hank franklin

You might try Tea to Shawnee Ford Road bridge. There's an "informal" access at Shawnee Ford Bridge which I've used before. This time of year it will be quite weedy however so be prepared for some bushwhacking. It should be doable though. It's also a fairly easy run or bike ride by county roads to get back to Tea. I ran it once and didn't have any problem. There's also an informal access off the Hog Trough Road slab. I've used this before also and didn't have a problem. Parking here is a little more tricky however. This also is pretty easy to run or bike back. I've walked in at H bridge recently and really wouldn't recommend it. Pretty rough bushwhack. My personal rule of thumb is you need the High Gate USGS gage at 3.0 feet or better to float the upper Bourbeuse. I really prefer 3.5 and 50 cfs. Of all the upper sections Tea to Shawnee is probably my favorite stretch. I haven't been between Mint Springs and Hog Trough. Any pointers there? Thanks

Yeah, it was a fight but fortunately my cousin was right there manning the net. Quick report: Caught him not far off the boat in pretty deep water. Hit with just a slight tap and when I first pulled for an instant thought I was on a log. But then he pulled back and the fight was on. He rose a bit but then dove quickly. He didn't seem too interested in coming to the surface, which was also probably fortunate, as he might have been able to spit the hook had he jumped. But he stayed low and after several runs I managed to guide him into the net. We were also fortunate in that we weren't in heavy current. We didn't handle him long, just enough for a few quick pics. The pics are pretty good but I wish I had taken a few more. If I have any advice from this one it's to settle down and take as many pics as you can. I would've liked a few more. I ws shaking though. My cousin and I have been fishing a long time and never saw one that big. Yes we've seen pictures but it's different once you see him in the stream. It was truly startling when we first saw him come up. When we got him in the boat it was just hard to believe a stream smallmouth can get that big. A true natural wonder, really.

Finally joined the 20-inch club. As Al would say, "somewhere on the Meramec." Released, of course.

Would the float fishers on here recommend bear-proofing gravel bar camps? I've never done it. Had some raccoons on the Current last year open a plastic box so I now pretty much put everything secured in dry bags. Don't imagine a dry bag would stop a bear though. Any thoughts?

Appreciate the advice. Sounds like putting in on the upper stretches is a bad idea. What about further downstream? I'm pretty married to my canoe. Put in at Cooper Creek and float down to Branson? Not as long a run but at least not life-threatening, right? I imagine you could float all the way down to Rockaway Beach. Current still decent down there, huh? That's where we went when I was a kid. Part of this plan is my desire to get my canoe on every major waterway in Missouri. Never been on the "White River" in this canoe. Taney is as close as I can get.

Thanks. Is there any way to know what the generation schedule is?

Okay, so I think I'm going to bring my canoe down for a spin on Taneycomo. Am planning to put in at Shepherd of the Hills and have my wife pick me up at the Branson bridge. It's been 25 years since I've been on Taneycomo so bear with me. Will be in town week of June 23. First, is this floating plan even doable? Is the flow fairly consistent or does it shut down entirely at times? I really don't recall it ever shutting down entirely but I'd hate to be out there several miles from home and have to paddle the whole way. Second, will there be gravel bars? I've read Phil's description of the Lake and the gravel bars in the upper section. However, are the gravel bars still out considering the wet year and the (I assume) higher than normal water? Any other pointers or advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Hank

Depends on water levels. I was out yesterday and I can tell you if you have to choose between going short and having time to just sit and enjoy, or going long and having to huff it, go short! We had a blast and hardly went five miles.

Pretty, great story. Just a wild guess, but looks to me you're about a mile or so below Highway N. Something about that left bank looks familiar.

If you're in the Lebanon area you may as well hit the Niangua. Bennett Spring State Park can get you started.

Great photos. I'm gonna get out once it warms this week. Have to, don't really have a choice in the matter.

Wow, love the pics, and the info. Thanks for sharing.

All sorts of low-lifes swooped in to prey on people who were flooded on the Meramec recently. Con-man contractors, mainly. Many from out of state. Unbelievable, really.

My cousin and I were on the Bourbeuse recently and found live mussles all over the gravel bars, presumably left there from the flash flooding. I wasn't sure if they were even legal to take, much less eat, so we left them be (and actually relocated several to the stream bed, they were facing an almost certain death by racoon if left on the gravel bar.) Anyway, I checked the wildlife code upon returning home and found that you can take five per day, year-round. Upon further reading I found that freshwater mussels are tougher than the saltwater variety, and presumably not as good to eat. They also filter pollutants so may not be a good idea to eat any way. Long story short: Does anyone out there eat them? If so, how are they typically prepared? I might try a gravel bar dinner of them someday, but not sure what I'm getting into. Hank

I like to fish upstream if possible.

I think they may be firefly larvae. Web search I did was inconclusive though. Don't know if they really match the description of what was posted above. No, we didn't use them as bait though we thought about it.

Ridge Runner, by Norten Dablemont with nephew Larry.

Looking at floating Round Spring to Two Rivers over the weekend of 9-15. I would expect the crowds to be off their summer peak, but I can't imagine the river would be "quiet." What do you think? Will the crowds still be there? Or will my kids be able to float in peace?

River probably is pretty low up there. Might want to check with someone locally.

Like others, I can't believe this is even being discussed. I want my children to grow up loving the rivers like I did. Problem is, it's almost impossible to float the streams on summer weekends without exposing your kids to drunken, obnoxious behavior. I was young once too, and I didn't swear, act obnoxious, etc. when kids were around. I'm no prude, but I can't believe some of the language I heard this weekend RIGHT NEXT to our boat with three young kids in it. It's unbelievable how crass, disrespectful and just plain ugly some of us in our society have become.

I've been on the Meramec several times this summer and my advice is to get down deep. I haven't had much action on the surface, except late in the day. The best mid-day pattern has been to work soft plastics deep (3-4 feet minimum, preferably deeper). I like to fish crankbaits and haven't had much luck, except in the twilight hours, when fishing has been pretty good at times. The mid-day fishing for me has been tough, and for whatever reason I haven't found many active fish in the riffles in mid-day. It seems in past years I could find smaller fish stacked up in the riffles and ready to chase something most all day. This year they don't seem to be around, or at least they're not likin' what I'm throwin'. Also, I haven't been above the Huzzah-Meramec confluence this year. Most of my fishing has been around Sullivan and St. Clair. The pattern up higher might be a little more faster and surface-oriented.

Brownieman, I would side with the landowner in your example. I have no problem with landowners asserting their rights to keep people off their land, i. e. the stream banks. However, I do believe a "right of passage" exists which would protect a wading angler's right to access at a county bridge and move up or downstream, if the stream is customarily used for such purposes. Again, the prickly issue is the definition of navigable or floatable or whatever. I don't feel there's a particular "right of passage" on just any creek or ravine or stream section, and defining what is "public" water and what is "private" is up in the air. The federal and state government have asserted more and more regulatory authority over the watersheds themselves but that doesn't give the public the right to use them. It goes back to my earlier post, that I believe that a fight over this is coming in the next 10 years or so. The Osage Fork example is illustrative. Let's say that guy wants to develop a huge resort on both sides of the river. Does he have the right to prohibit people from using not only the banks but the river itself? Most of us would say hey, the river is free and open and we should be allowed to float through. My point is I do think Missouri in general recognizes that right to float through, i.e. "right of passage" on a so-called "floatable" stream but you never know how a court may ultimately decide it. It's my opinion that the right of passage on "floatable" streams will be preserved (the canoe industry depends on it, for one) but I think the landowner's right to keep people off the banks will also be preserved. That's the basic situation we have now. There will always be a gray area, because the definition of "floatable" will always be subject to a degree of subjectivity. To expand the discussion a bit, one thing I see coming down the pike is what amounts to a no-development, or limited-development zone on stream banks in watersheds. This would be highly controversial and I'm not necessarily advocating it, but the logical outcome of increased government regulatory authority over watersheds is protection of the stream corridor from development. This is a whole other subject but it is linked in some way to right of passage, because if for example a 100 foot buffer on streams is protected from development, the public's right of passage on that corridor is at least somewhat enhanced, and the landowner's interest in keeping people out of that corridor is also diminished.

Decisions by the MDC and Conservation Commission are fair game and can and should be discussed and debated. That debate can be very helpful, especially in an online public forum. Complaints about access to information, and accusations of cover-ups, obfuscation, etc. in my opinion ring very hollow given the wealth of information out there. You may not be able to get it instantaneously, but all financials, minutes, agenda postings, etc are all open public records and in my experience are readily available online.

I spent about two minutes on google and came up with this link showing every state of Missouri audit done on MDC in the past several years. I'm sure a few more minutes could produce current and past budgets, etc. etc. etc. If you want to get informed, get informed. If you can't find the information you're looking for, ask for help. The Missouri "Blue Book" lists every salary for every state employee in Missouri. Etc. etc. etc......

I think private property rights on streams will be the subject of a major showdown in the courts in the next 10-15 years or so. The public's interest in water quality, and the government's increasing assertion of authority to regulate that, is on a collision course with the property owner's interest in "peaceful enjoyment." My own feeling is that "right of passage" in Missouri is well-established on the floatable sections of streams, and is not in jeopardy. "Right of passage" on the less-floatable stream sections is not well-established and would be in jeopardy, in my opinion. The conflict will be in the definition of "floatable," and I really don't see the courts definitively resolving that issue. Is someone going to go out on the map and draw lines? I don't think so. There will always be a degree of subjectivity in that, similar to the situation we have now. I do believe a more exacting standard will be set up to regulate and protect watersheds. The existing federal law and regulations derived from it are unclear and haphazardly administered and the situation is begging for challenge in the courts. There will be a big fight over that in the coming years, and I do believe the government, i.e the "public" will ultimately win, though not without bearing an increased cost. Clean water of the future will not be cheap. We're a long way from the resolution of that issue however. In the meantime it will be up to the sportsmen in the field, as well as the organized groups, to promote responsible stream use. I believe most stream landowners understand the right of passage tradition in Missouri and in fact recognize and support it. But it only takes a few reckless trespasses, littering, property destruction etc. for that landowner to change his mind.