stream stalker

I floated Bennett to Maggard's on Sunday 6/13 and the river was perfect for floating. Fishing was just fair.

I almost stepped on a copperhead at Silver Dollar City a couple of weeks ago!

Might be down this weekend, where is Pig Pin BBQ? -SS

hello

Took the family on our annual floating/fishing/relaxing in the river trip to Riverwood resort last week. The river was perfect, very clear by Niangua standards. Floated from NRO to Maggard's on Thursday. Fishing was good too. Caught 30 fish over about 2 days, 6 rainbows and the rest pretty evenly split between Smallies and goggleye. As soon as that fullmoon came on thursday nite they seemed to shut down almost completely, was only able to get 1 rainbow on friday morning. Great trip overall, my whole family and the friends we go with always enjoy a few days relaxing at the Niangua. --SS

You guessed it! Have you had a bad experience there too? -SS

yeah, I floated with a group of friends last summer and rented from the Gilbert Gen Store. We got the same shuttle fee treatment, by far the most expensive float trip I've ever taken. We won't be going back there again. Plenty of other rivers to float in the ozarks that are just as nice and the fees are much more reasonable. Speaking of buying canoes, I was with the same group of friends last week on the North Fork and got some pretty poor service from an outfitter there so after those two experiences we are now all looking into buying our own canoes. -SS

I floated from Hebron to Twin Bridges a couple of weeks ago and caught a lot of small smallmouth and googleye on that stretch. -SS

White spinnerbait on march 2nd water was very cold, ice just barely off the water, in a small lake on a Conservation area. I was casting to an isolated tree about 100 feet from shore. I was fishing on my lunch hour (which is a good time of day to fish in early spring) with just the equipment I keep behind my truck seat so no scale, tapemeasure or camera available of course, but the bass weighted about 8 lbs. -SS

I use a small tackle bag with a shoulder strap. You can shorten up the strap on it so it rides higher allowing you to wade deeper without getting your tackle in the water. It also holds alot more stuff than any waist setup I've ever seen. You have to be careful though not too load it too heavy. Plano has put out some nice bags like this recently. I bought mine at a local tackle store, I've also seen the same one at Bass Pro, and a similar one just the other day at Wally World. The one I have also has a pocket on each end that is just the right size to hold your favorite beverage. Works for me anyway! -SS

I'll give an Amen to that! -SS

Does anyone fish Spring creek that runs into the North Fork just below Twin Bridges? I'm going to be in the area in a couple of weeks and I wondered if that would be a good area to wade for smallmouth. -SS

Thanks for the tips Cricket. -- SS

We'll probably float Bennett to Maggard's on Wednesday.

Coming down to fish and float tues and weds this week. How's the water looking? Anyone catching any fish?

I'd recommend The Dry Bean. We always make at least one appearance there anytime we are in Eminence. It's always been a good time.--SS

I'm heading to Eureka Springs this weekend and would like to try fishing below Beaver Dam. How's the water, is it high or low. I've never fished there before and could us some advice. I'll be spin fishing, lures or bait either one works for me. Thanks in advance for the help. -SS

I'm thinking of floating & fishing from Bennett to Barclay or somewhere along in there this coming weekend. Anyone have any insight on what the river conditions will be like by Saturday? High or normal? Muddy or dingy or clear? --Thanks SS

You are right about the comfortable beds, I had forgotten to mention that, it is one of the best things about Riverwood. -SS

We love Riverwood, they have some of the nicest cabins you will find any where. Maybe a little pricey for a "guys" fishing trip, but perfect for families or a group of couples. I'm not sure how much frontage they have, probably about a 1/4 mile, but at normal water levels the access is good. Last year when we were there the water was pretty high which made the river pretty much unaccessible. At more normal levels like we had this time you can walk down the ( fairly steep) bank that puts you at the top of a good riffle where I caught a couple of rainbows, or you can follow a path that they keep nicely mowed to where a small creek runs into the river and scours out a nice deep hole, which was good for several google eye and a few smallmouth. Except for where that creek runs in you can pretty much wade all the way across the river. Overall it's pretty good access. I'd recommend it.--SS

I took the family and some friends floating from Bennett access to Maggard's on Tuesday. The water was great for August, good flow and very clear. Fishing was pretty good too, we caught a mix of Smallmouth, rainbows, and google eye, nothing big, but a lot of fun. Stayed at Riverwood and caught alot of the fish right there by the cabins. Great trip. By the way, this is my first post, thanks for reading.