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Nice fish Jenny...I am jealous! What did she catch it on Brian???

..yes..two sheds..between turner and horseshoe bend.Your description of the site below whiten is right on!!! The other site below whiten is about 1/2 way to riverton, river makes a 90 degree right, shoals, nice hole with campsite on right, rope hanging from tree, back of the hole narrows quickly with water moving into eroded dirt hillside on the right...great walking area from there down. What distrubed me about that site was the 4 wheeler tracks that led to this site from behind...not legal in mark twain national forest!!!

...two sheds...I am familiar with that campsite also...one of my favorites except that the one I referred to allows me to walk a larger area to wade and fish without floating...both are on high ground...I think yours might have more of the sound of rapids in the background...which is great for sleeping!!!And you are correct....there are many gravel bars that make great sites for camping...my last trip the first week of August was meant to explore for more gravel bars that also provided wading access to fish...we found one below Turner and another one below Whiten that would allow us to wade long stretches of the river and fish without floating.We have been boated in, dropped off, and spent 5-7 days at the same site the last two Memorial Days...great times on the greatest river!!!

...two sheds...question for you??? your third pic shows a campsite ..could this campsite possibly be near white's creek???...a great site(one of many great gravel bar camp sites)...looks very familiar!!! ..I agree with what you have to say about the 11 point river. Sounds like you had a great trip...good for you!!! ..second question...what did the Beatles do while they were on or at the river???

...It is obvious we are all on the same page on this one!!!...Good Luck to us all....I am afraid we are going to need it!!!

...I was there over Easter for the first time and came to the conclusion that nothing could be done to fix that problem....too many trees missing and too much dirt showing...in addition, I am not very smart, but it does not take a smart person to figure out that at that slope....grass and holding ponds are like band aids for heart attacks...a lot of damage has been done and would take time to restore if the development fall through...houses do not belong everywhere...good luck....as I hope for the best !!!

I guess there are many different ways to catch and fish for trout. We seem to find what works best for us and then do it. I grew up as a redneck fisherman fishing the little creeks and Mississippi River around the Ste Genevieve area. We would do whatever we could to catch whatever might bite. Fishing the White River in Arkansas below the Norfork is nearly impossible to fly fish....the old reliable seems to work great for me, on the White, on the 11 point, and in the trout parks....a minnow or a pattern of power eggs bouncing on the bottom with the current...only fishing the fast water!!!...minnows seem to work the best for large fish...if that is what you are wanting to catch!!!

thank you britt...I was hoping someone saw it that way too. That also might explain why the fishing was tough that afternoon....many waders passing us from above. Where do you do most of your trout fishing nowadays???

I spent the early part of the week fishing and floating the 11 point, then spent Thursday and Friday at Montauk. Saw hardly anyone fishing the 11 point, and Montauk had a nice group of fishermen and women. Had to work hard for fish in the afternoon starting at the bottom of the park and walking up river. Repeated the same routine mid Friday morning with better success. Had my son with me and he raised a good question..."why do so many people walk down river instead of upriver?"...I told him that I did know, I guess they don't know any better. Ended up with three nice 15 inch fish...the last two would not have been caught by walking down the river....able to sneak up on them and caught them facing and feeding, of course, upriver ....Does anyone else have any thoughts on walking up or down a river to fish??? Also, it seems that there are more women fishing than what I remember seeing years ago...that is good to see!!! It was my third trip to the park in the last two years and enjoyed it ... but for trout fishing...the 11 point is still my favorite...far less waders...a few jet boats...and more challenging!!!

...We came behind you and floated Turner to Whiten the 30th and from Whiten to Riverton the 31st. Put in after 9:00 AM and leisurely floated following the banks that provided the most shade...since the sun was almost too hot to sit in. We were mostly looking for gravel bars to camp on that provided lots of wading opportunities (for future trips). I find it hard to catch fish in the heat of the day....we did manage to catch a few on some of our stops to cool ourselves off in the river. Our best action came near Whiten around 6:00...the river was shaded which is the only way I seem to catch fish...bouncing a variety of baits along the bottom. The Whiten to Riverton float...nice in the shade when we pulled over....it was supposed to be 100...but felt like 80 in the middle of the afternoon...did not put in until nearly noon....found a nice gravel bar with plenty of wading below whites creek...caught 3 nice fish along the left bank at 1:00...under some trees that hung over the river...one 16 inches...I do not know if it is just me or not but I can only can fish in a part of the river that is shaded...no matter the time of the day. We stopped at Boze Mill and spent an hour or so there....caught a few small ones where the spring enters the river...very beautiful colored fish...but, again, were small. I have noticed my last two trips on the 11 point that I have caught more small fish than in previous years. I am not sure of the reason, but, I am sure there is one!!! Went home for a couple of nights and then took off to Montauk...for a totally different type of fishing trip.

...I agree with Brian...Cane Bluff to Greer is great smallmouth water...Thomasville to Greer is great smallmouth and goggle eye water...but impossible to float at this time of the year...yet, the fish are still there if one can get to them...the trout fishing from Greer to Whiten is the best I have found!!!...congrats to your son on his first fish!!!...no better place to catch it!!!

....the best way to fish this river...I have found....is to fish the water that the motor boats cannot!!! I like to hit a gravel bar, then wade the river. While in a boat, they miss many very good spots, I have found, that one cannot physically fish while in a boat. I have drift fished from canoes but do not care too much for it.

....Montauk it is!!! Been to both...catch fish at both....but love the peacefulness of Montauk. I usually sleep late and start at the bottom ot the park and walk upriver towards the campground. Usually have the river pretty much to myself. May pass a few fishermen along the way...but always find a spot where fish can be caught. The campgrounds are some of the best I have ever seen...shady and near the water...miles of stream in the park and miles of stream below the park...even access to a swimming hole.

You are correct...below Turner...any bait is legal. I usually fish below Whiten...rarely above Whiten even though the water is wonderful there. A presentation that works well for me and allows me to catch trout at any time of the day is, in the middle of the day, fish the water that is in the shade. I do not make a cast between 9 and 6 unless it is in the shaded part of the river. We also camp on the river 4-5 times a year....a tip to keep the critters away is to leave garlic cloves and onions on your coolers or food storage areas....has been working well since a coon clawed a cooler up years ago trying to get apples.

I like low visibility green 6 lb test...I also do not use the fly rod...natural baits work well for a change...minnows are especially good for larger fish...fish were feeding in late May and early June on small live crawfish.

Nice report Brian...gives me a very good idea of what the river is like and how to fish for them...will be on the river through Memorial Day and will have to stop by and see you...that is how I have my best luck so I am getting excited to get a line wet.

..stay at the confluence of both rivers and fish both depending on what the norfork is like...we did that over Easter and it workded out great.

what is the river level at this time? Better yet, so I can get the picture, how much higher is it now then last October, my most recent trip? Plans are for three of us to spend the week starting Thursday before Memorial Day on a gravel bar...hoping the gravel bar is still there!

I will have to agree with your post, Brian! Last May, we floated Thomasville to Cane Bluff with close to the same results...in fact we had to stop fishing because of the miles needed to cover and the amount of daylight that remained. It was a difficult float at that time of the year, but the fish were pooled up...and we had never floated that part of the river. Smallies were darting everywhere as we passed over them in our canoes. This Memorial Day week, our plans are to float Cane Bluff to Greer or Greer to our campsite. Maybe both!

congrats John....I am sure it was a beautiful fish!!!

Thanks Brian! Read the thread and still bothered. I do have a feeling this issue will heat up as time passes.

It was reported in the March 19th Metro section of the St Louis Post Dispatch that there could be public land sold in the area of the Eleven Point River. I checked the Forest Service website but the descriptions are vague. Brian, do you know where this proposed land specifically is?

...I agree with John Berry. Fine them to the max...!!!

I would recommend a gravel bar over a float camp any day!!! You are on the river...and nothing is sweeter to my ears than the running water of the 11 point. There is a very nice camp site approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile down river from the Mcdowell public access that enters on horseshoe bend off CR 161. You hit the shoals and then the river makes a 90 degree right. The campsite is on the right ...you cannot miss it!!! The access is hard to see until you are on top of it, but it will be on the left. Hope this helps!!!

...did opening day once...at bennett..way tooooooo crowded for me!!! Will not do anymore opening days. I guess I enjoy the solitude and peacefulness too much. Use to get up early for the horn when at Montauk...but usually do not make it on the water until after 10:00 now!!!