Mark

No problem. The river is in great shape. Plenty of water but not too high. Good clear water. I would think the smallmouth fishing would be good right now at Cane Bluff. Give us a report when you get back.

REPORT: Seven of us made the trip this year and all arrived Wed. evening at the cabins. We awoke Thursday morning with overcast skies and temp. in the hi 40s. After some coffee, breakfast, and a little recovery time from Wed. night activities, we were on the river by 10am. Since we had 2 jet props, we decided to put in at Whitten and head upstream to Horseshoe Bend and set up a base camp with the group. The river is beautiful right now and flowing about 850 cfs. Great floating conditions. We took turns going out in the jet boats heading upstream in pairs while the rest wade fished around Horseshoe Bend. Fishing was slim, as it was 2 weeks earlier on my previous trip. Obviously, no stocking in awhile. It remained cool most of the day with brief periods of sun. The group wading had very little luck, and the trips in the jet boats only produced a couple of fish. After a couple of hours, several of us pulled out the lawn chairs and hung out around the fire, starting happy hour. Our fishing enthusiasm waned as half the group were content to fish a little, sit a little. The jet boats stayed active with trips up and down the river, still not producing any fish to speak of. Maybe a couple of 14" fish, and the few other fish caught were in the 10-12" range. Late afternoon, as everyone was enjoying a beverage on the gravel bar, Jeremy was the only one fishing off our gravel bar. Sure enough, fish on! It soon became apparent that he had a nice one on the line. I grabbed a net to assist as he slowly reeled him in. The first sight of the fish, we knew he had a lunker. He played him in slowly and I got a net under him on the second swipe. Beautiful 23" rainbow. Quite exciting and everyone was back in the fishing mode. We decided to start making our way back, drift fishing along the way. Not much action the rest of the day as we were off the river by 6pm. On the day, maybe 9-10 fish for the entire group of seven. Since we didn't have a scale, we stopped at the new bait shop on AA to get it weighed. It weighed in at 5.2. We debated on how much weight a fish loses in the hour or so it took to get to a scale. Before all you purists scold us for keeping the fish, Jeremy is getting it mounted. And I agree with him, if I ever caught a nice lunker like that, I don't want a replica on the wall, I want the fish I caught mounted. And it's our legal right to do so. It was a once in a lifetime fish. Congratulations Jeremy! We found a wallet on the gravel bar with a driver's license and credit cards in it. I brought it home and found the owner's phone number. I called last night and talked to the young man's mom. She was amazed. He is a Mizzou student and lost it 3 years ago on a float trip. I'm sending it back to him today. Day 2 on Good Friday - we awoke to rain and decided to chill at the cabins until the rain stopped around noon according to the forecast. Sure enough, the rain stopped and we were on the river by 12:30. We put in at Turner Mill. By the way, the boat ramps at Turner are less than ideal. Short ramps and it is necessary to get the vehicles back wheels in the gravel off the ramp, always a tricky proposition. Not sure the Forest Service really thought that thru when they made the new ramp. Low water will make it tough to put in a boat at Turner. Easy way to break an axle on the trailer, right Snappy? Only five of us went fishing, as Chip and Terry were content to go sight seeing. On the drift right off Turner, we were pleasantly surprised to start getting bites immediately. We landed a couple fish in the first 1/4mile, with both boats having a double going at the same time. The sun was out, and it turned into a beautiful day. We made base camp at Stinking Pond, a great place with lots of wading water for the group. The difference was night and day compared to Thursday. We consistently caught fish, several in the 14-15" range. Short excursions upstream and downstream proved profitable. The rapids just below Stinking Pond were consistent with action. Joel had a phenominal day fishing between the island above Stinking Pond and the camp area. He put on a fishing display worthy of a video, landing somewhere around 25 fish on the afternoon. Everyone had great success. Why the difference between Day 1 and Day 2? We thought maybe they had stocked the Turner Mill area. But I really don't think so. Perhaps it was the overnight shower? Or a warmer sunny day? Our best conclusion was that fish are migrating down from the Blue Ribbon area. On my previous trip 2 weeks ago, we caught fish in the first mile down from Turner Mill, and then they just shut off. Same thing on this trip, downriver the fishing was slow, and just below the Blue Ribbon area, fishing was hot. A great trip, a wonderful time to float, and the river is in the best shape it has been in a couple years. Lots of water, absolutely no dragging.

We're heading out tonight for our 15th annual trip to the Eleven Point for Easter weekend. Easter came early this year so weather hasn't had much of a chance to warm up. But we're troopers!! Our group of 7-8 in our mid 50s from Ste. Genevieve County, Cape Girardeau, and Memphis have been making this trip for quite a while. In the past 15 years, we have noticed an increase in jet boats, more people on the river, and better fishing. Two of our group has made the switch to jet boats. We started out floating/camping in the beginning but discretion overcame the better part of valor and now we rent cabins. A big thank you to Mike and Wendy Jones at Hufstedlers for all their help over the past 15 years since we became regulars at the Eleven Point. Great people who go out of their way to accommodate us on every trip. Hope to report on a successful trip next week.

Fished the Turner Mill to Whitten section on Friday and Saturday. River is in great shape for floating. Fishing was a little slow since MDC hasn't stocked since last year. We fished very hard for 6-8 hours both days. I took my nephew for his first trip on the Eleven Point. I always enjoy taking someone for the first time knowing that they will be impressed with the water, scenery, and fishing. He landed a nice 15" rainbow on Friday early into the trip. We fished nonstop from 12:30 to 6:30. Beautiful weather on Friday although the wind did pick up in the afternoon for a couple hours. Glad to have the motor on the canoe. On the day, I caught 4-5 fish with one about 14", and the rest in the 10-12" range. Nephew caught 3 fish and only the one nice 15". On Saturday we went on with Delvis and his new jet prop riverboat. A little cooler with the high around 60 in the afternoon, and some wind to deal with again on and off. Results were about the same - bites few and far between, mostly nibblers - and we probably landed 3 fish in the 13-14" range, with everyone catching a few 9-11" fish. Not a great day of fishing but enough to keep our interest. Not much traffic for a decent 2 days of weather. Fish were not real active and not in the usual honey holes. Fish can be caught, but even asking the few people on the river, no one was tearing things up. Guess we get spoiled with the stockers sometime, so be prepared to work for your fish right now. All in all, a good first trip of the year. The weather cooperated, the river is in great shape, and my nephew was very impressed with the Eleven Point.

My memory isn't what it use to be. OK then, great fishing, great scenery, lots of work, not always alot of water if carrying camping gear, long shuttles! That should sum it up! Now about Snap floating it again...believe it when I see it!! LOL

It's so unlike you to disagree with me Snap! OK maybe the fishing was better than I remember. I do remember it was alot of work and the cows crapping. Still, you're too spoiled now with the jet prop, you'll never get in a canoe for a long trip like Thomasville again. But let me know, I'm in!!

sooner hunter - I have floated the Thomasville section once a few years ago. Water level was a little on the low side, but not sure of the exact readings. It was early June. The first couple of miles are tough. It is really just a small creek at the headwaters. We encountered several portages around debris and over logs. Expect a workout for a few miles and we weren't carrying camping gear.Several springs enter that are actually pretty cool - Posy Spring at 3.1 miles, Blowing Spring at 6.1, Roaring Spring at 6.5, and Graham Spring at 7.3. One of them and I am guessing Roaring Spring, came out of a bluff about 10 feet off the water and formed a nice waterfall with lots of water. We fished hard, and didn't have much luck. Although the portages and getting out in low spots cost us time, as did the looooonnnnggg shuttle, and we shuttled ourselves. Better get an early start. Admittedly, later in the float, we were just looking forward to getting done. Overall, not much luck fishing, but our trip was probably not a good indication of the fishing. Besides a lot of work, the biggest drawback was cattle in the river. The river isn't protected under Ozark National Scenic Riverways that far upstream. I was shocked to see a herd of cattle crossing in front of us, stopping to take a crap as they crossed. Lost my desire to jump in for a dip for several miles. From my experience, lots of work, fishing wasn't nothing special, and cows crapping in the water was a turnoff. We haven't had the urge to do it again. Too much better water, scenery, and fishing downstream. JMO

Looks like a nice weekend next weekend. Planning on a trip to the river. Has anyone been catching anything lately? Looks like river levels are much improved.

As a recreational fisherman, I make 5-6 fishing trips a year. I never keep more than the legal limit but want fresh fish for supper. I seldom fish the trophy areas because I want to eat my catch. If we are on several day trip, I will only eat fish one night, and rarely take fish home. My catch is not hurting the population of fish in any stream. I can't control what others do. I hope the day never comes when the recreational float fisherman has no place left to go to catch and keep. My trips to my favorite streams would definitely decline to areas that need the money we spend.

A MUST FOR EVERY KIT.... Are you prepared to stop bleeding?.... I carry a roll of gauze and a roll of athletic tape...my first aid/survival kit is small but just something I thought about. You will survive hopefully for a while with most injuries, but you or someone has a massive open wound or cuts an main artery, it instanty become life or death. But this thread is a great reminder and I will be upgrading my kit.

This tragedy has made some of us realize how ill prepared we are for emegencies on some of our trips. Hell, me and a buddy were float fishing last October, got into a rootwad, had to bail out to save the canoe. Both got soaking wet. Even though the temp was in the 50s, I was shivering uncontrollably by the time we got off the river. If we had lost our canoe and no one around, we could have been in for a long night. A lot of us have been in situations where things could have gone terribly wrong. This incident was certainly a wake up call.

Sorry I have no problem with anyone keeping legal fish to eat.

Stinking Pond is about 1/4 mile downstream from Turner Mill Access. Gravel bar on right, bluff and float camp on left.

Hindsight is 20/20, but hard to imagine taking an 8 and 10 year old on a 16 mile hike in the winter without better preparation. Lots of tragic mistakes.

Article I read said that approximately 2pm, someone passing by offered them a ride and the father refused and said they would be all right. By 2pm, the temp had started to drop. Man, what a sad situation! I agree, nothing related to foul play, just a lot of mistakes made by the father, who was experienced and maybe overconfident in his ability to handle whatever came his way in the outdoors, and his eagerness to show his son's some of his outdoor knowledge. Hard to imagine this happening. It looked like on map that they were also only about a mile or two from a paved road.

RV is not an option and would think that would get expensive. I will check with Cedar Stone Lodge.

Great news. We didn't get near that much in the St. Louis area.

Our group of 4-6 fishermen always take a 4-5 night fishing trip the first week of June. None of us have done the Current River much in past years and thinking of doing it this year. All in our mid 50s, we prefer a cabin for this trip. I'm thinking Eminence area for base camp. 2 jet boats and canoe/motor. Hope to all float the Jack's Fork one day, and spend rest of the week smallmouth fishing and checking out the scenery since none of us have been on the river in jet boats. I've research the net on Eminence cabins - some are a little pricey for us - would also like some solitude to hang around campfire, have some cold ones, BBQ, listen to ballgame, etc. and not be disturbing anyone - would prefer something a couple miles outta town. We don't want to stay in the middle of town. A couple of us don't mind sleeping on air mattresses. AC also a must. Just not having much luck. Wondering if anyone knows a small lodger that doesn't have an ad on the net. Or if you know of anywhere else along the Current that would have a house to fit our needs. PM if you have a place and don't care to advertise it.

I am looking for a cheap basic essentials cabin located on or very near the Buffalo River. Stove, frig, couple beds, and shower. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would suggest getting a canoe and floating as many Ozark streams as you can. You will be amazed at the scenery, sometime solitude, and you will have to get into smallmouth fishing. Lots of lakes and bigger streams for your boat, but don't overlook the small streams.

Snowmobiling in the Rocky Mountains has always been on my bucket list. So I talked a fellow teacher who I've taken a few summer vacations with into going to Colorado this Christmas break for a snowmobiling vacation. After researching for a few months, we decided on the Grand Mesa on the western slope about 40 miles south of Grand Junction, CO, (although Yellowstone would have been our first choice but was too far to drive with only a week to spend). The Grand Mesa area is somewhere we have never been to and was one place where there would be plenty of snow over Christmas. Ads claim that the Grand Mesa is the longest flat top mountain in the world although I read someplace that is debatable. Regardless, nearing Grand Junction on I-70, the Grand Mesa is obvious in the distance and certainly appears to be a long stretch of forest land that shoots up out of the Grand Juction Valley and appears to be flat from the distance. After stopping in Palisades for groceries, we headed up the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. The Byway leads through four climate zones, from the high plains desert of the valley, thru sections of buttes and sheer red rock cliffs, thru a zone with orchards and numerous wineries, and finally into the subalpine full of aspen trees and eventually huge 100 foot plus pine trees. We didn't encounter any snow until we reached the top of the Mesa where suddenly 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground was evident. The Grand Mesa Scenic Byway certainly lived up to it's reputation. We missed our turn to the lodge and were practically down the opposite side of the mountain before we pulled off at a shop and got directions. But we were early to check in anyway, so we didn't mind the scenery. We made it to the lodge and our rustic, very small cabin, nestled in the Grand Mesa National Forest. Thunder Mountain Lodge had a restaurant and bar, and was situated on Deep Ward Lake. The Grand Mesa is a summer vacation locale as well, with over 300 lakes on top of the Mesa. There are three lodges with cabin rentals within 2 or 3 miles of each other. A few of the largest lakes have private cabins around them, but for the most part, the top of the Mesa is all National Forest public ground. No sooner than the sun set, it began to snow. We made our way to the bar to unwind and visited with the owners and get the rundown on area. After Happy Hour, we walked back to our cabin and we had already gotten 6" of new snow. We woke up Christmas Eve morning excited and a bit apprehensive with it still snowing hard. Our snowmobile rental guy, Mike, met us and discussed our options. He was reluctant to let two first timers head out in a snowstorm, as the forecast was for snow the rest of the day. We agreed to wait until Christmas Day with a forecast for clear skies and hired Mike for a halfday guide to show us the ropes. He said the snow groomer would go out overnight and begin grooming the trails. Glad we did hire him to guide! After a day hunkered down in the cabin, watching Netfliks, (no TV), we woke up to clear skies, a balmy 4 degrees, and 20" of fresh powder. We met Mike at his Grand Mesa Lodge up the road and he had a buddy to ride along as tail runner. Mike took the lead and plowed through a 4 ft. bank of snow heading out of the parking lot and took off like a bat outta hell. We figured he wanted us to keep up so we took off much faster than we anticipated on an ungroomed trail, snow flying, but I was surprised how easy it was riding the snowmobile. Just like a four wheeler - gas and brake. Despite it's name and appearance from a distance, the Grand Mesa is not flat on top. Up and down hills and valleys, twisting thru the snow covered elegant pines, it reminded me of riding on gravel roads in Ozarks, except for the much taller pines and 500 foot snow covered peaks surrounding the trail. Mike would stop at scenic overlooks to regroup and allow us to take pictures. Like I said, the snowmobiles were surprisingly easy to ride. They also had hand and feet warmers, and the rentals included ski suits and helmets. We were prepared and never once got cold all day. On a hairpin turnaround, both Terry and I buried our machines in deep snow. Glad we had our guides. They showed us how to dig them out and get going again, although it was alot of work. Terry almost passed out, we were both feeling the effects of the 10,000 foot altitude. But after about 10 minutes of packing the snow down around the machines and lifting them up on the packed snow, we got them out and were off again. Looking down at the speedometer, I was going over 40 mph on long straightaways. Mike then took us on the groomed trails. The Sunlight to Powderhorn Snowmobile Trail is the main highway across the Mesa. Short spurs and loops disect off of the SP Trail. After a couple hours with Mike and his buddy, we felt comfortable that we would be OK if we stayed on the groomed trails. So we were off on our own the rest of the day. The trails are endless, something like over 300 miles of trails on the Mesa and plenty of off trail boondoggling (new word) for the experienced. We covered about 70 miles on Christmas Day, with each trail and each turn offering awe inspiring sights. At one point, mountains in Utah were visible. While we would goose the machines occasionally on straightaways, Terry and I were perfectly content to putt along at 15-20 mph most of the afternoon. Interestingly, one of the largest lakes, Alexander Lake, which had a small community of maybe 50 private cabins and homes, had a local bar and grill that was along the snowmobile trail. It was obvious that it was a regular stop for snowmobilers on the trail and was the center of activity on the Mesa, even an ad outside for Live Music. But we were having too much fun riding and didn't stop. We were suppose to ride again the next day. But when we woke up, it was snowing hard again and that night was our last night in the cabin. Our rental SUV was suppose to be all wheel drive, but when we got stuck in our parking lot, we figured out it was only front wheel drive. After talking to the people in our lodge, the forecast was for 2 feet of snow lasting for 24-36 hours. We worried about not being able to get off the Mesa for another couple of days and decided to skip our second day of riding and get off the mountain while we could. So I can check another one off my bucket list, although I would definitely do it again. One of the funnest experiences I have ever had. And we found out that the Grand Mesa Lodge will pick customers up at the Grand Junction airport an hour away and take you back. Next time, the heck with that 20 hour drive, I'm flying in. Or maybe Yellowstone now that I have some experience. Definitely worth the effort and expense to spend Christmas Day at 10,000 feet on a snowmobile. An amazing experience!

I doubt if there are many rainbow below Riverton. Water warms very quickly.

I would say it's a bad idea if you bust your axle and tires pulling your boat out!!

Glad you enjoyed it. What's your thoughts on the scenery and isolation??

There is not electric hook ups anywhere on the river - which is a shame. Several cabins in town, and the Alton Motel is cheap, but not much. For other info, check out preivious post from "First timer seeking info".