Scooper

Any smallmouth or were they all largemouth? Largemouth fishing on the Niangua is pretty much ignored in favor of trout (in the 8 miles below Bennett) and smallmouth. Not many folks fish for goggleye any more, either. Used to see lots of goggleye fisherman back when I first started floating/camping on the Niangua with my late Dad in the 1960s.

Hmm... interesting. I've floated, camped and fished the Niangua since the 1960s. The furtherest downriver we ever caught trout was at Blue Springs (there used to be a small resort with a campground and cabins there in those days.) Even during the dog days of summer, we could usually catch a rainbow or two in the fast water right below where the spring branch entered the river. A wooly worm/spinner combo was our favorite back then. We used to camp on a farmer's bottomland on a beautiful shady gravel bar about a half mile below Blue Spring and motor up to it. The spring hole itself had trout as well, but they were hard to catch. I heard rumors that there were a few big browns in the river below Blue Spring, but we never saw 'em.

oneshot- Thanks for the report. It's been a number of years since I've been to Leadmine. Before the Leadmine access was put in by the MDC we used to float fish that part of the river and take out at the little town of Celt. When I was a kid in the 1960s Celt even had a post office. What do you use to catch Redhorse? Pieces of freshwater mussel? Do you eat Redhorse? If so, how do you prepare it? Thanks...

Mark- Thanks for your eloquent description of your annual fall trip to the Eleven Point. I first floated the Eleven Point with my late Dad shortly after I graduated from high school in 1973. We fell in love with the river and floated it several times in the years since then. The last time we floated the river was back in the early 1990s. I hope it hasn't changed much since then. Sadly, my Dad passed away two years ago. I think he was happiest when he was floating on an Ozark stream. I noticed you mentioned Mizzou football. My Pop not only played football at MU, he coached there for almost 40 years.

Just curious, is there much of a market for pelts nowadays? I was a Fish and Wildlife biology major at Mizzou back in the 1970s and had classmates who trapped. They got decent $$ for their pelts, but, of course. it depended on what they caught. For instance, what would a prime otter pelt fetch these days? Thanks in advance.

I've floated the Niangua since the 1960s and my late Dad (who passed away 2 years ago) camped, fished and floated on the river since the 1940s, when there were very few people in that area. We try our best to avoid floating on weekends due to the canoe traffic. The "jacka** factor" is pegged on summer weekends on not only the Niangua, but any Ozark River. About 8 years ago, on a Saturday in early July, we floated the Niangua from Bennett to Barclay. We put in at about 5:30 a.m. and had the river to ourselves until NRO. The canoes coming out of NRO looked like hornets flying out of their nest. We dodged and weaved our way through them and got sprayed with water cannons, including my then 82-year old father. Inconsiderate a**h****. So, I'm not surprised that some idiot smacked you with a paddle. Glad your brother put him in his place.

Cricket- Thanks for the info. The Plaster family sounds familiar. Other than the ranch, are they prominent in some other way? When you say "the rest of the family is just as receptive to floaters" do you mean they're hostile to floaters, as in firing "warning shots" across the bow of one's canoe or john boat?! Also... How is the Niangua looking? Up and muddy, I would guess. I took my two boys on a float last Tuesday. It was their first experience trout fishing and they caught a few, so they had a great time. The river, then, was actually a little low, I thought, for this time of year. We took out at NRO right before a huge thunderstorm hit (hail, high winds, heavy, heavy rain). In looking at some of the gauages, it is probably unfloatable right now.

I've never floated the Osage Fork, but have wanted to for years. At one time, wasn't there a large ranch through which the Osage Fork flowed and the owner of the ranch did his best to keep people from floating through his property. (Al Agnew might be the guy to answer this). I think the place was called Empire Ranch and it was near where Highway 32(?) crossed the Osage Fork between Camdenton and Salem. Anyone remember this?

Thanks! That guy was indeed a traveler; must have some migratory salmon blood in him! I have fished the Niangua "off and on" for 40 years, but have rarely fished it above Bennett. Below Bennett, though, we have caught trout as far downstream as Blue Springs, but not on a consistent basis. Blue Springs is, what, 15 miles below Bennett? I would agree with you that high water probably encourages movement of trout both upstream and downstream of Bennett. The circumstances you described in catching the 16" rainbow is not surprising to me. In years past we would occasionaly keep a larger trout or two to broil for the table. Invariably, in cleaning these fish, we would find crayfish and minnows - smallmouth prey--in their stomachs. I think the bigger rainbows (above 14") which have been in the river for awhile, tend to take on the predatory habits of smallmouth bass.

CadillaCricket- My Dad is the late Clay Cooper. He retired from MU back in 1985, so I don't know that he received a car from your boss, although there has been a "courtesy car" program at MU for at least 40 years. It's a nice benefit to the coaches and athletic adminstrators, but it is a taxable benefit. It's not just at MU, but at almost all major college athletics programs across the country. I think the dealers get a tax write-off for it as well. Also... I think it was you who asked me about Blue Springs last week. I agree, it is truly a "hidden gem," although I have not seen it in over 20 years. As a kid, I used to camp with my Dad and his friend, Dr. Claude Bruner, about a half mile below Blue Spring on the farm of Henry Dampier. We would often motor upstream from our camp site to take in the beauty of the spring and to fish where the cold water of the spring entered the Niangua River. During the heat of mid-summer, trout, which had moved down from the upper reaches of the river during the cooler months, often congregated in that cooler water and sometimes swam into the spring hole itself.

Wow, interesting that you caught a rainbow that far up the river from Bennett Springs. I would assume that the MDC doesn't stock trout above Bennett. That trout would have had to swim upstream from Bennett to where you caught it. About how far above Bennett did you catch him?

Joe- Thanks again. I, too, would assume that Ed is Henry Dampier's son. The Niangua was always my Dad's favorite river, and is mine as well. He passed away last year at age 89, before we could take one last float on the Niangua. I did take him on a float in 2006. Even at age 88, he had no trouble catching fish. I would like to float that lower stretch of the Niangua again, if nothing esle to see if it has changed any. We last floated that part of the river in about 1985, and it was pretty "wild and wooly" with trees across the river in several locations between Blue Springs and the Lead Mine access. Creek Wader- We, too, had almost the exact same experience as you did the last time we floated the Niangua on a weekend. We put in at Sand Springs early on a Saturday morning in July and pretty much had the river to ourselves until we reached NRO. At that point, the river was "bank-to-bank" with drunken idiots shooting water canons at each other and us, including my then 84-year old father. Moral of the story: NEVER FLOAT AN OZARK RIVER ON A WEEKEND, if you want to fish and not be subjected to nudity and profanity. If that's your "thing," then have at it. I will say that the Niangua can be very nice stream to float, if you go on a weekday, particularly in the Spring before school is out (mid-April to late May). There are few floaters during those times.

Joe- Thanks very much for the history update on Blue Springs. No offense intended regarding Don Reagan. He was always nice to us when we saw him. "Ornery" is probably a better word to describe Don. My Dad coached football at the University of Missouri for almost 40 years and used to be one of the leaders of an annual coaches' camping and fishing trip to various Ozark rivers. These camping and fishing trips started in the 1940s when Don Faurot was the coach at Mizzou. They usually took this trip on the Current River, but other streams as well. In last 20 or so years of this tradition they always went to to the Niangua. One of the other "ringleaders" of this trip was a Columbia physician named Claude Bruner. Bruner purchased 100s of acres of land along the Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks right after Bagnell Dam was built and he also loved to camp/fish the Niangua River. His favorite place to camp was old Henry Dampier's farm. I assume that Ed Dampier is a son? Henry owned some bottom land along the Niangua, including a beautiful, shaded gravel bar where they would camp. I started camping there with my Dad in the mid-1960s up until sometime in the 1970s when Henry died. You mentioned "Ed's Campground." Was Henry Dampier's old farm a commercial campground at one time? From your post it appears that this land is all privately owned. Those certainly were some of the best times of my life, camping/fishing/floating the Niangua down around Blue Springs and Henry Dampier's farm. Thanks again for your post.

Blue Springs was, at one time (in the 1960s and at least the early 1970s) a private resort with cabins, canoe rental, camp ground etc. At some point it was sold and the resort closed. I think you could still take a canoe out there, for a fee, but I'm not certain of that. The resort was owned by a TWA pilot who lived in KC and was run by a guy named Don Regan. Regan was a somewhat "nutty" as I recall. I haven't floated that stretch of the river in about 20 years, so I don't know what the present status is of Blue Springs. I don't think, though, that it is a public access. Lead Mine is the next public access, I believe, and that is quite a ways more down the river. That lower stretch is not floated as much as the sections immediatly above and below Bennett Springs. The lower section (below Prosperine) is almost all "warm water" fishing (bass, goggle eye etc.) although I remember, as a kid in the 1960s and 70s, occasionally catching a trout in mid-summer in the cooler water immediately below where the Blue Spring branch dumped into the Niangua. Before the Lead Mine access was built, the only place you could take out before Tunnel Dam was the little village of Celt (which doesn't appear on most maps now). Back in the mid-1960s Celt even had a U.S. Post Office.

My Dad, who passed away last year at age 89, first took me on the Eleven Point in 1973. We made arrangements for our float through a family called Huffstedder (sp). They had a canoe livery and store at Riverton. At that time, an elderly gentleman in the Huffstedder family was helping run the business. He told us stories about guiding fisherman on the river by "polling" a homemade john boat up and down the river, no paddles and no motor. One of our family's good friends was Dr. Claude Bruner, a Columbia (MO) ENT doc. He had fished Ozark rivers since the 1930s and had been on every floatable stream in Missouri and Arkansas. He had a wooden john boat made the the elder Huffstetter, the same fellow we had met the first time we went on the Eleven Point. That old john boat was incredibly sold and heavy; almost impossible to flip. As I recall, it was made of yellow and white pine. We continued to float the Eleven Point off and on for the next 20 years or so. Sometime in the 1980s one of the younger Huffstedder boys (I think he was a teacher in the Alton area) served as our fishing guide. I wonder if any of the Huffstedder family continues to live in the area?

Brian, Gavin- Thanks for your responses. I had, in past years, heard that the NPS was against stocking trout below Akers based on the "non-native species" argument. It just seems odd that the NPS would have such a policy which prevents stocking below Akers, when there already are trout in the Current. As to why the NFS would prevent brown trout from being stocked in the Eleven Point, well, I really don't understand that position.

Right, Wayne. Unfortunately for the church groups, boyscouts and families who enjoy floating the Ozark streams it's the people typified by "Erin" who, through rudeness and aggression "rule" the rivers on the weekends. Greater law enforcement presence (as Al Agnew suggested) is the answer. Whether the "powers to be" have the will (and manpower) to do it, is doubtful.

Gavin- Thank you for your in-depth response. For some reason, I thought that the Eleven Point was a National Scenic River, similar in status as the Current. I know that there is a wild trout fishery on th Eleven Point, along with a stocking program; so I wondered why it is OK with the National Park Service to stock the Eleven Point, but not the Current? Maybe the two streams each have a different status. Anyway, thanks again.

Interesting thread. My brother, my (then 84) Dad and I made the mistake of floating the Niangua River on a Saturday a few years ago. We were fishing, so we put in at sunrise at the Bennett Springs Access. We had the river virtually to ourselves until we reached the first private campground (NRO). The canoes coming out of the launch site reminded me of hornets flying out of a hive. We had our old 1958 square-stern Grumman with a three-horse motor on the back. As we maneuvered through the flotilla of drunken canoeists, we were repeatedly peppered with "hey, that's not fair" (to have a motor), "can we hitch a ride?" All that's OK, (but a little tiresome when you hear the same thing over and over). What is more than just a little annoying is to get blasted by the "water cannons" some of these jackasses had. It didn't matter to them that we had our elderly father in the canoe, who really didn't appreciate the soaking. After a couple of miles, we evenually outran them. We vowed never to float on weekends again. Unfortunately, I think this problem is nation-wide. It's just a lack of civility and rudeness that reflects a society "where anything goes." Here's a link to an interesting article on this topic that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...9D?OpenDocument

Gavin- You appear to be very knowledgeable about the Current River; do you know what happened to the proposal to start stocking trout below Akers? As I recall, the Missouri Department of Conservation was all set to implement a stocking plan back in 2003 or 2004. Just curious. Thanks....

Is the business still owned by the Huffsteder family? My first trip on the Eleven Point was in 1973 and we used their canoe livery. At the time, there were several Huffsteders involved in the business including an elderly gentleman who was probably 75 at the time. He had some great stories about growing up on the Eleven Point back when that area was a near wilderness. He talked about guideing on the river by "polling" customers upstream in a homemade johnboat, and then floating back down. He was known throughout that area for the john boats he made, using native white pine lumber. In fact, our old next door neighbor in Columbia, an ENT MD, had been floating the Ozark rivers since the 1930s and knew "Old Man" Huffsteder well, as a guide and an expert john boat maker. In fact, he owned one of Huffsteder's boats. I often wonder what happened to it...

Captain T16- Thank you for your kind message. Despite being 88, my Pop is still mentally sharp and in pretty darn good shape physically, but has trouble with his balance when trying wade the river. If we get him a good wading staff, he might be able to join us for a few more years.

That's sad. We never float on weekends, because of the alcohol-fueled crowds of "sportsmen" on the Ozark streams. I'd wager that alcohol had a role in this death.

I took my 88-year old Dad on what may be his last float trip last Thursday on the Niangua. I've camped and floated Ozark streams with him since the mid-1960s and he has been doing the same since the late 1940s. The Niangua is our favorite river, and it was a great trip as we reminisced about our experiences together over the past 40 years. I'll always treasure our time together and I feel very lucky to still have him with us. The river was about 2" below optimum level, but still had plenty of water to provide good "holes" for holding fish. We stayed at Sand Springs Resort on Wednesday night and, at daybreak, put in just above Bennett Springs access. We took out about 5 miles downriver. We had enough action to keep us interested, catching Rainbows here and there. The only "negative" for the trip was the fact that the roughly six mile stretch of the Niangua between Bennett Springs and the Department of Conservation's Barklay Access has seen quite a boom in "development" over the past 10 years. In just the 14 months since I last floated that section of the river, a new "high end" resort (Riverwoods) a private access and a new campground have all sprung up on the banks of the Niangua. Virtually all of the land along the Niangua is privately owned, and it seems that everytime a piece of land along the river is up for sale, it is bought and commercialized. We haven't floated any other Ozark streams in recent years, so I don't know if this "problem" (I guess some would call it "progress") is seen elsewhere. With this development comes more canoe traffic. Although not nearly what you would see on a summer weekend, I was still surprised at the number of canoeists and johnboat fishermen we saw on a Thursday.

Sorry, Sloss, but what is "MOAT?!?"