goosetalk

Took the family on a float today around Steelville which ended up being a great trip. Only saw one jet boat and not another floater the entire 5-6 miles. Younger kids caught plenty of crawdads and minnows and me and the oldest caught plenty of bass. We put in around 10:30 and I decided to use a spook to start while my oldest son threw a 3” green pumpkin grub. He quickly landed 3 smallmouth, but nothing of any size. I then had a nice blow up, and hooked up on the third one as he kept coming back after it. Nice chunky 15” fish. Oldest kept catching fish while I was not having anymore luck. I maybe get out once or twice a year on a float and I always try to throw top water to start, and usually catch a couple but can never stick with it all day if something else is catching. I usually have another rod with some sort of finesse tied on. I was throwing a wacky worm too and had a few bites but still not what the grub was catching. I decided to tie on a 1/16 oz jig head and added a 3” swim bait of some random brand I found at Walmart. It was mostly translucent with a bit of purple back. It worked, and it worked well. Mostly a simple cast and mid speed retrieve with a little twitch here and there and they were all over it. Maybe a count down of 3 in the deeper sections before retrieving. Was catching them in the riffles and tailings one after another. Nothing huge, a few real dinks mixed in but plenty nice healthy fish up to 14”. Just a lot of fun with keeping it simple. Had this young beaver swim up to us too which was cool for the kids to see up close. A few broods of wood ducks as well.

Started at the buzzer today and finally stopped fishing at 1pm, all catch and release. They put in 400 today and there were only 50 tags sold at buzzer time according to another angler. I did well with an orange trout worm with one small split shot above it. Caught a few on a light pink color as well. Count it down 5 and a constant twitch and reel is what they liked.Caught a few at the end of drifts by shaking in current down stream but most caught while bringing the worm across the current. Caught one on a rubber leg jig that I obtained from another fish I caught earlier, then lost it to another fish. I couldn’t see the fish but they were hitting hard the first hour. Later on it when I could sight fish it usually took them 2-3 swirls to finally eat it. I caught most above the main riffles but also caught a few in the swift water. Even with the smashed down barb I was getting really good hooks sets so I had very few come off. Broke off a real nice one after I forgot to reset my drag from the previous fish. Had one that was likely over 3lbs pop off down stream in heavy current. I saw that fish from the bank and took about 15 minutes for him to finally hit. The quality of the fish was impressive to me. Only caught a couple dinks out of dozens of fish.

Thanks for the info. It will be one of those deals where I might get the chance to go if the kids get settled down early enough. Since I would not have a partner I was curious how many do fish at night so at least someone would be around in case of a problem.

We are likely taking a family vacation in early July to Branson. One of the first things in the back of my mind was "Wonder if I can get away for a few hours later in the evening....." Never been down to Taney before, only trout from the parks. Bass fish plenty at night so have that experience. Also duck hunt so very used to wading in the dark, even in current. I have plenty of time to search the forum for tackle set ups and conditions I could be faced with and I will do so, but figure I would ask here for any tips or information about the wading area and facing it for the first time at night. I will plan on scope it out during daylight to make myself familiar with the lay of the bank and gravel bars and such. Thanks in advance.

Thought gar with mouth broke off with pliers but that split tail fin said no. Eye placement does look like a pickerel.

Well I caught just a few fish. Due to time constraints with others in the group I was not able to fish effectively but still made enough casts. I could not get anything on moving baits such as twin spin and whopper. Mostly Ned and wacky rig. If I had time to stop and fish slowly I could have probably caught plenty of small bass and goggle eye. River had plenty of people but not terrible. Good flow, almost too much for the Ned head I was using. Saw a few jets but all were courteous. No crazy drunks. Managed to not get rained on.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I have something positive to report. Looks like a rain chances are more abundant next week so hopefully the big rains stay away

Hello all. I will be floating from the state park to the caverns in a couple weeks on a Saturday. Never have been below Onondaga so I have no experience on the river below there. I usually float during the week to avoid the heavy crowds but this is float has been set up by others. We will be in kayaks which is what I usually rent. I can't go on a float with out making at least a few cast. I doubt anyone else will fish. 1. How is this stretch in regards to depth, width in comparison to the area around Onondaga? 2. I know its jet boat territory and expect it to be busy, but does the river become clogged with rafts like it can further up? 3. I have pretty much every tackle option for top to bottom and I know conditions will determine lure choice, but any favorites to use on this stretch? I'm not picky on what I catch, going for numbers more than anything. Bass, goggle eye, sunfish, whatever. Thanks in advance.

With where the bass were blowing up on the plopper, I wish I would have had my wiggle warts as they were in relatively deep water and I think I might have been able to dig down to them and maybe caught a few. Maybe some heavier big bladed spinner baits as well. Didn't have any in the bag as I planned on fishing clear water. I bounced the HD craw through the same spots and never picked up a bass. The others I saw fishing were all dragging plastics and weren't having much luck.

After a busy summer I finally found time for a float and decided I was going to try the Harpers back to Huzzah Valley trip. The rain Tuesday evening had me a little worried as I went to bed, but I kept a positive thought think maybe there would just be a slight rise on the creek. Woke up Wednesday morning to see the gauge at HV had went from 130cfs to 280cfs and a rise a little under a foot, and it was already falling . Never the less, at least my wife and I wouldn't have to drag. Water color was more reminiscent of the Meramec. Weather forecast was for morning fog, maybe some overcast in the morning but should end up being partly sunny and in the upper 80's. Well, it didn't turn out like that at all. We were on the water from 9:30-4:45 and never saw the sun. We got brushed by the storm complex that went by to the SW and had either a light steady rain or drizzle for several hours. For me, it was not what I hoped for but still manageable , but the condition kept my wife chilled for most of the trip. I tied on a plopper, a walker and a HD craw. I've been wanted to try to focus on topwater this trip to get a better handle on it. HD craw because I figured there would be fish tight to cover. I gave my wife a 3" grub figuring she could surely pick up a few fish swimming or bouncing it along current seams and wood, which she did. I kept the topwaters on the whole trip and did not manage to bring a fish to the boat. I had quite a few blow ups on the plopper, some explosive and never managed to get a good hook set. All the blow ups were along current seams and tailings of the riffles. Nothing along wood or chunk rock banks. Most seemed to be short strikes and just swiping at it. Had a few follow and swipe at the walker (still working on the cadence with these baits.) I caught a few on the HD craw throwing up against root wads and trees in some of the slower current. With the conditions I switched the wife to a spinnerbait and she caught a few, but nothing consistent. In the last 2 miles or so, I switched the HD Craw to a wacky rig worm, and finally found somewhat of a consistent pattern. Wood with current running along side of it with several feet of depth started producing some bass. Tried to get my wife in on the fish but she had quite enough for the day. What made the whole trip worth it was the last fish of the day. We had not been along the HV campground for very long when I made a cast to a spot with a some wood and overhanging limbs. Couple twitches and then heavy weight. Fish just kept digging and digging and after a good battle I boated the fish. Using my hand and forearm, I guessing it was right around that 18" mark and heavy. Beautiful dark banded small mouth. Only discouraging thing about the fish was on each side in the area between the eye and the dorsal fin was a wound. I'll let you think of what may have caused that. Overall, probably only boated 15 fish. Judging by the big one I caught, I lost another good one before that. Only one true dink with most being 12-14" and they all fought hard. A couple looked like they had full bellies. Caught on a variety of lures but no consistency except for the wacky rig. Fish seemed to be scattered and no real pattern to where they would except I did not find any in less than say 2.5ft of water. Only casualty of the trip was one lost rod when my wife ended up sideways on a root wad and particular S curve. I was right there and swiped at it twice as it sunk but came up empty while neck deep and keeping her from flipping over. I do wish I would have tied on the wacky earlier and I believe I could have picked up several more fish. Sorry no pictures.

Sent you a PM

Rent a raft. Not the easiest the paddle as you and at least one other will have to work together. Safest option for a start and with the higher levels you can still float with out as much dragging as would be normal for this point in summer.

Thanks for the opinions. Yes it’s twice as heavy as most kayaks so using it would require a nice access where you can back right up to the water. I’ve used it to pick up duck decoys last year and it paddles/push poles decent, even with a good wind. Current I figured would be quite a bit harder to control, that’s why I was thinking of what access would possibly work that had some long slower pools, even if that meant targeting mostly green fish. I will most likely just use it on small lakes. When you are only out a couple times a year it’s hard to remember how fast that current is and how many times you actually hit bottom with a kayak. It actually has a trolling motor and small gas engine mount but it’s currently not registered (it’s my dads).

I have access to a layout boat in the link below. With how the bottom is, how would think it would handle the current of the mid Meramec at normal summer flows? I’m only on the river once or twice a year renting kayaks so looking for an option to use this to get some more river time. https://www.explorebeavertail.com/product/stealth-1200/ Plan would be to paddle up from an access and float back down. Any suggestions on which access would be best to try as a maiden voyage? Think I could launch at Scotia/Huzzah CA and be fine paddling up either creek as another option?

I was down at Bass for a family camping trip this weekend. Didn’t fish much but caught a few using a wacky rig or trick worm around the rip rap they dumped along the bank. It looked like there were several bass and goggleye guarding beds. Biggest caught was probably around 14”