BrianK

I'd check out REI.com also. Bought their 2 man pack tent last summer. VERY pleased. I think it comes in a 3 man, 3 season too and should be in the $200 ballpark. bk

Below Tunnel Dam is in my near future.Been on my list for a while now. only 30 min for me and i've heard good things from guys around here. Almost went 2 wks ago but went futher upstream on the Niangua with my 4 yo...smallies still sleeping then. Supposed to be a good mixed bag of tailwater fish there...whites, walleyes, smallies, crappie. Will report when i finally check it out. Too many streams, not enough warm weather! Looks like the rivers are flooding tonite. Anyone have any experience on Tavern Creek? I cross it on Hwy 42 E of Iberia all the time and intend to check it out this summer also. Any hostile landowners, areas to stay away from, etc. I would probably wade it. Brian

I didn't exactly give much notice. will try to give a little more heads up next visit. Maybe i'll see you out there Sun am. i may be having church at the Falls later, B

Great fish! Brian- You are probably booking up fast with that post/pic but if you are open this sat am (the 14th), i'll be down at Casey riffle...if you want to fish instead of guide. Weather looks uncooperative but that's ok, just fewer folks on the river. let me know. ( i sent you a PM a couple days ago too) B

Thanks Al. Too bad we let things go like that. Hopefully our kids' kids will see the result of some of that slow healing and not the continued slow decline of our great rivers and streams. Pretty sad to just read what you have watched happen over the last 25 yrs.

Unless you are really close by, i wouldn't waste your time. The MDC smallie map shows all kinds of water in that watershed but i found hardly any water at all. I live here at LOZ and checked it out a couple summers ago...there was a bad drought at the time which obviously didn't help things....could be different now with fish overflowing the banks. I fished at the last low water crossing before the lake and caught a few in that stretch but it's only about a 1/4 - 1/2 mile down to the lake. walked up a ways but not enough water to float a shiner and minimal cover. I think those guys are protected b/c it's a tiny spring creek in the northernmost smallie territory. I wondered the same thing about the catch and release regs and thought it could be great or marginal....definitely marginal from my one visit. Hey, you'd probably be all alone though!!! Anyone else with any experience there? bk

Sounds pretty good considering conditions. Did you just stay at Rolf or go all the way to Blair??? I'm looking at possibly getting down Mar 31 - Apr 1st. i'll let you know. Maybe Hank and cousin will float by. (what will you guys be in???) bk

how bout 'restock' the shrimp???? Have they (MDC) looked at restoring the shrimp population or has the water quality changed too much to get them back?

hey all. whoa..... i also seriously didn't mean to offend anyone either. I was actually being serious...I really had NO idea. (the "sshhhh" part cuz i'll keep the secret : ) Bill- I did appreciate your input and honestly didn't know... I have enjoyed all your reports. my apologies. keep em coming. Wasn't trying to come across as a know it all...especially since it is obvious that i didn't know much the other day. If i could've seen em i would have casted to em... Heck, all yours and Phil's reports recently are the reason I was down there. I agree that this site is extremely valuable and i do appreciate all the expertise and experience here. wish i could've cleared that up quicker Bill before everyone chimed in. again, my apologies. Brian

I recognize that river by the water in the background and the markings on the fish!! I'm happy with anyone of those fish in a whole summer! Still have yet to land a 20" smallie...good to see they're out there and FAT. Thanks for the report. bk

wow. yeah, i had no idea. sshhhhhh. b

Great report. here's my humbling one... Ok so i'm starting to believe in getting a guide for the next trip... I too thought i could catch a few fish but was pretty humbled by Taney this past sunday (11th). After reading Frenzels and Bill's reports, and craziness of 2 fish per minute...i'm thinking....what a bunch of liars. Ok, not really, just that i have alot of learning to do on tailwaters. Boated from Cooper Ck up past Fall Ck. fished from 1030 till about 2:00 dodging boats and hoping we didn't turn into one of Phils / Bills horror story statistics. Caught a few (maybe 10-15 between the 3 of us)but definitely not the 40-60-150 fish being touted here. Didn't see folks hauling in the fish either so I didn't feel that bad at the time...now i'm wondering??? maybe should have gone further up? repeated the drift until they turned on? or until we turned on? different stretch of river? nightcrawlers? powerbait? anything. So we left with tails between legs...ran down to Norfork dam and did a little better on Monday. Big thanks to Phil and Leonard for hooking us up! (or trying at least) Great to finally meet you guys. Keep the 4 fish per minute reports coming and i'll be back! Brian

Brian- Thanks for the good info. Been out there lately?? any recent reports (anyone) ?? Just got back from Taney and Norfork tailwater Mon pm and ready to get back to the upper river. bk

Yeah, that must've been you walking up without a rod in hand? I think you may have told me that you were using small jigs - olive i think?? The thought crossed my mind if that was you (maybe from the caricature pic?)...should have asked. May have to meet up with you for a 1/2 day trip next time we are down. The brown and brook were the nite before and on a rapala. (giant dry fly) bk

John, My friend and I were taking out at Handicap at about 2:00. I've only been on the river once and took your advice on the previous post and floated from dam to Handicap Mon the 12th. Did you guys walk past 2 guys in a red canoe just up from handicap around noon? Was a very nice trip but less water and lots more people than i expected. I could have used your expertise though to get me on the right track. We still did fairly well and we'll be back. I caught a few on midges and copper johns. My buddy's were on eggs and jigs. I did manage to catch all 4 species though, so that was cool. Nice fat 22" brown at the dam across from the boat ramp, brookie after dark below the dam and the cutt down in the c&r area. Brian

Heading down to Taney Sat-Sun pm. May try to hit N.Fk Monday. Anyone know ballpark drive time from Branson to N.Fk dam?? I'll have a canoe and possibly a little boat (if motor works). May try to do this Quarry to Handicap (or Confluence) stretch. Is there a ramp at all 3 of those accesses? The whole river to the confluence is only about 5 mi right??? only fished it once below the dam yrs ago..... thanks, Brian

Leonard, You feeling ok? Figured you've been bedridden lately without the usual monster reports...until now. Strong work. Planning on coming down this Saturday afternoon(10th)and fish sat pm, all day sunday and until i have my fill Monday. I know wknds are not good for you but let me know if you can get out there sun nite or Mon am?? Are Folks still seeing shad coming thru? if not, sounds like they definitely are still keying in on 'shaddy' looking patterns. Looking forward to next wknd! Brian

Happened to be in Rolla today and just happened to take all my gear with me. Made a quick visit to one of my favorite little creeks that i haven't been on in a few yrs. Fished the wild area for just a couple hrs and managed to bring in 4 nice little wild rainbows. all about 8" with parr marks. A few other assorted creek chubs, minnows, shiners etc. No shad kills though (Taney's next wknd) That is a great little creek but as mentioned in other posts, good water can be long stretches apart. In pretty good shape where i was. Anyone going there (especially the wild streams) tread lightly. Anyone been next door on Mill Ck lately? was wondering if it is back on the upswing. Last few visits there (4 yrs ago)seemed like the fish were really in a down cycle b/c of drought, etc. Brian

Brian Wise can give better input on this but i would think no problem floating in the 1000-1500 range. river is still wadable / fishable there too but makes it a little tougher. Keep us posted. bk

Thanks for the advice guys...no anchor. drift only. I know things can go bad quickly. Not sure anyone got the 'Jaws' reference. Phil, how far are you from the dam? how long to drift (w/ 4 generators) to fall ck? your dock? just curious. never been below Pt. Royale. 2 wks to go! Brian

if anyone finds the camera the images may still be retrievable off the card. Someone was able to get them off a digital camera found under a dock here at LOZ last summer....seems like a guy could go stock up on jigs, flies, cameras, etc after they shut down the generators....

"we're gonnna need a bigger boat" now i've got a complex. thanks

atta boy! was wondering where the Leonard Files have been lately. i'm no math whiz but that sounds like 40+ fish in 4 hrs...not bad. Maybe more rain tomorrow will keep the shad suckin through. b

I would agree with all that. Boat, gear, fisherman under water...all bad. Especially this rig bk

Myron's site is another great resource to learn alot. www.RiverofLifeFarm.com Our first visit to N. Fork was to ROLF in 01 and it's now one of my favorite waters. Yes, it's developed but usually fishing in solitude. Brian