GloryDaze

Yeah- I've heard to avoid anything below 435, I take out at Red Bridge. Well used to until they recently finished the new bridge, I haven't floated the lower section since then so I don't know where I will take out now. You should see my neighbors face when I'm loading up my little Swifty in the driveway after I tell them I'm floating the upper Blue River, HA!! In all honesty it is a pretty little section with a nice current. Last time I only had to portage one time on a five mile trip. I need to get some pics off my camera and post them.

Can't speak for this river- but my general rule of thumb when figuring float time is 2-3mph if I'm not fishing and 1mph if I am fishing.

I kayak and fish the Kaw, Indian Creek, Shawnee Mission Lake and the upper Blue River off Holmes and Kenneth Road. My favorite is the upper Blue River.... closest you'll get to an Ozark stream around here (rocky bottom and surrounded by public land). If you put in on the upper section, you can get a good 10 mile float in before you hit 435 and then the river changes:) It's narrow and windy, but almost always catch a catfish or two on the trip. You have to catch it at the right time in order to enjoy the upper stretch. Problem with that is: a) muddy water muddy water filled with chemicals from all the runoff, c) the chemical smell can be overbearing. But hey, i didn't suggest drinking it, just floating it!

Thanks oneshot, I will give them a call. I figured someone would run that stretch.

Do any outfitters run that shuttle? Planning on a Friday-Sunday trip in 3 weeks and wasn't sure if they do or not? Can't believe all the rivers I've floated but still haven't hit the Niangua.... how's the traffic in that section on the weekend? Thanks guys!

By the way Al, one heck of a report. Thanks for posting!

Great report..... Guess you didn't trust the report I gave from a few weeks ago about floating the Elk on a Saturday, hehe?? I guess unless you witness it first hand, it is actually hard to believe the craziness that goes on in that river! Would you believe before a few weekends ago, I had never floated it on a busy Saturday... I tried to avoid it like the plague. After I floated it, I have re dedicated myself to avoid it at all costs. Personally, I am partial to the Big Sugar. I have never caught any huge fish, but am able to avoid the crowds and enjoy the privacy a little more. I love the competition you guys had but maybe next time you should come up with a handicap system. Whoever has Andi gets spotted like 15 fish. But my observation would be that Andi, like myself may find just as much pleasure cracking open a cold one as catching fish??

Yeah' that was us.... I've been going to HH for about 5 years so it was cool to see the band play. They've been practicing for a while but it was the first time I'd seen them all together.

Me and a few buddies headed down to Hog Heaven Friday afternoon to do some fishing and introduce one of our friends from Los Angeles to the Missouri tradition of canoeing. He had never been in a canoe, only camping he had done was on the beach and he sure enough as hell had never caught a smallmouth. We arrived Friday afternoon, set up camp, shuttled the cars and put in the river at about 5:30.... not a soul in site except for a few Blue Herons and a Buzzard or two. We were just floating a few miles down to Riverside, so we took our time, enjoyed the scenery and wet the lines. Goggle Eye were the catch of the afternoon, as it seemed they were in every hole and hungry. It was so darn peaceful to just have that quiet time out there. I told my buddy form LA, that more than likely by this time tonmorrow the river would be bank to bank with canoes, rafts and tubes and he didn't believe me, ha! All four of us were catching plenty of fish on all types of lures, but to me it wasn't about catching a fish. I spent most of my time teaching Charles how to paddle a canoe, pick the right line in the water, etc..... but you know what, I was perfectly OK with that. You see, he was eager to learn what all the hype of paddling and fishing our Ozark streams was about so he made it easy to teach. He finally caught his first fish- a greenie, but hell you would have thought it was a 5lb smallie to the rest of us.... if I could have captured the smile on his face and the audio of him saying "dude this is so cool" it would have been priceless. He caught a few more as I taught him where to cast and how to jig his line...... I had just as much fun watching him as I did fishing myself. Man, we're pretty lucky to have this natural resource in our area is all I could think. We finished the night by grilling out some steak kabobs and catching the house band play some tunes... all in all a good day. DAY #2 ..... well I'd prefer to keep my observations to myself, but we floated from HH to Mt. Shira and let's say my buddy from LA wasn't the only one who saw things he'd never seen before. Safe to say, I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing them again as well......

Me and a few buddies headed down to Hog Heaven Friday afternoon to do some fishing and introduce one of our friends from Los Angeles to the Missouri tradition of canoeing. He had never been in a canoe, only camping he had done was on the beach and he sure enough as hell had never caught a smallmouth. We arrived Friday afternoon, set up camp, shuttled the cars and put in the river at about 5:30.... not a soul in site except for a few Blue Herons and a Buzzard or two. We were just floating a few miles down to Riverside, so we took our time, enjoyed the scenery and wet the lines. Goggle Eye were the catch of the afternoon, as it seemed they were in every hole and hungry. It was so darn peaceful to just have that quiet time out there. I told my buddy form LA, that more than likely by this time tonmorrow the river would be bank to bank with canoes, rafts and tubes and he didn't believe me, ha! All four of us were catching plenty of fish on all types of lures, but to me it wasn't about catching a fish. I spent most of my time teaching Charles how to paddle a canoe, pick the right line in the water, etc..... but you know what, I was perfectly OK with that. You see, he was eager to learn what all the hype of paddling and fishing our Ozark streams was about so he made it easy to teach. He finally caught his first fish- a greenie, but hell you would have thought it was a 5lb smallie to the rest of us.... if I could have captured the smile on his face and the audio of him saying "dude this is so cool" it would have been priceless. He caught a few more as I taught him where to cast and how to jig his line...... I had just as much fun watching him as I did fishing myself. Man, we're pretty lucky to have this natural resource in our area is all I could think. We finished the night by grilling out some steak kabobs and catching the house band play some tunes... all in all a good day. DAY #2 ..... well I'd prefer to keep my observations to myself, but we floated from HH to Mt. Shira and let's say my buddy from LA wasn't the only one who saw things he'd never seen before. Safe to say, I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing them again as well......

Man that sucks- i had the same thing happen to me on the big piney. Woke up not feeling well, spent the entire day puking and not able to even keep water down. Thank the good Lord it was our last day and my buddy paddled the whole way home. In couldn't even make the drive home to KC and spent the night sick as a dog in a hotel in Rolla. When I got home I looked up my symptoms........ Heat exhaustion is what I had. Sure was a good thing I got off the river when I did . Ever since that trip ( I used to take bottled water, but had trouble keeping track of how much wtater I was drinking) I now bring gallon jugs of water. I make myself drink 1 gallon off water a day and in the gallon container it's really easy to track how much I'm drinking. And it's less trash than all those water bottles.

Charley- you have a few options from KC.... as mentioned, the Little Niangua is an easy drive and you should be able to land a few there. If not there, just another 15- 20 minutes further drive from KC but in a totally different direction gets you to a few streams- Elk River, Bug Sugar Creek and Indian Creek. Go in and listen to Russ's river report in the "Elk River" forum , he's telling you exactly what the fishing is like and even helping with lures. If all else fails, look up Hog Heaven and contact Russ. I can darn near guarantee he will get you on the fish. You could conceivably do any of these with a day trip... I have, and make the trip from KC as well. However, if you can make the commitment, might I suggest a mulitple day trip. That way you increase your chances of catching one. Not to mention, a crappy day on any river in the Ozarks sure as hell beats most good days in the city, HA!

We threw in towel as well. darn..........

Am I right in seeing the rain is missing the watershed so far? Wanting to float this weekend close to KC and I'm thinking the Little Niangua may just be the ticket. Can anyone help me with river conditions? Thanks!

Not sure about what you all think, but when he begins to talk about floating in the winter............. that blonde chick is hot!

I'm far from an expert on trout fishing, but we just floated Baptist to Akers a few days ago. One of the local guys told us it's been a long time since he's seen the water lapping against the concrete wall at Baptist. Of course, I have no idea what that means, but that may give you some perspective of the level.

Nice vidoe- that water color reminds me of the Russian River in California. What's the name of that song, totally dig it?

Great post Al- I'm also one of those guys who has found comfort in using soft plastics. However, this past weekend for the first time I started experimenting with a top water popper. While I have a lot to learn, I did manage to catch a few fish with the lure- but the excitement of seeing the fish hit that lure has me ready to try again. While your description above on how to WTD is very detailed, I still feel a little weary about attempting it. Would it be too much to ask that you or someone would be so kind as to video the action and post it on You Tube??

Just got back from a great weekend on the lower Little Niangua. Unlike the upper section, I found the lower half to hold bigger fish and have many more "fishable" holes. On Saturday, I think I may have happened to pick the right lure at the right time as I riggerd up a 6" senko wacky rigged watermelon colored. I seemed to be catching decent sized fish all morning, ranging from 13-15". Only problem was, it seemed these fish had a habit of what I call "phantom biting" meaning it felt like I was getting strikes and then missing them non-stop. On several occasions, I would set the hook and get them half way to the boat only to lose the fish and the worm, but manage to keep the hook. Of course the one time I decide I'm waiting a little bit longer to set the hook and then "really" setting the hook, I could tell I was on to something big. You know that feeling, the one where you set the hook and you swear you are hung up? Then about 5 seconds later you can feel the tug of something big and your 15' canoe starts to spin around?? Well, that's the one I got-- well shortly after that the fish surfaced and didn't jump, but did that roll, kind of like a big whale does. Only problem was, when that fish rolled, I could see a trail of blood down it's side and on it's tail. When I finally landed it, she measured in at an butt-hair from 19" and even managed to break my rod at the last 2 eyelets. After I lipped her, I realized I had really gut-hooked her. As I held her I had this hopeless feeling, because I was so excited I landed a fish that big, but so upset that I hooked her so deep. Long story short, I had to cut the line and regretfully send her on her way. All I could think about was I just killed a fish that had survived on it's own for darn near 9 years. What sucks is I have been fishing a senko worm for years and have NEVER gut hooked a fish- 90% of the time they get hooked on the upper lip and it's and easy release. I realize there are only so many things you can do to prevent harming a fish in that way, but other than setting the hook a few seconds earlier, can you guys think of anything I could have done to inrcease the chances of it surviving?

Jack- I used to go to Mark Twain Lake as a kid as it was our family vacation every year. Now, that was quite a while a go so I hardly remember much about the locations, but I always remember having access to bank fishing close to our camp. Me and the old man would sit there for hours and wet a line with worms, minnows, etc..... Actually, I remember quite well that lake was the the first place I caught a walleye. So, I can't imagine you will have any problems finding an area to bank fish. The one area that sticks out to this day is called Indian Creek Marina. My parents would take us for a drive down there so we could see all the deer and turkey that would gather at dusk and dawn. We also used to fish there. We would park in the parking lot for the boat ramp and there was a huge rock pile that lead out to a point in deeper water. Used to catch alot of bass and fish in that area. Great place to camp, and overall I have some very fond memories of that Lake- hope you can enjoy!

River gauges. In the Meramec group I found lots of info on the Meramec gauges and water flows that folks like. Today I found gauges for the Big River at Irondale and Brynes Mill; does anybody have any tips for the water level and cfs flows they would look for at those gauges ? Thanks folks ! Do a search for Al Agnew's posts on river gauges. He has written a couple of VERY informative posts on river gauges, how to read them and what the numbers mean on the local stream you are researching.

Just returned from a 3 night, 4 day trip from Cane Bluff to Riverton. I'll post pics and a trip report a little later. However, WOW- was las night an interesting night to be camping. We camped about 1.5 miles abover Riverton and decided (of all nights) to pick somewhat rather open, almost treeless gravel bar to camp on. We decided at the last minute to throw up a rather meager looking tarp for a shelter. As we were getting ready to eat dinner, we looked up and noticed one hell of an ominous cloud. No sooner did we notice it, the temps cooled by 20 degrees and the scramble was on. But before we made it too far the wind in our best guess was blowing in the 60-70mph range and the Sycamore trees were darn near bent in half, out tarp shelter snapped, lawn chairs went flying, the camp fire was blowing all over the place etc....... Somehow, we rode out the scary part and then managed to rebuild out tarp shelter, do the best we could to stay dry and drink a beer. To make it worse, today when we stopped by Richard's Canoe to grab my car it looked like a bomb went off at his place. He said the canoes had blown across hwy 19, his teepee structure had blown over AND- the Busch Beer Sign hanging at his entrance was busted---- he told us that sign has been there since 1977. On the way home there was reminance all the way to Winona of trees blocking hwy 19 and you could still smell the pine from them all being cut to make way to traffic. I just read on the NOAA web site a gentleman was crushed in his car last night just of hwy 19 near Winona and passed away. Man, what a mess and to think we were sitting under a tiny little tarp the whole time......... FULL TRIP REPORT LATER

Interesting topic..... But I'm wondering how many on this board are like me? Meaning, I have no earthly idea how I make it through these types of sections. I guess my instincts and experience kick in and I ultimately end up making it through however I paddle. I never find myself "thinking" about what stroke to take next. I think I'll have my buddy video me next time so I can take a look at what method I use. It seems more like a natural progression for me beginning with my line, then my strokes and then any corrective action I need. So it seems I have never paid attention when I encounter this situation. I guess it's kind of like casting a line-- I know I do it, and I'm sure there is some reason why I do it a certain way, but ask me the actual technique and I probably couldn't explain it.

If you decide to go with United Access, I must tell you they are top notch professional. I deal with them quite often with my job and couldn't ask for a better group of individuals. Last year they customized a friend of mine's van who only has movement in his hands. He now has the capability to drive by himself with a lift and hand controls for the van.

darn, that's what it was, a turkey vulture. Looked up the sound on you tube and that is definitely the sound. Man, that bird can sound pretty tough...