steve l

Oh, that's a very good thing. Ideal trip is to see as few as people as possible, and usually past 160 we see very few. My guess would be the trout are upstream and the distance from 160 down to 142 rules out most day trippers - it is a pretty good haul. It's just hard to get away from people. I remember floating as kids (late '60s) and hardly seeing anyone. But with the population ever growing I sometimes wonder what it will be like in another 10, 20 etc years.

And while I hate to post comments like this, you hardly ever see anyone down there.

RiverRunner, you find that color's matter, or do you pretty much stick to one or two colors on the jigs?

Merry Christmas all! Upper JF is narrow & twisty with some snags. Inexperienced canoers would find it a challenge, as would some with experience if they are not paying attention. I have been canoeing the Ozarks for 40 years and end up walking a number of the runs. But not becuase they can't be run, mostly because I canoe/camp just with my wife and there is no backup so why take the risk of a dumped canoe? Of course I stop & fish alot also, so the walking part is part of the trip. And I agree with those posters that say take some time up there. I typically do three nights to get from Buck Hollow to Alley. Drift, fish, enjoy. Beats paddling. Only 5 months till I can get down there...

Brian, thanks for the update & picture. That's a lot of water. Once your able to get back on the water give some updates of what the flood wrought. Be curious if it gave any new gravel, or at least cleaned what was there off. At a minimum we should have a pretty good restocking of the firewood! When do the rainbows begin to spawn?

The gauge down at 160 is pushing 10 feet. looks like the best(?) river-long flood in years. If this doesn't clean off some of the gravel what's it gonna take?

actually it may have been a 12. and almost forgot I had this...

Hey Gavin - I like the Trout Slayer Ale. Had picked up a 6 in June out in Yellowstone. Cheers.

Thanks for the replies. That gravel is our last night spot, and it (like much of the river) has really been growing in. While it would have washed some fishing out for a couple of weeks, its too bad that flood didn't hit the upper river & really clean it out.

Did the recent floods clean out any of the river above 142? Or was it just more backup of flooding further down river? There's a gravel bar on the left just below Morgan Spring that could use some serious scouring. Thanks.

Can't figure out how to reply to a specific post, but to post #6 essentially yes I did. I happen to think the jet boats are a blight on the rivers. Other can agree, disagree or not care, but that is me.

Or better yet, don't, and use the jet boat on streams already plagued with them.

Gavin, hear hear.

Since my Ozark adventures are done for the year, I have taken much vicarious pleasure in this great thread! Good report & banter.

"The entire white ribbon area (Turner to Riverton, 14 miles) has been fishing good all summer" Except, of course, during the trip I took. I can't imagine it was the angler...

In general the guys in the motor boats slow down when passing - there are exceptions to that, but in general that is not a problem. It is situations such as: Breaking camp on gravel & the first motor boat goes by. Get in canoe & hit first nice hole, motor boat sitting there. The boat goes down & then motors back up, repeat several times. By-pass that hole and head to the next. Half way there the motor boat passes by & gets there first. Repeat step #3 above. Now add in 1, 2, or even 3 other motor boats & you start to get the idea. Like I say - it's their river too, and they are doing nothing wrong. But it is still a major distraction of the whole quiet canoe & fish a river experience.

Floated June 25 to 30, Greer to 142. On the river mostly before the latest stocking, and action was slow in the trout water, both blue ribbon & below. A couple in the over 1.5 but under 2 lb range, but not a lot for the amount of fishing my brothers & I did. I did catch a few using a a jig, as suggested in a previous thread. Spent some time learning to use it, and will be better at it next year. Smallie water was fair, caught some numbers, but no big fish. Rebel craw & plastic craws worked best. Weather, with the front moving through Sunday/Monday? Moon phase? Bad luck? Who knows, but it may have been our worst trip as far as fishing in 8 or 9 years. Couple of comments. How irritating are the guys in motor boats that sit in a pool, seem to wait until you pass, and then scream past you to the next pool to do it all over again? I know its their river too, but geez. The gravel in the river seems to be disappearing at a rapid rate. We have target gravel for each night, and have a backup in mind just in case the target is taken. But the backups especially are becoming very overgrown. It seems a couple of good floods are needed soon or the gravel may be lost for good?

Got ahold of them this morning. Brian, thanks for the reply. Hopefully your tips from the spinning gear thread help. We'll know next week.

Have canoes reserved for next week. Tried calling to confirm, but no answer. I see on their web site the business is for sale. Can anyone confirm they are still up & running? Thanks.

OK, next weekend is the trip on the 11P. I have 1/16 jigs & small rebel craws ready to go, along with the ever popular 1/8 black roostertail. Question is on line. I was thinking going to down to 4 lb in the trout water (will use 8 in the smallie water), but wondering if 4 lb test bouncing jigs is the best idea? Is the line enough to stand up to the rocks? Stick with the 4, go to 6? Thoughts?

Went Buck Hollow to Alley Thur to Sun. Luckily missed the guy w/the 40 hp boat. Got "carded" by a ranger floating on Thursday - too bad he didn't get the guys w/the stringer. No scraping with a fully loaded canoe, which meant it was running higher than I prefer. If I'm having to drag some it usually means fewer people on the river. Saw quite a few people this trip, my first choice gravel taken both Thur & Fri. Of course the fallback gravel on the JF is pretty good gravel! Fishing pretty good, lots and lots of the 8-12 inchers Gavin mentioned. Also pulled a 2.3, a 2.1, and a 2 pounder out. No trophy fish though. The Rebel craw pulled the larger fish, most at dusk. Plastics (craw and slider worms)did best during the day. What a great river.

well, I have no answer to your questions, but I'm putting on tomorrow, going from 17 to Alley through Sunday. If you see a lone canoe with a guy in a white hat say hey and let me know how the fish are treating you.

I have to echo Hank, the upper Jacks Fork has much to offer. Another two day float would be Buck Hollow to Alley, all depending on how much you paddle. That float keeps you in the managed water the entire way.

$100 included the canoe. Good story - the walking part reminded me of the time on the JF I was, not really sure now, down from Blue Spring. This guy carrying a crossbow & his female friend came out of the brush and asked me how far it was to the cave. I asked Jam-up & he said yes. Told him not sure, but it was a number of miles anyway. Last I saw of him he was walking downstream. No idea if he ever made it or not. Just shook my head.

On the river in the dark. Just can't see it. I guess if I knew the river really well, but the 'ole risk/reward profile would seem to tilt to far to the risk side. I use Harvey's Alley Spring Canoe Rental. I'm sure the other liveries do just fine - Harvey's is convenient being there at Alley, and I have never had any problems with them. Last year it was $100 for Thur-Sun, included the shuttle.