Mark

A buddy and I are planning a 2 week excursion out West next summer in mid July. I am looking for advice on several fronts; #1) A couple friends will fly in for 4-5 days, and we'll need a place to stay close to good fishing, but we would like to stay off the beaten path. Maybe somewhere within an hour of an airport in WY, MT, or ID. #2) We want to catch fish, but none of us are flyfishermen. Mainly fish with rod and reels using powerbaits, minnows, shrimp, etc. We don't really care about trophies, just catch enough to keep us entertained. Prefer stream wade fishing to lake fishing. #3) We would like to be in scenic area, again, away from the crowds. #4) We're country boys, just need a place (cabin type place) to cook, sleep, and maybe shower. We don't need hot tubs, restaurants, dally room service or resort areas. Ideally, someplace close to a small town for supplies. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark

Thanks, as always, Brian. St. Louis is forecasting heavy rains Friday and Sat. Is that what you are hearing for Alton?

Planning a trip next weekend from Whitten to Riverton. Anyone fish this past weekend? I see the water is up a little.

Great read Al but now you've given up your secret spot! LOL Al, I really want to get together with you for an hour or two sometime this fall or winter. A friend and I are planning a 2 week vacation next summer to Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and need ideas and suggestions. Mainly camping and fishing, but have plans for another friend to fly into Jackson, WY and meet us, want to find an area with plenty of fishing and cabins nearby to allow different options without travelling too far when we get there. Maybe meet at the Midway some evening?? Mark Vogt

OK, my friends have been waiting for my report on "My Near Death Experience" on the Eleven Point this summer, as it was something I'm sure I will never live down. So here it is............. My friend Delvis and his 15 year old daughter were floating from Whitten to Riverton in early June. The water was still up 2 - 2 1/2 ft. from the spring flood. We were having a successful day fishing, taking our time, and enjoying our last day of our 5 day vacation. I had recently bought a pair of $100 knee high wading boots and was commenting all week that I couldn't believe I had gone for so many years wearing tennis shoes on the river and constantly emptying the rocks out of my shoes. Late in the afternoon, we got to Halls Bay, and while I have gone through the chutes a couple times without incident, I generally just get out and walk the canoe around the left channel just to play it safe and not wanting to risk dumping and losing fishing gear, cooler, etc. Wendy Jones had shuttled us and told us about the limbs in the water and how it had become a very dangerous spot since the spring floods. As we got to the bottom of the left channel, we noticed the main channel had a downed tree and a root wad in the slight right turn that the main channel made with the current giong right for the root wad after the main part of the chutes. After the daughter got in the middle of the canoe first, I got in the back and immediately the current started to swing the back of the canoe around sideways in the current and we started taking on water, and I knew with the root wad and limbs we didn't want to get out in the whitecaps going sideways or backwards. My first instinct was to look to my left toward the bank and noticed that the water was only about 3 ft. so I jumped out of the canoe as I had done many times before, figuring it was better to go for a quick swim than risk losing gear. I have always been a good enough swimmer that I felt like I could always stay out of trouble on the water, never mind that I just turned 50 years old. As soon as I hit the water, my boots filled with water and the current swept me out to the deep water. My feet felt like they had 25 lb cement blocks on them, and I immediately started having trouble keeping my head above water. As I bobbed up and down a couple times, I could see the current was taking me toward the root wad in deep water and big trouble. Right before the root wad I saw a limb hanging over the water and made a desperate lunge for it. Still in fast current, I held on with all my strength for a couple of minutes trying to figure out what I was going to do. I definitely knew if I went back in the water I was going to end up in the root wad and fast moving current. Another limb was about a foot under the water and it took every ounce of energy I had to pull myself up enough where I could sit on the submerged limb and hold on to the other limb. Meanwhile, Delvis couldn't see me this whole time, as the turn and trees blocked his sight. I knew I was now safe for the moment and gave him a hollar. The boots are a tight fit and I knew I wasn't going to get them off. I just sat there for a good ten minutes regrouping, catching my breathe and trying to figure out how I was going to make it the remaining 20 ft. back to the bank. I felt like if I went back in the water, I may not make it out (even though my friend Delvis is a former lifeguard, as I mentioned later, I noticed he wasn't jumping in after me!!) I finally saw that there were a couple more limbs hanging between me and the bank, and I used them like jungle gym bars to swing from limb to limb to shore. I made it to the bank, collapsed, exhausted, and scared sh#tless. I definitely have learned a new respect for the river and will never get in a boat with those heavy boots again. And I hope someone (Forest Service) has cleared out that turn after Halls Bay before a tragedy does happen.

Snap named a couple of our favorites, but even with all the times we have floated the 11 pt., every time I'm on the river it seems like I see another place I would like to camp, like camping at the place we call "The Sticks" for the first time this summer. Sometimes the old reliables are good, but I also like the experience of somewhere new.

River at 4.83 ft and not dropping very fast. Has anyone been on the river? I am mostly concerned with Turner to Riverton stretch. We are planning a trip in early June with kids. I am hoping the stretch has been cleared of obstructions and is safe by then. There doesn't appear to be any traffice right now.

Keep your tip up!! Better luck next time fishing.

The high water in rivers has forced us to change plans for this week's fishing trip. We have decided to go to Reelfoot for some crappie fishing. Will we have any problem finding lodging for 3 guys without reservations anywhere? And since none of us have ever been there, any advice on the fishing would be appreciated.

jdmidwest - where are you from?

Thanks, Brian, we are planning on heading down this Friday if the weather is OK. Looking forward to seeing the changes.

Best news we've had in awhile.

ksir10 Snap and I and our group will be arriving the second Sunday of June for our annual weeklong adventure. To get the full wonder of the experience, I suggest camping on a gravel bar rather than the float camps which tend to sit back off the water a ways. While they are not that numerous, if you are floating and start looking for campsites by midafternoon, you will be all right. Hope you enjoy the trip and we look forward to your report. Feel free to ask any more questions. Mark

To the NEW GUYS: At least 3 posters on this thread have never floated/fished the Eleven Point River. I have learned not to advertise too much because I (and most others) would like to see the river never change. But for those of you not familiar with the Eleven Point River, you are missing out on the "Hidden Jewel of the Ozarks". First and foremost, the appeal of the river is it's seclusion and undevelopment. It is truly just you and nature - very little trash, no houses, public land on both sides of the river from Greer to Riverton (21 miles of Ozark National Scenic Riverways), and numerous springs, old mills, and caves to explore. In spring and fall, during the week you will practically have the river to yourself. Even in the summer time, most weekdays have very little traffic. Even weekends are not nearly as crowded as other more famous Missouri rivers. You do get the sense when floating the Eleven Point River that you have stepped back in time to when the first settlers came across the area. You are totally isolated from civilization. The float itself is relatively easy, with a couple of spots that will get your heart racing, but if you want to be safe and not get supplies wet or lost, I still occasionally walk the canoe around a couple tricky spots from the bank with a rope, especially with all my camping gear. And the access points are scattered out in such a manner that you can do a half day float (5 or 7 miles), a full day float (12 or 14 miles) or several days (21 miles and over). There is no reason to ever have to rush to the takeout if you plan a slow pace. It is spring fed (even on the hottest day in the summer, it will take your breathe away when you first jump in) and with enough water to float year round (even in dry summers like last year). Secondly, the fishing can be great at times. The Missouri Department of Conservation regularly stocks the entire river from Greer to Riverton with trout. Even a novice has a chance to catch fish most of the time. Most trout will be in the 12"-15" range but it's not the trout parks (which I call amusement parks), where it's like shooting fish in a barrel, you do have to work sometimes to catch fish. But usually it is no problem catching enough for supper. We only fish for trout, but many people swear by the smallmouth fishing, supposedly there is walleye to be found below Riverton, and I even have a friend who is satisfied to catch panfish for supper. Lastly, service is great at all the canoe rental places and in Alton. People will do anything you ask of them, whether is meeting you at a certain time, helping shuttle vehicles, offering advice on fishing/floating/camping areas. We have discovered numerous houses to rent overnight very affordable and clean, good food in the restaurants, and everyone in town is very hospitable, not like some places where tourists are treated like a nuisance. So those of you thinking about a trip on the Eleven Point River, I highly recommend it, but please - SSSSHHHHH - keep it to yourselves, we like it just the way it is!! HA Mark

How are the gravel roads into Turner's North and South, Whitten, and McDowell? I see the Bardley gauge is down to about 7 ft today (Monday). That's a good sign. Our trip is in 2 weeks and we were having our doubts. I feel a little more optimistic today. Hopefully no more gulley washers for a while.

Thanks, Brian, we'll keep those river levels in mind.

Water down to 6 ft. at Bardley. Hope it continues to drop.

The Devil Dick Boze story from "History of the Irish Wilderness" - During the Civil War and for a 3 year period after, bands of outlaws roamed the Ozarks. One such group, led by a man who rode with Quantrill, was Devil Dick Boze. His group had hideouts in the hills of the Eleven Point River and is thought to have used the Irish Wilderness as a hideout. Devil Dick Boze's relatives owned and operated Boze Mill on the Eleven Point River. By 1868, this group increased in number and daring to he point where the Oregon County court ordered a militia to be formed to track down his gang. Most fled to the Texas and Oklahoma territories, but Devil Dick chose to make his last stand and was gunned down by the Kansas 7th Militia in a fiery battle. The court awarded Captain Greer $1.50 to build his coffin. Devil Dick is buried in the Spring Creek Cemetery. Some say that Boze Mill is haunted by the ghost of Devil Dick Boze.

The "History of the Irish Wilderness" was a short book written in 1970 and can be found in it's entirety on the Internet. It's only about 60 pages and fascinating reading. Archealogical digs at Greer Springs discovered remnants dating back 9,700 years - just a little bit before Columbus!! HA

Since we have another flood occurring, I thought I would change topics and hopefully get some discussion from the locals. Since I have been coming to the Eleven Point area regularly for the past 12 years, I have become interested in Oregon County history. The Internet has many interesting tales - the Irish Wilderness story is fantastic, the Civil War Era with the bushwackers, raiders, guerrillas, the burning of Alton , the Kansas 7th Calvary hunting down Devil Dick Boze and the subsequent "haunted" stories , White's Creek Cave once was home to a substantial Indian community, and Thomasville was renown for its baseball team back in the early twentieth century . Does anyone have any old history stories they would like to tell? I think it would be an interesting topic while we wait for the river to recede again and we can get back to talking fishing.

Thanks, Brian. We are very anxious to get reports down river, too. I am guessing our first trip down will be taken very carefully, as I'm sure there are more downed trees sticking up in spots. Glad to hear the fresh supply of firewood though, it was slim pickings the past couple of years around the gravel bars.

Exactly!! I am excited to hear reports of river changes. Can't wait to get down there myself. Maybe even some fresh deposits of sand moved around for some comfortable camp sites.

I'll bet there is a fresh supply of camp firewood.

WOW!! That's hard to imagine. But as our esteemed angler, Al Agnew, pointed out on the "General Discussion" board, a flood of this magnitude is bound to change the river for the better. Smaller floods may tend to fill in some holes with gravel, but with a flood this size, the massive volume of water that will be going over ledges and around bends is bound to wash out some deep holes. I know the hole below Horseshoe Bend has filled in with sand and gravel in just the past couple of years. I guessing the river will be different in some places when it gets back to normal flow.

Congratulations to you for such a noble endevour. Irregardless of each of our political positons, we owe our servicemen and servicewomen a tremendous gratitude. Thank you for your kindness.