ltomczyk

Need some help please regarding the generation schedule. I like to wade and fly fish when the water is low enough. What do the numbers in the schedule mean? What number is too high to be wading safely? Thanks for your feedback!

Meant "rebar" hole. Fat fingers from a long cold winter and little activity....

Glad to read a "Finley" post, my favorite local spot. Can't wait for the warm weather to get here. Getting tired of Taneycomo and the bebar hole. Need a smalley something bad!

Sounds like a good time. Teaching the next generation. I did the same with my boy and his friends recently at Roaring River. Good times, good times....

So I had the boss drop me off at Greenbridge yesterday afternoon for my standard 4-hour float-n-fish back to Riverside bridge. Good news first - caught some decent smallies and largemouths (and a few green sunfish with high hopes) on a green pumpkin bitsy tube. Bad news is two-fold: I thought they did a massive river clean-up last weekend. And thanks to all who participated. Your efforts are very much appreciated. I'd like to find the scumbags who came in behind the cleaning crew and left the bud light bottles along the river side. Get a clue. I know I am preaching to the choir and that most likely these idiots are not visiting this forum, but rather sitting at home drinking their bong water looking for their next welfare check! But I digress - the other pain is that the owner of the nice field on the down stream side of the Riverside bridge has decided to put up a very sturdy and well made barb wire fence. Not knowing it was there, and that is the location where the boss picks me up on the road, I had to cross the river to the restraunt side and bushwhack my way up to the road (tresspassing on someone else's property - thanks and sorry for not getting permission.) So, the question at hand is how to legally and ethically get a boat up to the road for a pick-up?

So I fished the Finley from Greenbridge down to Riverside Saturday morning. I was casting a tube in a backwater slough and got a hit. It got off when it was right at the side of my kayak. I'm not sure what kind of fish it was. Long and slender, like gar but not the long snout. The mouth reminded me iof a ducks bill. It had stripes. I did some research on the MO Conservation site and saw a picture of the Pickerel. Has anyone ever pulled in one of these from the Finley. Thanks for any input.

Thanks for the report. Glad to read you are getting some time on the Finley. I spent a few hours on the James above the 65 bridge access Saturday morning. Pulled out a bunch of medium sized gills and a few fat green sunfish. All on the fly rod and a white popper. Have never kept any fish from there or the Finley. I am guessing a few injested a summer couldn't hurt, could it? Trying to convince myself.... See you out there sometime.

Last summer, my son and I watched a guy check a trot line that had a few cats on it. This was just a few hundred yards up from the park boat ramp.

Busted out the Pungo 140 kayak yesterday. Put in at the park. Paddled up stream, not too far. Caught four bucketmouths, one decent, one mid-sized, and two midgets - all on a pumpkin lizard, texas rigged. The bite was right when it hit the water. Slow retreived produced no bites. Tried a green tube. No bites. Was staying out of the current, in some of the backwater coves. Saw no panfish yet. Casting skills need some major practice. All in all, great to be out. I did see a weasel/mink looking creature. Anyone have an idea of what it was? I love spring-time and fishing out of my yak!

I needed a Finley River report. Thanks. Bow hunting is now over and I am switching my gears back to angling. Tried Taneycomo on Saturday morning, but with two units open, the flow was just a tad too much for me and the fly rod. Plus, the ole waders were a little tight after the holidays. All in all, I agree with you guys, just good to get out of the house.

Were you wading? Kayak? Access point? Always looking to try new spots, if you don't mind sharing. Maybe you could send a PM. Thanks

Had the wife drop me off at Green Bridge. Floated to Riverside Inn. I took Smallmouthjoe's 3" tube advice. Texas rigged. Had a ball. A few rock bass (one nice sized in the slack water on the down side of Green Bridge), a few bronzebacks, a couple of nice bucketmouths, and a slew of various perch. All on the tube. I suck at soft plactics, and coupled with my legenady impatience, I never figured it out - until today. Actually not even close to figuring it out, but had some mild sucess to make me want to work the tube some more. Smallmouthjoe - Thanks for the advice. I definitely will be working the tube on future trips! Tomorrow - "couch potatoe land" here I come - open day of NFL - Go Chiefs - I know they suck, but I do love them so!

I read multiple posts about parking/access options. Heard something on the radio while driving into work that you might find interesting (and maybe already know.) But FEMA (Federal emergency agency) is buying the Riverside Inn property and tearing it down. Not sure of time frame. I am curious if you guys know more about this. It might open up a parking spot.

To the novice working on his skills, sounds like a good day to me. I think I saw you again. I was leaving thr park when you were pulling up. White pick-up, green kayak, right? I am sending you a message to your mailbox.

I think I passed you on my way in Sunday evening, just below the restaraunt. I was in the green kayak. Asked if you had any luck. I worked the downed timber with a tube above Riverside, texas-rigged with my spinning rig. A few bites, but nothing in the boat. Then switched to a hopper-dropper rig with the fly rod. Nothing to speak of. Humbling outing. I really want to learn how to fish soft plastics like a tube. Just got to keep at it. I am a novice at best , with a strong desire to learn. I would love to float with you or Randy one day to see how you two do it.

Is Green Bridge the one by the restaraunt?

Ok, went out last night which is unusal for me. Mostly a weekend angler. Put in at the park and paddled like the dickens to get up past the restaraunt. Took me 25 minutes to get to the bridge. I am not Speedy Gonzalez, but I am in a 14 ft kayak that tracks well and has some decent speed. Had the 5 wt rod with a 10 lb. fluorocarbon leader (which didn't cast very well.) Tied on an medium sized crawdad streamer. I had just re-read RSBreth's article on rock bass and was targeting them. Great article. Caught one perch and a ton of submerged tree limbs. How do you guys fish the logs and brush and not get hung up on just about every cast? How far above the bridge do I need to paddle to get into some rock bass? I got about 200-300 yards up past the bridge, past the semi-fast water to where it clears out and opens up and there are a buch of downed trees on one side of the river. Was getting hung up too much. Switched to a floating popper. Worked the brush and edges. Caught a bunch of perch. Had one nice bass swipe at it but didn't get the hook set.

I also fished there yesterday. Put in at the park around 7:00 am until noon. Got as far as the restaraunt. Caught a few small bass on a spinnerbait and a tube early. Then pulled out the 5 wt and killed the perch on a floating white popper. Like a kid in a candy store. Caught a few tree limbs too - hope nobody was watching... I know what bluegills look like. But what are the other two fish I was catching repeatedly? One is as colorful as a rainbow. A little smaller than the average gill. The other perch, much fatter, bigger mouth, green, but not a rock bass. I know what they look like. Was that you in the yellow kayak? I was in the green kayak.

I was a Table Rock the previous Saturday, 25th. While my buddy was targeting the "5-pounder" bass, I had my 3-weight Fenwick fly rod searching for perch. I didn't catch 30 like you, but caught my fair share with a white floating spider. For me, smalls and gills on the fly rod are about as good as it gets.

My buddy and I put in at Linden and floated down to the park. The first part of the float was all me. Using a beetle spin, I caught a few smallies and a number of perch. About halfway down, right before the first bridge, I tied into a hog smallie on a craw crankbait. Biggest one I ever caught on the Finley. Up until then by friend was having no luck on various soft plastics. I guess I used up all my luck on my big smallie, because thereafter I went cold as a cucumber while my buddy got redhot. Using a small blue crankbait, he tied into numerous bronzebacks, goggles, green sunfish, and other perch. He couldn't miss and I couldn't buy a bite. The float was ok. Could have used a little more water. I wish I had my fly rod and a few poppers. Fish were jumping like crazy.

Nice posting. I fish out of my kayak mostly as well on the same waters (thanks to RsBreth as well.) All in all, it sounded like a great week off. And exactly what I would do for a "stay-cation" (vacation at home due to gas prices and crappy economy.) No pictures?

Fantastic. Never had the pleasure of a double hook up! Where is McCall bridge in relation to the park? Have you floated from Linden to the park this year yet? I only did it once last year and had to constantly portage around the storm damage limbs. Has it cleared out enough to take my boy through there in our inflatable canoe?

First time posting! My son (5 years old) and I fished the park in a little hole through the lily pads two Saturdays ago. I pushed us around in our inflatable Sevylor Colorado canoe. He did most of the "catching". Within a few hours he caught three bass (two nice ones) and a few gills, also a couple of decent size. He used ole faithful, nightcrawler under a bobber. Good times, good times...