Pat Magee

You are kidding I agree, the whole time I was floating I was thinking about your report! Andy said that is about the halfway point of that stretch. It's nice to have a giant landmark like that on a new river to give you an idea on distance.

I just did one. Would love to get one more in! Where are you planning on going?

Phil, If you are still selling these I would love to order one. I also have a great vendor that I use at my work that does some great (off-brand) dri-fit shirts that are just as good as the name brand ones. Let me know if you would like their contact information. For those of you that are looking for a sticker, I have a few left from when he sent them to me several years ago that I would be happy to toss in the mail for you. Just PM me an address.

FIrst time to the Gasconade. Made a rookie mistake right off the bat and talked myself into a long float (for this time of year anyway). I was going to float for 6 miles on the B. Piney and the last two on the Gasconade but Boiling Springs couldn't get me out on the water until after 1030a. I decided on the long float and had Andy from Route 66 shuttle my vehicle for me. If I do this again in the fall, I will definitely takeout at Veteran's Bridge instead of floating all the way to our campground at Boiling Springs. After Andy dropped us off at the Riddle Bridge boat ramp we ran into a really nice Army Sergeant from Fort Leonard Wood who was down there running his boat one last time before he put it away for the winter. He was a spiritual guy so he offered to lead me and my buddy in a prayer before we left. Pretty odd but cool thing to happen right before you head out I guess? He prayed that we not encounter any snakes and I will be darn if we didn't encounter any out there on the water. Just wish he would have prayed for a 20' smallie for me though! I tried to stay committed to top water for longer then I normally do on this trip but I soon gave up on it after my buddy nailed the first few fish (all dinks) and I had nothing to show for it. He was using a Zoom Tiny Fluke on a shroom head and had also encountered a few nice smallmouth but couldn't bring them to hand. I messed around with all the usual baits that people have success with but I decided to stick with Mitch's Craw and his flukes after awhile. I was immediately rewarded with a nice LM that I caught off the back of a wood pile I had great luck with both of Mitch's creations as well as the Zoom Super Fluke. I have a favorite color of mine that really seems to pay off when the sun is out better than anything else I use. I think I pulled darn near every fish I caught off the backside of downed trees. My buddy on the other hand pulled most of his fish off of large chunk rock on the banks or on the edges of some of the deeper channels. As is the norm, LM were in slower water in deep cover and SM were before and after the current. I did take some pictured on my GoPro but haven't had time to upload them or see if I got anything decent on camera. I can tell you the scenery both on the way down there and on the float were some of the most amazing things I have seen here in Missouri. We saw around a half dozen bald eagles, deer, and the beginnings of the fall colors popping on the trees. I really cannot wait to go back out to the Gasconade again with some other people so I can learn a little more about how to fish it best. In total we probably brought around 30 fish to hand before we had to haul butt back to the campsite so we weren't still on the water at dark. Floated over a lot of decent water that I would have liked to fish but maybe I will get to it next time.... I did want to say thanks to Mitch (for his fantastic craws and flukes) MoSmallies (for his great advice) Smalliebigs (who gave me the killer deal on the Coosa) and Gavin (for sending me in the right direction about the Gasconade when I started planning). I think I learned a lot about the river this time around and I can't wait to get back out there again. This was a car/truck laying in the water on its roof. I wonder what the story is behind this? Looks to be a late 50's

That reaction packaging looks like it belongs on a gas station t-shirt.

Thanks Paul! I like that Aqua Stick.

The picture above is the only picture that I have taken near water. I am finally going to trust that that case is as good as they say it is and get some other shots on and below the water. I have attached my camera to an 18 foot golf ball retriever so I am hoping to get some overhead shots and some other different vantage points.@plastic_worm has inspired me to think outside the box so hopefully my original ideas actually turn out. What are you fellas doing about batteries? I ordered two more Wasabi batteries and a dual charger to keep me juiced up. Is there a better way?

I leave for the Gasconade for a weekend float on Friday so I am hoping to have some actual fishing pictures after the weekend (god willing). I was hoping I could capture some great fall shots on the water but it doesn't look like we will be seeing much color this weekend. Over the weekend I brought along my GoPro to the pumpkin patch in case something was worth getting on camera. Of course my little one happily obliged the opportunity to be photogenic. I just grabbed some shots out of a short video of her and used my favorite quick app (Snapseed) to blur out the rednecks to the best of my ability. All of the camera settings were set to Auto (idiotproof!) Here is another one I took the week after I bought the camera. She may be little but she sure knows when I need another beer! Settings (White Balance: 6500k, GoPro Color:on, Sharpness: Medium) No after shot editing needed

Just saw Jackson Kayak's instagram featured your picture along with a link to the orvis site. Hopefully that gives you another bump in votes!

To be honest, Smalliebigs looked to be in worse shape after his mishap.

I had a Mini-x for a couple seasons. Most uncomfortable seat I have ever been in! They were light and easy to carry solo but geez did that thing make my @ss fall asleep!

GoPro wants 19.99 for a piece of foam glued to a waterproof backdoor. I just bought a cheap waterproof foam keychain and stuck it on my extra backdoor. Only bummer is I cannot see my screen now!

Sweet! I have toyed around with a couple of mount options so far but haven't really settled on anything yet. I think I am going to use a gooseneck mounted to one of the sticky mounts somewhere on the front of my kayak. The over the shoulder shots or aerial shots can be done with the telescoping pole. The octopus mount is another interesting option that I may have to think of.

Do you only shoot with the full case on it? I bought "The Frame" because I heard it can take better shots when not in the case. Obviously when you are on the water, the case is your only option. I was also curious if you used a Floaty backdoor? Also when in the case do you use anything to keep the lens cover dry (Rain X type of product)?

Plastic...I have followed you blog and follow you on FB as well. I have always admired the shots you capture and the angles you capture them from. I have been goofing around in the backyard with the best angles for camera mounts and to try and find some unique angles. I have a 24 foot golf ball retriever that I have been toying around with to get some neat overhead shots with but at full extension the pole bounces like crazy! Think I might take your idea and just use a telescoping painter's pole instead. I do that a lot as well. A 15 second video gives you roughly 450 pictures to choose from so you can really pick which shots you like the most. When I said I don't intend on taking a lot of videos I just meant that I don't think I will ever get around to editing trips for full videos but would rather just take the "HERO" shots out of them. Love the shots you post, they definitely do the habitat you fish justice! You have been on a good tear this summer.

I have tried to get my wife to let me bring the DSLR on my camping trips but she isn't down with it. I have a D3200 which isn't anything special but I have accumulated a bunch of different lenses that compliment it really well. With DSLR it seems you either pay a lot for the camera body and the lenses are a little cheaper or vice versa. I do like those Olympus cameras, my little pocket camera I used to take on fishing trips has been an Olympus FE-230 forever!

Thanks Ollie! I look at it this way, the GoPro captures pretty much exactly what my eyes are looking at so if I think something looks picture worthy from where i am standing, it usually come across that way with my GoPro. I have been flattening my pictures to get rid of the fish eye which also stretches the picture out slightly but it is still a pretty realistic field of view IMO.

Thanks Flysmallie! I had an entry level Nikon DSLR for 5 years now and I am still learning something new everyday with that. I was hoping to accelerate that process with the GoPro by just taking it with me since it is so small. The one thing that I have definitely noticed so far is that you really need sunlight to make these pictures really look good. It isn't the best in low light or cloudy days. The lack of zoom doesn't really bother me that much but I know what you mean. It isn't the most versatile camera in the world but it is darn near perfect for what I am looking to do. If you don't mind me asking, what do you shoot with now?

I have recently joined the GoPro crowd with my Hero 4 Silver. I have wanted one forever but finally decided to pull the trigger. Despite the video capabilities of the GoPro, I mainly bought it to take stills and time lapse photos. Who knows, maybe that will change down the road..... I have my first kayak/camping/fishing trip planned with it in a couple weeks but I have been forcing myself to take it with me just about everywhere I go to get used to operating it and figuring out the best settings. For these things being so small, they have a ton of settings to cycle through! I am going to try and add to this thread as I go and hopefully I can learn some things along the way regarding lighting/angles/settings/etc. Here was a shot that I took at Ruth Park Golf Course on Hole #6 shortly after a small storm cloud blew in. This picture was taken around 5:30 pm on 9/25/16 I edited this photo using Snapseed but the original was just as amazing. Just felt a few adjustments really made this picture look pretty darn rad. I messed around with the Gopro settings quite a bit on this shot so I can't remember my final settings were but I will try and add the setting details on future pictures. I wouldn't ever claim to be a photographer but I do enjoy goofing around from time to time. Feel free to critique or offer any advice, I have a lot to learn!

What is it with everyone burying treble hooks in their hands this month?!? I think that is my biggest fear when out fishing, well that and maybe dying

I know what you mean. I can't imagine how tiring and nerve wracking that must be. At least you are getting some phenomenal results when its high and dirty to make it worth it. Every time we get a hard rain I jump on OAF and look at the Meramec thread to see how you did, haha. You have caught some fantastic fish this year.

I feel the same way. There aren't many options when you are kayak fishing like I am besides going to a lake which isn't nearly as enjoyable as moving water. Guess when you have a jet like Hog, high water or low water doesn't really matter!

Great Report! I had the same kind of weather at Rowley's but had the best fishing. It was tough to pin-point where the fish where even in gin clear waters but when the tournament boats showed up I figured I was in a good spot. The Mink River is where I was at home the most. When you threw to a "fishy" spot it was usually followed by a bite. I look forward to heading back up there soon! Hopefully you got to indulge in some good eats up there. They have some of the best darn food I have ever had aside from the east/west coasts.

My first fly fishing trip I was so scared that I was going to spook what I thought was a nice brown, that I made probably 20 drifts before I finally waded into the water to see it was a really nice brown...............................................................rock. It is just so tough to tell if the water is stained or the wind is blowing that I would rather be safe then sorry.

I know how to tell the difference when I am up closer but when you are trying to tell the difference from 30 plus feet away, you could be casting do a darn log for all you know!