stream stalker

On 6/30 I put in at Fiery Fork conservation area and paddled about 1.5 miles upstream and floated back. Water was great for floating that day, fishing was pretty good too. I had to walk a couple of shallow riffles but overall quite floatable. Gauge was at about 5.0 Cfs that day. -SS

I wear a wetsuit to float this time of year. Dumping into cold water can be dangerous, especially with the cool weather we've had so far this spring. Makes wet wading alot more comfortable too. -SS

I used Rich's once summer before last and the campground and facilities were in very poor condition and the store was basically empty. They were fine as far as the canoe rental went, but not a place I would recommend. -SS

Thanks for your input.

I've been trying to get to the Current with my 11 & 12 year old daughters for a couple of summers now but haven't been able to work it into our schedule. I'm thinking about trying the weekend of Sept 17-18. How big and obnoxious would the crowd be on a Saturday or Sunday by that time? It's about a 4 hour drive for us, so I don't want to come all that way to play bumper boats or put up with a lot of nonsense. -SS

I might point out that the deeper moving water in the outside of a riverbend is also a key fish holding area that doesn't necessarily relate to the usual riffle-run-pool pattern. -SS

The Falls are fun, if you don't pick the wrong line. -SS

The outfitters pretty much use the river from Moon Valley down to Prosperine, so anything above Moon Valley or below Prosperine would probably keep you out of the crowds. -SS

I put in at Moon Valley last Friday and paddled up river about a mile and a half or so (lots of water running that day so it was slow going), nice stretch of river, fishing wasn't good that day, but I'd do it again. Best part was, I was on the water 6 hours and only saw 1 other boat. I'm still trying to get around to floating the little Niangua, if you get to let us know how it is. -SS

Thanks for your report. -SS

I'll be floating the JF this Friday and Saturday, I'm going with friends and renting canoes so fishing will be secondary to nonsense, but I'd like to know if anyone has been fishing the JF or the Current in the William's Ford to Two Rivers area. Any reports? -SS

I went ahead and tried the paddle upstream from Moon Valley on Friday. There was still a lot of water running, so the paddling was kind of tough. I probably only made it about a mile and a half up, 4 hours going up, 30 minutes coming back down. It was a nice area and I only saw 1 other boat the whole afternoon. Glad I did it I always like to experience new water. Needless to say, the Little Niangua is still on the to do list. Hitting the Jack's Fork this week. -SS

Yes, the Little Niangua is on my short list of streams to float, unfortunatly it's been on the list for a while. You have a favorite stretch that you recommend? -SS

I'm thinking of putting my kayak in at Moon Valley and paddling upstream and floating back down in the near future, does anyone know of any problems with landowners on that stretch? Or any other info or advise on that area, I've never floated above Moon Valley before. -SS

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this. Al, if 200cfs is the high end of what might be doable, what is the minimum cfs that would be floatable, and which gauge are you refering to, Mountain View? -SS