GotaFish

Hello Phil, Would you please add me to the list to not receive ads,

I bought my lifetime fishing license about 20 years ago. It has been helpful to not have to worry about renewing every year. It was also helpful to have the lifetime trout stamp. Now I just have to remember to purchase my White River Lakes licenese every year. About 10 years ago I forget and fished the whole year without my White River Lakes license.

I watched with my daughter and agree it is worth seeing.

I am also interested in all sizes and colors of the Wiggle Warts

Bill, I volunteer to be your full-time picture taker 😀

My wife, who was a PETA member when we met 40 years ago, has always been big into saving every stray dog, cat or wild animal. About 20 years ago she had our two young daughters in the car when she saw about a 12 inch diameter snapping turtle get hit by a car. It had a broken shell and was stunned so she decided to load it into the passenger floor of her car and bring it home. She had no idea what she had picked up. By the time she got home it was no longer stunned and ready to take on the world. I was able to get it out of the car without losing any fingers. I then dropped my leather glove in front of the beast and he proceeded to chomp on it. At least she learned not to mess with snapping turtles. We ended up taking the poor thing to a wildlife rescue center and after we gave them $100 they nursed it back to health and released it back into the wild.

Yes, I tend to bring a chainsaw with me on most trips. I also agree the Niangua is a former shadow of itself, but unfortunately, we can say that about most rivers and lakes. Last year when the fishing conditions were better we had a much more productive day with a couple 18 inchers and dozens of fish from 12 - 15 inches. I am already looking forward to our next trip to the Niangua.

Well, my good friends, Mike, Joe and I made our trip to the Niangua this weekend. The biggest headline of the trip is it was HOT! The river was very low, we did not encounter any trees blocking the river and also did not encounter too many fish. On Saturday afternoon we fished from about 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM from the upper Leadmine Boat Ramp to the Millpond Road Access. On Sunday we got on the water around 8:00 AM and fished from Berry Bluff to the Tunnel Dam Boat Access, we were off the water by 5:00 PM. We had one 17" and one 15" smallmouth and at most two dozen smaller ones, we had about a dozen small google eye, and a few bluegill / pumpkinseeds along the way. Given the weather and river conditions we were not expecting fishing to be great, but it was great to spend time on my favorite River with two Great friends I have known for over 50 years. We are looking forward to doing it again soon.

My friends and I are planning to put my Shawnee in at the Upper Leadmine Boat Ramp tomorrow afternoon, fish upstream as far as we can go with a trolling motor. Then we plan to float down to the Mill Pond Road takeout. When I floated this stretch back in 2023 the river was completely blocked with a huge Sycamore. Does anyone know if the river is open now or is it still blocked? On Sunday, morning, we are planning to float from Berry Bluff to the Tunnel Dam Boat Launch. It is going to be crazy hot, but we will jump in the river to cool off.

My friends and I are planning to put my Shawnee in at the Upper Leadmine Boat Ramp tomorrow afternoon, fish upstream as far as we can go with a trolling motor. Then we plan to float down to the Mill Pond Road takeout. When I floated this stretch back in 2023 the river was completely blocked with a huge Sycamore. Does anyone know if the river is open now or is it still blocked? On Sunday, morning, we are planning to float from Berry Bluff to the Tunnel Dam Boat Launch. It is going to be crazy hot, but we will jump in the river to cool off.

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"