2sheds

Fished Lane Springs Jul16-Jul19 & Jul28-Aug2. All springs were pumping cold. Good conditions from the 63Bridge right down to the end of the NFS park. Fish of size all the way thru. Best success stripping #8-10 flies across fast water.

Any semblence of a trail off CC toward Roaring Spring, or is it cross-country dead-reckoning ?

Plenty of sound advice here - you can tell there are lots of good options. But I will aim some comments at the other themes of your summer weekend trek. If you want solitude and fishing, definitely put in at Baptist in the 1st wave to stay ahead of the early traffic. I'm torn between take out at Pulltite (25 mi) and take out at Akers (16 mi). Either is excellent scenery. Choose your campsites based on likely river traffic (Put In & TakeOut locations and time of day). If you float downstream of Akers, there will be more floaters and you will need to pull over to let them pass while napping in the shade. Come prepared to enjoy the bikini hatch. Best fishing will be early and late anyway. PS - If you enjoy maps, Carrs (perhaps others) used to sell a very nice topo set in 6 panels that covered Tan Vat to Round Springs containing some handy campsite and landmark info. PPS - My son and I routinely floated 100 miles from Baptist to Big Spring - easy 5 days (Mon-Fri), plenty of time for gourmet cooking, lounging, and fishing. My rule of thumb is that your travel rate (miles per day) is inversely proportional to the square of the number of canoes in your party. With just one, its easy to be efficient. The more canoes in your party, the longer to make decisions, break camp, stop here & there, et al.

Floatable Trout Waters in Missouri: North Fork of the White River - has its own page on this forum. For trout, put In at Patrick Bridge and float down toward the old Dawt Mill. If you want more river miles, put in at Hammond Camp for a few miles of SMB water before you find trout at Rainbow Spring. Consider Sunburst Ranch or River of Life Treehouse Cabins as your headquarters and outfitter. Eleven Point River - also has its own page on this forum. For trout, put in at Greer Crossing (north of Alton, MO) and float down to Turner Mill (short 1-day float with plenty of time for fishing) or down to The Narrows (easy 3-day float with USFS Float Camps along the way). Consider Eleven Point Canoe Rental as your outfitter. You will also find trout in floatable sections of the Meramec River (near Maramec Springs) and the Niangua (Bennett Springs to Prosperine Access). Those, plus the Current River (Baptist Camp down to Akers Ferry - sometimes a bit further downstream) comprise the floatable trout habitats in MO. PS - You can also launch a canoe from the Shepard of the Hills Hatcheryon Lake Taneycomo and fish trout all the way to downtown Branson, but that can be a short and swift 14-mile trip when they are making water at Tablerock Dam.

... but, if you do not have the right equipment or confident of skills in the class of water you encounter, it is 100% correct to go back upstream !!! tip of the paddle for making a smart choice.

Great read, as always, Al ! Thanks for sharing your success.

Next time, continue the discussion that (like him) you are dedicated to following the fishing regulations including proper lures and limits. Show him the fly/lure you are using. Ask him what he likes to use. Show him that you do not have nature bait in you flybox. Offer him one of yours if you've got an extra that is working well. Agree with him that it is unacceptable for folks to abuse the regulations. Encourage him to report those who are not true sportsmen. Build allies for our cause !

My mid-Summer experiences downstream of Greer: First good stretch of smallmouth fishing begins below the rapids downstream of Connor Spring. Last trout caught around Riverton. First walleye around Piney Creek.

Check the design. Benchmak against the fiasco on Trinity River in downtown Dallas. Spent upteen million for a Whitewater run. Deemed deadly by sport kayakers and also ruined that river section for thru-floaters. Perfecdt Win-Lose-Lose proposition. Someone got paid, Kayakers are not happy, Canoers are terribly bummed.

Hi Adam, < ... losing more flies than casts made ... > Been there, done that, and more than once ! That is what makes this such a passion for those on this forum. It helped me to practice in tight spots on creeks closer to home (sometimes stalking sunfish, sometimes no fish at all). Don't worry about a textbook pretty cast, focus on efficient placement from point A to point B. Stealth is crucial - Sneaking up on the stream, No flailing, Avoid splash-landings, et al. Practice helps reinforce the discipline. On wild-trout water new to me, it helps to have a few go-to spots picked out in advance which provide confidence that they generally hold fish with reasonable access for approach and also for safe release. Consider spending a day (perhaps to watch the upcoming spawn season) and just enjoy hiking along the shore while hunting for those few holes that allow more reasonable casting access. These will usually hold trout (unless scared off by an unstealthy approach), so settle in while you enjoy your lunch/beverage and watch the fish return and go about their business. See how small of a disturbance is enough to set them off and watch how long it takes them to return to feeding - reinforcing the benefits of stealth. BSC is about as challenging as it gets in MO. There might be a few other wild trout opportunities that offer easier access for casting. And as you realize - if this was any easier, BSC would get fished out.

I have been bit by the wild trout bug for a few years now and find BSC as challenging as any of them. Patience and stealth seems to be the key, plus faith that the fish are there. Meramec Springs is the other end of the spectrum. Very nice, but a totally different sport.

congrats ! A very special first, indeed. These are world-famous fish and as challenging as trout can be. Just be sure to avoid the upcoming redds season to let them spawn in peace. Keep an eye here. Folks will let you know when to become a stream watcher, and when its good to fish again.

So we're a few years down the road on the Rubber Soul ban (loved that LP) plus some heightened attention to rinsing waders & gear. Can anyone provide us a Report Card from MoDOC ? Are anglers behaving ? Proper technique ? Reasonable regulations ? Any data to support/refute ? Seems like a reasonable off-season topic.

Enjoyed the fall Ozark photos. Makes me homesick. So when the government shuts down the river, who feeds the fish ? -Just curious.

Thank you Joe & TN69. Love the photos (and blog) - just enough to follow the trail. Those are also my favorite spots in the Ozarks ! Some nice bronzebacks a mile or so downstream from stop #2.

Drama-schmama. I was reading to learn about the bikini hatch.

Thanks for the photos. Makes me homesick for the Ozarks. Glad you had a nice float. Realize that some of us wish we were (only) 5 hours away. -Texas Bob

I would rent a canoe from Brian at 11 Point Canoe Rental in Alton. I would have him put me in at Greer Crossing and take out at Turner Mill - a short 5-mile float. As others have suggested, I like to get out and wade fish around each of the 1st three islands. This will allow you to pick spots with reasonable wade conditions. With water up high and moving fast, you won't need but 90 minutes to paddle down to Turner. This allows you to pick a good spot, wait out the day trippers, and flyfish at your leisure after they are on down. I have spent glorious afternoons tucked around the "unpopular float" side of those islands and had the best holes to myself while the summer crowd ran the opposite side. Alternate plan is to ask Brian about the latest conditions. Depending on the water, he might recommend Cane Bluff down to Greer Crossing, or Turner/Whitten down to Riverton.

Like Al, camp on a gravel bar if you enjoy that sort of thing and treasure your solitude. Picking one with a good fishing hole is wonderful for dusk and dawn entertainment before the party floaters descend. #3 & #4 would be the better SMB fishing. The Two Rivers Campground is generally nicer & quieter than the other commercial campgrounds along the Current+JacksFork. That is my base camp for day floats on those rivers. Have not found great bank fishing from the Two Rivers Campground, but that is old information - I haven't been since the last couple of floods rearranged the structure. Very short Day #2 if you camp at Two Rivers. I would pick a gravel bar on JF significantly upstream of Horse Camp or on the Current several miles upstream of Two Rivers. #1 is nice scenery and limited HP on the outboard motors upstream of Round. Jerktail can be an unpleasant shuttle, depending on condition of the lengthy gravel road. If there is enough water, I prefer to put in at Baptist Camp (great for kayak as the character morphs from a creek into a river) and hope to catch some trout down to Akers (16 miles). But I agree with Al that the SMB fishing doesn't pick up until downstream of Akers and better below Round. #2 is a classic and you will have plenty of company. Key would be to get on the water BEFORE the party crowd, mid-day nap in the shade, and a gravel bar around Troublesome Hollow (deep hole at sharp left turn upstream of Pulltite) or a few miles downstream of Pulltite (possibly WideFord). t

Hey Mic, so far you've got a year's worth of great recommendations. Can't resist adding a few with some Ozark connections. Newgrass Revival (Sam Bush & Friends) - particularly the LP "When the Storm is Over" with banjo legend Courney Johnson. You've already got the Dillards recommendation - Important to know that Douglas Dillard is respected as one of the all-time banjo greats. Mitch Jayne was frontman & bass, a friend of the Ozarks and regular in Dent Co around Salem & Montauk. Splitlip Rayfield (Lawrence, KS) is another truly-unique Ozarks-region band. Eric Mardis is one of the most unique banjo pickers you will encounter. Check Out - "Kiss of Death to Cars" for a quick overview of what you can expect and then settle into the LP "Never Make It Home". Don't snooze when Eric is singing, his stories are the stuff of Legion (Mark 5:9). Favorite newcomer in the last few years is Sarah Jarosz (from Wimberly in the Texas Hill Country, near my neck of the woods) who has resurrected claw-hammer banjo, plus some other bluegrass instruments. She is about to release her 3rd LP (having just finished college), but her first - Songs Up In Her Head - remains my top recommendation. No Ozark-fueled mix tape is complete without some John Hartford who spent a lot of time in the Ozarks. Check out the LP "Aeroplane" for some of John's banjo work, but he's better known as a fiddler; take a listen to "Hamilton Ironworks" for a collection of his fiddletune stories while hanging out in Bourbon, Salem, and elsewhere. And for some very accessible bluegrass, "Old and In the Way" with Jerry Garcia on banjo.

I think Roubidoux is definitely worth a stop if you are passing by. Find the city park in Waynesville off old Rt 66 down Olive Street. Fish from there & downstream for 1 mile (just past the water treatment plant outlet). Nice mix of smallmouth, goggle eye, and hopefully some residual stocker rainbows and browns.

great report. isn't that the most incredible experience ?

I am reading Tom Rosenbauer's book on Small Stream Fly Fishing and see that he recommends Dry Flies and unweighted nymphs for small streams, including "spring-fed limestone creeks". My summertime fishing on these creeks has always been with the belief that I need to be (1) down fast and (2) as deep as possible. Therefore, I'm generally drifting a weighted PTN dropper under a weighted Prince, WoolyBugger, etc and using a strike indicator to manage depth. As I spend the next 10 months obsessing about my 2014 return: A) Should I be trying some topwater flies ? Should I be tying some unweighted Pheasant Tail Nymphs ?

Follow the road/trail downstream of the gravel bar, and there is a nice grassy bluff campsite.

another great day on the 11 Point. Congrats !