BrianK

All I can say is awesome!. THIS is the legendary SHAD KILL that everyone's been asking about and thinking wouldn't come..... I guess the word is not out yet, i'd expect boats to be lined up down there. I'm bummin that i'm not coming down for another 3 wks....hopefully the 'hit anything white" pattern will hold up for a while. I was up late last nite tying up some white jigs anyway though after reading Phil's 'shad kill' article. Great reports. keep the therapy coming. question- how far down were you drifting before motoring back up?? Do you ever anchor or will it not hold (or too dangerous?) with fast water? Brian

did you make it out?

Heading down right this second to fish while the weather holds.... Be on the water by 6:30ish. I won't see any replies but cmon down and join me (i need all the help i can get) Pull me out if anyone sees me floating by.... Brian

yer killin me here. i'm sitting here plotting for this wknd and ...blam. Great nite. I may be down fri nite with reports like that. Brian

Brian, I ended up a no go last wknd but the schedule IS blocked this saturday. Still up and rolling with the recent round of rain. If flows look like they may get anywhere close to 1200-1000 then i'll probably try to make it down. Let me know if you are around this wknd and can break away. Keeping my eye on Taney too to see if they will every stop generating.....after last summer's drought though, it is good to see some water. Brian

I'm now 0 for the last 2 wknds for getting out fishing. Still trying to get down this wknd (again). Looks like the flow is settling down a bit but still rolling pretty good...4000-10000 cfs up and down. Still no motor working yet so reduced to wading only. Anyone know of a ballpark flow rate that one could still wade and reasonably fish without being stuck in the trees or the outlets? I've only seen Taney at dead low or very high. what's the middle ground for wading? thanks, Brian

thanks for the lead. i'll see if i can find him. Brian

thanks. I'll give him a call.

Before i seriously look at dropping money for the motors listed below, i'd like to see if i can revive the old 1974 20 horse Merc that i have. As i mentioned on the Boats/Motors thread, It runs well but starting is the problem. I've been told that the 'starter shiv' and 'starter pawls' (that probably makes sense to someone else) need to be replaced and that it is a common problem on old Mercury motors...and because so, are hard to find. I think basically the whole starter mechanism needs to be replaced. Thought i'd take a stab to see if anyone knows where to find an old Mercury laying around somewhere to find something like this ( before i start looking on .coms) thanks in advance for any help, Brian hey Phil, those motors still available? If i'm down Saturday, may pop in.

Same problem different guy... All this talk of hi water at Taney gets me thinking I need to get my old 20 hp 1974 Merc fixed. I also bought a little boat and motor last summer. runs well but starting is the problem.the 'starter shiv' and 'starter pawls' pooped out. This happened on my maiden voyage (and still only)on Taney last summer. Luckily no generation that am and i was able to limp back to the ramp with tail between legs. ouch. A Merc shop says those parts are hard to come by. Just thought I'd throw it out to see if anyone has an old Merc collecting dust in a shed somewhere before i head to ebay or Mercuryblahblahblah.com. thanks, Brian

will do. bk

Is there a magic temp to kill the little fellas? or just keep fingers crossed? Rescheduled my visit to this wknd. hopefully Sat am. Is a substantial shad kill a rarity (every 5-10 yrs) or does it happen more frequently? I've only read the legendary accounts of the fast furious action down on the White. Leonard, you any good for Sat am? I guess Phil will keep us posted. Brian

Thanks, I have some rapalas but not sure of size. No #s on them but I guess the size is on the package??? I may have been a little too optimistic on the weather!! Was going to come down to Spf today and fish tomorrow am. With half the city without power and the worst yet to come,looks like next wknd instead.......cabin fever's getting bad. Brian

I plan to be down there about 5:00 sunday am for church on the river if anyone wants to join me. (unless the roads are absolutely undrivable) Just got a new spinning rod also. May need to try the rapalas. What sizes were working? i have a couple small ones only about 2 in long. Bigger, rogue size? floaters? suspenders? looking forward to it! Let me know if you want to meet up. Brian

I've only fished Crane twice and it's been a few yrs. Most flies that you fish deep can also be very effectively dead drifted with spinning gear. egg patterns, woollies, stones, jigs do well. pinch on just enough split shot to cast and to get to the bottom and stay in touch with your fly. Heed all the advice previously given. except I didn't see any snakes either. good luck. Brian

Hey Leonard, I'll be down in Spf saturday visiting family. If the weather doesn't get too nasty, I was going to try to get out on the water early Sun am (5ish give or take) and fish a few hrs. Would love any company if anyone wants to brave the rain/sleet/snow... Let me know if any takers. I've only fished Taney a few times but am always up for an adventure. In a blue / gray Chevy silverado. Brian

Dave, have you been on the N. Fork yet? (tailwater or upper river?) If so, how'd you do? Was down last Sat and didn't fish too long but had pretty good luck. Eggs are the ticket there as well. Haven't fished the upper current much but need to pay a visit. Brian

yeah, was a gorgeous day. the bald eagle soaring overhead was a bonus. was fishing above the falls. I'd come back down next wknd but heading to SD for some pheasants before my dog forgets what birds are. she like trying to catch the fish though..... (Brian, PM sent too) BrianK

not sure about off season but NRO hooked me up back in Sep. they have a website. Bob(owner) and his son (?name ) went out of their way to help me with a shuttle.

Chilly this am...felt like I shoulda headed north for some bird hunting. Hadn't been down since June and was great to get back on my favorite water. Had it to myself (one reason it's at the top of my list) River running a little high with that great green color.Nice and full. fish not as skittish. Haven't checked the flow rate but it's very healthy. My 9yo was too cold to fish so I only fished from about 8-9 this am and 12-2 after lunch. Caught about 10 total..most in am. All rainbows including a very nice 20 1/2" . My biggest wild rainbow so far in MO. All on pink or red egg weighted heavily on bottom. Also tried pheasant tail, black stone, olive wooly bugger -no luck. was short but sweet. anyone else been on the N Fork lately? Guide Brian? Brian

17 3/4" meets my 'monster' criteria and those are darn nice fish. way to go. I have yet to cross the 19" threshhold for smallies but will keep on trying..... Let us know how the Gasconade turns out. Weather should be great! bk

joe- thanks for the info on your river!!! I really had the Niangua on my short list to check out in more detail and your report a few wks back just put me over the top. Made a few visits now and I look forward to checking out every inch of it. I'll give you a call. would like to get back down again this yr. Seems like there is a lot of very marginal water (maybe the time of year) but the fish really stack up in those 'secret' spots. bk

Any report yet? I love the little Piney too buthave mainly fished the upper reaches for rainbows. Have fished the lower river only a few times for smallies and sorry no better advice than already given above. A very nice thing is that you almost always have the stream to yourself! If you haven't gone yet and the smallies are less than cooperative, you do have some nice trout water very close by for Plan B (just in case). Lots of good info on this site or the MDC website. good luck.

LeadMine is an MDC area east of Tunas (on Hwy 73) on the West side of the river. Yeah, i've never actually checked water temps. The fishing just seems to slow way down but maybe i'm just not adjusting tactics to the winter pattern (whatever it is)....

I have only pursued them a few times when the water is cold (winter or very early spring) and never have done any good. Like the lake fish, I've heard of folks catching BIG fish on the bigger rivers in the winter but about now I usually focus more on trout water.... Anyone know the typical water temp that really slows the smallies down???