ducky123

When have you been going fishing? If you are wade fishing from the BR's public access points, they get fished pretty hard. I would want to go early or late or not go at all. By early, I mean you are on your way to the river while it is dark or you are on your way home in the dark.

I like the trash can liner idea. I will give that a try.

sorry, gone

If your primary concern is finding a place to camp, you should not have a problem. The overwhelming majority of boaters are out for the day. If it were my trip, I would start looking for a good spot around 4:00 pm and settle for the next available spot once it hits 5:00 pm. But it will be crowded. Upper end will be canoes and kayaks. I bet every permitted boat is out there and all the privates too. College kids will be out in force. I no longer enjoy such trips, so I would rather stay home. But then again, when I was in college at Mizzou, that's how I was introduced to Ozark float trips. So if the monster crowds only come out on certain weekends and leave the entire rest of the year for me, that is a more than fair tradeoff. Where to go when it is crowded? Anywhere that does not rent boats is where I go. Scenery certainly sux compared to the Current. If I needed natural beauty as well, upper Jacks Fork would be the hike/float I would choose. Great scenery, great fishing, but it would be a lot of manual labor. Again, EVERYTHING easy and nice will be jam packed.

I scouted the old conservation access. No signs anywhere. No purple paint. Easy 4 wheel access to bank. Looks like good 2 wheel access right up to river bank if bone dry. Not too steep on bank. Powerlines crossing river makes it easy to spot for pull out. Lots of trash and campfire remains on the bank so lots of people use it.

It will be a zoo over that weekend. It may be the busiest of the year. Where you go on the current will not matter.

I've never fished from a kayak, but I would feel quite handicapped without an anchor in a canoe. Just anchor yanking and dropping I can stalk fishy spots with hardly a ripple.

Right as I was done working my way through the log infested bridge at Cole's, a guy (maybe 40-ish) came up on a four wheeler and we chatted. This guy said the he helped his grandfather build the bridge. He was nice and polite to me.

They do well in an aquarium.

Up from Blackwell.

If you need to clean five times a day you have a medical issue.

Thanks to most! Here is my new bathroom. Costs $10.50 for the seat. Razor knife cut the bucket fine. Feels very sturdy.

Cole"s is tree jammed and a pain to get through.

I am sick of squatting like a bear. Please provide endorsements for a product that fits the float camper's needs. Thx.

Put in Sunday at St. Francis Park. Access was not fun. The canoe was the easiest part to get to the river. I could just let it slide down the steep dirt path. Making the 6 or so round trips back up the hill and crawling down with the gear was a true chore. I would HATE to use the park as a takeout. First four or so miles to Cherokee Landing was full of people and CL puts boats on the water. All the boats and people disappear once past CL. CL also has a ramp so this is a way better access and save some paddling that can be better spent fishing. Next time, I am putting in at CL. Good fishing right away at Turkey Creek. Once afternoon hit after E bridge, fishing was great. Topwater, beatle spins and Gulps all did great. If I found current, depth, structure and shade, I had a good spot to anchor or wade. Did not catch any non-smallies til Robinson Bluff and then started catching some largemouths. Did not catch any spotteds the whole trip. After Blackwell, fishing was good when there was current, but the pools there can be mighty long and the wind kept kicking up so it was work. Can't show pics of any big ones. I had a few big ones on, but obviously I suck as a fisherman cause I didn't get 'em in. One big one jumped high and spit my Rapala back at me. brf1.mp4