KCRIVERRAT

Hey Joe... saw you're report about a late summer trip. Two Rivers is a great choice, plenty of water to keep ya floating, not draggin'. Just my two cents, but, if you camp at Two Rivers, just have them put you in at Shawnee Creek. It's only a three mile float to where the JF meets the Current. Take ALL DAY and fish those three miles hard! You'll be rewarded. Take's me about 10 hours to do that trip. Tell Anita at Two Rivers (red headed gal) that Jerry in KC said hello! She'll take good care of you Joe... KC

She didn't do squat on the Buffalo. I kept offering my set-up to her... she was too proud to take it from me! She was trying everything... she's a gamer. What the hell, lucky me!

Wade-fished the Kings with my wife on sunday the 19th. We were fishing the Trigger Gap area from the 221 bridge down. Pretty shallow water and all we caught were a few dinks. Great area though. Stayed in one of the cabins at Kings River Retreat. Peter there is a great host and quite a character. He's from England. Monday the 20th we floated from Rock House to Trigger Gap. Got lucky and dodged the thunderstorms for a while but our luck ran out early afternoon. Withstood about a 45 minute frog-cholker. Wife was very happy I brought the rain gear! Had a deer swim across the river in front of us. Fishing was just so-so. Here was my biggest... We had to get out and push the canoe quite a bit but only a few feet thank goodness. Wanna hit this area again but the river would need to be up some. I'd floated the Kings before north of Berryville off of 221 hwy. Back then there wasn't a sign at the county road showing the access. There's one there now though, Romp Hole access I believe was the name. It was a nice float to the lake, lots of nice fish. KC

Floated the Buffalo on thursday the 23rd with my wife while on vacation last week. Took the trip from Tyler Bend down to Gilbert (which is a neat little out-of-the-way spot). The river was in perfect shape. The rains on tuesday had it running great and also added some color to it. I decided to try a little crankbait I recently bought (Cordell Wiggle "O"). I like fishing soft-plastics but thought maybe I needed to get their attention with the cloudy water. I was lucky and guessed right. Caught nine quality fish in the five hours we were on the river, all while in the canoe. Biggest fish was 15" but nothing was under 12". Here's a few pics from thursday... First fish of the day, below the 65 bridge 15" smallmouth swim call Gilbert store, rented our canoe from them Wednesday the 22nd we wade-fished the river from Steel Creek down to Big Bluff. We didn't catch many fish. We both caught a couple of 11 or 12 inchers from the hole below Big Bluff. But we didn't care... what a beautiful area! A few shots of our little wade trip... wife takin' a seat By the way, was wondering about those shuttle fees that are tacked on to your canoe rental. I know here in Missouri an outfitter doesn't charge a fee if you're either floating to or from their location. $25 for a ride in the van from Gilbert to Tyler Bend? Whew... Ate breakfast (and pizza a couple of nights before) here in Jasper. Great food! Stayed with BOC in their cabin #1 right in Ponca. Helpful and friendly staff. If you're buzzin' through Ponca, watch out for the three-legged dog. Apparently somebody didn't... KC

Largemouth. Very nice fish!

I am not a regular in the area this tragedy took place. Heard about it while vacationing in Arkansas. I hope that the people on this forum who are familiar with this hazard speak their mind... not here, but with the darn authorities responsible for saving lives in cases like this.

Floated that stretch years back out of Rich's. Caught a couple of nice smallmouth. It was October and the leaves were great. Does Rich still do that trip?

Wild Bills... used 'um before.

The Port Grill is the one by the marina at Campbell Point. There's also the Pizza Hut at the 39 bridge with a dock to tie up to. Big M marina has a restaurant also, don't know the name of it but I heard the foods good.

Especially when you have kids catching pigs from the front!

Danoinark... heard Gordon Motel in Jasper is still putting in at Pruitt. There to Hasty OK right now? Only floated the Buffalo from Gilbert down to Rush years past. Staying in Ponca with BOC. Don't wanna travel to far if I have to. One question... is it an easy wade from Steele Creek to Big Bluff for pics? From what I've seen you can't float it now. Thanks for any info! KC

I'm a Royals fan of course. I can tell ya what the Cards need to at least get into the playoffs... PLAY THE ROYALS EVERY SERIES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! Just make sure you don't run into Grienke too often... By the way, hail to the powers above for '85! There was a game 7 though...

Absolutely tore me up. Beautiful thing to see...

Thanks Buzz, his name is Weston. I'm sure Chief wouldn't care. They are two peas in a pod... except for Weston's fishing abilities.

Buzz... that is awesome! What a bass. Did Chief forward my e-mail? Until I get my canoe, I'd like to paddle you downstream and watch you fish. Glad you had some time with your boys! See you soon bud... KC

Thanks for your help Bobber. Got a hold of Gordon's, she seemed like she was disinterested. Think I'll call BRO, take the drive and make a float. Might try Gordons again in the morning. She wasn't in a good mood! Maybe thursday instead of floating we'll wade fish from Steele Creek down. How far to Big Bluff? Never seen it... but would love too. Need to get down there early spring and check out Hemmed-In-Hollow.

Thanks Bobber ... figured you'd help me out on this. I'll call Gordon's motel for a float on the first day (Pruitt to Hasty). Anything downstream from that I guess I should use Buffalo River Outfitters? Do you think Pruitt to Hasty is too low? I respect your opinion. If so, I'll just call BRO and make the drive. Thanks for the restaurant tips... I'll be checking those out! Especially the BBQ.... (Of course, I'm from KC... a tough critic! ) Here's some of the floats I'm thinkin' about... Hasty to Carver... Carver to Mt. Hersey... Mt. Hersey to Woolum... Any thoughts on these choices? And does Gordon's provide these also? Is Gordon's closer to these floats than BRO? Basically... where is Gordon's in relation to BRO? The Buffalo is beautiful it's whole length... just want to know what an experienced floater's choice would be! Thanks Bobber... oh, yep... we,re renting canoes. KC

My wife and I are floating next week for a couple of days. How far upstream are the outfitters putting in right now? I've floated from Gilbert to Rush in the past and kind of wanted to float something above that if possible. Staying in one of the cabins in Ponca with Buffalo Outdoor Center but their float season is over. They recomended Buffalo River Outfitters at Tyler Bend. Was hoping not to drive from Ponca to TB and back two days in a row. Appreciate any suggestions...

And sorry about including your little rant with my reply.

Oh... by the way Catman, sorry about 'me" not overlooking the social security problem. Seems I'm ok. Save your money like I did.

If you've got a scrape or cut on your knee or leg anywhere, the perch or bluegill will peck at ya.

I snoozed, I loozed... See ya tomorrow Chief.

Sorry about that post... just to make sure, what's a trailer hitch canoe loader? Do you have any pics?