Mark

We've been waiting all summer for the river level to fall in the 800-900 cfs range. Me and a buddy put in at Whitten on Wed late afternoon and fished the stretch from Tumbling Shoals back to Whitten. Bites were slow and fish were peckish - had to be ready to pull the trigger as we were only going to get one shot at the nibblers. Buddy landed a 16" after about an hour. Action picked up after about 6:30. Ended up with 2 nice fish a piece in 14-16 range. We did the Turner to Tumbling Shoals stretch the next day. It rained hard in the dawn hours and delayed our start. Forecast wasn't great but looked like we had a couple hours break from rain in the afternoon. We put in about 1:00 and pretty much the same story - bites few and far between, and fish were just tapping at the hook. We fished hard until 5:00 - granted not ideal time in the heat of the day - and again landed 2 nice fish a piece in the 14-16" range with a few small ones scattered throughout the day. Both agreed that we are spoiled from previous years when 20 + fish days were not uncommon. Others we talked to were having the same luck - although we saw very few people fishing or floating either day. . We talked to a couple guys at Turner who just finished fishing the Greer stretch and landed a couple 17" fish. They came across the conservation people doing electro shock in the trophy area. I would be interested in seeing the results. I had heard rumors of stocking being down because of worries of disease in Montauk hatchery and flooding at Bennett Springs hatchery. Certainly makes sense to me as my last 3-4 trips in the past year have not been the most successful trips. Still a beautiful river, cold water felt great on a 95 degree day. Always interesting to see the changes in the river after spring floods.

Upstream from Powder Mill or Two Rivers or both? Which are you recommending? When I say Powder Mill, I am referring to the old Owl's Bend and not Powder Mill CG nearer Van Buren. I'm thinking about camping at Two Rivers and floating one day from Eninence back to camp. IF I decide to pay for a shuttle, that is.

Heading out tomorrow for a couple days and need some help. I am thinking of setting up base camp at or near Twin Rivers access or Powder Mill access. I have 2.5 HP motor on my canoe and not wanting to shuttle or haul gear to float camp if possible to cover a few miles of water from base camp. Is there enough water at either place where I can get upriver and downriver with my prop? I don't mind walking thru occassional shallows. I may have asked this before and forgot - I thought someone said I could- and don't follow river gauges enough to know but guessing it is a little above or at normal summer flow with occassional rain we have been getting. Thanks in advance. Mark

Are there more coyotes in Missouri than there were 30-40 years ago? I am not a hunter but have heard the theory that rabbit hunting has declined over the past several decades because of abundance of coyotes. I seems to me that there are less rabbits than when I was a kid. But don't know that for a fact. I would guess not as many people hunt coyotes as in the past when many more people lived on small farms with livestock and kept the coyote population in check. Seems like the great majority of hunters hunt only deer and turkeys, and probably very few coyote hunters. I also understand that trapping and hunting for furs is not very profitable anymore. Curious if any of you wiser outdoorsman think rabbit hunting has declined and if coyotes are the culprits. And if coyotes need to be thinned. I know a few guys who rabbit hunt with dogs - always thought that would be fun - these guys told me about the rabbit/coyote theory. Makes sense to me.

Kev, with the water still at 2100 cfs this morning, I would expect it will be in the 1200-1400 cfs by Friday. That's still a little high but in the doable range for floating and fishing. Best results on EP is fishing deep, bouncing on the bottom. I prefer gravel bar camping to float camps. There isn't an abundant of gravel bars on EP, so start looking for a spot by around 5:00 or so as spots will fill up quickly. I've seen many floaters still looking for a gravel bar nearing sundown. Word of caution - IMO the most dangerous spot on the river is called Fisherman's Hook a couple miles below Turner's Mill access. Pay attention when you pass the second left bend in the river below Turner, and a quarter mile you will come to an innocent looking narrow rapid with a sweeper pulling you to the left bank. There is a dead tree sticking up out of the water and the current drags you right into it. Very shallow water on the right - I ALWAYS get out and walk the canoe thru it. This spot sneaks up on you, and guessing better than half the people that don't know about it will dump here. Not deep water, but it's a booger. Enjoy and give us a report. I'm heading down in a few weeks after the water drops more. I prefer 900-1000cfs range for best fishing.

Looks like southern streams are out.

WOW we got swamped hard here twice this week just south of St. Louis.

Yeah, I know it is up, just not familiar enough to know if it is totally blown out and out of it's banks, or what is too high for decent fishing.

How much rain did LOZ receive this week? Enough to mess up fishing for this weekend. I have a 3 day weekend and trying to find somewhere to fish. Afraid it's a total wash out all over Missouri.

I'm not familiar with river levels on the Current and have a 3 day weekend. River is at 4100 cfs at Van Buren this morning. Is that a total wash out for fishing?

OK I did take offense to his comments stereotyping all people with mental illness as just being weak. Sure there are scammers out there, but the legitimately mental ill by far out number the scammers.

Bet you couldn't stand living very far from your pot dealer. Now I understand you much better. It's OK for you smoke pot to dull your senses from the stresses of everyday life, but darn anyone who goes about it in the legal way by getting prescription drugs. What a hypocrite!! And I am not condemning you for smoking pot or even having a beer or three, but that isn't much different than taking an anxiety pill prescribed by a doctor.

Having lost a family member to suicide, I don't find your flippant remarks funny. FYI some causes of depression (other than unable to toughen up in your opinion), biochemical imbalances where neurotransmitters in the brain that affect happiness and pleasure are not functioning properly. The hippocampus in many people who suffer from depression is smaller than normal. Hormonal imbalances due to childbirth, menopause, and thyroid disorders. Post traumatic stress disorder ( you probably think our soldiers coming home just need to be tougher.) Bipolar disorder. Severe head trauma. Heredity is a known cause. And while situational problems and stress in everyday life can certainly lead to depression in some people, there are a whole list of causes other than someone going thru a tough stretch in life. I don't know all there is to know about mental illness, but I do know enough to know that it is beyond some people's control, and has nothing to do with how mentally tough a person is in their life. We all go thru some physical illnesses in our lives, some serious that require a doctor's help and some not so serious that don't. Why is it so hard for some people to understand that mental illness is the same. Not all people are capable of fixing themselves. As Sigmund Freud said, "If man had the ability to psychoanalyze himself, there would be no mental illness". But we do not have that ability.

Sad that you actually believe your opinion is "hard cold facts". You know absolutely nothing about mental illness, sir, and compound your ignorance with your macho so called "facts". Depression never existed before psychologists??? And if you can't overcome depression, you are weak??? It is thinking like yours that has resulted in mental illness being overlooked, underfunded, untreated, underinsured, and often ignored. I pray mental illness never touches your family, or maybe you can just toughen them up!!

fishinwrench - it's sad that you think depression is the same as being a "bummer and hard spells", and "That's just life". You are basically insinuating that anyone who suffers from depression is just weak for taking depression meds and "not capable of being mentally stronger". It's really sad that others think the same way as you. You are clueless on the topic of depression. It is much more debilitating than being bummed out. I can't believe that someone who seems to be as intelligent as you could be so ignorant on the topic of mental illness.

Just curious - how will California and Oregon make up for the lost of electrical power after 4 dams are gone?

Seems like the December floods changed rivers in many places. Any areas of concern on the JF for floating?

A buddy and myself are planning a multi day trip from Eminence to Van Buren in June. We plan on really taking our time, maybe 2 days of short floats, set up camp for a couple nights, and so on, possibly staying for a week or even more. Very excited to see some new river sections. My question: we have a couple buddies with jet boats who may be interested in joining us for a couple days throughout the trip. Are the accesses in between Eminence and Van Buren suitable for launching jet boats. I've been to Powder Mill and think I remember it being a good boat ramp. How about Roberts Field, Log Yard, and Waymeyer? Easy for jet boats to get in and out of? Good safe parking for vehicles? And accesses you wouldn't recommend, such as primarily canoe accesses, or wouldn't trust leaving a vehicle there? More concerned with them having no problem with ramps, pulling in and out of, than leaving a vehicle as we have never had our vehicles messed with on the river. And since me and my buddy are really taking our time, and "must see" sights to explore on our down days when we are at a base camp for a full day? And as we will be loaded to the max, any obstacles in that section to be aware of and will it be easy to avoid any tricky spots by walking canoe around? I'm thinking that section will be a relatively easy float. Thanks in advance, Mark

Fishing very slow - needs a good stocking. 6 guys caught total of 4 fish in two days.

Guessing a good stocking is due shortly if it doesn't flood.

Where and when is the best place in MO for a newbie to go, hire a guide, and have a decent chance of catching walleye? Coming from near St. Louis, I am thinking Norfolk instead of lakes in SW MO simply because it is closer.

Brian, do you know about when the stocking will begin in the spring? I made a trip over Christmas, and friends made a trip recently and the fishing was slow for both.

Before I die... 1) Go watch the Masters 2) Drive Pacific Coast Hwy 3) Go to Cooperstown 4) Go deep sea fishing 5) Do a fly in, fly out Canadian fishing trip 6) Play Peeble Beach 7) Go on Alaska fishing trip 8) See John Prine live show 9) Buy travel trailer, spend a summer in Rockies and a winter in Corpus Christi 10) Go to Stadelhofen, Baden, Germany to find my German relatives

We are at an all time low with presidential candidates and politicians in general. Debates are a joke. One minute to answer questions on complicated issues result in same ol' canned campaign party rhetoric and nothing of substance - just say what people want to hear and speak in general terms only - it's theater with bad actors. Really doesn't matter - Congress runs the country and lobbyists and big money runs Congress. God help us!!

Surprise at some criticism. It's a movie!! After of couple years of Hobbitt and Star Wars movies, it was a great movie compared to the crap coming out nowadays. Was "Titanic" the actual events??? I'll take a good old western anytime, fiction or fact or loosely based on actual events.