GloryDaze

I've received a few of their emails... first said they were closing. The last one I got said they were staying open but limited hours. Honestly don't now what their status is. Stinks because I bought my last 2 boats from them and it was nice having a non box store with a decent selection nearby.

That is a heck of a fish! But help me understand- it's 2014, there has to be a better way to do this, right? I mean are these guys still listening to cassette players, playing Atari and watching tube televisions? Couldn't we just take a pic for proof and let her go? I thought I read somewhere alot of folks are doing that, where u have an object that has to be in the pic that's given to them that morning.

I just happened to stop by FF about 2 weeks ago- the gravel bar access looks extremely used (meaning a ton of tire marks, quite a bit of trash and it looks like some 4 wheeling may have gone on. The river is extremely low and that section did not look very appealing to me as I was there. If memory serves me correctly, Mule Shoe was nothing to write home about- Seems that I remember a bridge right there and the water was about 2 feet deep and river was about 5 feet wide.

Thanks for the write up Jeff, and appreciate all the nice comments. Prior to booking, Jeff was pretty clear about understanding my expectations for the trip (which is completely appreciated). I had no intent to fly fish- my expectation was to give my dad a stress free, comfortable experience while getting a few hours on the water with him wetting a line. Honestly, catching fish was not even a priority but that never hurts. Considering the only reason I have the passion I do about ther Ozarks, camping and fishing all come from growing up with my dad taking me to the Black River, I figured the least I could do is give back a little. I don't spend much 1 on 1 time with my Dad these days considering our proximity, family stuff and work which I'm sure many of you have the same siutations. Jeff doesn't know this, but this was the first time I spent 2 days by myself with my Dad in at least 25 years. For what it is worth, my Dad was never a Smallmouth fisherman- rather his time was spent on the river teaching me how to paddle and in the evenings him and his buddies would head out and frog gig. So, to see him catch a fish like that really put a smile on my face from ear to ear and I may still have it when I look at the picture. I also enjoyed the opportunity to share my passion with him, it is pretty amazing that being 37 years old there is still some satisfaction in receiving approval from a parent on your choices in life. With that being said- Jeff, thanks for the great time and especially for listening to me and adjusting your "normal trip" to fit our needs. It was nice getting to know you and hopefully we connect again in the near future.

Sounds just perfect, really appreciate your trip and attitude. Most trips I make are not about the fishing rather getting away from it all, relaxing and having a good time. If I catch fish it is a bonus, but we never complain no matter the conditions.

Think of how exciting that game would have been in overtime or even shoot outs. Hence the problem I have watching soccer, great game with no result. As my buddy always says, a tie is like kissing your sister, it's just flat out wrong and doesn't make any sense.

Here is one more resource... as mentioned, I do not lake fish so don't know much about these but this is a pretty extensive list of Kansas. http://kdwpt.state.ks.us/Fishing/Where-to-Fish-in-Kansas

Had this sent to me today, growing up in STL and now in Kansas City it makes me appreciate how great he was. Plus it makes me want to drive home grab a glove and have a toss with my dad. http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/06/13/jack-buck-fathers-day-tribute/#.U535zD5gBeI.twitter

Knowing they won't likely resign Shields, would you consider trading him for that big bat? I'm not a fan of losing good pitching but I wonder if it would be worth it....

Welcome to Overland Park neighbor... I don't really lake fish but a buddy of mine has a great blog about Kansas fishing. He does a lot of crappie, but blog covers all sorts of fishing around here. If you spend some time on that digging around I'm sure you will walk away with plenty of ideas and spots to try. Google Kansas Outdoorsman or go here: http://kansasoutdoorsman.com/

I would say it's going to be a 3 way tie. You can do that in soccer right, tie?

Pretty sure I may have flipped my canoe if that happened. It was so calm and quiet and then boom, came out of nowhere. Now that I watched it again I think you guys are right, he was reeling it in after a couple of "pops" by the shoreline. Still looks fun though.

I thought this was a cool video... being a novice to top water fishing, I would have never thought to reel it in so fast. Is that a normal retrieve for this type of lure? http://t.co/N1xuDmFS8q

Honestly though, really be careful with the flooding. I put a post on the Buffalo River forum last August about me and my buddy getting stuck in a flash flood. There was little if any chance for rain that weekend and on Friday night the sky opened up and we got stuck on the river for an extra day. Also that section of the Buffalo has similar traits to the Upper Jacks. Steep canyon walls, narrow river and can rise really fast. I would say 30-40 percent chance is not enough to keep me off the river either. Enjoy and have a blast!

Ironically enough my biggest fear during a sever storm is the wind causing a branch to come crashing down on my tent! Although, like most people there isn't a whole lot I can do about it if it happens, but just this weird thought I have in the back of my mind. A few years ago on the 11 point me and my buddy rode out a really severe storm on a gravel bar. By far the strongest winds I've encountered while camping. When we got back to the outfitter his car was damaged from a canoe that was blown off the outfitters canoe rack and torpedoed through the air. The above mentioned outfitter also lost most of his Busch beer road sign he said had been there for years. Any guesses on the outfitter?

With spring in full force I thought I would bring this topic up for discussion. I've read that if you get caught in a t storm while on the river, one should get off the water but not under trees or a tree canopy to avoid being struck by lightning. Also, be sure and be 5 foot from another person ..... In theory that sounds easy, if you were floating or had camp set up on a gravel bar, what would you do? My experience has been to stay on the gravel bar (between the water and forest), not under the canopy and I try to get under a tarp or in my tent. I try and have all my stuff already moved to higher ground should I need to scramble off the gravel bar because of flash flooding. What do you think?

I love it, this one's a daaannnndy! Nice fish!

You are correct, Legend 15

Blue Spring or also called Big Blue Spring

Barclay to Leadmine- what's funny is the guy in the pic is from Iowa. When I met him he didn't believe me there was a place nearby with clear rivers where you could legally camp on a gravel bar. He gets so excited when catches a fish. Clearly that's not the biggest SM of the year but it doesn't matter to him. As a matter of fact that fish was caught at 9 am Saturday morning and he didn't catch another fish the rest of the weekend. But he could have cared less... He was living the dream paddling in a place that was cool.

Here are a few pics from my trip last weekend.. enjoy, https://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/sets/72157643608114945/

I just got back from the Niangua and I can tell you the river is in great shape so you shouldn't have any issues there should you choose that trip. Looking at the Upper Jacks Fork gauge, it should be perfect by this weekend as well.

I'm not real sure what is considered too much blockage for a jet boat but there are 2 spots I can think of: By the way I could maneuver my canoe through them, so I didn't have to portage they just had some narrow chutes. First one is literally just above lead mine when going upstream from leadmine it is the first section where you would turn left. Second there was a real tricky spot about 1/4 mile downstream from where the signs start getting posted for the leadmine conservation area. Surprisingly, the majority of the rain must have hit the mid to lower section of the river. By the time we put on Friday night, Linda from the outfitter said she thought the river was a few inches high. Honestly I was surprised as well, I anticipated it being high and muddy but it wasn't.

Good to meet you Oneshot- we had a nice float down to Lead Mine and took out this morning. Fishing was poor Friday afternoon as I expected. It got Cold that night as I had ice on my tent Saturday morning. Saturday the fishing warmed up with the weather... slow and low seemed to be the ticket for lure selection and presentation. I caught the biggest smallie and it was right at 14" The water was a good level, any lower we would have spent a lot of time dragging and dodging strainers. We didn't see any other floaters so all in all a great trip.

Hell, no wonder I couldn't find it... 2007! Al, seriously thank you for that recap as it really helps me get an idea of what to expect. Truly appreciate your knowledge.