TroutRinger

I may still go somewhere too. The Little Niangua usually drops pretty quick and I will already be down by the lake anyway.

It probably has been abused but what does raising it from 5-20 do? Poachers gunna poach regardless of what the law says.

Agreed. While it is for non-residents, I am firmly against any government agency getting more revenue unless they have documented a history of cost reduction first. The rate increases is the change I am least concerned with. Raising the minimum acreage for landowner hunting tags and creating a landowner registry are BS. There is also a proposed requirement that would essentially require you to butcher your deer in the field if you live in one county and hunt in another. You wouldn’t be able to transport the carcass home to butcher if you have to cross state lines...you could only take it to a taxidermist or licensed processor. There’s a place where I hunt where I may be in Boone County one hunt and Callaway the next depending on the spot. In either case, I am 20 minutes from the house. CWD doesn’t follow county lines, if you are putting a restriction like this in place (which I don’t support in any form), at least make it a mile radius so people that hunt close to home in different counties or have land that is in two counties don’t get screwed.

Fair warning to all. The Gasconade is somewhat of my kryptonite and I may have jinxed the group. I have tried to get on this river 5-6 times over the last few years and always had to go somewhere else because it gets flooded when I’m scheduled to go...

Changing my RSVP from tentative to CONFIRMED. Not sure if I can camp, but at the very least, I am definitely coming down for a full day of fishing and hanging out on Friday or Saturday. Bringing my Coosa HD unless someone wants a deckhand on their jet-boat . Have a truck to help with shuttles/towing/etc. My wife and our 11 month old are going to LOTO Saturday to meet a friend, and I feel bad making her deal with the logistics of traveling with an infant and two 60# dogs by herself. But, if the in-laws are going to the lake too, that will free me up to stay a night and get two full days in.

Put me down as tentative. Looks like there’s a good chance it will just be a girls weekend for my wife so I should be able to get free for a day or two.

Sounds like a blast. I think we were meeting friends at LOTO that weekend, but it might just be my wife’s friend and not her husband. If that’s the case, I may take you up on this. I’ve somehow never managed to get on the Gasconade.

I’m down that way about half the weekends in the summer and early fall. Hit me up if you want to do a self shuttle float.

NEMO, Sea to Summit and Thermarest are the main brands for sleeping pads. I recommend getting one that is 3” thick when inflated. Depending on your weight requirement and budget, they could be $75-175, but these things go on sale frequently. I just got a NEMO Field Tensor for about $85. For sleeping bags, a lot of people are switching to quilts because they are half the weight. I haven’t yet because I haven’t found a good deal yet. Marmot Trestles Elite are the best value option there is to be had in the bag world. For ~$75, you get a ~2.5lb bag. To save any weight off that, you would need to spend $200-300 at least for a down bag and then still only save maybe .5-.75 pounds. On the quilt side, 1.5lb quilts rated down to the mid 30s can be had for about $150 (thermarest chorus 32). Cooking. I use a 8” folding frying pan that can be found at Walmart and academy and one of those burners that sit atop a Coleman 1lb propane bottle. If I had to do it again, I’d get something that sits on the ground and connects to the bottle by a hose. That setup is probably three pounds. My backpacking setup, which is just meant to boil water really, is less than a pound. Also, I use a website called Active Junky that gives you cash back at many popular camping type stores (Backcountry, Cabelas, Moosejaw, etc.). Can send you a link if interested that gets us both bonus cash. The cashback goes up to 12-15% at times. Other good sites to save money are Sierra.com (owned by the Marshalls/TJ Maxx folks) and CampSaver (who runs 20-30% off coupon codes on the reg).

What kind of weight are you needing to stay under with your camping gear? I can live for a week out of my backpack with 35lbs weight total, water being the only thing not included. Could give you a gear list for that but if you have more weight to work with, that only makes things more and more comfortable.

@Phil Lilley I paddled upstream almost a mile which wasn’t hard with no current. Fishing was tough Might night fish by the dam tonight (wading) and try again in the kayak in the morning for a couple/few hours.

I will be down with the wife and baby this weekend for a wedding but should be able to get away early Saturday morning to early afternoon to do some fishing. If the water isn’t flowing too hard, I’ll try paddling upstream in the kayak and floating back down. Has anyone worked out the logistics of a self shuttle to float downstream? The last discussion I recall was that nobody shuttles private kayaks. Or, if anyone wants to join so we can shuttle each other, shoot me a PM.

Thanks for the report. I am very surprised they are still that deep.

Dude. Don’t even get me started. I posted about them in late spring 2016. That place was a total $h!t show. Absolutely terrible experience.

I wonder if that is the hog that was eating the rainbow carcasses from people cleaning fish at Lilleys dock. I saw a freaking giant in June 2016 come up and hammer ~15” rainbows after the filets were cut out.

I’m not sure if it is walkable. You’re kind of focused on making it through and not so much on anything else. It’s pretty fast and deep so it possibly isn’t. That said, it really isn’t that bad in normal water levels. As long as you keep the boat straight, you’re good. Not really any turns or obstacles to navigate around. There are a few more shoals as you go. I’m also very conservative and walk when in doubt, but there were very few places I felt that was needed in this section.

I used canoes for many years before getting into kayaks. Yes, it is easy to hop out of a canoe just as it is a SOT. Getting back in is a different story. A SOT kayak gunwale is a few inches off the water surface...maybe 6” on my Coosa HD. A canoe is in the 10-12+ inch range. That’s a big difference when trying to sling your leg over in any depth of water. I have hopped back onto my kayak in waist deep water. That would have been impossible on a canoe without tipping. Even if I made it in, I’d be filling it up with water that would need to be bailed out later. This is especially useful when fishing upstream. I can wade quietly with the kayak tied to my waist. When it gets too deep, I pop back in and paddle. I have done the stadium seat thing on canoes. It’s nowhere near the comfort of a GOOD kayak seat. Half the time the stadium seats come lose, but even if you get one that fits tight, they aren’t adjustable like kayak seats and don’t have near the back support. You also can’t pull them out and use them to sit on the ground like a lawnchair during lunch or overnight. Horizontal rod storage is probably a tie. Kayaks like the Coosa HD have horizontal storage for one rod in each side but you can actually put 4 in there and those four will stay there even if you tip. Then you can fit 3 comfortable (up to 5) between your legs. Al, I’m curious why kayaks you’ve tried? Have you used any quality ones like a Jackson Coosa, Coosa HD, Cuda, etc., Sea Ghost, Predator Bonafide, etc. etc. It’s not the same experience as a “fishing” kayak from a Walmart or a big retail sporting goods store.

In that price range, I would consider a Sea Ghost 110 or Jackson Bite over the Pescador Pro. You can probably find dealers that carry the Bite and Sea Ghost (may be two different dealers) to test them out. I have heard good things about the Pescador Pro, but the Sea Ghost is very highly regarded. The Bite is brand new but Jackson makes great stuff. Regarding the solo canoe comparison, they have their advantages and disadvantages compared to a SOT. Almost any SOT in this budget will have a seat that is more comfortable than a canoe. I think Old Town has a model with a chair like seat in the $1200 range but that is the only one I’m aware of. SOTs are also easier to hop on and off when you’re fishing or getting out when dragging. They are also self bailing so your gear stays drier and it’s one less thing to worry about in the rain. Not certain on this, but I think most SOTs will be more stable if you want to stand and fish. A canoe will have a higher weight capacity and are usually lighter. The weight is is really the only thing that has had me curious about them. That, and Al swears by them.

I fished there. Every inch of shore out to about 10-30 yards is covered with lillypad-like vegetation. Have to walk through a lot of brush to get there or to a spot where you can cast. My FIL did catch a nice bass there but it is tough to fish. If you were willing to drag a kayak on wheels back there, it could be worthwhile.

LD bass population is still decent. I’ve always done ok there.

That place seems to get a lot shore pressure at the easily accessible areas. I have only bass fished there out of a kayak or boat and have never seen someone on shore catch a fish. I’d recommend bring some boots and getting to the harder to reach areas that don’t get pounded.

What do you wipe your....ehhh....nevermind.

Those roll tables are pretty slick. If I was taking a canoe, and especially if I was going to hang out in one area for more than a night, I’d get one of those.

Personally, I’d ditch the cots in favor of a Thermarest but if that’s what you have and they are the cylindrical folding type, they’ll fit in the canoe fine. Propane grill could be replaced by a collapsible grate and use wood for fuel. Bring starter sticks in to light wet wood in case of rain. Couple things that haven’t been mentioned yet: Bring a compass to help orienting with the map. If your canoe seats don’t have backrest, do your back a favor and buy some stadium seats and attach them with bungees (you’ll thank me later). If you wear contacts or glasses, bring an extra pair. Instead of filling your cooler with ice, use frozen water bottles then you are also carrying drinking water. I pack my cooler full with the food stuff and frozen water bottles then use bags of ice and shake the cooler to fill the voids. You can also freeze gallon jugs of water. If you keep them out of the sun, you’ll have cold drinking water for almost two days without taking any cooler space.

I’m sure there are “some” trout as you get close to the White. That said, we fished that last mile hard and did not catch or see any, but I’ve heard of them in there. Are you going to be in a kayak or canoe and do you have a list going of things to bring? I have a lean packing mindset so things that other people may bring may never occur to me to warn them about. Like, a couple weeks ago, I saw this YouTube video where I guy brought a post hole digger, post, and quickrete to make hammock stands. It was probably 50# of bulky crap to do something that a tree does. It would probably be more beneficial to post your list for critique