ollie

Thought I was until I saw this!

No problems glory. I'm just about the same way. Three kids still at home and a warden still make it hard for me at times also. See, I already have asked off for those dates with the purpose of having a good time out on the river somewhere! If the water is right, I plan on going to the Mulberry. If the water is good around here, I might want to stay closer to home with gas prices like they are. Don't worry, it will all work out in the end.

Bobber seems to be the man in the know when it comes to the Buffalo. Give him a pm.

Chub's right on with that analogy. It's one of those places you have to be ready to go at a drop of a hat if you live aways that is. It's 2 1/2 hours for me to get there. I want to go there in May, but who knows what the wether will be like. I think it will either be great or a blow out depending on whether or not it keeps raining! I might be up for a float on Big Sugar if it's not a blow out either.

Since the last flood I haven't had a chance to get over there. Before the last flood I went down and had very little success, but then again the creek has been through a lot! I am sure the water will be flowing through at a good pace though. Not sure if they have stocked since then either. Getting too warm out there for me. Warm weather and water = Snakes! Lots of them down there by now. Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

I think at any level below 2.5 would be ok for that boat. I have a Pamlico 100 and I did it ok, except I did take in a lot of water with the open cockpit. The two things you need to happen I have already cleared! lol I don't know this will happen for sure, but if it does I'm there.

The Mulberry is a BLAST! Not worth anything for fishing when the water is rolling, but the rapids are great fun when the level is right. If the water is up in May would you want to go? That is for Russ also.

My neighbor and I fish another local stream and the water was really fast. I've turned over in those rapids before! Few years back my wife and I took the Old town from powell to Cyclone and the water was moving also. We watched another canoe with two women in it go through it with no problems. We hit a rock and it was all over! Sounds like a fun time. I may be doing that trip in May if I'm not on the Mulberry. When the water goes down a little more those will be strainers in those pics! A lot of water still for that stream.

I've caught a lot of trout above Parker Bend on the deep side along the bluffs. Has that filled in also?

Oh, I know. I've been around here most of my life. It's all the farm run-off and flat plains that drain into it. Different terain that's for sure.

I always go over Shoal on my way to work. Tonight it did look better than yesterday and this morning. Even when it runs "clear" and I use that term loosely because it isn't like other streams around here. Anyways it does look better.

It still looks a little muddy and stained over by Joplin, but I'm sure that will clear up over the weekend if no more heavy rains hit!

Chub, are you talking right upstream from Tildens? I've seen a LOT of large greenies in there! That is a great stretch of stream, but try and keep that on the down low......... Wait, you better not go on that stream at all, there aren't any fish in there!

That is a pretty long float. I know it takes me around 6-8 hours to float Powell to Cyclone on a normal flow. I was thinking Cyclone to Sugar Island was about the same, then on down to the Heaven? Of course if you are doing an overnighter then things are different! I'm contemplating an overnighter in May somewhere on Big Sugar also.

Mighty impressive amount of water coming through the flood gates.

I found this link this morning of the dam spillway opened up. http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-10797 If the link doesn't work, I found the pics on I-report a Cnn service.

Maybe I shouldn't say "epic", I just got through talking to my neighbor who use to live right down where those pictures are taken. Where there is a skate park now, there use to be a run down shack that somebody lived in and a few other houses where there is no road now. He also said something about a cement factory that took me a minute to remember. As a kid he could remember the water coming close to how high it ran this morning, but the homes were trashed by the water.

You couldn't PAY me to be on any creeks around here this week!!

I thought we came pretty unscathed last time the flood waters came, but this time Hickory creek has come WAY up. I had to stay home with one of the sick children today so I got out for about a half hour and snapped these pics. I have lived in the Neosho area almost all my life and I'm not a young man, but I have NEVER seen the creek like this. The road to my house had to be blocked earlier because of high water and debris that was in the road. I think the drainaged ditches were full of debris from last time and that's why I'm seeing water where I shouldn't. Anyways, these are pics of the low water bridge entering Morse Park. If you look close you can see the water up into the ballfield and where the bridge is suppose to be. Some of you should recognize this place.

I'm sorry, didn't mean to come off in that way. Bad night at the house. Around here in hickville all you hear about is the rave of OG. If these people only knew there were much better out there. I use to live in Alton and have eaten at Tony's. Pretty good stuff. When I lived there there used to be a place over in Edwardsville that was good also. The guy that owned it was Badalamenti (sp?). Can't remember if it was named after him or something else.

Pasta House is bogus. I had a kid work there when I was a manager in St. Louis at another pizza joint and he told me that they used a LOT of pre-made items from different suppliers. Mind you that was in the 90's. Zio's is nothing more than a Mazzio's in an upscale atmosphere. It is the same, trust me. I guess I shouldn't put any of them down, it's just I expect a true Italian joint to be made from homemade recipes and not from a mix or pre-made item just heated up. IMO

He's talking about the lower end where 43 bridge crosses over.

Were those taken on the Little Sugar? I don't remember falls like that on the Elk? Almost looks like the river made a new path around those falls. I stand corrected, those ARE of the Little Sugar. My UPS driver says his cousin caught a 5lb. smallie from there just last year behind those falls.

I took these just a couple of days ago, so this wasn't at it's peak flow. The spring was really pumping out the water! I've never seen a river like that ever and I've seen that park thousands of times. I can only imangine how much was flowing on Tuesday.

Ok, if that pic was taken from the road, I'm guessing it was up in town! My wife just looked at that picture and she went to school in Mac County and she thinks it's probably over the road in town.