Brian Sloss

hey guys, just thought I'd mention that we have redesigned our web page @ http://11pointcanoe.com and have included a page about our fall fly flingers weekend on Oct. 20-21 if there is any interest. The river is fishing great right now.

There is a good population of chain pickerel, but they inhabit different water than the trout. They prefer slow, dead water with lots of weeds. The addition of browns won't mean adding more trout, but rather replacing rainbows in one section with browns. But total number of trout stocked when you combine rainbows with browns will be pretty much the same as the total number of rainbows currently stocked.

If you have suggestions on eco friendly float trips, I'd be happy to listen. Call me at 417-778-6497.

All 3 pages of the data provided by the MDC are now up on the Eleven Point section if you want to view it.

Altonite, Do I know you? I have the canoe rental in town. Brian Sloss

I notified Phil that he only posted 1 of three pages and that he should put it in this thread and I'm sure he will soon enough. You are correct about the hybrid they tried to get to take off as a wild fish in the eleven point. Also the hesitance to put browns in comes from the USGS forest Service, not the MDC.

if you want the data from the biologist, just email me and I will forward as I can't get it from my email to the forum.

Ihave received the pdf in my email that was promised by the biologist, but I don't know how to post it from my email. Anyone know how to do this?

This is just a general report on how the river is fishing. Exceptional throughout the 20 miles of trout water is the the most apt description I can give. All the usual suspects are working fished deep. Stoneflies, Don's crawdad, marabou jigs 1/16 olive, eggs, and rebel craws on spinning gear. This would be a good time to get down here to fish or book a guide trip (shameless plug, I know).

cc, I'm kept pretty busy with the 11 Point, but if you are ever going to talk with the campground guy or any other person involved with Spring river issues, I'd be happy to come along and throw in my 2 cents. Particularly in the winter when I have more free time.

You are right on the money in your analysis in my mind. As I have said, I think the area above dam 3 would make an excellent c&r area because the boundries are easily defined by the dams and it is a lower traffic area as far as boats and fishermen are concerned. But anything to keep more and bigger fish swiming should be a win-win for everyone. The vast majority of the water would still have plenty of opportunity for a fish for the frying pan for those so inclined.

yes they work very well.

The tree below Greer has been cut. I have to disagree about that being a lot of river to cover in 2 days. If it were you or me fishing and floating it might be a lot, but two 10 year olds usually don't have the attention span to fish every riffle and hole as long as we probably would. I and a lot of the other fishermen on this board can easily make 7-11 hours out 6 miles, but I am yet to find a 10 year old that wants to fish that slow. I may be wrong about these kids, but the 20 mile trip can be done a pretty casual pace.

The descrption I gave of the deeper moving water just below the shoals works at just about every shoal and at just about every shoal you get to, you will have a good chance for fish there. Tumbling shoals about 2 miles below Turner is a very good spot to fish. The name is very descriptive, so look for a shoal that lives up to that name. The shoal by White's creek fishes pretty good as well. Anything that imtates a crawdad does well. Minnows do very well too if you are using bait.

Your plan for the float is a good one, no need to change it. The girls will enjoy the cave at Whites Creek. As for fishing, remember the first section from Greer to Turner is the trophy area, so plan on releasing those fish and don't use bait or soft plastics there. After Turner the regs loosen and you are allowed 4 trout and can use bait and soft plastics. Fish the back ends of the shoals where they deepen out but still have a little current. They have been hitting particularly well in spots like that lately. Also, fish very deep.

Talked to him the other day and he said he had not forgotten but has not had a chance to send it yet, but that he would when he gets the chance.

The blue ribbon area is fishing pretty well lately. Got up there the last couple of days for about an hour each evening and stoneflies and Don's crawdads have been working well.

There has been no increase in horse power limits on the Eleven Point and the forest service would probably only consider a decrease, not an increase. The only stretch you can use up to a 40 horse is the short stretch from 142 down to Arkansas. Once in Arkansas the limit goes back down to 25.

Whether they succeed or not I'm not sure of, but they do try to go through the motions and travel up to the hatchery. Nothing like they do at Tany, so it can't handle the pressure Tany gets during that time though. And yes a lot of bigger fish are harvested unfortunately. I agree also with you that it would be nice to see a catch and release only section on trout from the Mamoth spring dam to dam 3 or at least a lower limit. Some nice fish could thrive in that stretch if they were protected. Whether they succeed or not I'm not sure of, but they do try to go through the motions and travel up to the hatchery. Nothing like they do at Tany, so it can't handle the pressure Tany gets during that time though. And yes a lot of bigger fish are harvested unfortunately. I agree also with you that it would be nice to see a catch and release only section on trout from the Mamoth spring dam to dam 3 or at least a lower limit. Some nice fish could thrive in that stretch if they were protected.

We got about 4 inches on Sunday, but the ground was so dry it sucked most of it up and the river only came up a couple of inches. It looks great and Turner to Riverton is fishing very good. Fished with a couple of buddies from Greer to Turner a week ago Monday and caught a few and hooked a beast (20+inches in Mary Decker), but he got away.

I know not everyone on retirement ss is 65, but a fishing license is not reguired for those over 65 or those under 16 for the single mother wanting to take her kids fishing.

RC Cola...always go for the little guy.

Brian, I wouldn't advise putting in at Thomasville. Even though we got a decent amount of rain this past weekend the water up there is pretty low and if you are planning an overnight trip with gear then you will be pulling through a good number of shoals. Cane Bluff is in great shape and we just had a guy float/fish it yesterday and he reported a day full of smallmouth and goggle-eye. Let us know if you want to get a shuttle this weekend. Ryan

Levels and clarity are close to normal, though a couple of inches up.

Over the winter I donated a guide trip to the Ozark Fly Fishers club in St. Louis for a fund raiser of thiers. Don and Rita bought the trip and booked a couple of extra days as well so we could cover the entire 20 miles of trout water on the Eleven Point. On Tuesday we hit Whitten to Riverton which had been reporting the best fishing on the river recently and that held true for us. That stretch of river produced the best over the 3 days. Stoneflies, crawdads, yellow eggs, bloody Marys, green caddis larva, and when it clouded up for a while, red San Jaun worms tore them up. As you can see from the list of flies, no distinct pattern stood out as the go to fly. Don did land a nice 18 inch rainbow though. On day two we hit the blue ribbon area and did pretty well up there compared to how it had been fishing the last time I went up there. My proudest moments were when Rita landed a nice trout after the 1st island in the fast, submerged boulder strewn shoal and when Don got a nice 'bow out of the fast water in Mary Decker shoals. They both did well presenting their flies in difficult water. The fly selection was much the same as day one. Day 3 was the slowest day we had and that was between Turner and Whitten. This section had been getting hammered by fishermen for a couple weeks and it showed. The number of caught trout on this trip beared that out. Though Rita did hook a beast that got away that was at least 20inches. Don and Rita were great folks to spend 3 days with on the water. On Friday I took Jeff from Wentzville from Whitten to Riverton, since it fished the best of the previous 3 days. With overcast skies in the morning and a light rain, I thought we would tear them up. We fished all the usual suspects listed earlier and more in the morning with little success. I practically had Jeff throw the whole fly box at them and he still only had a couple on and none landed, by no fault of his own. The fish just were not buying what we were selling. Over lunch we were trying to devise another plan of attack and Jeff mentioned he had some 1/16 oz marabou jigs. I don't normally fish with them, but what the heck, nothing else was working so we threw on an olive one and fished it under a strike indicator (deep) and drifted it like a dead minnow. Within 5 minutes, bam, a nice trout. From then on, fishing picked up and he even hooked a smallie. The best fish came fishing the fast water at Hall Bay Shoal. Hard to hook and hard to land in that fast water, but Jeff handled it like a pro. A good day after a slow start and I am going to have to carry some emergency jigs now.