TroutRinger

Floated Saturday to Monday from Rush to Riley Station on the White River. Definitely the most beautiful stretch of river I have seen. There was a picture worthy bluff or mountain rising around virtually every corner. The fishing was a bit hit or miss. My friend and I each landed a 15" smallie as our largest. I caught a few in the 13-14ish" range and lost a couple other 15". It always amazes me the difference between a 13-14" and 15" smallmouth. It is like a completely different animal. Day two we kept 6 rock bass and blue gill for one of the most satisfying fish fries in memory. I saw more 18-20" bass than I can remember seeing elsewhere, but they were usually under the boat or on a bed, and I did not want to harass them. The last four miles on day three was in the rain but by far the best fishing. We completed that stretch in about 2 to 2.5 hours and probably caught 25-30 fish between the two of us. It was excellent, bucket list trip. I made the link to my Facebook album public so hopefully this works (let me know if not): Buffalo River May 2018

Gotcha. Well, someone in FLW was selling a Slayer 12 for like $750 on Facebook marketplace. Not sure if it is still available, but if it is, I'd bet he would take a little less. If you can get into it for $650, I would say it is worth a try. I like that it only weights 62 pounds. I had the same budget as you last year. I was looking for used Coosa's, Ride 115x Max, and Predator MX. I found a couple Coosa HDs for $1,200 that I kinda wish I bought. I considered the Vibe Seaghost, Lure 11.5, and one other that I am forgetting. Ended up with a Predator MX and am very pleased. Coming from an Ascend 12T, the Predator MX is 10x more maneuverable, which is a MAJOR plus on rivers and the main reason I got out of the Ascend line. The MX was designed to fish on rivers, which few boats are. It is also more stable and significantly quicker. The horizontal rod holders are great for getting under those low hanging branches on all our streams. I have seen a few of them used for less than $1,000, but they do not come up for sale used super often. Regardless of what you get, if you are willing to drive an hour or two and check Craigslist and Facebook marketplace within that radius, it really opens up the amount of options.

Is this for fishing rivers, lakes, ponds, or a little bit of everything? Also, what’s your max budget?

IMHO, I am comfortable with up to an 11’ kayak in a short bed for long distance. 12’ is doable but noticeably harder to get a solid setup unless it is a flat bottom kayak like an Ascend 12T. The 12T sits flat so it is pretty easy. Regarding the issue with the bed extended hitting the ground. I only have that problem going from my flat garage which immediately hits a steep driveway. However, that kind of abrupt angle change is unusual and I have never had an issue. Plus, they make bed extenders that curve up right out of the hitch which would eliminate this problem. https://www.austinkayak.com/products/15163/Boonedox-T-Bone-Bed-Extender.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping:%20ACK%20PLA&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp15163_14178_1&sc_intid=15163_14178_1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7KGdxI-L2wIVBVgNCh0seA91EAQYASABEgJWdfD_BwE

A 12’ kayak can be hauled out of a short-bend pickup, but it is WAY more secure with an extender. I think you’d have to get a proper hitch installed to use an extender. Another option is to make a truck bed rack out of 2x4s and carry them up top. Lot of YouTube videos on this.

Those work very well for one kayak, but I’d be real nervous with two. If the OP was bringing a kayak for the spouse, a roof rack is the way to go IMHO.

Misread the garage part. For a couple/few hundred dollars, you can get a roof rack installed on a sedan. It’s cheaper than the sales tax from buying a new car.

A couple things to think about: 1) Many garages have a lot of wasted storage space on the ceiling where a kayak or canoe could be hung. 2) Inflatable kayaks can be great wade fishing tools to get you across those deep pools.

I did go fishing but not there. Ended up hitting a small stream and did quite well. Will post something about that soon. Been busy packing for my 3-day overnighter on the lower Buffalo.

My pregnant wife will be out of town for a friend’s birthday party on Saturday so I’m trying to take advantage of one of my last free weekend days before the baby comes. Anybody want to hit up a stream for a self-shuttle float? Somewhere about 2 hours or less from Columbia: Osage Fork, Gasconade, Meramec, Little/Big Niangua, etc.

Was talking with somebody on another forum that was wanting to fish this area. We may be meeting up on Saturday.

I have been curious about that area as well. Im down at the lake just about every other weekend (not this one). If you ever want to do a self shuttle float, let me know.

I was on the Little Niangua on Saturday. The water was a bit cloudy but I did not see any signs of spawning beds. I did catch a few nice largemouth in shallow backchannel water, but they were on long cast with a topwater. I did not go back far enough to see if they were on beds.

Reviving an old topic. I was randomly searching this subject on google and found this forum topic. I also found this research study which I thought was pretty relevant. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02705060.2015.1025867

I caught some reds in Hilton Head fishing brackish water when the tides were moving in or out using these small crabs that’s I caught that were about the size of half dollars as well as...well I’m not sure what they are called but they are basically bass sized beatle spins.

Thanks Drew! If I make it down there (dependent on getting a couple friends to commit), it would be 2019 as we are expecting our first child this summer, but something like this needs some planning so I’m looking now. Will definitely hit you up, when I get further along. Your mention of the fishing being down isn interesting. I recently watched a video of a group that was there a week or two ago. I think they caught one smallmouth. This was the second year they have made the trip, and the guy said it was his first smallie...meaning he didn’t catch any last year. Other videos and posts from 3-4+ years back seemed to be a pretty even mix of largemouth to smallmouth.

Crooked Creek in AR? What’s the deal with that? I was checking it out on google street view at a couple accesses, and it was completely dry. One of those was at Hwy 101 which is the lower end just above the White. Anyway, I still haven’t settled on a float though I’m leaning towards Rush to the White.

Can’t argue there. I am amazed everytime I float or hike it.

I wonder what Thomasville to Turner would be like around June 1 as far as water levels? What’s the scenery like up there? Anything compared with to Upper JF or lower Buffalo?

Thanks. I think I saw Phil posted that (or refreshed the post) recently.

“Ozark stream smallmouth destinations”. I tried googling that but did not get anything. Is that a book?

I appreciate your comments on my thread about the Devil's River. With a baby on the way this summer, there are too many unknowns to make that kind of trip work this year, but I am working on it for next year. My friend and I do want to do a 3-4 day/2-3 night overnighter on a remote stretch of stream probably the weekend before or after Memorial Day. I was thinking lower Buffalo from Buffalo Point/Rush to the White River or the upper Jacks Fork above Alley. While I have not experienced these particular sections of the rivers, I believe both get very little traffic and are quite beautiful. The only thing holding me back from just picking one of those two is that I have floated both of those rivers many times (just not those sections), and I really wanted to make it a point this year to float some new streams. So far I have been on Little Niangua, Big Niangua, Big River, Meramec, Huzzah, Elk, James, Finley, Big Piney, Buffalo, Current, and Jacks Fork. That leaves Bryant, White River, North Fork, 11 Point, Gasconade, Osage Fork, Big Sugar, St. Francis, Black, Kings, Shoal, Courtois, Spring...might be missing a couple more...unexplored. Do any of those, or others that I have not mentioned, offer similar scenery, solitude, and decent fishing for a ~15-25 mile stretch? I am content with both the lower Buffalo or Upper JF, if you all do not think anything else fits the bill better. Thanks in advance

I’m open to other suggestions. Honestly, if it wasn’t for all the hoops to jump through, I’d probably be on my way. I am going to call a couple places that others have recommended tomorrow to get a better idea of the cost and hassle. Also need to find out if they can pair people up. I only have one friend that would be game for this kind of trip and I’m not sure he could afford to go. Even if he could, I do not think this is the type of trip that should be take with just two people. 4-5 days without cell signal is kind of dangerous if someone can’t paddle ahead for help.

Does anyone have experience on the Devils River in Texas? Plastic_worm posted about his trip about a year ago so I hope he chimes in. This was the blog he linked in that post for those that aren’t familiar with the river: http://looknfishy.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-devils-river.html?m=1 I have read a lot about it online, but most of the people seem to be from Texas or surrounding areas and probably aren’t spoiled like we are with dozens of beautiful streams within a couple hours. I would love to hear from anyone that has experienced Ozark streams and Devils River to see if it is worth the expense and effort or is what we have in Missouri and Arkansas just as good (albeit different). Floating the Devils is not easy to plan like a Missouri stream that you can just hop on at any time. They limit usage with permits, need to use an outfitter to access the river, permits to camp, etc. By the time permits and shuttles are worked out (which must be months in advance), gas (14 hour drive), and probably lodging for a night or two on the drive, I’m guessing it is a 3-500 per person at least.

That’s a heavy, bulky load for a canoe trip. You guys must pack real smart to get everything else in. Do you bring a steel pole set as well or cut wood poles on site?