GloryDaze

North of San Francisco about an hour and a half- Just outside of Sant Rosa right in th middle of "wine country"

In with enough notice-

Great boat- I had a Synergy 12 (tan) for a while- it was a nice purchase, I bought the full spray skirt for it since I used it on rivers only. It was a little heavy to load on my H3, but after a little parctice, got easier. Only thing I didn't like was once you get wet, you stay wet with no scuppers- buy you a sponge and use it to bail water if needed. Enjoy! Here are some pics- http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/set...57604658927822/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/set...57620227618478/

darn Russ- those things looked so good, I took my one good shoulder to the store and made me some for dinner last night- I did them a little different though - 8 peppers - Cut in half - Scooped out the seeds and white - Filled with Cream cheese - topped off with Cayenne pepper and shredded cheese - Wrapped in a half piece of bacon Put in oven on 400 for 40minutes- then enjoy!!!

KC- saw your posts, and man am I jealous: two rivers one weekend!! By the way, that lure you bought- I have one and it's quite the smallie magnet, problem is I have never caught anything big off of it. What I'm still pissed about is I only made it 1 mile down the river... Might go down in history as the most expensive 1 mile float in my life by the time I add up canoe rental, hospital visit, etc....!! I have already had surgery on this shoulder once and the Doc says physical therapy should get her back to normal, so no cutting on me at this point. Anyway, thought I would try and add a little humor to a pretty crappy experience. Take care-

I posted this trip report/story on the other Ozark water forum as wel- I wasn't sure which was better, but I Think you will enjoy either way: OK, so this is not an Ozark River- but a trip report on a beautiful river in Northern California called the Russian. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words so I will tell the story with the assistance of some pictures. After 4 years I finally convinced my wife to jump in the canoe with me and enjoy the Russian River on our vacation to "Wine Country" I decided to keep it simple (I thought) and not fish and only float 5 miles. We took off on Monday morning from River's Edge Canoe rental in Headlsburg, CA with a loaded cooler and a camera: As you can see about 1 mile in the river winds through a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains, redwoods boulders and women: Take a real close look at those rocks in the water.. they play an important part to the rest of this story. You see, I thought it would be a cool idea to step out of the canoe, climb those rocks and have my wife tke a picture of me. As I am standing up with one foot in the canoe and one on the boulder my wife says "be careful, you are going to hurt yourself. I respond, "honey, I have floated my whole life....................................." next thing I know, I hear a snap. crackle and paop and am in the water with my right arm sticking straight up in the air like I am raising my hand in school. Was it because I chose to do that- nope, instead I had slipped bounced off the rock fallen in the water and SEVERELY DISLOCATED MY SHOULDER!! I managed to somehow at least pull my arm down and swim to shore. My wife took this picture as I was trying (with no luck) to pop it back into place. So here we are- 2,000 miles from home, floating on a Monday with a wife that has never paddled a canoe. It's hard to describe how it felt but not good to say the least. I told her she had to paddle as fast as possible for 4 miles so I could get to the ER. Luckily we came upon some people and they called the rental company, who picked us up and took me to the ER: Where they pulled and pulled but could not get it back in socket- 2 hours and counting from the time it happened- finally, they hook me up with an IV and pump me full of pain killers and pulled her back in!! As soon as the drugs wore off it was off to the wineries to sooth the pain with some bubbly!!! LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE; IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GET A GOOD PICTURE, GO FOR IT- JUST BE SURE YOUR WIFE DOESN'T JINX YOU FIRST!!! ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so this is not an Ozark River- but a trip report on a beautiful river in Northern California called the Russian. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words so I will tell the story with the assistance of some pictures. After 4 years I finally of my wife to jump in the canoe with me and enjoy the Russian River on our vacation to "Wine Country" I decided to keep it simple (I thought) and not fish and only float 5 miles. We took off on Monday morning from River's Edge Canoe rental in Headlsburg, CA with a loaded cooler and a camera: As you can see about 1 mile in the river winds through a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains, redwoods boulders and women: Take a real close look at those rocks in the water.. they play an important part to the rest of this story. You see, I thought it would be a cool idea to step out of the canoe, climb those rocks and have my wife tke a picture of me. As I am standing up with one foot in the canoe and one on the boulder my wife says "bE careful, you are going to hurt yourself. I respond, "honey, I have floated my whole life....................................." next thing I know, I am in the water with my right arm sticking straight up in the air like I am raising my hand in school. Was it because I chose to do that- nope, instead I had slipped bounced off the rock fallen in the water and SEVERELY DISLOCATED MY SHOULDER!! I managed to somehow at least pull my arm down and swim to shore. My wife took this picture as I was trying (with no luck) to pop it back into place. So here we are- 2,000 miles from home, floating on a Monday with a wife that has never paddled a canoe. It's hard to describe how it felt but not good to say the least. I told her she had to paddle as fast as possible for 4 miles so I could get to the ER. Luckily we came upon some people and they called the rental company, who picked us up and took me to the ER: Wher they pulled and pulled but could not get it back in socket- 2 hours and counting from the time it happened- finally, they hook me up with an IV and pump me full of pain killers and pulled her back in!! As soon as the drugs wore off it was off to the wineries to sooth the pain with some bubbly!!! LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE; IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GET A GOOD PICTURE, GO FOR IT- JUST BE SURE YOUR WIFE DOESN'T JINX YOU FIRST!!! ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kayaker, it was nice meeting you- I'm glad you guys caught some fish Friday and Saturday. We didn't catch a ton of fish Thursday night but we sure caught some nice sized ones- Here are a few- we floated from Low water Bridge to Two Sons and got off the river around 10pm that night One I caught on my last cast: Russ with a 15 1/2" My BUddy Scott with a nice 13-14" Jean Ann also caught a nice 14 1/2 incher that I didn't get a picture of-

One of my river fishing buddies has the Native Ultimate 12' and certainly enjoys its perks. You do sit in it pretty low, similar to a SINK- however getting in and out is WAY easier than any SINK. He also purchase a bow and stern spray skirt for his- they come in handy if he wants dry storage in case of rain or when we are in a little bigger water. His also has a drop-down skeg, which he only uses when paddling on a lake (or sections of the Buffalo). Cons- This thing is heavy and a beast to load. When we take my car H3, it is near impossible for a single person to load it. It can be pretty sluggish when paddling (however, he knew that and doesn't care about speed). I personally use a SINK and have found it to serve the purpose of what I need- Tsunami 125. I also am not a "fish only" kind of guy- so I like the versatility mine provides.. speed when I want to cover a lot of ground, stability by having thigh braces (I have also had it in class III water on the Mulberry) and storage- 2 dry hatchs. I think it's a personal choice for sure (trial and error) I started wita SOT and sold it after 3 months- and what works for me, most likely wil not work for you- I have attached a few pics- Most of you have sen this but for some it may be new Rob's Native My Tsunami 125

Here is a link to the mile by mile description- http://www.missouricanoe.org/river-maps/piney.html The trip is from mile 50 to appoximately 55. You are probably looking at 3-5 hrs depending on how hard you fish. It can't be further than 30 minutes from Rolla- look up Rich's Last Resort... I believe it's just off the intersection of HWy K and KK (seriously) Decent fishing- can't go wrong wih scenery on the Big Piney

Where are you coming from?? I'll probably be there to fish Thursday all day (night), maybe..... and then again on Friday morning. I have to be back to work Friday night for an event in KC- A buddy might be joining me, but more than likely I'll be flying solo this time.

6 crossings to Ross (Rich's Last Resort)- good float

Hey Guys- when I floated the Rockhouse to Trigger Gap section over the 4th the gauge was around 2.7 or so.... It was really low and we did quite a bit of walking- however it was still floatable and fishable.

Are you running the same guide service next Thursday and Friday when I'm there?? Nice fish man- I hope they keep biting like that until late next week. See you then

Makes sense on the fising Z- It was just hard to even identify those spots because I've never floated that shallow. I knew form your warning the water was pretty low, but feel like I wore the bottom of my boat out dragging. I really want to float the upper section with all of the bluffs- it looks great. By the way, I drove right through Pea Ridge on my way to the lake house we stayed at last weekend- what's up with the military park there, it looks pretty interesting?? KC- Did you float the Upper Jacks or the Lower? I should have a few pics in a day or so- we didn't take many since it poured rain and there weren't exactly many fish to capture. I'm jealous about you hittin' the Buffalo- This fall I am waiting for a good rain and making a "spur of the moment" trip to the Upper Buffalo (Boxley-Kyle's) Or the Mulberry with my buddies Russ and Jean Ann over at Hog Heaven.

Well, me and a buddy decided to try the Rockhouse to Trigger Gap section on the 4th of July even though we knew the water level was low. It was a decent float, but the fishing was sloooowwwwwww- not just for us but we ran into a group of 5 guys that claimed they were having a tough time of it as well. This was a new experience for me as the water was so shallow I wasn't sur where to fish- the riffles weren't deep enough, I think, and the pools were long, slow and shallow. We did catch a few dinks no bigger than 10" but that was it. As we got closer to Trigger Gap the water started looking way more fishable as it got deeper and th riffles were wider as well. When we pulled into Trigger Gap I read the sign for the Blue Ribbon Section from Trigger Gap to Hwy 62- darn.. oh well, didn't have time for that float. Guess I'll just have to come back. It rained and thundered hard for about 3 hours along the way- not pretty but it sure beat the hell out of workin! Floating on the 4th also made me appreciate the fact that I can have the freedom to float these streams and well, not every country is as great as ours... I was pretty darn proud to be an American !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My neighbor, who works for the EPA just showed me his GPS last night- he uses it to mark exactly where he takes soil and water samples so they can log the sample and details into the system. His is a pretty old model (government purchased obviously) and swears it is accurate darn near to the foot. I am inclined to believe him since logging exactly where you took a soil sample would be crucial to research and all the data needed for the future. I just didn't like the model he uses- plus he has a ton of upgraded hardware his job purchased that I would never use. I am hoping most of what I need can be all-inclusive.

I am looking into purchasing a GPS for help with navigating the streams and rivers in the Ozarks. I'm looking for something that has the capability to recognize all of them in the SW Missouri, NW Arkansas areas. Something tht would recognize mileage kayaked, feeder streams and landmarks to help with location and all th other basics. Anyone have any experience or recomendations with these?

So I'm headed to Beaver lake for the 4th of July- While the ladies are doing whatever it is they do, me and a buddy want to do a little kayaking on the White. Anyone have suggestions for a 8-10 mile float we could do that is near the lake with great floating and easy access points? We are staying at a lakehouse near the dam if tht helps.... Thanks-

I swear I read a post on this board, not sure where- but some guy was talking about finally being able to buy his dream property on the Elk...I remember he wasn't living there right now but would be soon. Putting in a campground huh- that should be interesting for you guys. I want to make it down, but it's going to need to be during the week probably some time in July. I can't believe I'm married either dude- darn....... I hope you guys are doing great, seems like the fish are still tearing it up man!!! I did sneak away last weekend and and made it to the Upper Jack's Fork- here are some pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/ If you go to page 2 you can see some pics from our wedding in Jamaica See you soon!

That pic with the cloud in the backgound and the canoes on the stream is a SWEET pic! That thing would be up on my wall- Thanks for the pics.. last night we got hit by 60 MPH winds and lightning like crazy..

Here is the link to pics from our trip last weekend- I must warn you, the three guys you are about to see have a heavy workout regimen and are constantly lifting weights to get in the condition they are in. If you would like a copy of out work-out plan please PM me and I will be happy to share!! If you look at page #2, you will even get a sneak peek of my new wife- I always tell my buddies I Dun Good to get her!!!!! She must have been drinkin' when she met me yeeehhhaaaa!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/glorydaze/ Enjoy- as you can tell we may have been drinking a little

Just returned from a trip from the Prongs to Bay Creek- Water level was 2.5 at Mountainview when we started and really low at Bay Creek when we wrapped it up. The bite was definitely on over the weekend- We didn't catch anything real big, I think a 14" was the largest- Soft baits bouncing off the bottom in the riffles seemed to work pretty well. The hottest lure was a watermelon colored chomper used right a dusk until 20 minutes or so after dark. I forgot my camera, but my buddy took some pics- if he sends them to me I might post one or 2 for you all.

Is it me or did you just narrate your promo video while sippin' on a frosty Budweiser? - Nice!

Thanks Fellas- I've always floated past Bay Creek so I've never had to drive there. KC River Rat- I'll do my best to save you some fish..but man the water should be in great condition after the rains today. Looks like we'll do from the Prongs to Bay Creek and spend Friday and Sat night on the river. KC- I'm sure you wil appreciate this, I have been so desperate to float, me and a buddy took off last week and floated the Kansas River from DeSoto to the 435 overpass. Makes me really appreciate the Ozark streams after that jaunt. I'll post some pics to get you even more excited for your trip next week!