creek wader

I just traded my 8' 2-man bass boat, for an Old Town guide solo canoe.I;m upgrdig from my inflatable kayak. My back needs a break. Anyway, for the past several years I've seen pics of modifications that some of you have done to your solo and tandem canoes. I mainly will be using the solo canoe on small Ozark streams while fishing for smallies and sunnies. I would like to see pics of adjustments that others have made to thier canoes. So, please post some pics. Such as pole holders, paddle holders, milk crates, anything that would help me modify the canoe. I'm open to any and all ideas that would help hold more gear securely and convenently. Thanks, .... wader

Did you use an outfitter? Or did you shuttle yourselves. If so, who did you use?

2sheds, Please give us a full report. I've been wanting to fish there for years. Haven't made it yet. .. wader

Yes. Rosecrans Air National Guard Base is on the Kansas side of the river. Missouri claims a small parcel of land that was left on the "wrong" side of the river, either after channelization or the 1952 flood. I can't remember which. There are several parcels of land that has been in border dispute between NE, Iowa, KS, and MO. Due to channelization and the 1952 flood. I think Missouri has settled most of their disputes, now. Anyway, Rosecrans was destroyed by floods and rebuilt twice, that I know of. In 1952 and 1993. They evacuated the base a few weeks ago. There's been talk that it may be closed for good if this flood does major damage. I hope not. It employees a lot of people in the area. By the way,the river is now coming over the levee that protects the town of Sugar Lake, That is where my daughter lives or should I say lived. Their house hasn't flooded , yet. Just a matter of time.

Well, the high water is getting closer. The Missouri river bridge at St. Joseph is still open. But it's the last place to cross the Mighty Mo. till you get to Omaha. Also, both Nuclear plants in Nebr. are being threatened, now. The Ft. Calhoun plant was shut down for maintenance, already. The Cooper plant, near Neb. City, will be shutting down soon if not already. Update on I-29 closings. For those that were interested in the closing of I-29 read the article below. http://www.kmbc.com/news/28320960/detail.html

I imagine parts of i-29 will go under and be closed for awhile. Some levees will break before they're breached. That will relieve pressure and save some places elsewhere. They've never released this much water before or so for long. It's going to set all new records. Check out this article on Hamburg, Iowa. Then look it up on a map. It'll give you an idea to what's going to happen to I-29. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/07/us-usa-flooding-plains-idUSTRE75660920110607 It references I-29.

Well it's our northerners turn for a disaster. You southern boys have already had floods and some horrible tornadoes. Now were going to get a flood of biblical proportions. Too much water in the Dakota's and Montana's reservoirs. Some mismanagement by the Corps.,and a horrible under estimate of snow melt. Also, holding water because of the sturgeon and a endangered shore bird, to nest. Is the cause this time, not rain. Already the" Mighty Mo" is out of it's banks and over levees in parts of South Dakota, Neb. , Kan., Iowa, and Missouri. Several cities and many counties have already been evacuated. Many more are evacuating , now. I spent this past weekend moving my daughter and her family into our house, and moving their belongings to various locations. The small town that she lives in, is having a mass exodus. When I pulled in. I saw moving vans, semi trailers, stock and horse trailers, flatbed trailers, moving containers, pickups and SUV's loaded to the gills. Every storage facility in St. Joseph is already rented. People are renting storage facilities many miles away. This scene is going on up and down the river bottoms for hundreds of miles. This is going to be a big one and last all summer, into the fall. The first dam upriver is Gavins Point on the Neb. and S. Dakota border. The record release was in 97', it was a 70,000 cfs. They are already running over 80,000 cfs. Here's the kicker. Starting next week. The Corps. is going to open the flood gates and run her full bore for 30 days. Maybe longer. Then after that, they are going to run a huge release for sometime. They estimate that gauge at Atchison, KS will be 4 to 5 feet higher than in 1993, and last for months. That should put the level at my daughter's house's roof line, this time. In most places it will dwarf the flood of 93'. The insurance agent said it will be this fall or later before they will be able to assess their home's damage, if the home is even still there. The one blessing that they have, is that this time, they have a warning. So there shouldn't be much loss of life and people can save some of their possessions and livestock. This "great" flood is inevitable.

For fear of getting berated from all you "southern" boys. I'm going to risk making this statement. Those of you that think carp is a bony fish not worth eating, your wrong. Carp didn't wind up in our streams and lakes because it wasn't edible. They are from China. Like many other non-native fish they were brought to the U.S. as a food fish. In the local city lakes up north, they actually have been stocked. ... I know what your thinking. ... "WHY?" ... It's because they are edible, very edible. I remember going down to the fish shacks on the Missouri river when I was a kid and seeing the commercial fisherman cleaning carp. The restaurants along the river and in many of the local towns had "fish and chicken" night. The fish wasn't catfish. When I started fishing in the southern lakes. I couldn't believe the statements from the bass fisherman. They would say something like "Their trash fish" and "I heard if you pressure cooked them, you could eat them." Carp could be the answer to all the starving people in the world. The Chinese have been eating them for thousands of years. and there is a plentiful supply of them. Anyway, after years of bass fishing, I quit eating carp, partly because I didn't want to be labeled. Yes, they do have bones and are almost impossible to fillet. I pull the skin off them, gut em, cut the heads off, (great coon bait, for you trappers). Then score the meat and cut the lager ones into chunks. Fry them in your favorite batter. Pull the meat off the bone with your fork, then. ....."Yum". As you fly fisherman and ultra light fisherman know. They are a hoot to catch. I've only bait fished for them on catfish combos. But, have caught them on ultra light by accident. Back home the old timers have their "secret" dough bait, that they use. I personally used corn, or worms. Along the Might Mo, the old timers dig "green worms". They swear by them, for cat and carp. Anyway, there's a plentiful population everywhere. So, why not?

I've always used bread for bait. Usually the heal. No one (in my house), ever eats them anyway. Works great. I've had mesh minnow traps over the years. They've worked great for me.

Yeah, I thought about it after I posted. I use the 2" on "skinny" water, with smaller fish. On larger water I use the 3 1/2" or 4 3/4", or whatever size it is. I'm a big fan of them, because I rarely fish water deeper than a few feet. Still, I've had very good luck with them. I guess you use what your comfortable with.

All of the above. Also, bring along a Rapala floating or shallow diver. 2" or 3 1/2".

I see. I thought maybe you were referencing a railroad term, for the hours of service law. Chief knows what I'm talking about.

Nice fish Hoglaw. I haven't been smallie fishing yet. I'm a lot farther north. By the way, how did you come up with your nickname?

OOPS ! I had misread the header. I thought you were below Bagnell dam. That's where I was. Fishing below Bagnell has been slow, too.

Filled out one last year. Can't remember the content. I never got a reply from the MDC, though. I was just happy that the MDC, asked for the fisherman's input. It's a start.

I received my new Smallmouth Bass survey, today. Already filled it out and mailed it in.

Well, it looks like I was on the wrong side of the river. I got down there late, yesterday. I got there about noon and fished for about 4 hrs. Caught a 10 lb. carp on a crappie jig. That was the only fish that I seen caught on the east side, all day.

I have 5 weeks vacation starting in mid July. The first two weeks in August, I'd be free. The wife have July vacation , also. So, I'd be on a tight rein then. .. However, later this spring or early summer, I might be able to escape in the midweek. Because of my work schedule, if I get any free time on the weekends, the family gets me. ... Anyway, your fairly close to the Little Blue. I could bring down my inflatable yak, if you got a yak. We could work out the shuttle between us. We could do an exploratory trip on the Little Blue, and of course take a pole with us.

I assumed that Big Creek flowed north. But, it didn't appear so on the map. I'll have to look next time that I pass it on the train. With the recent rains it should be flowing now. Either way, there should be some fish in it. As far as the Little Blue. You are right, it is very narrow(because of the channeling), but deep in spots and you'd be walking the bank in places to avoid the deeper spots. I thought a small kayak would be suited well on the lower part. Where the bicycle trail starts. You'd be able to cover alot of water. Of course as with any small stream, there would be some, if not a lot of portages. I haven't tried it yet, because it is about an 80 drive each way. But, it still holds my interest. Also, I'd think a person would do well using live bait and maybe a bobber, the first time. It'd let you know what was in there.

There is at least one "drop off waterfall", or "stop dam", between each access, if not a few more. Quite a few of them between the last access and the Missouri river. They look man made, probably for flood control. Fishing should be good above and below these. Especially in the spring. By looking at the aerial map. It looks as if the stream was channeled at some point in time. As far as Big Creek goes. It's definitely not channeled, it's all natural. It's a winding curvy stream. I traced it's origin from a small lake/pond near Longview lake, all the way into Henry county before I lost it near Blairstown. Our tracks cross it several times. Most notably, behind James A, Reed. Near the intersection of N. Ranson Rd. and E. Main St., near Greenwood. It might originate from Longview Lake. The maps that I used started it as a spillway from a pond. Good Luck guys. Don't expect a lot from these small streams but, exploring them is half the fun. We expect full reports, soon.

I've done a little researching on the Little Blue. Our tracks cross it. It's always looked inviting. It has bike trail accesses. I've wanted to kayak fish or canoe fish it, between two of the accesses. You'd need another person to shuttle you, though. As far as Big creek. Our tracks also, cross it. It looks inviting, too. But, I've checked it out on foot, a few times. It's very shallow. I think this is because it is fairly wide. However, It would be a good candidate for wade fishing. Below is a map of the lower Little Blue public accesses. Hope this helps. ... wader http://www.jacksongo..._Blue_Trace.pdf

Everybody has their go to bait. Here's my top 5. 1. Senko type bait. Usually a 4" or 5" BPS version. Sometimes a 3" Yum Dinger. .. fished weightless, on a jighead, or with a split shot. 2. twister tail grub - with a 1/16 oz., or 1/32 oz. head. 3. soft crawdad imitations. ... Fished weightless, jighead, or with a splitshot. 4. Rapala floating minnow, sometimes with a splitshot. Doubles as a top water or a crankbait. 5. Spinnerbaits with a trailer. Honorable mentions: Teeny Wee Craw, Sammy(BPS version), inline spinners, beetle spins. Like everybody. I have a whole arsenal of lures that work. I just feel more confident in these.

I'm not sure. I know that clear ice is very solid. I think the white ice has been frozen and thawed a few times and air is trapped in it. Just my opinion , though. My first ice fishing experience was in the late 70's on a large reservoir near Lincoln, Ne. It had been below freezing for over a month, and below zero for several weeks. The ice was over 2 foot thick. We did real well on crappie. It was tough keeping the holes open and the wind chill was brutal. All fingers and toes were numb. We were young and catching fish, though. My next experience was on a pond near Falls City, Ne. The weather hadn't been nearly as cold and the ice was only about 8" thick. I was very nervous, but we were quite safe. We caught a lot of bass and bluegill. It's a good time. These next few days will be great ice fishing weather. The ice will still be solid and the air temp. will be quite comfortable. But, I wouldn't dare the ice, after this weekend.