Eleven Point River

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For ten years now, I've been floating the Eleven Point River quite a bit, and getting to know the wild trout area pretty well. The scenery is gorgeous, but I've always wondered what lay in the land beyond the riverbanks. The past year or so, I've been entertaining the idea of hiking to the area of one of my favorite spots, just above Mary Decker Shoal (a mile aboveTurner's Mill). I recently discovered that in the past few years, a section of the Ozark Trail, called the Eleven Point River loop, has been added but has rarely been used. The forestry service said that the hike to my intended area from Greer Campground (Hwy 19 bridge area) would be no more than four miles and would be relatively easy. I got the topographical map of the area (Greer quadrangle, available at Springfield Blueprint for $4 or at the Forest Service office in Winona, 573-325-4233). It showed an old logging road to the area, too, running with the trail a large portion of the way.

Sunday afternoon, accompanied by my (retired Army Special Forces) friend Pete Rothrock and my unfaithful lab Ringo, we packed our way in with 50-pound packs, reaching the destination in about two hours. We made a few shortcuts off the trail, including crossing a feeder stream and a brushy area that wouldn't be passable in summer months due to plant growth. Bill Whitaker and his teenage son, Luke, met us at our campsite Monday morning. Staying on the main trail, it took them about 2 1/4 hours to reach it. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and other than a few horse droppings, we saw no recent use of the area. You can camp anywhere in the area, so long as you try to stay out of view of the river, and use "leave no trace" camping principals. More information about area use rules is available throughout the area Forest Service Office in Winona, on hwy 19 north of hwy 60, 573-325-4233.

As for the fishing, I would call it slow. Water was very low and clear for this time of year. It was about a foot lower than when I was there two weeks ago, and fishing action much slower. I managed to catch about ten fish total, one in the 18" range. The usual large Princes, black stoneflys, and egg patterns produced fish. I did see a variety of small caddis and mayfly hatches, but no rises to them.

Although the nights were well below freezing, I did manage to pick up some ticks, so apparently this winter's snow didn't get all of them. Bummer. We hiked back, staying on the main trail on Tuesday, enjoying the beautiful sun, and wondering why I'd packed the extra rain gear.

Overall, the trip was very rewarding, and I now have a much better feeling for all that scenery I've been floating by for the last decade. I'd still recommend floating it for the best fishing, because of thick bamboo and thickets around some of my favored areas. I'd suggest you do this hike only in late fall, winter, or early spring, due to foliage and pests. Seeing the ruins of an old cabin and knowing that people once worked the land there made me have a better understanding of what life was like there fifty years or more there. The area was logged up until the fifties, and the trees were mostly pine, according the forest service. The hardwoods we see now are a result of their takeover after the pines were removed. Only occasionally will you see a pine in this forest.

As for the low points of the trip, I learned to not let my dog lay on my brand-new army cold-weather liner (he chewed it up), and that some dogs think they're meant to retrieve fish and flies too. Several of the fish I caught surely have a story to tell their grandkids.

I'm doing a program about flyfishing for wild trout there for the Ozark Paddlers Club, on Thursday, April 12, 7 pm, at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. That same night, our club president, Steve Jensen, will be doing a program for SMFF on saltwater fly fishing.