FishinCricket

Sad to hear about your loss, flyguy.. Good to ear the river could comfort you some. I did the same thing when I lost my grandpa, I knew he would have wanted it that way. Thanks for the report.

I giggled til I peed (just a lil bit) in my waders! Good stuff, thanks for sharing...

Wrench is on the money, as usual. here's a link that takes you to an image of Missouri. Click on the little colored bulbs for each usgs page, read the whole thing over. Can't tell you how much it has helped my trips, I keep a log of what the water and the weather were doing. There are certain combos that will keep me home.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?06923250 above is the link for the Niangua at Windyville (upstream from Bennett) usually this gage and the Bennett Gage are what I go by. Currently the river is about 6 inches high (running 3 feet now) and is pushing a little more discharge than normal. A little lower and it's at it's peak level, any lower than that and you may as well hike. Anything above 5 feet is not only dangerous, but pretty impossible to fish without a sturdy flat bottom John. Hope this helps.

Well, when they put you in, pull the boat upstream to the area where the spring flows in, hit that first quarter mile real hard and then put the poles away or just stop and fish the riffles. The big long hole just below Bennett Public access (real slow deep water that is begging to be fished), skip it. Small goggleeye and smallmouth, not worth the effort. Down a few riffles you will see a cabin next to the water on the righthand side, fish the riffles below it. Down further you will come across a mudbank on the right hand side (bout 10 feet tall with Otter slides built in) hit that wall with a jig or a slow swimmer. Just before NRO the stream splits, the left looks wide open, and the right looks impassible. Go to the right and park the boat. Lots of shade in that little stretch, and lots of Fish. Last trip through there I caught 3 decent browns in that one hole. A goggleeye or smallie will be posted up behind every single swift water break, so practice casting from the boat. Good luck...

It's running perfect right now, not too low or too high. You'll have a bit of an aluminum hat h, but since you will be a part of it I am sure you will mind less than some. If your fishing spincasters then stop and pick up a few teeny craws or other swimmer type baits. Spinners are working well, and any soft plastics or flies in white. Hit em early, and don't hurt yourself with sun exposure, leave theheat of the day for swimming. What part are you floating?

Just recieved this story (that I have known since childhood) in an email this morning.. Thought I would share: Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine to his picturesque scene. One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his minds eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days, weeks and months passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slow ly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.' Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled..

Kevin, you've lost your mind. My guess is 4 days. What do I win if I'm right?

Yeesh, that's wild... Note to self: anyone from Idaho ever invites you to go "jet boating", make sure you pack and extra pair of undies! Seriously though, you think they ever stop to fish?

JJ, is that a 318 or a 360? And were you lucky enough to find one with a stick shift?

(selsun blue) Looks like you got a nice truck. (thumbs up) when you gonna drive it down here and go fishing with me?

that's a very kind offer, JJ. You do know that any dealer worth his weight in salt should be offering those (Carfax, Autocheck, etc) free of charge, right? (BTW, you do remember I offer free advice, right?) (scratches head)

Good luck with that.. Seriously. Best regards, your resident auto industry expert

Dang! Good thing I don't swim, I suppose.. Lol

Yes, this was the exact breakdown given to me, by a 10 year BSSP bait shop employee, the last time I inquired about whether or not I could use the Kastmaster Spoon with a single hook fly in Zone one. Granted, I didn't ask about a rapala, but I assume they would consider them the same type of "bait".. (keep in mind, my assurances will not pay your ticket, but I don't think I could do much more in the way of researching than I have already done, eh?)

Thanks Crusty! (better than Gene, still not sure how I managed to keep doing that).. LOL

It's a risk I am willing to take.. That woman absolutely hates me... But thanks for the heads up... LOL (seriously, though.. It's a reference to and Eddie Murphy comedy routine as well, so I might be able to claim some kind of anonymous comedic license, er something as a defense)

You tell em, pops! LOL Fwiw, I like you already... Wanna go fishin' sometime? I assume bass fishing? LOL

Well someone had better tell that to all the agents, rangers, and park employees.. LOL I have been using a kastmaster spoon (with a fly replacing the treble hook) in zone one for years.. All under the advisement of those fine fellas in green.. Just sayin.. One thing we both agree on is that it's all one big mess of regulations!

But what if I attach a fly to the rapala? And (purely out of curiosity) what IS the MDC wildlife codebook's definition of a "fly"?

Thank you brad for posting this answer, you all have been a big help to me.. Good luck to the original poster of this thread, his story is practically identical to mine.. Matter of fact, hope I see you on the water! Good luck, tight lines..

Yes, it helps allot, thanks! We are still debating about heading that way tomorrow.. We fear change, LOL

I didn't! (it was a banana and a solstice). LOL

Wonder where my ex-mother-in-law was that day? GOONIE-GOO-GOO! (Lord, I apologize.. And be with them starvin' pygmys in New Guinnea, Amen.)

Well I knew he was messin' with ya cause you can't fit a watermelon on the dashboard of a miata! (and no, I havent tried.. LOL)