timinmo

Looks like a great time. Love those creeks.

I just looked at the USGS gage at Union. The river "today" is pretty high, what it will be this weekend depends on what happens the rest of the week. Without knowing how far ahead you need to plan. The best advice is to watch the gage and plan accordingly. At this point it will probably be fine by the weekend without any further rain. Keeping in mind that the Bourbeuse recovers slower than streams like the Huzzah and the weather report for possible rain this week another stream maybe a better option.

Glad you had a good time and were prepared. To me that is one of the prettiest floats in the Ozarks.

Great stuff. I know absolutely nothing about the history of the river or area but that is a wonderful story. I think many remote Ozark areas could tell similar stories. Thanks for sharing.

Mitch, you are showing your age. But you can't fix stupid.

Any time on the water is well spent. I learn every time I go out and always think of what I would/should have done different. In my mind the important part is you went!

Great Pictures, looks like a god time.

Wonderful thanks for taking the time.

Great tale. Glad I was not involved.

For me a snap will not serve my purpose. Usually I have a top water, crankbait, or spinner bait on one rod and the other rod has some type of soft plastic, usually Texas rigged. Sometimes the second rod is an ultra light. There are no absolutes and I am just more comfortable with two rods, if a person is happy with one that is great take one, but if a person wants to take two there are lots of ways to do it.

OK I know they are sideways but do not know how to fix it. For me getting them posted was a major effort.

Sorry I had kind of forgotten about this. I am attempting to post some pictures of my outfit. The last picture is the type of holder I used with the chest pack, which I could not find, the difference is mine was a single rod holder not the three rod pictured. I do not fault anyone that does not want to carry two rods but assume that you only carry one when you are in a boat as well.

Thomas Check USGS.gov for current water levels. A quick check of the Merrill Horse gauge station shows level about normal. They received about .20 of an inch of rain, that should not be enough to hurt it. That station is listed as near Richwoods but it is on Highway H at the river. You could also check the gauge stations up river from there to see what is going on upstream.

OK guys, you really got me needing a fishing trip. I can take care of that part, the issue is, I am out of a certain soft plastic. Hoping one of you will feel pity for a brother and drop some off. You know where to find me.

Hog I carry two rods wading all the time. I have tried a couple different methods. I used to use a Pals Chest Pack( I am not sure of the name but if you look around I am sure you will find it). I pop riveted a PVC rod holder onto the back strap of the pack, these are available about anywhere. My newer system uses a shoulder bag that hangs on my right side, strap over my left shoulder. The butt of the rod goes in a strap that was already on the pack and the upper part of the rod goes thru a "hook" that I installed. This keeps the rod pointing over my left shoulder, I am right handed. I do not have any pictures of these systems, but if you are interested I can take some and post them. The shoulder pack is a Maxpedition Versa pack, I think, but there are other brands. I do not think there are any ready made packs to carry another rod at least I never saw any. What I use puts the extra rod projecting over my left shoulder and yes you need to watch out if you are going under low trees.

It would seem to me this horse is killed on a fairly regular basis. Just for fun I am going to continue beating it. I just went to the garage and there are about 6 Stradics including one C14. There are about the same number of higher end Daiwas, of various vintages and models. I bought the Daiwas after experiencing the previously noted binding problems on the Shimanos. I do not own a President but it seems to me comparing a $60 reel to any reel that lists for over $100 or $200 is not a fair comparison. I work at a sporting goods store in the St. Louis area and without the figures to support the statement I would guess we sell more Presidents than any other spinning reel. Many of our regular customers have bought numerous ones. They must be doing something right, I think it is a very good reel for the money. As an aside I have two adult sons who store their fishing gear at my house, so not all that equipment is mine. The Daiwa reels I own have been bullet proof and I will continue buying them

great fish.

I realize that my first reply was not helpful and probably rude. If you read Al's reply as well as Joe's you will see the problem in trying to pick the prefect color. I am sure the colors Ham lists are good. Here is the deal, Tackleware House lists 80 different colors for Senkos. It is hard to go wrong with Green Pumpkin and/or Watermelon in any soft plastic. You might pick a couple more that look good to you, but if you use either of those colors day in day out you would be OK. Water that is dirty may call for some adjustment and some people may have a color that they think works best on their particular water.

I average the color of my underwear with the color of my socks times the color of my eyes. Usually dirty green or dirty brown works.

Norm It is your post, make it anyway you like. If some do not like it they are free not to read it. I for one enjoy your posts and can paint any picture I want, without photos.

If you are not giving away Whopper Ploppers I am not joining.

Without weighting it I think my Ultimate is 50lb with the seat out. I also have a Vagabond and it is lighter, I think about 40 or 43 pounds. I did not mean to gloss over the getting in and out part as the seat in my Ultimate it is awkward at the very least. Once seated it fishes very well and I can have multiple rods within easy reach, it paddles fine and probably tracks as well as any 12ft craft. The seat is more comfortable than most chairs and the foot pegs are great While I love paddling the Vagabond the stability is a issue for me. Storage in the Ultimate is fine and we have used it and the Vagabond on overnites without having to limit ourselves. My choice of the Ultimate had a lot to do with weight as I wanted to be able to go by myself. I also did not want to deal with a trailer as many of the spots I go to have no ramp and the trailer just complicates things. While the Ultimate is a long way from perfect it is the choice I made and one that I am not sorry about. It will carry alot more than sit on tops and weights less than most of them. I would like to think with the higher seat getting in and out would be easier but I have not tried one of the new ones. On another note we have also been discussing fiberglass as a canoe material and I have had a fiberglass Madriver Explorer for decades. Nothing is perfect but it has been down many Ozark rivers and is still going. I have hit rocks hard enough I could feel them with my feet inside the canoe. Just this past summer I put a new strip of fiberglass on it but use it several times every year. When I bought the Explorer I could of gotten it in Royalex but it was a new material to me and the lines were not nearly as clean as the fiberglass.

Bill I have an original Ultimate 12. The FX looks like a nice improvement. My only complaints with the original is getting in and out, at 62 I am not as nimble as I once was.

Great fish. To thing I park within sight of the river at work and never fish it. Sad for me but great for you, way to go.