TroutRinger

That's a good point.

My fly line (floating) is about 8 years old (maybe older) and probably ready to be replaced. It was the line that came with the White River rod and real combo. I have an 8'6" 5wt (90% sure it is a 5 but will check after work to be sure). I will pretty much only use it at Taney, Bennett, or the Niangua but 90% of the time will be Taney. I need a good all around line. As this is my only fly rod. Please don't break the bank. On a secondary note, I have been considering getting a new fly rod since I have been fishing a lot more in the last couple years. Nothing crazy expensive. Probably a real nice combo. Is there a length and weight of rod that would provide a noticeable improvement in casting ability over what I have? It would also have to be a versatile, all around rod like the line since I'll probably only ever take one with me at a time.

wow!

Got on the water at 7:30. Water was off and quite a few people there. Fishing was real slow. I only caught 6 by the time I got out at noon. Four were on San Juan worms and two on white 3/32 jigs. Didn't really see anybody else do much better. At about 10, I drove down to the boat ramp and got in my kayak. Managed to catch one while in the yak on a jig. The water was so still that I had to drop anchor to keep the wind from blowing me upstream. Saw several browns right below Outlet 2 hugging the shore including a few nice ones in the 20inch range. They were mixed in with schools of rainbows. I casted to a couple groups of them for about two hours. That's were I caught all the bows. Twice I had a brown (one small and one large) come hard at my fly only to turn at the last possible instant. Boy does that make your heart jump. Otherwise they were mostly concerned with bullying smaller fish.

Sounds like you're doing better than I did at Taney this morning. I stopped by the shop to pick up some jigs on the way home so maybe I'll do better next time...Looks like an awesome trip btw!

I have the same issue with the shuttling situation in that I don't have any real options. What I do is paddle upstream for a while. Maybe an hour or so, stopping at the good hole along the way. Then float back downstream and fish hard. I don't know any good lakes around you, but there are always dozens of those small, overlooked lakes within an hour of anywhere in Missouri.

I'd stick to rivers especially if you are thinking about Stockton. The wind blows up some nasty waves there. Capsizes big fishing boats every year. You should look into the Neosho, Spring, and Elk Rivers. There are others. Guys help me out.

Going to fish the James or Finley tomorrow evening as long as it's not storming. Bringing the new yak. Let me know if you want to join.

I've heard good things about the Piney and have wanted to float it for a while. The Jack's Fork is good fishing, but there are only 14 miles of floatable river this time of the year which is too short for a 3 day trip and it will be crowded. The Current from Round Spring to Two Rivers (19 miles) or from Pulltite to Two Rivers (27 miles) would be better for a 3 day float, and the Current has plenty of sandbars for camping. The fishing is good and the scenery from Williams Landing to Two Rivers is great. It's also an easy float since the river is wide and fast most of the way. The peace and quiet will be tough to find on a weekend almost anywhere. Hopefully Al will chime in here as well. Also see my old topic where Al and others had good advice http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28874&st=0&p=196244&hl=Buffalo&fromsearch=1&#entry196244

No tippet? I know it varies by situation but do you generally have the Maxima around the length of the rod.

I know you get off Hwy 19 at the same road for Jerktail. You're on a rough back road for a while. At some point, the road forks with a sign pointing right to Jerktail but you go left. I can tell you there are no signs or road numbers after you get off 19 so your best bet might be someone proving you GPS coordinate from Google Earth. I just tried to find it but can't be sure.

I have to say this was probably the best section of river I have floated yet. The scenery, especially the first half, was spectacular. Lot's of large bluffs and wide open valleys where you could see hill/mountain tops miles away. Almost didn't feel like we were in Missouri. There was also no shortage of good looking holes. The first 5 or so miles was basically one long hole. I think maybe once we had to paddle to get to the fishing spot otherwise there was deep water with good current constantly. The fishing was ok. We didn't get on the river until 11:15 which didn't help that. Managed to catch dozens of smallies in the 10-14 inch range. My friend's 18 incher was the only big fish of the trip. Most fish were caught on Bitsy tubes in mustard, chartreuse, crawdad color, or some combination of those. Tried Wee Craws, Spinners, smaller poppers, and small minnow baits (which looked and moved striking similar to minnows in the river) but only managed a few fish total on those. Underwater pic with my new waterproof camera. Dinner after the float. Hamburger cooked with potatoes, cheese, and onions wrapped in foil and placed on the fire coals. Also, had mac and cheese. Long exposure pic. Most likely a UFO up there.

Awesome pics. Thanks for sharing...and yes that was most likely a UFO. Like 93% sure.

Headed east to Eminence tomorrow morning. We're camping at Jack's Fork Campground right on the river. Saturday morning we're floating from Williams Landing to Two Rivers. Just got my first waterproof digital camera so hopefully I'll have a lot of pics.

Was there Saturday. I heard it rained a bit the night before (no idea how much) but we didn't drag once. Crowded as you'd expect on a Saturday.

I usually go into it without much of a game plan. So far I have made it out...:/. The key is to lean into the obstacle (I believe they got that right in the book). all that said, I am definitely going to try that ferrying technique this weekend on the Current. As long as there isn't any mid-stream obstacles, it should be very effective. The person who will be in the front of my canoe has never been in a canoe (at least I would be shocked if he has) so his reaction to going into a bend nearly sideways should be worth the inherent risk of trying a new technique.

Ok first I was jealous of your trip. Now I just plain hate you. ...

I was trying to figure that out myself. Looks like some black beans, corn, tomatoes, and chicken? Just guessing here...I'd probably eat it irregardless

This is true. Even though our float wasn't too terribly long, combined with the heat, you will be ready to get off the water with still a mile or more left. Better to do a shorter float like mentioned above and take your time fishing.

thanks for sharing...once again I HAVE to get on that river sooner than later

I would say probably use 4lb line simply to enable you to cast smaller lures farther. For specific brands, I love P-Line CX Premium in green from BP and probably Cabelas. Maxima (available at Walmart) is good too. On the Niangua this weekend, I used 4lb line for the first couple miles from Bennett until the river was mostly smallies. I then got my spare spool filled with 6lb P-line and used that.

If quality of fishing is important, I believe you'd be better off floating Pulltite to Two Rivers. Not that you won't catch fish up river.

Just fished this section Saturday. Probably didn't get on the water until 10:30 and was around 4:30. I was in a kayak though.

Thanks for sharing. I got to get on that river one of these days.

It would be better for the smallmouth population to keep the spots. Officially, I would caution you to not (at least not publicly) kill them without eating them. It's probably a violation of the Wildlife Code. Unofficially, kill them all!