Mark

It certainly is a special place. The Ozark Scenic Riverway has established a stretch of river without commercialism or private property owners destroying the natural beauty of the river. There is no where else in our part of the world like the section of river that we float from Turner's Mill to Riverton. I always get the feeling of going back in time a couple hundred years and seeing the area as it was back then. One can almost imagine the Osage lurking from the nearby woods at some of the first visitors. Having said all of that, some of my friends and I always have this debate about the area. They are convinced that Hufstedlers' land where the store is at the Riverton bridge is a gold mine in the waiting. The land and business is for sale, although the store and 2 house on it are run down. They have talked about what an investment for someone to come in and level everything and put up nice cottages/rooms/retreat type places with all the conveniences and what a $$ maker it would be. We have found some nice accomodations in Alton (kudos to Dave and Rosemary Case for their cottages in town - nice places) but it's not the same as being within walking distance to the river. On one hand, I think somewhere nice to stay close to the river with all the modern conveniences would be great, but I would also hate to see the area lose it's wilderness appeal. There are very few places left in our part of the world where you can go and get that feeling of losing touch with the modern world.

In the spring, after a couple of years of talking about it, a couple of friends and I invested in a brand new square stern Old Towne canoe and a 2.5 Mercury motor. With a new toy, I managed to spend a total of 16 days this summer on the Eleven Point. We are the type of fishermen who like to wade and not spend much time in the canoe, rather, we just use the canoe to taxi from one fishing spot to the next. Although we have been fishing the Eleven Point a couple times a year for the past 10-11 years, we are by no means master fishermen, none of us fly fish or worry about catching a trophy fish. Personnally, I haven't floated the Blue Ribbon area from Greer to Turner's Mill in over 20 years. Now some of you master fishermen may frown on us novices, we know, but derive our greatest joy from our Eleven Point trips from just catching enough keepers for supper. We use basic ultralight rod and reels, usually PowerBait eggs, worms, and actually discovered a great bait this summer - little frozen salad shrimps for about $1.50 for about 30 shrimp. Fish loved them and they fit on a hook nicely. Having our our canoe has allowed to shuttle ourselves and giving us much more freedom to put in when and where we want. We made our first trip on the lower river from the HWY 142 bridge to the Myrtle access on the 4th of July - a big mistake going on the holiday. Lots of BIG boats that have no concern for any canoes on the water. We spent most of our time holding on from the wake of big jet props that sped up and down the river. I was amazed at all the nice cabins, houses, and weekend getaways on the lower river. Some really nice places. Now the only part we haven't floated is the section from Riverton to the HWY 142 bridge. Definitely will have to do it next summer. If anyone has ever thought about investing in a canoe, I would recommend the place on the square in Alton called Ozark River Canoe. Our canoe retailed for $1,600 and we bought it for $900, although it was called an "irregular" for some minor blemish, we could not find any flaw. The 2.5 Mercury motor was bought new in St. Louis for about $750. It has been a great investment and we are sure if we use it as much as we did this past summer, it will more than pay for itself Mark

Expect to see lots of law enforcement this weekend on the river with the new crackdown on "Mardi Gras type atmosphere". Last year, we camped on the river and saw more than we had ever seen on the Eleven Point before, so expect more of a presence this year. While we are well behaved, we had several nervous moments when we were visited by Forest Service, game warden, and sheriff's department, because we did have some glass bottles with us. They were definitely looking around camp to see if they could spot anything. We knew the regulations, but had never worried about it, we were told that if you don't give a reason for them to bother you they won't, and we haul all of our trash out. We met a group of 8 guys on a bachelor party from Memphis who were busted for glass (and other things) and accumulated $1,600 in fines, including $200 for a little bottle of tabasco sauce. We learned our lesson, we'll pour our tequila and vodka in plastic milk jugs now on.

I am going to be floating Cane Bluff to Greer with a group on Memorial Day. I have a question; We will have a couple of beginners in Kayaks, one a 14 year old girl. Will they be all right in this stretch of water. Any trouble spots you give me a heads up on would be appreciated , I haven't floated this section before. Also, any sights to be aware of would help.

Thanks, Dave.

Read previous post, not much in way of answers.

Can anyone give me some info on the Salt River? A friend has hunting ground around New London and we are wanting to make a trip this summer. Is it big enough for a canoe or bass boat? Is it gravel bottom or mud bottom? Wadeable?

Snap, you're getting pretty technologically advanced with pictures, aren't you?

I see it's almost 7 feet at Bardley guage. Someone put some perspective on it for me - does that put the Whitten access underwater? Also, does flood conditions move more fish downstream?

Thanks again, I hope to make a trip soon.

Thanks, any advice for a first timer to Mark Twain.

Can some of you Yanks give us a newer report on Mark Twain Lake? Crappie report would be great.

A couple friends and I floated T'ville to Cane Bluff 2 years ago in early June. The first mile or two is more of a creek. We were only carrying fishing gear so it wasn't hard to portage over logjams and such. With a canoe full of camping gear, it would have been a hassle because there were numerous places we had to portage. We didn't have great luck fishing, although we were primarily sightseeing and didn't put in the water until noon. It was quite a drive to Cane Bluff and then to Thomasville to have vehicles at both places.After the first couple of miles it becomes much more floatable. We saw a couple pretty springs, one in particular coming out of the side of the bluff right on the river. Our biggest disappointment - cattle in the river. One stoppped right in front of us to take a big crap. Totally turned us off to fishing or swimming. And not just a couple cattle, livestock run in and out of the water for several miles in parts. I realize people own land on both sides of the river and are grandfathered in as far as using the river as a source of water for livestock. But there really should be a law against it. We'll never float that section again.

Thanks, as always, Brian. I can't wait to get down there for a weeks vacation in a month and try out my new Old Towne square stern canoe I purchased at Ozark River Company in Alton. I put a 2.5 HP Mercury motor on it. Works Great.

They usually stock right before Easter. Did they not this year?

The fish weren't cooperating? I would think last weekend would be good with the nice weather.

CC, Very insightful and interesting reading. And what is sad it that our streams that we have work the hardest to protect, we still allow to be polluted by such things as horse trail rides, livestock in the water upstream, and agricultural runoff.

Hey, 1 wall hanger is all I ask.

Tough Break Brian!! But at least you left it for us amatuers. Man I would love to get a wall hanger one of these years.

KAT, LOL, once you become accustommed to fishing the river, you will have more luck. Even when the fishing is slow, the scenery is incredible. The group I go with have been fishing the river for about 10 years and usually catch our fair share, but more that once we have had ours handed to us too. As far as heading back to the trout parks, though, NEVER!!

KAT, That's what's great about the Eleven Point. It's not suppose to always be easy to catch fish like the amusement parks (trout parks). Try not to spread the word too much - we like it just like it is!! Mark

We have a group heading down in about a week. Any suggestions would help. None of us have fished the Norfolk Lake before. Hoping the crappie are biting, but none of us have any idea on how to catch stripers. Help out some first timers. Baits? Depth? Areas of the lake? What to look for?

Minnith???

I'm wanting a square stern canoe, prefer fiberglass or polythelene.

Sorry, but this has the smell of rightwing conservatism once more infringing on our rights and freedoms. I'm all for enforcing existing laws regarding public drunkeness, littering, underage drinking, and nudity (although I don't mind that one but can see where families with children don't want to see it). I have more of a problem with horse and livestock feces in the water or agricultural chemicals from runoff. A group of young people, regardless if they are hooping and hollaring and playing bumper canoes, have as much right to the water as fishermen. And I remember how much fun groups of my friends use to have on big float trips, drinking included. I'm glad to see young people enjoying nature, there's lots of worse things they could be doing. I've learned not to go where it's crowded on weekends and holidays if I'm wanting to fish. Let's not turn our rivers into a place where kids and young adults are not welcome. Don't expect to have the river to yourself on weekends and don't expect everyone to act like they're 50 years old.