jimrandolph

Since when is it illegal to use live bait while fishing the river? I travel there twice a year, including next week; I seine out my own live bait, minnows and crayfish...

Hey everyone. A friend and I are heading down to a cabin in town, then a canoe trip Sat, and Sun. We are coming from the St. Louis area. We were going to do it all last year but got rained out...I remember a posting on here last time about a quicker, more convienient way to get to Alton Mo. If anyone has any suggestions...

Well, a little less gear to pack I suppose. For those who have camped on the river in the past, we were thinking about shying away from a tent, and maybe using a couple of hammocks. From your experiences, do you think it would be too difficult to find accomadating trees about half way through the trip?

Very good. Thanks guys. If anyone else has any other tips for the blue ribbon area, or upstream, where we will be fishing on Day 1, I am all ears. Also; has anyone ever tried to target catfish out there? It would be nice to put a line out for some channel cat that night.

I spoke with Brian yesterday to book a canoe or two in mid April. It looks as though it will be a two day trip from Cane Bluff to Turner. We spoke briefly about it on the phone about lure selection and presentation etc....but I am not accustomed to smallmouth fishing. Specifically, if Greer Spring to Turner is Blue Ribbon Trout area; and because I don't fly fish, what kind of lures would you all recommend. I understand that soft plastic lures are also prohibited.

I was wondering what the canoeing and fishing traffic / pressure is like on just a random weekday after Memorial Day into the summer. I typically shut down my river going after Memorial Day until after Labor Day due to the usually high numbers of drunken a-holes that exist outdoors at that time. I thought maybe because this river is not as tourist-like, and there are not resorts and outfitters all along the river, it may stay quieter. I was scheduled to come down several weeks ago, but the weather flushed us out...needless to say, my cabin rental is still waiting for me in Alton, but I was just wondering to try it this late into the spring or wait until fall? -Jim

Well, due to the weather, we won't make the trip this weekend. It looks like a 70% chance of thunderstorms; a little too risky for a 4 hour drive. darn it.... We will be there soon though.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother; I hope things pan out well. Before we take off, any last minute recomendations as to which trip we take? It won't matter much, but if you think we should attack the smallmouth I wanted to grab a couple artificial standbys (white flukes, gulp worms, minnows etc...). Otherwise we are planning on obtaining minows once we hit the river, which should work for both.

Well, my friend and I are all set to arrive in Alton Friday night for a one-day float / fishing trip on Saturday. The weather looks potentially a little sketchy, hopefully it will cooperate. That being said, I have received a lot of good information on this site on the past couple of weeks. Does anyone have any last minute tips for our trip? Any updated recommendations as to which section of river to fish? We don't care much if we are fishing for trout or smallmouth; rather, just anything that is biting better. Brian, I haven't called down to your place yet to officially reserve a canoe, but we would like to rent one canoe, preferably an Old Town canoe, or something similar suitable for fishing. If you get this prior to Friday, just let me know if I should call.

So, just to clarify, you advise that as I enter MO from IL I should just stay on I-55 South as opposed to taking U.S. Rt. 67 south for the biggest part of the trip? Even though I-55 bends east and I will have to double back west on U.S. Rt. 60 near Sikeston? Or are you saying that I should take U.S. Rt. 67 straight south where it diverges from I-55 at Festus? (God...did any of that make sense??) Also, Mark, you mentioned that you fish the river in a similar way (with live bait) is there anything too specific that you find that works? (Without giving away all your trade secrets...) At the Spring River I fish alll the falls and deep holes etc...just by presenting a minnow or crawdad with a couple of split shots, depending on the water currents. Giving up a yearly trip to the Spring is a big task...I have been going there since I was a child. It's what keeps me going throughout the year sometimes! I will really enjoy the apparent seclusion and lack of riverside development. You may all rest assured that my friend and I will speak to no one of this, as I, as much as anyone appreciate unspoiled and isolated wilderness beauty.

Thanks guys...it seems like Turner to Whitten seems to be the general consensus. Are there any smallmouth to be caught on that float, or are they more heavily located in the latter half of the 14 mile float? We will be coming from the St. Louis area; I am a State Trooper on the IL side, so I get to play in East St. Louis everyday. I really like the fact that there is no big development on the eleven point river. The Spring River in AR is so nice, but seeing houses and campgrounds is always a distraction. Obviously, the eleven point can probably get busy, but I am guessing that even after memorial Day, through the summer to Labor Day it is probably less busy than the Spring River or the Meramec River? I usually pack it in from Memorial Day on due to the drunken a-holes on Mo and AR waterways. The directions look like they have us (from St. Louis) going south on Rt. 67 for the bulk of the trip. Then at poplar Bluff, turning West on Rt. 60, then south on 19 at Winona; taking us into Alton. Although, I wonder if it would be quicker just to stay on 55 out of St. Louis and head south instead of traveling on 67?

I would say that we are down for catching whatever is going to be biting the best....with unfortunately, only one day to attempt the eleven-point (this time); we want to make the best of it. I'm guessing Cane Bluff to Greer is some wider, slower moving water?

Good evening everyone. My friend and I from Illinois are planning a trip down to the Eleven Point and have never been there before. Probably around the 18th of April. We have both been down to the Spring River in Hardy AR. for years and years, and were looking to switch things up. We are hoping to stay at one of the Rose Cottages in Alton; I have read quite a few nice things about her accommodations. Additionally, we are planning on renting a canoe from Brian at his place and take a one-day trip. My questions are many; so any help you experienced fisherman can provide about the area would be very much appreciated. 1. What section of river would you recommend canoeing/fishing during that period in April. Obviously water levels will play into it at the time...but we are really looking to catch whatever can be caught. At the spring river we always targeted trout, and from reading these posts, there appear to be trout and bass present. We only have one day to do this (this time around), and I want to select the appropriate distance trip for a good day of fishing. 2. Regarding the water and geography; does the river or recommended section of river provide for wadable fishing? Or is a majority of the river require staying in the canoe? We are very accustomed to wading and fishing. 3. Neither of us fly fish, I always meant to learn, but it hasn't happened yet. I pretty much exclusively use live bait; seining minnows, sculpin, crawdads out of the river. I know this form of fishing seems to cause much debate, but I use very small circle hooks which are barbless in an effort to reduce mortality. I feel like I have a lot of success with doing so. Obviously, this rules out the "blue ribbon area" but I am OK with that. Is there a place to buy live bait in town, or should I bring my seining net? I am sure I have more questions...hopefully with this message thread it will prompt me to remember additional ones. Thank-you in advance for any and all help or tips. -Jim

Myself and 3 friends will be down there starting next Thursday for 3 days. I have been going there since I was a kid, but have never been there this late in the year and was wondering if the fishing was any different. I know most depends on the water level / clarity, but the canoers are still sparse given that it is cooler and after labor day...right? Also, I am not as "pure" as some; I usually seine minnows from the river for bait. However I use small, barbless circle hooks. Has anyone noticed a decline in the smallmouth numbers on the spring? It seems like year after year I catch fewer; even with using minnows.

So I have been watchin the river levels; it looks pretty badly flooded. Also, I have seen that it doesn't take to long for the Spring River to clear out a little bit. Both water levels and color. Hopefully it will clear out by next Saturday on our arival. Is it a general rule after some high water that the fishing suffers or stays the same once the water returns to normal levels?