GotaFish

Thanks again for all of your responses. Everyone's willingness to respond and provide guidance and advice is what makes this forum so Great. Given that the water is high and the temperatures are forecast to be 95+, we decided to postpone this weekend's trip until late in the summer.

Thanks for your valuable information and suggestions. It does look like the private access at the old highway 133 bridge is closed. How is fishing and access further upstream? Maybe from Barlow to Gasconade Hills or to Hazelgreen? Is there a boat ramp at Barlow where I can launch my Shaunee?

A couple of life long friends and I are going to float the Gascondae from Hwy 133 to Hwy 7 this Saturday. The gauge at Hazel Green shows: The river was at 4.48 ft on June 15, 17.84 ft on June 17 and 6.96 ft today. If they don’t get any more rain we should be good to go on Saturday. Although I just checked and when I floated it last year it was at 2.18 ft. So we are going to have a lot of water and will probably be a pretty fast float. Any advice you have for our trip will be appreciated.

This is an awesome thread. At the moment, I can't remember my first smallmouth, but I do know they are my favorite fish to catch and the Niangua is my favorite river to catch them on. On a float from Lead Mine to Berry Bluff last year I caught a 19 incher that was a beautiful fish. I caught her or she caught me on a purple chatter bait. I say that because this fish did not stop fighting. Also, the look in her eyes said once you get this hook out of my mouth I am going to kick your axx. I can't wait to get back there this year.

I apologize in advance for this response, but I took a poll at the New Year's Party I was attending and it was unanimous, if given the option all of the ladies would go with the "Long Shaft"

Missouri man charged for illegally killing mountain lion while deer hunting

I am not sure what hubs I have. Just stick the grease gun on and squirt in a little grease. I do know that my Dad tells me every time he sees the trailer that I need to replace the bearings. I also know that in the same time period my Dad has replaced the bearings and hubs on the trailer used to haul his Champion at least a dozen times, including replacing the entire axel. At least one time his bearings burned up on the way home from the shop after the bearings were replaced.

So based on the conversation in this string I am thinking I should probably be looking to replace the bearings on the trailer I use to haul my 2005 Shawnee. Other than adding some grease once in a while I have done nothing to the bearings in 19 years

Last month I placed my first order with Tackle Max. I got some Craws, Hellgramites, Fugitive Swimbaits and Max Blitz jig heads. I was very pleased with my purchase as it was apparent the jig heads were specifically designed to be paired with the Craws and Swimbaits. I caught over a dozen smallmouth on a Monkey Milk Swimbait and it is ready to catch a dozen more on my next trip.

My friends, Joe, Tom and I had a great trip on the Gasconade on Tuesday. It was our first time on the Gasconade. We floated in my 20’ 6” Shawnee from the Hwy 133 bridge to Hwy 7. Getting to the river at Hwy 133 was quite an adventure, my Dodge Ram bottomed out a few times in the huge holes and one 3 foot deep crater on the path down to the river. The river and fishing started out a little slower than we are used to on the Niangua. But thanks to my new Tackle Max lures we had a great day. We caught over a hundred fish total with most of them being dinks, but we caught about a dozen 12+ small mouth with 6 over 15 inches including 2 that were 17+ inches. We also caught some green bass, but no goggle eye. The larger fish were caught on a Tackle Max Monkey Milk Swim Bait using a 1/4 Max Blitz head. This brings me to the above and beyond of my story. I had never used any Tackle Max products, but decided it was time I gave them a try. So on August 26 I placed my order and to ensure I received my lures on time I paid for expedited shipping. My order was confirmed and my lures were scheduled to arrive on Friday, August 30. To my surprise on that day I received an update from USPS that my shipment had gone from Fenton, MO to St. Louis, MO and for some unknown reason onto a USPS facility in Omaha, Nebraska. This meant I would not be receiving my shipment in time for my trip to the Gasconade. Being disappointed with my delayed shipment I sent an email to Tackle Max. To my surprise, I received a response 30 seconds later from Mitch Fields. To ensure my fishing trip was a success, Mitch offered to meet me at the Gasconade on Tuesday morning with my lures. Wow, what great customer service, I ended up meeting Mitch in Chesterfield where he provided me with the lures we needed for a successful trip. BTW, it is now September 5 and I am still waiting for the USPS to deliver my original shipment.

Gavin, Do you know if there are suitable boat ramps on the Gasconade at the Hwy 133 Bridge and the Hwy 7 [Mitschele MDC Access]? We might try doing this float instead of the Big Piney. Thanks, Jim Arnold

Thank you for sharing your information. I think I am just going to shuttle my to friends. They are going to float in a two man pelican and should be able to haul it over any obstacles.

My friend and I are looking to go on our first float of the Big Piney. We are looking at about a six mile float from Boiling Spring to Mason's Bridge. I have a 20.6 Shawnee River Jon, that does great on the Niangua and other rivers. The boat will be packed very light for this day trip and will easily float through 4 inches of water, but I have two important questions. First are the boat ramps at Boiling Spring and Mason's bridge accessible to launch my Shawnee with my Ram 1500? Second, will there be enough water to float my Shawnee without having to portage it (this is not doable for two guys). Do not have problems dragging it through riffles, but cannot carry it. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

This is just a sad story, the Huzzah looks like it was doing pretty good, but this illegal activity has taken a significant toll on the small mouth population.

Thanks for the advice. I Goggled Chicken snake and the photos were a pretty good match.