mzrealfish

Good evening everyone, I'm looking for some feedback on which river to float next weekend. Putting on somewhere Friday afternoon. Pulling off whenever we are done Sunday. 18-30 miles is our comfort zone as we are fishing 1st. Paddling is a nuisance unless it is directional for fishing cover or back upstream to hit a good spot again. We were thinking Big Piney or Gasconade but they look pretty out of sorts still and just got significant rain again. Jack's Fork and Current are great but a bit of a haul from KC for 2 days on the river. We've done the Niangua from Bennett to Lead Mine a bunch so that's always an option. I've been trying to talk my buddy into the James for a number of years and we are still yet to float it. Anyone with up close opinions of these rivers right now, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks, Mark

Andy will answer or leave him a message and he will get back to you. Never can remember which 1 is his cell phone number.

Great video and awesome song to go with it. My wife and I saw them in concert last summer. They were 1 heck of a live show! We are big fans of Piney River Brewery as well.

I did the Applewood smoked pork belly again tonight. My doctor is going to kill me if the pork belly doesn't first. Served it with a veggie loaded salad so not entirely gluttonous

I have back issues regularly. Lower than yours. Just a suggestion but you might look into acupuncture. My dad is an anesthesiologist and he has a bad back as well. He is a big fan of acupuncture for himself and as a treatment for others. Best wishes, Mark

Thanks to TheLargemouthalliance for joining this site 33 minutes ago and diving straight into this topic. We greatly appreciate your input. Keep posting please. I don't like to get mixed up in the subterfuge that regularly clouds this site. I love the stories. Indiscriminately. I love the photos. Indiscriminately. I love to buy the soft plastic lures produced by some of our friends here. Fish local, buy localer. I support and "like" valuable posts. The whitesnoop is a tool missing a bag or a box...he can choose his own home but please return there promptly. Surely he's turned back into a pumpkin by now or his nanny has filed a missing person report. His pertinent and respectable viewpoints are far outweighed by his majority posts of rambles and endless banter. He's like Verbal Kint dissociated from Kaiser Soze, just another gimp. Now I'm starting to think that TheLargemouthalliance is actually his nanny. All's well that ends well. Phil please lock this thread. We're done or in the very least degrading at an alarming rate. Thanks

I was just telling the story to my brother. I came to a realization. When we pulled over, I took Rory's life jacket off, so he could be a dog for a few minutes. Had I not taken it off, the hooks probably would have sunk into his life jacket. Dang!

^ Donuts and a beer in that picture. Classic

So it's only Friday at 2:54 pm and I'm posting from KC again which means something went wrong. We got on the Jack's Fork at about 8:30 am Thursday. Crisp, cool 38° but we were prepared for that. Everything went well above Eminence. There was a tree down above the bridge that cutoff 85% of the river. Kevin made it fine. I didn't want to risk it with the dog up front. I paddled into the bank and lifted some branches to push the canoe through. No problem. To this point we had fished a bit but it was still quite cold and no sun showing. I caught 2 on the HD Craw. Both were deep in the branches in slack water...right where I like em. About a mile down from the bridge we pulled over to stretch. Kevin left a rooster tail dangling over the side of his canoe and about 30 seconds later it was double buried in Rory's armpit. We looked to snip it and try an extraction but figured out quickly that wasn't going to work. Rory was fine and not licking the 1 exposed hook so I called my guy and had him take our car to 2 rivers. We paddled nonstop through some prime fishing spots. Got to the car, loaded up and out and drove to vet's office in Mountain View. The 3 ladies there took very good care of Rory and he's all better now. Canoe trips moving forward will be sans dog. My wife is not very happy right now. Bummer

Couldn't resist. Had to rotate the picture since canoe was already strapped on my trailer. I'm mostly out of range here so it's taking a long time to attach my photo. My buddy Kevin, my dog Rory and I got down too late to put on the Jack's Fork tonight. We are staying at The Riverside Motel in Eminence tonight. Great room and with a dog only $64.

Planning to get on tomorrow 7 am ish... Pictures to follow. Going to be a frigid start but I can't wait! Been going crazy for weeks. 2 guys, 2 dogs and hopefully lots of catch and release bass. Hi Def craws rigged and ready to conquer. Stay tuned... Mark

Great stuff Al!

Hope your wife is feeling better soon. I deal with being injured quite well but when my wife is hurting it kills me to see her like that. You are a champion for making it back up river. I'd probably still be paddling. Damaging the canoe stinks but we all know they can be fixed. Mine, "The Royal Debacle" has been mortally wounded twice from canoeing the Big Piney flooded and still begs for more. As you can see I am no repair expert but can get the job done. I have 2 much nicer canoes but this is still my favorite. My buddy and I are floating Alley Spring to Van Buren next Thursday through Sunday. Taking my 17 ft canoe so my dog Rory can join me. Still need to cut some gear but we take everything that fits.

Stalk PSU. He's on to something...

Awesome picture quality. My Samsung note 4 is such an underachiever.

Just some pork belly here in KC. If they made this stuff illegal I'd completely understand. And the Ripper was delicious as well.

Just placed my 1st order. I'll be back for more when Stealth HD Jig is back in stock.. Must be a hot commodity. I know you all don't know me but I want to let you know I'm proud of all of you for putting this together and seeing it through. Congrats. You guys are big time now. I'm saving my new craws for Alley Spring to Van Buren canoe trip March 15th-19th. Will report back then. Peace, Mark Z.

Boom! Best way to spend an hour. Congrats

And on tonight's menu... Pretty darn excited

Chief did you say flax seed? This is sounding more like a granola bar recipe...

Got Rory's jacket today. He loves it. Haven't tested it in water yet. Too cold. Thanks for the feedback

My wife's favorite beer. Finally available in KC!

Rps, I have not had that specific beer of theirs but I have had a few of their other beers. They do a very good job.

Today I am sitting in an urgent care center waiting to pee in a cup (worker's comp injury today). Read through the whole forum like 3 times...never seen this before. Didn't drink these today but recently. Crane Brewery here in KC. Love everything they do.

I love coffee and a donut on the river as well. I'm still willing to drive a bit to get my fix. Elbow Inn on the Piney is about as close as I care to see a convenience store on the river