of water since I was last here. Sure, some of the big landmarks and general meandering of the riverbed was familiar but what really struck me were the gravelbars. They were GREATLY grown up with trees and brush. What was once (and for several decades) barren rock gravelbars, where now tough to distinguish. I'm guessing that the nice floods we once had so regularly, which would keep them cleared, aren't so regular anymore. There were also a few split waterways that made judging which route to take sort of difficult. Sure, some of those had to do with the highwater but there were a few that would be a tough choice even in normal conditions for this time of year. And these splits weren't minor. Some were 20 yards+ apart and about equal in volume. In the past, it was pretty easy to tell which path to take. Lastly, the strainers and arthritic snakes ... Several. There was one large tree that probably had just come down the night before and blocked the entire river. No going over or under and it was on a deep, fast section just around a blind bend. Not a good situation. Luckily, I was able to back-peddle just enough to get to a high gravelbar and portage around it. That was a close one. There were 3 others where I had to back-peddle and try to thread the needle to get through under some limbs. The most fun (aka dangerous) were the snakes. 2 pretty good ones with some wicked (for this creek) turns and threats of flipping and getting stuck under some root wads. I elected to walk the kayak past one group as it was just too dangerous to attempt in a fishing kayak. Other than the put-in I didn't see anyone else. It was a good float and, for what few times I had the fishing rods out of the kayak, it was decent fishing. Nice and cool water, too, until I reached the lake.