hank franklin

I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of gravel bars. I love to fish, but for me the pursuit of the perfect gravel bar is an even bigger goal. The Keys to a Great Gravel Bar 1. Must be secluded. No roads ATV trails purple paint or no trespassing signs. Public land preferred. 2. Must have adequate wood supply. In summer not as critical but in winter a must have. 3. Must have the sound of running water. 4. Must have at least one fishing holding spot adjacent. What we look for is a "smallmouth park." Ideally you are set up in your own little smallmouth park for the evening. 5. Ideally it's a "split level" bar, meaning the fire is down near the river and the tent spot is up high. 6. Agree, avoid sand! Sand is okay to play in but don't make your camp anywhere near it. 7. Swimming hole. Not a requirement but nice to have a deep spot to wash off in summer. Kids love a swimming hole. 8. The morning sun position is important. In summer, avoid a spot exposed to the east. In winter yes, you want that spot. This often you can't control, but do your best. 9. Shade is a secondary concern for me. We usually set up in the golden hour (twilight) and take down by morning. 10. I rarely have trouble with mosquitos. Yes avoid the backwaters. Otherwise I have had no problem. Horseflies on occasion but rarely mosquitos. 11. I actually prefer islands as long as there is water running on both sides. Obviously don't camp if there is any chance of rain. But with no chance an island can be ideal. 12. Confluence locations are often excellent. Usually an open vista, high gravel, good fishing at the stream entry, choice of sun position, etc. I could go on and on. Gravel bar camping is my favorite thing.

We've done this trip numerous times, too many to count. In the 90's and early 2000s we would routinely take limits of trout. IN the last 5-7 years or so we feel lucky just to get a few between us, if that. The demise of this section for fishing has long been lamented. The wilderness character however is first-rate. There's a huge eagles nest at the Dry Fork confluence. Deer abundant, we even saw a swan. The fishing however is just bad. Oh well.

A group of us hit the Meramec from Hwy 8 bridge to Scott's Ford. Fishing was basically non-existent. I saw a few fish below Dry Fork confluence but didn't see another fish the entire trip. We caught one trout just below the spring and one spotted bass. Kind of sad because the Woodson K Woods landscape is just gorgeous, for my money one of the best spots in Missouri. Unfortunately the river does not appear to be holding many fish.

Thanks blazerman, nice pic. We'll be in canoes. Shouldn't be a problem from the looks of it.

Looking to hit the Meramec next weekend in either the Onondaga or Meramec State Park area. Wonder how bad the river is iced over. Anyone seen it with their own eyes?

I have never fished competitively and have no desire to. It is the exact opposite of what fishing is to me.

Al, I feel river etiquette is simply to pass quietly and slowly on the side of the river opposite where the guy is fishing. Once you get clear of him on the downstream side then go back to fishing. And do so quietly. Once on the Meramec through Woodson K Woods in December we saw an archer in a tree stand right off the river. Before spotting him we had been talking but when I spotted him maybe 30 yards upstream I immediately told my young daughter to cool it. The hunter was not at all happy to see us initially, you could tell by the look in his eyes. And who could blame him, if we were noisy we could ruin his spot completely. However we passed as quietly as possible and didn't resume any talking or noises for at least a hundred yards downstream. He definitely appreciated it. Do unto others fellas....

Wow, nice find.

Thanks Kelroy for the info. I will make my comments to the USGS and see where it goes from there.

I was looking this morning for the Akers gage and sure enough it has been discontinued. In looking further also the Jack Fork's at Mountain View gage and Big River above Bonne Terre. These are the only three gages discontinued statewide according to the USGS main page: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/current/?type=flow#Data-collection_discontinued Yes I will register my displeasure with USGS and any others. This is not good. Here is what I plan to tell them. The Akers and JF gages in particular are very important to floaters, anglers and any others who use the river. The JF Mountain View gage lets people know if the upper river is floatable. As a float-fisher I know that that 150 cfs on this gage is ideal, and anything lower than 100 cfs for a loaded canoe in particular is pushing it. With this data point gone there will be no reliable source of info for floating levels on the upper JF. Yes you can call an outfitter but their response will be anecdotal at best. The Alley Spring gage will give an indication but is some 30+ miles downstream and can't be relied on for upper river conditions. River safety is affected; at higher flows floating the upper river can be quite hazardous and the info again will simply not be there in any reliable way. This is a national park visited by thousands of people year-round. Accurate river info is critical. Please restore the Mtn View gage! The Akers gage on the Current is also very important. It is incredible to me that with this gage gone there is no gage between Montauk and Doniphan on the Current River! National park, thousands and thousands of users, and no accurate river readings on the most heavily floated stretches? It really makes no sense. The Akers gage gives a good indication of river conditions and floating levels for the Upper Current; the upstream Montauk gage won't be near as reliable as the watershed feeding that gage is limited. If anything we need more gages on the Current, not less. I understand budgets are being cut and need to be cut, but I cant believe these instruments cost much to maintain. I would appreciate an explanation of those costs and what is saved by eliminating these gages. I would also appreciate an explanation for why these gages in particular were eliminated. Thank you. HANK

Gavin, how was the river level for loaded canoes at Baptist and below? I usually float below C-grove but might want to get up to Baptist for a change. Trip planned in a couple weeks. Also, I just have to ask....Hot Wheel? ... in the stomach...?...wha....?

Great tips, thanks. I've never done the sleeping bag within a sleeping bag trick, I imagine that would work quite well. Also never done the pee in a gatorade bottle thing though have thought of it. Nothing more unpleasant than having to get out of the tent at 4 a.m. in cold weather to do your thing. On a recent trip I just more or less rolled over and peed out the side of the tent. Not ideal but better than the alternative. Gavin, your pics are Ozark beauty personified. Makes me hungry for my next trip, hopefully in a couple weeks.

Beautiful pic Coldwater Fisher. WOW. But please do tell, your tips for staying warm. At -3F with my usual gear I would definitely get cold, at least somewhat.

Gavin, looks like your WFT group had one for the ages. The trip out Sunday must have been awesome. More pics! How were the roads getting out? I love camping in winter, Birdwatcher. If you're talking to me I don't know what you're talking about.

Interesting discussion. I've never hired a guide personally and don't imagine I will anytime soon. However I do "guide" my children and friends on occasion. Meaning I do everything I can to put them on fish, help them learn how to fish the lures, how to read the water and where the fish may be. And I take great delight if and when they catch fish. And when "guiding" in this manner I put my fishing pole down. And keep it there. The only time I pick it up is to demonstrate a technique. So, if I actually hired a guide for cash money and this guy was fishing all day, are you kidding me? I'm supposed to suck this up and just admire my guide's greatness? Wow. I would be furious too.

Gavin, please describe your Sunday morning trip out. How far did you float, etc?

Al, if it was me, I'd go for Akers and really shouldn't have much trouble making it. My large dry bag doubles as a backpack so I would take my critical gear with me. It would be a rough go but having a very clear idea where Akers is I should have no problem. However for our hypothetical Germans it might be a different story. You know how distances can deceive on the river. Unless they were very sure of their location and how to get back to Akers, I think staying put is probably the least risk. This assumes they have good gear. For me, I have a nice 0F sleeping bag that has carried me through lows in the teens without problem. But -10F? This is why this is a fun discussion for me. My 0F bag would be "OK" but I doubt it would perform really well in such conditions. To truly ward off danger I would have to have fire. To feed a fire for some 48 hours in snow covered woods would be a challenge. Canoeing in yesterday's conditions was doable but also perilous. I think staying put beats canoeing in those conditions. I guess if our Germans survived night one without freezing their butts off they could do another day / night. However if they woke chilled and in danger then they better try walking out.

I think you're right. I also think it would be a hard decision to make. It would be very tempting just to get the heck out. If you don't make it however you're dead. Better make it.

Good input. My first thought was go for a bluff shelter or maybe the cave (Cave Spring) assuming they know it's there, but as Al said the wetness of the cave environment might introduce a new problem. Staying put is fine but you have to survive close to 48 hours at 0 or sub-zero temps. If your gear is good enough you should be OK but it would be a rough go. A windbreak for the fire would be key. As long as you can keep the fire going you should be OK. If it was me I would just walk out, probably upstream to Akers. But would the Maggards even be at Akers today? The risk you take in walking is you HAVE to make it, because if you don't and you have to weather the -15F night without gear, good luck. Same with Pulltite. No one would be there and I don't think a 4WD is going to make that hill today. Yes you could live in your truck awhile but you still gotta get out. Yes you could also break into buildings if you had no other option. Canoeing might be the best option. If they have proper gear they will have at least one and maybe two changes of clothes in dry bags. So in worst case if you dump you can still (kind of) dry out. But it would be difficult and you are likely risking hypothermia. If you can make it the best option may be to push for Round Spring. However it's a long way. Canoeing in heavy wind can be hazardous. Especially if you're trying to move quickly. We were on the 11 Point once in March fighting extreme winds and it was really putting us on edge. I think the least risk is to simply hunker down and wait it out. Build a shelter for the fire and do everything you can to keep it going. Stay as dry as possible. Rely on your tent and sleeping bags to get through the -15 overnights. I feel it's rare in Missouri when we have weather so extreme it can be life-threatening, even to someone reasonably prepared. This storm is one of those times.

No phone service to call 911. Gathering more wood and sitting tight is definitely an option. However the forecast lows are -10 or even lower. Forecast highs Monday are 0 or less. The wind is making the fire difficult to deal with. (This is not true BTW, just sake of conversation.)

Just for sake of conversation, a little scenario: Let's say a young German couple "on holiday" hit the Current River yesterday. They had full gear and camped overnight a couple miles below Akers. They knew the storm was forecast but they are experienced mountaineers and had planned this trip for a while, so they (stupidly) thought they would try it. They started at Cedargrove and their vehicle is waiting at Pulltite. Their camp last night was fine but the blizzard blew in by morning. Their tent and gear is keeping them warm for now but they know the forecast temps going forward are extreme. They have some firewood left over but snow is accumulating quickly. The wind is whipping and making further canoeing an iffy scenario. They know they are only a few miles from Pulltite but obviously a dump in the river could be catastrophic. They also know that Pulltite has an enormous hill to get out and have been warned that they could be snowed in. Cell phones meanwhile have no service. They could try walking out but are unsure which way to go. Neither has waders, just waterproof hiking boots. What should they do?

Blazerman, red wiggle wart. I was crankin it hard when bam, fish on! I actually caught one other on it also.

Cousin and I just returned from the Current above Akers. Caught a chain pickerel, which was a first for me. Not knowing the regulations or ethics we turned him loose. Reading up on it today I guess they're not as rare as I thought and maybe we should have kept him and ate him. Any thoughts? Fishing was pretty good. We were throwing mainly spoons and jigs but for fun late in the trip I hooked on a wiggle wart and a nice rainbow slammed it so hard it knocked the reel out of my hand. Turned out to be my fish of the trip. The Current in winter is fantastic, but you all know that. Fire roasted rainbow Christmas tree Little swimmer

You've just MADE MY DAY. Thanks

I have a good friend who is connected to some inside football people; I saw him on Monday and he said two things: OK State will kick our butts and Maty Mauk is for real. I said no way and thought Mizzou might handle the Cowboys and he more or less said "good luck." So take that for what it's worth. The smart money it seems is on the Cowboys. The smart money meanwhile also loves Maty Mauk. We got a glimpse of it this year but my guy is saying to watch out next year, he could put on a real show. Should be fun to watch. Maybe we'll see him take a series or two in Arlington.