ColdWaterFshr

Kayak on upper Taney would be less than ideal. During even moderate generation you got 250 HP boats screaming upriver - so good luck in a SOT, you're braver than me. Make sure its a bright color! Dead low-water in summer, eh, okay, but you will still be competing with some boats just past the 1st bend. Be careful.

Yes, long time ago, both upstream near Garrison and further downstream. Used to be a fun little creek to wade-fish for smallies and goggle-eye. In higher water its a sporty little float, bring a bucket to bail with.

While I love canoe ownership, there are some hidden costs that Bobber kind've alluded to with his rental vs. owning. Hauling a canoe: In 20 years of owning canoes, I think Yakima almost has more of my money than the total purchases of canoes. Unless you drive the same car for 20 years. I've had to get different towers, clips, lengths of bars, replace lost or worn out straps, and other miscellaneous odds and ends -- seems like fairly often. Got 2 sets of racks, one for each vehicle. And 5 different vehicles over the last 15-20 years, it adds up. MPG drops way down with 2 boats on top, too. Drive 2-3 hours just to get to your favorite river and back -- that 24 mpg you used to get on hwy, just became 15. Shuttling cars: Wouldn't mind it so much but for the TIME it eats out of your trip. I've only paid outfitters a handful of times for doing this chore for me, and depending on who, they charge almost as much as renting a canoe. I can safely say that I am dollars well ahead by purchasing vs renting, but Bobber makes a good point if you only plan to float 2-3 times a year, might think again.

Don't listen to Al. He used to know a lot about canoes, but having since moved over to the dark side (jet boats), you just can't trust him anymore. I've got a couple canoes and love them both dearly. My Old Town 158 has been a great boat for the 20 years I've had it. Still going strong. kind've an oxblood. I swear it has the power to heal itself. I replaced the plastic molded bow seat with a nylon webbed seat (and left out the spacers), and I can sit very comfortably solo in it. So I sit up a couple inches higher than I should, which I like because it isn't so hard on my knees, but the sheer weight of this boat makes it very stable to begin with. Great fishing boat and 2-3 day float trip boat, and a decent weekend tandemn camping boat. My 2nd boat is a Dagger Reflection 15 (royalex) and my newest pride and joy. Bought it used off Sparkleminnow, but I don't think he ever had it on the water more than a half-dozen times. Has beautiful wooden gunwales and decks which the chicks really seem to respond to. Cuts through the water like a greased diamond. Dagger is now out of the canoe business and I think Mad River is now making the Reflection hull design. Good boat, very light and responsive, but at only 15 feet its more of a day-trip boat, or couple nights on the river w/ gear for 1 at most.

Don't forget Capn. Kangaroo

Stick w/ your Captains and you won't go wrong: Capn Chuck Capn Babler Capn Don Capn Crunch

Paul Dallas is IN. I'm not much of a cartographer, but I can keep the drinks flowing and I have reliable source for some killer blotter acid if things start to get a little stale. When do we start?

Yeah the owners of the red canoe were on their way to try and rescue it as we floated out. They wanted to drive their Jeep to it by using the trail, and I finally convinced them that would be impossible. Had I gotten a better look at it and seen that it was folded over, I would have told them to save their energy. There is nothing to salvage with that boat except for maybe the seats, and it ain't going nowhere until that tree gets cut. The Wenonah was heroically unpinned by Gavin and Slosh and was floated out by its owner. No permanent damage to either.

If thats what it is, I appreciate the candor. Saves me the drive if my curiosity should ever decide to tempt me to investigate. Matt and Brian just saved me the trouble. My homewaters are Lake Springfield, and I have no problem at all with calling it a festering lagoon of a S#!t hole. Nice video Matt and Brian. Really makes me want to hit Crane sometime. Paul

I'm only familiar with the upper end from Boxley to Pruitt. But you won't be able to even float up there in the summer because it gets too low anyway, so no worry about dangerous rapids. And they really aren't that bad anyway unless there have been some recent rains. Below Kyles my book shows it being all class I, so unless there has been a lot of rain, you'll be fine. I've heard the lower sections aren't nearly as crowded as the upper, but I've seen hundreds of canoes on the water there in April and May, so "crowded" may be a relative term. By mid-July, its hot enough that the party may be over on the lower sections. Upper end doesn't fish that well at all, and I've heard the lower section is only a little better. Call some outfitters and ask their advice. Have fun!

joeD nailed it. Below Dry Fork it is consistently worse than it is better, and above there, well, might as well fish the park.

Good point, and thats my next big bone of contention I have with some giggers . . . not all of them I'm sure, but from what I've seen of the Washington/Jefferson county variety at least --- they tend to be SLOBS. Aw heck, throw Oregon, Dent, and Phelps County in there too. Who hasn't been to a boat ramp and seen exactly this same thing? Scales everywhere, rotting smelly fish entrails either on the bank or right there in inches of water. It ain't exactly littering, but its pretty durn hoosier-ish, not much different than finding sawed off dear limbs right near a hunting access. Maybe they can't be busted out on the water in the dead of night, but I'd sure like to see some tickets written AT the boatramps to the knuckle-draggers who are fouling them in such a way. I bet these would be the same crowd who don't mind gigging the sportfish too.

But not a smallmouth either. Look, I am sure there are more than a few bad, or even newbie giggers out there that kill a few good sized smallmouth on our beloved streams. Sucks, yes. Intentionally?? I struggle with that. Except for the guy that was getting them put in his mailbox. Don Corleone? But certainly, jackasses like that could impact a stretch of water in a real hurry. Lets hope that they are the extreme minority. Thankfully these megawatt lightbulbed jet boats can't run up smalller streams, and they really need good, clear water to do their damage during the season, so lets count your blessings. But as for enforcement? Not impossible, just difficult given the hours they keep. MDC needs to be made aware of the problem and given a chance to respond. I have no problem with responsible giggers at all. Keep on keepin on, just be sure and shun any jackasses that show up at the boil with bass, thats all.

Good stuff. Best video from around these parts I've seen. Good work and awesome photography.

Paul wishes he could've been in attendance. Looks like another great WFT. Thanks for posting up the pictures and NICE fish!

I've resisted chiming in here because I think many of the arguments are moot points. Especially the west side-east side one which is completely empty. And I glanced at the white paper, but like someone else said it seems "phoned in". It seems to me that MO smallmouth bass, in streams anyway, are beyond the scope of MDC "management" in any sense of the word. 1) Way too many miles of streams to watch, 2) far too few of agents to patrol those many miles, 3) the reality is that SMB are lower on the popularity totem pole compared to other species - trout for instance or largemouth or crappie or walleye or white bass and so why would MDC devote much if anything to it, and they are relatively hearty anyway, and 4) how do you manage it EVEN IF everything is perfect?? I've heard Kevin Meneau talk about what a crapshoot a spawn can be. High water during a critical time can wipe out a year class. And given that MDC doesn't stock and cannot with any degree of success, stock smallmouth, how and what exactly are you managing? If "management" means only putting up signposts declaring them to be a Smallmouth Management Areas, then whoop-tee-do! I'm not sure you're improving anything other than increasing the budget allocated to signs and thereby giving vandals more firewood or nice bright targets to shoot at. I love smallmouth fishin in creeks and in that silly poll I voted for pure C & R reg change in all of the states streams, but the realist in me knows that probably wouldn't do much to improve anything in the short-term, at least not without better enforcement to go with it. I support the efforts of MSA and increasing AWARENESS of this important gamefish. They have their work cut out for them. End of the day . . . white papers are just papers, and whether you think MDC is to blame or is impeding progress . . . I just can't get behind either of those mules.

Just now reading this and kinda shocked at Chief. Don't join! Nobody has to "sell" you anything and I'm shocked at the "tone" of your questions. What does your $25 membership fee (or whatever it is) get YOU? As in, whats in it for me? What a humbug.

I think you're talking about different Beaver Creeks. The one mentioned in the Floaters Guide goes thru Bradleyville and drains into Bull Shoals. The one that Ozark Trout Fisher is talking about dumps into the Little Piney -- I can't imagine it even being floatable.

The line between hunting and fishing is getting blurrier all the time. Check this disturbing clip out: http://troutunderground.com/

Oh, I'm quite full of it, I freely admit.

And that perspective is? . . . "catching fish on 6x with a hand-tied fly" - something that you have yet to accomplish yourself, but yet you hold it as your base standard for respect?? How rich! One could argue that powerbait is no less of a "bait" than the Chompers or Senko's that I'm sure you pitch to smallies, right Eric? I mean, heck Powerbait resembles an egg, right? There's not many fly-fisherman that don't carry a few "fetal emergers" in their fly box, is there? Clearly Powerbait is not a real egg, and whether it is designed and manufactured to mimic an egg is debatable I guess. Oh, but its scented you say! But so are most Chompers and Senkos, or do you fish with exclusively the unscented variety just to make sure you are TRICKING the fish, and not FEEDING it.

Simmer down young grasshopper. You're entitled to your opinion and your definition of respect, but try to pay attention to the depth of that hole ya got diggin there.

I've got dandruff, and SOME OF IT ITCHES. Pay no attention to that clicking noise, just adjusting my drag.

Sorry Eric and OTF, the hypothetical question was okay intially I guess, but the research seemed a bit labored and repeated posts got to be more than I could take, and coming from you and Ozark TF'er who I take don't have all that many hours spent on Taney, am I correct? Who would support stocking of smallmouth, whatever the strain, in Taney other than you guys and maybe a stimulus package lamppost? I'm sure smallmouth eat a few scuds, about like I eat candy corn in the jar in the lobby of some office that I have to be in . . . but anyway, not trying to be nasty. Please continue with the research!

I think the whole idea is nuts on many different levels, and who started this thread anyway? Upper Taney is a premier trout tailwater desitination, the middle section is ugly Branson and the lower end is a forgotten and very marginal-bass water. Just leave it at that. Stock muskies on the lower end if anything, they'd probably do a lot better than smallies. I love smallies, but this talk is just plain silly. Smallmouth eating scuds