avillesmuggler

Update. I left my boat (hidden) at Bennet springs public access, and drove back to NRO and parked my car there. Wild Bill (great guy) drove me in the school bus back to my boat and I did the four mile float back to the car. Took my time and made a day of it. Caught a couple browns, a ton of rainbows, one pumpkinseed, but no smallies 😞. Had the most luck with a smaller green wooly bugger, but I caught a few nymphing as well. I threw a huge streamer by some structure for fun, and I saw a flash of some giant monster inspect it, but no strike. I also saw what looked like a giant carp hanging around in the slower moving water?

I emailed NRO and they said they could do it for me any day except Saturday for $30.00. I just need to call them a few days in advance. I do like the idea of dragging a buddy along. It seems silly to drive two cars from KC just to make things easier, but I agree it would be the most reliable method. Maybe we’ll do that.

I floated and fished with some buddies yesterday. We floated from Bennett to Big Bear River Resort (formerly one-eyed Willy’s), where are we had stayed night before. I had my own raft, which they put on their van for me and drove us to Bennett with the other floaters. Was fun. Caught some fish. Saw a VERY large trout. River was still more crowded than I thought, but it was mostly families. Does anyone offer car shuttle service? I’d like to put my raft on a trailer and drive down to Bennett Spring access, park my car, put in, and then float to Barclay, While I’m fishing, I’m looking for someone to drive my car + trailer to Barclay and park it there Does anyone do this? I’d love to support the float companies, but I want to start my trips very early in the morning before they go, in order to beat the crowds. Thought I would ask because I know my guides in Arkansas and Montana had someone shuttle their vehicles for them.

Thx both. I will report back on the trip!

I’d like to float from the park down to Prosperine Access. 1. Would water typically be okay for this on Oct 1? 2. Is there any sandbar camping possible or allowed in this stretch? I’ll be with my family and would like to go VERY slow, stopping to fish along the way. Ideally, we’d set up camp on a sand/gravel bar after floating for 2-3 hours. We’ve tried this model before and had luck keeping everyone happy. And then we finish the float next day. Is that possible on this River? Hope it’s okay I’m barging in with the questions here. My last post here was about my trip to Crane Creek. Little did I know then it would be one of my last trips with my dad, who suddenly died later. I’ve since moved back to KC from far away to take care of family. Looking forward to exploring the ozarks….. just wish my dad was still here to come with me!

hard for me to tell without fishing it very often. It felt "just right" on 5/18, but water was definitely much higher 5/21, still looked fishable though on 5/21.

Fished Crane on 5/18 from about 11:30 to 6:00, with a long lunch break. Hard work but caught three. Biggest one (not too big) on a weighted San Juan variant, a small one on a black wooly bugger with two split shot, and another small one on some nymph I forgot the name of. When I caught the fish on the bugger, I was targeting two larger fish (probably about 14") that I had probably spooked anyways. Drove by again on 5/21(Sunday) but it looked a little more crowded, and was muddy. I was tired from Arkansas trip, so we passed

Taking a road trip from Chicago through KC to pick up my Dad and then headed to Bull Shoals tailwater. Would love to stop at Crane along the way. Has all the rain impacted the creek, or was it not hit as bad as southeastern MO?

What species can be caught in the streams of Southern Illinois, particularly those in the Shawnee National Forest.