Mark

I would expect an EPA environmental inspector would have to have at least a bachelor's degree plus some lots of specific on the job training. Not a job just any yea who can do. And I doubt if the salary is $100,000+, probably more in the $60-75,000 range. A nice salary and benefit package to be sure, but I doubt if government inspectors are getting rich. Especially considering they would have to have a degree, which they paid for to get a job that is beyond manual labor. The point remains - do you trust big business to regulate and monitor themselves? Maybe you should watch "Erin Brockovich".

Exactly - do we really want to trust big business and the pursuit of the almighty dollar to always to the right thing with regard to the environment? We already know how that will turn out. There has to be regulations and people to enforce the regulations. And I laugh at the suggestion of creating cushy, high paying inspector jobs. Does anyone really think inspectors will be rolling in the dough? Bottom line - big business will do what it wants if left to it's own practices.

A buddy and myself floated Round Springs to Jerktail about 2 weeks ago on a Wednesday - our first trip on the middle Current section. We were pleasantly surprised - only saw 3 jetboats all day, maybe 18-20 canoes with 8-10 of those in one youth group floatilla. We caught fish early on rooster tails and didn't switch - both of us relatively new to smallmouth fishing, rooster tail was catching fish, and didn't see a reason to switch. We caught fish on and off all day, nothing huge, but were amazed at the tons of huge fish we saw. Since it was the first time to Eminence for both of us, we spent a good day and a half just exploring the area by truck - more of a reconnasance mission. We checked out all the accesses on the Current and Jacks Fork in the area with a little wade fishing at each. My gosh, what a beautiful area!!! Even from the truck, some of the scenic overlooks are spectactular. About a mile north of Eminence on HWY 19 is a scenic overlook with a pull off area on the road - this has to be the most beautiful scenic overlook I have seen in Missouri overlooking the river valley. For as far as the eye can see, nothing but steep wooded hills and deep valleys. My buddy Terry commented that most people wouldn't believe this sight was in Missouri. The drive on HWY 106 overlooking the Jacks Fork valley is just as spectactular. The whole area reminded me of upstate New York and New England. Enjoyed checking out Alley Springs Mill too. My personal favorite spot was the Salvation Army access on the uppper Jacks Fork. Huge gravel bar across from a massive bluff, and a deep pool of water under the bluff that must have went for a couple hundred yards. And only a young couple from KC and their young daughter were camping there. I'm definitely working on my trout fishing buddies to take a break from the trout waters and try a trip to the Eminence area. I would love to float the Jacks Fork. I have always heard of the beauty of the river, and from I saw from driving the area and checking out the accesses, it is at the top of my list of must do's. We may have hit the area at just the right time - middle of July and temps in the high 90s and the middle of the week, but we never saw an abundance of people on either river like we expected. Very pleasantly surprised with the whole trip.

I have had 2 scary episodes that could have turned out bad in the past 15 years. On first I buried a canoe sideways in a strainer in the middle of a stream, when I dumped, my first instinct was to dive deep. Fortunately I went under the rootwad. On the second episode, I was wearing brand new knee high boots that must have weighed 4-5 lbs each. When I dumped in deep moving water, boots filled with water and were like 2 concrete blocks on my feet. Very scary episode. I had to learn to respect the river and much more cautious now. I learned to swallow my pride and get out of the canoe and walk around trouble spots. Still, a couple cold ones and I get a little braver.

Has anyone fished Cane Bluff section lately? Is there plenty of water? Brian, do you shuttle vehicles? Thinking of putting in Sunday at Cane Bluff and doing a one night trip to Greer.

Key votes on parts of HR Bill 2218 last week in the US House of Representatives; Groundwater contamination - Members defeated, 192-225, a Democratic sponsored requirement that coal ash disposal structures built under terms of HR Bill 2218 be sufficient to prevent toxins from seeping into water table and surface water. A yes vote was to adopt the motion. Yes vote - Clay (D-MO) No vote - Wagner (R-MO), Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Smith (R- MO), Davis (R-MO) Interstate environmental risks - Members defeated, 176-239, a Democratic bid to require Environmental Protection Agency intervention to keep one state's coal ash disposal from creating pollution problems in other states. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. Yes vote - Clay (D-MO) No vote - Wagner (R-MO), Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Smith (R-MO), Davis (R-MO)

Hard to believe that some still don't believe the threat is real!!

Awesome pics! Hope Mary is feeling better! Just curious Al, how do you handle people wade fishing on your property? Or does it just not happen in that part of the country? I've been playing some golf with Clint - he's on our league team - good guy!

I am definitely afraid the private ownership issue will come to a head now. And I am afraid the result will not be good for the public. I hope we never end up with regulations like Colorado and Wyoming where it's tough to go wade fishing without knowing the area - whether you are legal or not, this quarter mile is legal, the next quarter mile is not, you can only pass thru if you stay in your craft, etc. For me, the MO law isn't that difficult - don't access a stream thru private land, and stay in the stream bed and gravel bars below the normal high water mark. I pray we don't lose that right, but am certainly afraid we may well end up with private ownership of the streams. That's a sin IMO. Machosim on both sides is the cause of this incident.

The definition of who is allowed where on a stream is the high water mark on a navigatible stream - open to interpretation. Without knowing the facts, I have to wonder why the shooter didn't just walk away and call the cops, just as Zimmerman should have done. Simple answer - machoism!!! As for the political turn this thread has taken, I find it very sad and have lost respect for some. As I have said many times to friends that I disagree with politically, we could probably agree on 99% of our political views. Nothing worse than someone trying to tell me my views are all wrong and their view is all correct. The epitamy of narrowmindedness!! If you blame everything on Obama, and ignore the mess Bush II left us, then you are not a open minded thinker. I will agree our political system is a mess right now. Besides, Congress runs the country in today's world, not the president, and we all know how that is going. We have allowed Dems and Reps to divide us as a nation, when in fact, the majority of us, especially in the Midwest, are not that far apart politically.

OK - all makes sense Al. A short float trip from Two Rivers back to a camp where you both suggest would be perfect for our needs - short with lots of fishing.

Very good Twosheds! Definitely will check it out.

Is "Tief" short for Tiefenauer?

OK - I've camped at Logyard. We are wanting to go somewhere new. I haven't seen any of the river from Akers to Logyard. And we are going in middle of week so hopefully jetboats won't be too bad. We'll probably pick a FS campground and work upstream, in case we would shear a pin or break a prop, at least we can float back to camp. So I've narrowed it down to Jerktail or an access below Twin Rivers. Makes sense that there is more water below Two Rivers. My buddy is a little skittish in a canoe and not wanting to dump. Thanks for the advice and if any more advice out there, we would gladly consider. So much river I want to see. Looking forward to a new adventure

How is the fishing/scenery in that stretch? From what I've read on hear, Round Springs to Eminence is good fishing and great scenery. So in your opinion, the water below Round Springs would be too shallow for prop?????

A partner and I are heading down to Eminence area next week and wanting to fish the Round Springs area or below. We would like to camp near an access and camp out near my truck - not wanting to work that hard to set up and tear down camp daily nor spend all day for several days in a canoe (back and knees get sore!), so we are looking for a base camp instead of float camping. More of a relaxing trip than working hard everyday!! Thinking we could find a gravel bar within a 100 yards of an access so we can get to my truck if we need to go to town or go sightseeing. I have my canoe with 2.5 HP motor and hoping to find a place where we can fish upstream and downstream 2-3 miles each way. Can you recommend any access where there is plenty of water to use my motor to get around upstream and downstream? I need about 18" of water for my motor. I don't mind walking canoe thru a few shallow ripples, just don't want to walk thru long stretches all day long. I guess I am assuming there is plenty of water in that stretch at Round Springs and below. We don't necessarily have to camp near Round Springs. Williams Landing, Jerktail, or any access in that stretch would work if I can get my canoe upstream and downstream and back to base camp. I was thinking of Round Springs because we may want to do a short float one day (8-10 miles is about my daily limit) and maybe find a local to pay to help me shuttle my truck to a takeout and figure there will be people at Round Springs campground I may be able to talk into or I believe Carr's canoe rental is at Round Springs. It will be my first time on that stretch of the Current and have read the fishing and scenery is good. Any advice to suit our needs would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Mark

Williams Landing is mentioned in thread below. I can't find it on maps or mile by mile descriptions. Does it have another name? Would like to float that stretch next week. Thanks in advance.

Where is Williams Landing? I can't find it on the map or on mile by mile descriptions. Does it have another name?

Here's my suggestion - someone post the phone numbers and email addresses of MDC agent, prosecutor, and sheriff of the county that this case will fall under it's jurisdiction. Everyone on here flood their offices with phone calls and emails. That's about all we can do. I am wondering why this criminal's identity is being protected on here. He needs to be outed and someone knows his name.

Nice fish!! What's a float trip without a few mishaps!! You may be onto something with the barley/hops/malt/ and water mixture. I wonder what would happen if you added a little yeast? Were there any obstacles between Cane Bluff and Greer?

C'red - I read on previous post that you are familiar with the Salt River and Mark Twain Lake. A friend has a family farm that the Salt runs thru and downstream from Mark Twain. I don't know exactly how far downstream as I am not familiar with the area. We have often talked of fishing the Salt but it is a bit out of our way from SE MO and haven't taken a chance on an unfamiliar stream. Obviously, you have fished the Salt and had some luck. The only time I have seen the Salt it was definitely stained water. Is the Salt good smallmouth stream? Largemouth? Crappie? Bluegill? What could we expect to be the predominant catch? Do you fish it from canoe? Can you run a jet boat in the Salt? Or a canoe with a motor? Is there accesses for a day float? Friend's dad use to do well on Mark Twain many years ago but reading what few fishing reports I can find, it seems that the lake isn't as productive as it use to be. Do you do well crappie fishing on MTwain? We would be very interested in any advice or opinions on the Salt River and Mark Twain. We have often talked of fishing both but hate to go into it blind, so looking for help. Email if more convenient - mvogt@stegen.k12.mo.us Thanks, looking forward to hearing from you. Mark

My fav is black rooster tail with glitter on tail for Blue Ribbon. Second the minnow trap below Turner. Also below Turner, suggest for scouts pink and white power eggs - one jar of each and they can fish all day cheaply. And my personal go to cheap bait - a bag of frozen small salad shrimp ($1.50 for a bag of 30 in most grocery stores) fit perfectly on a #6 hook. Make sure they have enough weight to bounce along the botttom. If they aren't tying a few hooks throughout the day, they aren't fishing deep enough. Check out the new bait shop on AA between Turner and Whitten access. Great prices. Good for you taking a group of scouts - kuddos for making a difference in kid's outdoor expeeriences. Good luck and give us a report.

Good advice by all - I would definitely shorten the trip. I suggest Turner Mill to Riverton (16 miles) or Greer to Riverton (21 miles). The smallmouth water will be in the later part of the trip closer to Riverton. No disrespect to anyone, but we use Hufstedlers canoe rental in Riverton almost exclusively, and would make sense if you take out at Riverton with less time shuttling and your vehicle would be at takeout. Some rental places want you to be at the takeout at a specific time and can be a worry about getting to a specific spot on a strange river at a specific time. I understand not wanting to leave canoes unattended at accesses but Mike Jones at Hufstedler's will simply ask about what time will you be getting off the river and leave the canoe on the bank. His place is just a short walk from the river too, if you want to leave your vehicles at the store, although no one has ever messed with our vehicles on the Eleven Point anywhere. I just never like being on someone else's time schedule on the river - too many variables.

Take along a black rooster tail. Fish deep! Suggest pink and white power eggs for spincasters with enough weight to bounce along the bottom. Your plan is a 28 mile float over a weekend. You may want to consider cutting back and taking out at Riverton - 21 miles. You'll find that you are passing up lots of good fishing spots. The Riverton to Hwy 142 section is mostly smallmouth water, and while you may catch a few, the action in the trout water is much better. I suggest taking the time to check out some of the sights - walk back to Greer Springs, 2nd largest spring in Missouri and awesome sight. Fishing at confluence of spring and river is excellent fishing. Pull over at Turner Mill and view the remnants of the old mill. Same for Boze Mill. The two fastest and best rapids are Tumbling Shoals (about 3 miles past Turner Mills Access) and Halls Bay (just downstream from Boze Mill) border on Class II waters and great spots to pullover. Just passed Halls Bay, the trout fishing slows down considerably. IMO, the best fishing is from Greer to Whitten - the first 12 miles. If you fly thru that section on the first day to make time to go the entire 28 miles, you will be passing up some of the best fishing. Also, consider doing some wade fishing for better results. Granted, the others in your group are not fishing much, but maybe consider setting up camp a little earlier in the day. There is not an abundance of gravel bars on the Eleven Point, and on the weekends, you will find most of the good camping spots along the river get grabbed up by late afternoon. I've seen lots of people still floating late in the evening looking for a camping spot that is open. Don't wait to pick a spot if you find a good one by 5 o'clock or so. As a general rule, MDC stocks prior to holidays. Expect good fishing just prior to July 4th. You should have plenty of stockers to throw on the grill at night. Enjoy and give us a report. You will not be disappointed in the Eleven Point - IMO the most beautiful river in MO. Only drawback - expect some jetboat traffic on weekends.

Gotta love the ditto heads. The GOP is definitely the environmentally friendly party!! LOL