steve l

This thread sure took an inneresting turn.

Are you sure you didn't mean Big Game trout? Nice report.

We used to camp on the island formed by Halls Bay and the channel jd mentioned. Best float campsite we have ever had, doing two nights there for quite a number of years. The view of the rapid, good fishing, the kids would go up & down the rapid on air mattresses many times. Staying there one year a jet went screaming up that side channel and missed a turn and ended up going into and up the bank a bit. Luckily no one hurt - which allows us to laugh about that to this day. Not even sure we could pull canoes in there anymore - the closing of that side channel really changed to flow over the rapid. Plus those were a string of very dry years. Heck, we were able to walk across to the other bank a few years. It's inneresting to see how much that bank there past the gravel has eroded away since then as well.

Why is it BS? Beyond what you think what specifically causes you to say that? Studies etc? I'm genuinely curious.

Report to the MDC where you saw them for a possible try at eradication. 573-522-4115 or https://mdc.mo.gov/feral-hog-sighting-damage-report

I've had one ziplock leak, I've had two ziplocks leak, I've never had three ziplocks leak. But use the real ones, not the Walmart etc brand.

How about something other than I went fishing and caught fish or didn't? Floated the 11P last week, and paddled up the Blue spring branch for the first time in a number of years and found the beer can in the picture. Note the instructions of how to use a church key to open the can. I also like the blurb on the front of the can that says 12 oz just like a bottle. My Googling finds that Best Brewing was the first brewery in Chicago to can their beer, starting in 1935. The message on the can saying the brewery was founded in 1891 and been in operation for nearly half a century seems to indicate this can was from maybe the late 1930s to early 40s. So that can has likely been there for 80ish years! At that time beer distribution was mostly local and regional, so wonder how a beer can from a Chicago brewery ended up in the spring branch 80 years ago. Someone touring the area I suppose? Chucked it it from the overlook? Oh, I did get a nicely colored 17 inch rainbow and enough goggle eye to fry up for dinner one night.

Always love these posts.

There has been discussion in various river forums about whether "navigable waters" applies to the usual rivers we fish/canoe, typically around access or ability to camp on gravel bars. Interesting that in this case that the Lake of the Ozarks was ruled to be not navigable waters for the purpose of the federal charges. Not sure if this is behind the paywall or not so here is a portion of the article. The indictment also said Lanham, the general manager of Ride the Ducks in Branson, and Baltzell, the supervisor, did not properly monitor the approaching storm and the risks it posed for passengers on the lake. The federal charges hinged on whether Table Rock Lake was considered a "navigable waterway"; in other words, whether it supported commercial activity like shipping. Defense attorneys in the case filed a motion to dismiss the indictments, arguing that federal law does not support the criminal charges against their clients because Table Rock Lake was not navigable. Rush and Harpool agreed with that analysis. Rush said in his recommendation that if the defendants were to be prosecuted, it should happen at a Missouri state court. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/judge-dismisses-criminal-case-in-2018-table-rock-lake-duck-boat-disaster-that-killed-17/article_5cbaf038-7ab4-51a3-ac55-449ad0c04326.html#utm_source=stltoday.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fbreaking&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=0c55afc72040c5c7eb7d918f24fb300faaa89dfa

Thanks for the replies. The fishing I would rate as ok minus. Caught fish, but perhaps not as many as I would have figured.

I caught one between 160 and 142 yesterday. First I or my brothers have caught in over 15 years of floating the 11P. Now, we don't target crappie, but seems we might have caught one by accident before this (or this is the accident...). An escapee from a farm pond somewhere in the watershed? Or they there but uncommon? Or...?

https://ozarktrail.com/ And you might check out the Ozark Trail Section Hikers and Backpackers group on Facebook.

Lots of lightly used boats for sale in a couple of years?

What stretch did you float?

Kindof skeptical of the theory I brought a spider from it's very extreme northern range if it even makes it up this far that somehow survived being packed and unpacked on four previous gravel bars just to show up on the fifth... We floated Whitten to 142. Got three or four in the 16-16.5 range but yeah, tough is a good word.

Got done with the five days with the brother this morning. On the gravel bar, a bit above 142, this morning and packing up. Shook out/off my bags before packing the tent and sleeping bags etc and a black widow fell out! That's a new one. We had set the tent maybe 15 foot or so from the tree/willow line. I guess it wondered down from there? The bags were all kept outside the tent like I always do. Can only imagine if it hadn't dropped out and come home with us or possibly decided to wander about the car. Might have been interesting. On a related note we saw last night a wasp dragging a paralyzed spider to it's hole. Didn't see the actual attack but the dragging was cool. Weather was great. Fishing was ok at best. Lots and lots of casts for the fish we caught. My brother & I both noted the fish we caught just didn't seem to have any girth on them.

Nice write-up.

My wife & I floated with them in Mid-September - Boiling Springs down to Ross - and had no issues at all including their driving the car down to Ross on time to meet us on Sunday. Now we weren't high season and went in on a Thursday, but perhaps they are finding their legs a bit.

Echo Al's comment on dry shoes/sandals for camp. I suggest two 18' or so lengths of rope - one to each end of the canoe. Here is my list - refined over many years (the time I forgot matches...). My wife & I use a canoe - and we load it heavy.

Always love reading the prelims and reports from Olliefest.

Had two raccoons get into a fight over our garbage bag one night on the Jacks Fork. That was pretty funny. Was raided one night on the Eleven Point where the raccoon(s?) ate my oatmeal packets that had apples but didn't touch the other packets.

By semi-popular request, from the original trophy presentation in 1998 and then from this year's presentation. The top ten fish by weight make up the scoring creel. As with that other great trophy the winner's name (and winning creel) is added each year. The plate you see on the original was moved to the new when it outgrew the space. And...gotta love the Data photo bomb! Trophy has been the subject of keen competition and much trash talk over the years.

My brother thinks he might have (somehow...) left our fishing trophy behind at the 142 access. Anyone happen to find? It's kindof hard to mistake. Found at 142!

And one was planned for the Jacks Fork (I think)?

Thanks for the report, and interesting. What did you think as far as gravel bars? Any new or old ones now gone? Any other changes of note?