Brian Sloss

There are a couple of trappers, but they complain that otters are too hard to catch. If you have the secret, I'll buy you a dinner and you can camp at my campground. Come on over and give it a try Vonreed. They need to be thinned. I heard they were getting around $100/pelt a few years ago. Am I wrong?

If anybody is planning to trap this year, I've got the perfect spot for otter trappers. The Eleven Point may just have the mother load. Been seeing very large otters in the Blue ribbon area and I know others have seen them on the rest of the river as well. You could do real well if you came here.

Mark, Glad you had a good time, was hoping you guys might stop by for the BBQ. Sherri has some nice cabins, a good price for them as well. She is talking about putting in some RV hook ups this winter on some near by land. Hope she does as we don't have many around here.

Man I love that picture. That one needs to go on the wall of my shop. What a shot in the early morning fog.

There is a lot of assuming going on here. For people who were not even there to assume that the fish in question was killed is simply ridiculous. I wasn't there for the second picture but was for the first one and I can say that fish was caught, a quick picture was taken and it was released unharmed in a quick period of time. Instead of ripping on someone who is catching and releasing and participating in a weekend designed to have fun and raise a little TU money, why not save it for the poachers who will go in and clean a stretch of water out. We have plenty of those on all the Ozark rivers.

Brian, I glad you and Matt and the other Brian came down, I can hardly wait for that fog photo. There are too many Matt and Brians mentioned in this thread. I'm counting 4 Brians and 2 Matts, this could get confusing.

Some pics will probably be posted on Ozark Chronicles as they took like 500 pictures. Cook did win the drawing for the rod, but graciously declined and we redrew and his buddy Kuch won the rod. Also, Matt I really want to thank you for your and Bryan's donations to the raffle, it means a lot. Hope you can come next and congrats again on the bambino, hope he is doing well.

Well, this past weekend was the fly flingers gathering and I think it was a success. All 15 people at least caught a few fish and some caught a lot using all the usual suspects as far as flies go. We bbqed and raised a little TU money with a raffle for the MidMo chapter(where I used to live). The 80 degree weather brought us a little more company for the fishing than we are used to for the weekend, but that did not seem to matter much. A good time was had by all and I was happy to be able to spend some time with some fine people. Thanks to all who came to the Eleven Point.

Cook, We will be in the blue ribbon section and they will be down stream in the white ribbon section, so our paths probably won't cross onstream. Good luck guys.

It is a bit low, as it usually is this time of year, but there will be plenty of water for your trip.

Guys, just thought I'd give a general report on the river based on recent guide trips and reports from other folks coming off the river. The blue ribbon area is still fishing well on stoneflies, crawdads and eggs fished deep. Been finding most of the fish in 5-7 ft of water or deeper, with a couple of exceptions. The fish are getting more discriminating lately. Spin fisherman have been reporting less favorable results through that section, saying they are turning a few heads, but not getting takes. I'd suggest drifting 1/16 oz marabou jigs, rather than using spinners or crankbaits right now. If you do that, I think your catch rate will go up with spinning equipment. Also, don't ignore the white ribbon area, they should resume stocking down there soon, as the early gigging season rush is slowing down and they still have a lot more fish due to this river this year. Had a guy catch and release a 4-5lb trout caught on a beetle spin between Whitten and Riverton. Smallmouth reports have been so-so at best, though I know there are plenty of them in the river according to the Sept. electroshock results.

Guys my drift boat will probably be on the water as well. A convoy is about to roll down the river. Make sure to let me know for sure if you are coming so we buy enough food for th BBQ. Should be fun.

On Thursday and Sat I took out a couple of guide trips through the blue ribbon water. Both groups were affliated with the Ozark Fly fishers who had their first small but proud group outing at the Eleven Point. All four gentlemen were 1st rate and a pleasure to spend the day with. With the threat of rain (80%) on Thurs, Al and Bob showed up ready to hit the river regardless. Aside from 2 brief showers, the rain held off and the fishing was red hot. They fished Stoneflies with Don's Crawdad droppers deep all day. They also fished a squirel nymph with rubber legs that Tim at Feathercraft set them up with. All caught fish but the crawdad far out-prodused everything. The number of fish caught is hard to say, but lots is fair. On Sat Ted and Jack took a turn in the drift boat with much the same forcast. This time the weather was not forgiving. I bailed the boat the better part of the morning. Fortunately fish were being caught at the same time. The numbers caught were much the same as the Thursday group, though Ted did land a couple of real nice fish in the 18-19inch range. We used the same flies, fished the same way and all produced. Tim had set them up with his nymph as well and it probably just produced a little better than the rest (a nice meaty fly for the Eleven Point Tim). All and all a nice couple of days with good company. I'm going on a three day fishing trip to the White river and will post a couple of Ted's nice fish when I get back, don't have the time now.

Morgan, I'll be looking for you then, I've written it down. Brian

A large portion of that land was here in Oregon county and though they said no river front land was on the block, there was land that would have been part of the watershed. It did not get through the house though as I understand it.

I contacted just about every Mo rep when this was happening and expressed my opposition to the sale of any national forest land and the response I got was that everyone opposed the idea accross party lines and the whole deal died. The only concern I had was that some reps and sen. opposed mainly because Mo didn't get enough of the pie and didn't even mention the idea of protecting our public land for future generations. Which leads me to believe that for the right price they could be swayed and that is worrisome if it ever comes up again. That being said, I think this is a dead issue and there are (I hope) enough people in both parties who simply don't want public lands lost to keep it from coming up again.

Actually with Mike's improving health, the possibility of a sale is getting smaller. Thankfully for he and his family, he is on the mend and I think he is less likely to sell, but you should talk directly to him if you are interested. I personally would hate to lose him as a fellow outfitter as we get along well and help each other out from time to time. I also love the scenic beauty of this river and hope it stays that way. I am glad you were able to enjoy the river as often as you did this summer, it is a special place.

I'd like to invite any interested party to our Fall Fly Flingers Weekend on the Eleven Point benefiting Trout Unlimited. The dates are Oct. 20-21 and you can get more details at http://11pointcanoe.com/ I hope to see some Ozark Angler folks there.

Took a guide trip out yesterday and the fishing (fly and spin fishing) was very good. On a spinning rod a brown 1/16oz rooster tail and rebel crawdads produced ok. On a fly rod the Don's crawdad way out-produced everything, spinning or fly, and had to be fished deep. The hex hatch has started, so hex nymphs are working as well. The hexes are showing up in the evening around 6:15-7:30 and this may be a rare chance at some topwater on this river, given the number of fish and lower water conditions. The rises may be hit and miss, but it can be done.

Having been guiding out of a drift boat for a number of years now, I can honestly say that the drift boat will probably be the best investment you ever make, except McKee bridge still makes me a little nervous (squeesed under it with maybe an inch to spare a couple of times). Have fun with it.

Early morning is definitely key, we met at 5:30 am to get on the river. By mid-day the fishing was slowing.

Morgan, Check your pm box

Took a gentleman from St. Peters, Art, out for a guided trip in the blue ribbon area today and the fishing was on fire. Stoneflies with crawdad, bloody Mary, and red copper john droppers were all solid producers fished deep. A lot of fish in the 12-14 inch range were caught and released and 3 fish in the 17-18 inch range that were caught and released as well. As for numbers of fish caught, I have no idea, but it was lots. If you are planning a trip to the river, the heat requires you to bring lots of water, but the fishing is worth it. The White ribbon area is fishing very well right now too. I have plenty of openings for guide trips right now on week days.

JK: I like barely cooked beef; keep mine rare. RG

Medium rare.