GloryDaze

Welome Doc- I live just south of you in Spring Hill...... no doubt the lakes are great, but don't forget about all those wonderful rivers!

Sorry for the bad trip- Honestly, in my opinion you could have not picked a worse stretch to float on either river. That section is just not good, well really for anything (sorry, just my opinion). If you want to enjoy some great sections- as Eric said Prongs to Bay Creek, or even Round Spring on down to 2 Rivers isn't too bad, except the jet boats. Haven't been on the James so it's tough to know what you are referencing-

Great pics KC and glad you guys had such a great time! I remember the first time we did that section we went all the way down to Alley, that will never happen again. Once you leave the river valley it really widens up and becomes very shallow with not too many holes to even find fish. Sounds like you had more luck on the JF then I did on the Current this weekend- I didn't catch too many, but any time on the water with my dad sure beats working. If the water level is right, you should really consider putting in at the Prongs. The first few miles are not great but after that... WATCH OUT- the area is not fished as hard and there are some absolutely beautiful spots. I'm sure I'll be heading that way in the fall for my annual trip. Problem is, by the time we go the water is usually pretty cold and thie fishing slows down a bit.

I remember paying 85 for the canoe rental- but do other outfitters have access to that bridge to put people in?? If so, are they cheaper than 85, if they are I would use them for sure. But it sounds like if you don't use them you can't use another rental company and float Ponca to Pruitt- is that correct?

Bobber- do you really think they mislead on the water level at the bridge?? I've floated the river several times based off their readings and it has been pretty accurate, although I do realize that is a very small sample. But even if they are misleading, wouldn't that spike business for other outfitters, or do they have the bridge pretty much cornered??

I think Hog Heaven may have a couple they use on the Elk, Indian and Big Sugar, Try sening "Wacky Worm" a PM on here and he might be able to let you know. I'm not positive though-

So I have found several reports on what water levels are good for the upper,upper section of the river. With some possible thunderboomers moving through the next few days, I was wondering what gauge and maybe what levels I should be looking for if floating the Pultite to Jerktail section on Friday and Saturday? What might be too high to float and when might the fishing smallie fishing(catching) might be out of the question??

Bear with me here, obviously the city boy coming out in me: Ok, so is the winner the dog who catches the coyote, fox, or deer first? Or do they expect the dog to outrun the animal? “Hold on fellas, Mr. Fox just had a false start….one more of those and it’s a DQ…” What exactly are they betting on?

So my buddy took the family fshing this weekend on the Current. Yesterday they took out at Pultite and this old hound dog comes running up to him and his family. Funny thing is, the dog has a #14 shaved into the hair on it's side and then painted black. The dog's owner comes over and my buddy asks him "what's he got that number shaved on him for" The old man tells him- it's used to chase coyotes, it's how they can tell what dog belongs to which owner. Now, I'm telling my buddy the old man was yanking his chain- who has ever heard of coyote and dog racing and he swears the guy was telling him the truth. Can someone tell me if you think the old man was yanking his chain, or was he telling the truth? I have the pic but can't get it uploaded just right-

One not mentioned just yet, but man, I think is a bad a&* dog that is protective yet loyal- Male Doberman, they usually get right around 80-100lbs. Wouldn't mess with one of those if I didn't know it.

Looks like a great trip. Man I sure do love that section! How was the one section below Jam Up Cave- I call the rapid chainsaw jungle because of all the trees you have to dodge? Do you know what I'm talking about- it seems like I always see a few canoes dump there.

Can someone help me out with what county road I turn on to get down to the river where Jerktail access is?

I know absolutely nothing about a jet boat- but I owned a stern drive boat one time that did the exact same thing you are experiencing. They looked at it and told me it was a bad gear cable. Hell, I don't even know if yours has a gear cable on it- but that's what mine was.

Here's a trip report from that trip- Well I got to float the Big Sugar this weekend and here is my trip report if anyone is interested! Thanks to Russ at Hog Heaven for taking care of me this weekend- If you ever want a place that will treat you right and hook you up with great customer service check them out!! You can view my pictures from the trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/sets/72157604658927822/ FRIDAY EVENING: I took off at the intersection of Mikes Creek and Big Sugar Creek with the gauge at Powell reading 4.4 on Friday evening. I was going to spend 2 nights on the river so I could really enjoy the weekend. The water level was about perfect, I only scraped once or twice! I was expecting to run into many strainers left over fomr the flood before I got to Cyclone- Much to my surprise, I didn't have to portage one time other than a low water bridge. There was one strainer about an hour in with two trees crossing the river, but I just put my head down and paddled through the branches. I fished for a few minutes, caught on smallie 8" and that was it for the night. This section of the river is beautiful since there is not as much private land as there is below cyclone. As I started to look for a place to camp (2hrs after I left), I came around a left turn and could hear the sound of loud rapids! I could see they crossed the entire river and were getting louder as I approached. It was actually a rock garden, but the water was so high I didn't drag- What I didn't know was after about 100 yards of being in the waves it takes about a 2-3 foot drop and front half of my canoe was completely under water!!!! NOW THIS IS THE KIND OF EXCITEMENT I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR!!! I manged to run the rapids and continue on with my lookout for a camp site. I ended up camping on gravel bar about a mile upstream from Cyclone and called it a night- (3 hours of floating and almost 7 miles covered) SATURDAY: Woke up at 6am to a bunch of fog in the valley and tried some fishing (no luck) The weather was cold last night, but I could tell it would be a warm day. Broke camp at 10:30 and was going to have a casual slow float today so I was not in a hurry. The weather was so nice (felt like it was 80 or so) I decided to not fish and just enjoy the beauty of the river. I was at cyclone in no time and spent 30 minutes talking to a local there who was real friendly. Soon after that I saw the first sign of other people downstream. There were 2 portages on the section below Cyclone due to strainers that I didn't want to mess with being by myself. The stream seemed to get wider as I got closer to the Elk. There was one spot where the river splits, I decided to go right and about a 1/4 downstream it was a dead end! I had to walk all the way back upstream and take the left channel (oops). As the day went on, I realized I was going to finish my trip way early since the water was up and I wasn't fishing much. In my opinion, the last 3 miles were the trickiest of the trip (once you get past sugar island) there was about 2 miles of "S" turn after "S" turn that could be tricky for those less experienced- I thought it was a fun little stretch though! The river really widens once you hit the Elk and I only had about 1 mile left. I couldn't believe how high the trees were stacked on the banks from the flooding. Going under the 71 bridge the water read at 4' on the gauge painted on the bridge support. I couldn't imagine the water at 18' a week earlier! I finished the trip at 4pm on Saturday. A whole day earliet than what I expected. (Today I floated 14 miles in 5 hours) What a great stretch of river to float on a perfect weekend!! The only thing I wished were different is I could have floated 50 miles instead of 21. Next time, you can bet I will be on the hunt for smallies and hopefully that next time will not be too far in the future.

I have put in on the Big Sugar as far up as Mike's Creek when the water on the gauge is at 4.5- so looking at the history, the last time the water was this high it took approximately 3-4 days to get below 5'. The problem is, that gauge is way up stream from Hog Heaven. I think their campground is under when it's that high, but shoot Wacky Worm a PM and 'm sure he will give you the skinny.

Poker- don't go throwing me under the bus now! Just joking man, I enjoy writing the reports as much as I enjoy reading the reports. Bottom line- I enjoy fishing, but love floating that's why the majority of my reports revolve around scenery, food and beer. I throw in the occasional shot of a fish to prove to my wife I actually fished:) As I've stated before on here, sometimes fishing is a good float spoiled. So I try and soak it all in. I realize not everyone feels that way so I've come to the conclusion: right wrong or indifferent we are all entitled to our own opinion. It just so happens, the only one that matters is mine.

Senkos were the ticket on the first day, landed me a couple bigguns- but they slowed down after that, but it seemed that weekend soft plastics were the ticket. After the fishing slowed down, I spent WAY more time just relaxing, enjoying the scenery and haveing afew cold ones. As Eric said- even if the fish aren't biting tha stretch is so beautiful it makes up for the down time. As for fishing off the beds- maybe I'm just not observant, but I did not see any beds while we were there and all the fish were caught in deeper water. Of course we never keep any smallie no matter what the size- What I did see though was a ton of gar spawning in the current- there was one section where they were side by side the entire width of the stream, probably 10-12' wide. Pretty neat looking since I had nver wittnessed that before.

Here is a link to all the pics if you are interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/sets/72157623915789419/ Well, me and my buddy got back just in time to miss all the weather down there. I got there Thursday night and camped at Bay Creek and we took off Friday from the Prongs around 11 am- this was my first extended trip in my new Mad River Legend canoe. Man, I forgot how narrow and windy this section of the river really is. The water level as right at 2.0 or around 190 CFS I think, but it was still difficult maneuvering through some of those tight spots. Anyway- the weather was great, overcast with a pretty good breeze. Fishing- Well, on my first cast of the day- land a 14" then about my third cast a 16" to boot. I'm thinking this could be a really short day of floating and a long day of fishing if it stays like this. It did slow down as the wind and chillier air moved in. I also learned on this trip the first 2-3 miles down from the Prongs is just not very pretty or good fishing. To me, it seems the fishing always picks up about 2-3 mile above Buck Hollow. I tossed my senko into the tail end of a rapid where there was a downed tree- would have sworn I was hung up, but then my reel started screaming..... I knew I was in for a treat if I could keep her on the line. She came to the top and attempted to jump,,, but there is just something about a big fish when they go to jump they just make this sound, you know what I mean like someone threw a big boulder in the water. She made one more run for the deep ater and then I finally landed her- She measured right at 18.5 and I'm pretty sure she was full of eggs- this picture doesn't do it justice but I wanted to get a quick pic for reference and get her back in the water ASAP. We didn't see a single person on the upper section. We camped below Buck Hollow- there is a spring that comes into the river on the right. We settled in for some Home-made Chili Mac listened to some tunes and had a few cold ones. SATURDAY- Got a late start and unfortunately that put us right into the mix with all the other floaters and fisherman. It seemed to me there were so many people between here and Rymers that it really messed up fishing. Every time you turned a corner there were 4 canoes lined up fishing the good looking water. Anywy- the weather was perfect today... here is a cool pic of Nolan fishing along a bluff: The funny thing that happened today- I had some dude swear to me he caught a trout- my buddy asked him what kind, he said I don't know but it sure was a trout. I told him best of luck in his trout hunting adventures. We stopped by Jam Up Cave which I have floated past but never walked up to. It's pretty darn big- look in the bottom right of this picture and you will see a group of people... gives you a better idea just how big it is: I didn't catch one fish today but Nolan caught a few smaller ones. Settled in for camp and had some beef stew, brauts and a little Southern Comfort and cold beer. Finished up at Bay CReek and got off the water by 10am and in my driveway by 3:15 that afternoon. Another great trip on the UJF. Next trip is in 4 weeks on the Current with my dad and two brothers. I have not been on a river with my dad since I was a child and he used to take us up to the Black River for our family vacation. I just can't wait to spend three days with him fishing and telling stories.

Alright- so I have been waiting all winter to fish the UJF this weekend. Water level is going to be darn near perfect and the weather looks good. My question is: With the weather hitting the low 80's all week and then on Friday-Sunday really cooling down, highs in the 60's, what impact do you all think this may have on the fishing over the weekend? Are they more than likely going to be active until Friday and then as the mercury goes south so will the fishing? Or maybe just have to make our presentations a little slower?? I know nobody has the perfect answer, but I'm just curious about the weather pattern related to the fishing?

Thanks for the report Eric- hey we can't have it all can we?? Perfect weather, great water level, beautiful river....and slow fishing. I'll take that any day of the week. I'm surprised fishing was a little slow I thought you might slaughter them. When we float, we usually put in at the Prongs for one reason- extending the length of our trip. So we usually float a little faster so we can get the best of both worlds, fishing and floating. My buddy who I float with most of the time could float 2 miles all day as long as he can fish. Me on the other hand, while I love fishing, the good Lord didn't bless me with a little somthing called patience...so I have to cover a little more ground. To each their own is the way I see it- - there are many times I pass a spot that looks perfect to be holding fish and I'll cruise right on by. I guess I just like to soak in the whole exeperience and if I happen to catch some fish it's an added bonus. I'll be sure and post a report after our trip the first week in May. Hopefully, there will be more pictures off fish than empty beer cans.

I'm not sure of what you have up north other than Smithville, but I fish Hillsdale Lake frequently. Of course, it's only 10 minutes from my house. It does get really busy in the summer time, my little bro' lives in Liberty and takes me right at an hour to get to his place from where I live south. I take my kayak out in the coves and paddle up in the tributaries to avoid all the boat traffic. As a matter of fact, me and a buddy are headed there to fish out of the yaks Saturday evening. I've never fished Shawnee Mission, but have seen that place packed when I'm at the dog park.

Dude- looks like your weekend trip is going to be perfect!! Perfect weather and I just checked the gauge and it's 2.75 and falling. My guess would be 2.5 or so for the trip- did I mention how jealous I am? While you are living the sweet life this weekend, I'm going to be downtown STL cheering the wife on at a Marathon.... Man, I love my wife, but watching a marathon is like watching the grass grow- I mean, what sport could you get exicted about when you can claim "I finished in 8,756 place!!" Better yet, I get to watch 8,755 people cross the finish line in front of her. Have fun

I think we are talking about the same spot??? I remember going right and dodging some stuff and at the very end there was a log crossing the chute. We just put our heads down and jumped right over it. One thing I know for sure is the drop in water temp didn't keep me from getting sun burnt as hell!!

Great to meet you and your little bro' Hoglaw. We didn't fair much better, we put in the same place as you did and managed 2 dinks between the three of us. And of course the local pro (Russ) landed both of them! You're right, the water was up and moving pretty fast- we didn't get hung up on that "iffy" spot but it definitely got the heart pumping as I jumped over the last log that was submerged. The section just above the Elk, where there is about 200 yards of big waves was fun. Both Rob and Russ had to pull over and empty the water out of their boats... man, I don't know how they didn't flip since they were both half full of water. We finfished the evening with a nice fire, couple of frosties and some big ol' T-bones Rob grilled up for us- it was a great trip!!

Eric- I said we floated at 4.4..... not sure what I was thinking but it wasn't that high. Here is a trip report from when I went in March of 2008 with a buddy I always float with- Jack’s Fork Trip Report: South Prongs Access 0.0 to Alley Springs 31.0- 31 Miles March 7-9, 2008 Boat: Mad River Synergy 12 Temperature: High Low Water Conditions: (Gauge at Hwy 17) 3.65 is flood level March 7th 37 25 3.6 foot March 8th 39 14 900 CFS March 9th 56 26 ** Perfect Floating Level** Friday, March 7th: With snow on the ground Nolan and I took off for a 3 day, 31 mile float around 1p.m. This was my first trip in my new Mad River Synergy 12. Five minutes in, a tree snagged a lawn chair on my canoe, pulled my back end under and ripped the chair into the water. The water could not be more than 40 degrees, so I was already wet and cold. With one lawn chair down, we paddled on with the water level nice and high. The upper section was very technical and had some pretty narrow chutes. The strainers left over from the floods caused the biggest challenge for us. When the water was this level it opens up several chutes to choose from along the way- sometimes you cannot see around the corner of which one will be best, but we only had 1 problem the entire trip. Shortly after the hwy 17 bridge there is a house on river left- there are 3 chutes to choose from- well, what we could not see was a tree had fallen and knocked down the powerlines (insulated) but black and we could not see the line about a foot above the water level. Lets' just say we got hung up and had to bail out and portage the kayaks- Nolan got pinned to a tree and in the chaos, dropped his paddle and it was swept downstream. During the fun, I managed to lose both of my fishing poles as well! We split the paddle in half and we each used it as a canoe paddle for a bout 1 mile. Luckily his paddle was stuck in an eddy and we managed to grab it for the rest of the trip Maybe they have cleared it by now, but it was a little scary. We camped along the river and settled in for a chilly night by enjoying some “traditional foil packs,” vodka and redbull and a good nights sleep. Camped about a mile or two from Buck hollow and traveled about 8 miles today in 4 hours. Saturday, March 8th: Woke up to a very chilly morning and goofed around the campsite. We decided to play homerun derby with a stick, rock and the wall was the bluffs across the river. We didn’t break camp until around 11am when the weather warmed up just a little bit. Today went pretty much without a hitch and we didn’t encounter any problems or real obstacles (perfect day of floating) this section of the river is beautiful with tall bluffs, swift water and a lot of wildlife. We had a bald eagle in front of us today but it never got too close and just sat up on the bluffs and watched almost as if it owned this stretch of river and wanted to show us it was king of the valley. Stopped for lunch by huge bluffs and had some turkey and bread (which had been smashed and dried out in my dry bag). We finished the day by camping just upstream from Bay creek at a nice campsite. I remember by this time Nolan was almost frozen to death and swore from now on he would dress according to the weather and not wear shorts. We built a lean- to shelter with a tarp knowing it was going to be a cold, cold night and settled down. We had Cheddar-Wursts for dinner along with some more Vodka and Redbull and Busch Beer. The thing that sticks out most is having all the firewood, most which was pine and how much wood we were burning, but it never seemed to get real hot?? Nolan also snored all night long…I’m talking like a freaking freight train!! Floated about 15 miles today in about 6 hours. Sunday, March 9th It was cold last night, got down to 14 degrees (which breaks my record of camping in cold temps…previously it was 18) I slept very little because of Nolan’s snoring and was a little slow to get out of the sleeping bag. Today was going to be a nice warm day and unfortunately we wouldn’t enjoy it since we were getting off the river today. Once again, today was a simple day of floating with no real excitement or problems. The water level did drop a lot from when we started since we did drag a few times on the way to Alley. Today we floated 8 miles in 3 hours.