GloryDaze

That's it- Kind of... I seem to remember there was one posting where he explained how to read the percentiles and how to correlate those with fishing and floating conditions for a stream you may not be familiar with or floated in the past. Included was the reading of the CFS graph and the little yellow triangles and how they indicate average flow for a given day. I found it very helpful as I don't have a river within 3 hours and it can be risky business making that drive and not having a good sense of river levels. Perfect example- I am leaving tomorrow for a 3 day trip on the Niangua, I am somewhat familiar with that river but do not have the gauges and levels memorized. So, I would like to have a general idea in the morning if conditions may be favorable for both fishing and floating. Thanks for the help!

A while back Al posted a great read on understanding the data from usgs gauges. I cannot find it anywhere, could someone enlighten me where I may find it?

Rick, Congrats on the new Rig. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but if it were me I would take it out fishing several times before you start modifying. I think what you will find is by doing that you will learn things like: Where its more comfortable to set your rods when paddling, fishing, holding in a current, catching a fish. Also, learning what gear you need within arms reach and how to best place it, cooler, tackle box, camera, etc.... What I learned was thus method made me simplify my set up in my canoe. Instead of adding too much it allowed me to know exactly what I needed. Just a suggestion... good luck!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the information.

Hey guys, posting here from KC... I'm looking to take my dad on a 1 or 2 night smallie trip within a reasonable distance from here. I'm looking for someone to guide us (no canoe) not that I need a guide but need a boat. A must is a comfortable cabin for us to crash in when the day is over . I posted this on the niangua but not sure if there are any guides on that river. Any help would be appreciated....

Wanting to take my dad on a smallmouth trip this spring and going in a canoe is not really an option. I'm looking for an option to stay in a cabin for one or two nights, and thinking we could have someone escort us in a jetboat for 2 days of smallie fishing. Anyone know someone who may have that option available... If so please let me know an I M woul be perfect. Thanks!

Bourbon BBQ..... fine fixings right there!

$2K will get you a nice new canoe or nice fishing kayak... Coosa with some modifications. If you're looking for much more I honestly don't think you're gonna find something much bigger than a Jon boat with a tiny motor.... then again I could be totally wrong.

Heck yeah buddy- get that thing ready for the spring!

Congrats!! What did u end up getting?

That there is funny as well.... Honestly living in both cities for significant amount of times, they both have their positives and negatives. I sure do miss my Cardinals, easier access to the Ozark streams and significantly more trees and hills. I sure wish the water access laws here were much better, but I guess we learn to make the best of it. There are a few suburban creeks to fish but pretty limited opportunity to drive an hour to have any smallie fishing. However one thing it has done for me is make me truly appreciate the times I have an opportunity to head down to a nice ozark stream.

Seriously.... one of the funniest posts I've seen on this site in a year. Laughing my arss off right now... and I grew up in STL

Have you checked Craigslist in KC? I haven't looked on there in a while but from time to time a decent one will show up.

Yeah I looked at the Wenonah as well but landed on the MR legend, but think I would have been happy with either. x2 what Al said regarding the Royalex..... It may be difficult finding any boat made of that material depending on where you live. Good luck

Little niangua- fiery fork?

Got the same boat as terrieman.... perfect length for me solo. I'm 2 15 lbs and 6'4 and have plenty of room for overnight trips. It's easy to maneuver since there is a little rocker but not enough to make it hard on the slow stretches. If I have a passenger it's a little tight but manageable. It's also pretty light, I think 60 lbs or so. If I had to do it over again, I would buy the exact same boat.

Well you obviously don't crappie fish or fish the White bass run. The original post that started this had 674 views, know any of them? Smallieb also doesn't post many locations in his backyard but doesn't mind doing It somewhere else. If he's not worried about his immediate area, then why not give locations, and leave posts up? Those fish are very vulnerable and the season is open on them, not that it generally matters. I'm not opposed to giving out information, just advertising it with minute details. I'll always answer a PM I get it Wayne, if you check when I have posted a TR on here I'm not too specific with the details, but do post pics and section of river floated and fished. My personality and line of work relies heavily on metrics and if it can't be measured it doesn't count. That's all I am saying about the paranoid without proof. I am sure a few folks troll around and get the good info and abuse it. However, just like I'm saying I need to see proof they are doing that, I can't prove they are not. Just trying to approach this with a realistic approach. I can assure you, with my limited opportunity to fish an ozark stream I sure enough as heck don't want to have the opportunity and have there not be any fish. It seems to me this feeling of not sharing trip reports falls into the category of one of the unwritten rules of fishing.

Hilarious post Smallie, I had actually drafted up a similar one about a week ago but chose not to post. Just like many on here, I was originally drawn to the site by all the great trip reports and pictures. I got to the Ozark streams 2 times last year, count' em 2. So I look forward to seeing all of those reports as it does me good to see them not knowing the next time I may get to wet a line. Paranoid without proof is what I will call it. All these claims that people are trolling these sites looking to steal information, but very little evidence if any that is actually happening. I sure hope to get out this year a little more and practice what I'm preaching..... A nice trip report on here afterwards.

Let me ask this- getting on this forum and posting detailed trip reports is frowned upon for several reasons. However there is a constant open communication about lures that can be used in very specific conditions that will constantly produce? What I can't understand is that if I'm a lurker seeking to steal important information I would think exposing these lures, the best conditions to use them, how and when use them, etc..... Would be just as valuable to me, if not more than a specific spot or section of river. Simply because I now have detailed knowledge of several lures and how to fish them over a broad spectrum of rivers and can conceiveably have a field day with streams all over the Ozarks. However with a report, I may never have the ability to float that stream. More importantly not be able to identify a certain honey hole on a river based off a trip report. Therefore, limiting my opportunity to clean out a specific hole on a specific stream. Just a thought.....

Don't forget you would have bragging rights, can't put a value on that! I get it, but how are the payouts gonna be worth it if you don't charge more?

Don't have a dog in this fight, but find it humorous that folks with a $50,000 boat complain about paying $60 a man to fish in a tournament Priceless.....

Well, what do we do for a 3rd baseman now.... only solution I see is move Carpenter there and put an unproven Wong at 2nd. In essence, they are putting more value in Wong or Descalso than they did Freese. Personally, I think this was useless, we already have a fast CF with a .250 average and good defense, Shane Robinson. Now the left side of our infield is suspect..... I know Freese wasn't perfect, but Ill take. 270 15hr and 65-80 RBI over Descalso any day of the week.

Done it over the course of a few trips. 4 nights is what my cumulative total would be. Skinny water up until Bay Creek, wide shallow riffles from their to Alley. Good floating from Alley on down. My advice would be to enjoy the river from 17 until Bay Creek. In my opinion one of the most scenic floats in the Midwest. Have fun... get ready to duck, arrows are gonna start flying,

I use Sealline dry bags. They come in a broad range of sizes and shapes from 5L to 55L. I use a 10L for all my small things I want secured and dry... flashlight, headlamp, lighters, camera, keys, wallet, fire starters, knives, maps. I always secure this bag to the boat. I use a 35L for my clothes and sleeping bag during the summer I use a 55L for my clothes, sleeping bag, sleeping mat during the winter. I'm a big guy so my winter clothes take up alot of space. I keep a spare 55L with me to keep things that get wet. Like my tent from thw night dew. etc.... I know it's strange, but I like the yellow bags. Just easier to see at night so if I set one down in the dark I can find it. Also if I were to flip, they're easier to spot in the water. I also write my name and # just in case I do lose one it forget one on a gravel bar.

Great question, ill share my packing set up.... fyi I have a canoe: 1) Two dry bags- one for clothes, one for tent and sleeping bag 2) folding chair 3) small Coleman single propane burner 4) tarp 5) cooler 6) water tight tote... it has all my "other items" pots, pans, baby wipes, cups, plates, rope, knife, charcoal 7) 1 gallon of water for each day I plan on everything getting wet at some point or another but do my best to keep things dry. I used to have a kayak and the only real changes I had to make were downsizing on the cooler and not having the tote. Other than that, just had to get creative with storage. If I'm familiar with a river I have a pretty good idea where along the way I will be camping. I also look at Google earth and try to find what looks like an area I may want to stop. But for the most part, I can estimate 1-2 miles per hour is my pace. So I generally have an idea prior to the trip on how many miles I want to cover each day. Personally I'd prefer to find my camp with a few hours of daylight left. I just love getting camp set up, sitting by the river drinking a few cold ones. To me that's the most relaxing part of the day.