First Week Of June

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm heading down to fish early June, and I'm kicking around the idea of doing it a bit different this year.Last time, we floated the entire trout area (from Greer to Riverton) and that was a lot of fun. But still, there was just a bit too much paddling and not quite enough wading for me doing 20 miles in three days. So instead, I'm this time I'm thinking about paddling to a gravel bar on a nice looking run that's wadeable, setting up camp, and fishing there for two or three days. I know I won't see as much territory that way, but I figure I might be able to get to know a nice stretch pretty well, which sounds like a good idea.

Is this a decent plan? If so,should I do it in the Blue or White Ribbon area that time of year?

[superfly]

White Ribbon it should be stocked that time of year.

[ozark trout fisher]

White Ribbon it should be stocked that time of year.

Thanks.

I've heard that the fish are kind of few and far between in the Blue Ribbon area in late spring/early summer. Any truth to that?

[jdmidwest]

If I had 2 or 3 days in the area, I would not limit myself to one spot on the 11pt. I would camp at Greer Access and use it for a base camp and scatter my time in many places. If I had a boat, I would paddle up or down from Greer and fish. Go to Whitten and do the same. Maybe go to Cane Bluff and wade up or down. Fish Mc Cormick Lake. Run down to Spring River for a day and take a float. Run up to Upper Jack's Fork for a day. Arrange for a shuttle and take a few day floats on the 11pt. Drive around and see the sights and do some hiking. Fish the Hurricane Creek for an afternoon. Go visit Grand Gulf. Explore any of the many small creeks around the area. Fish Fourche Lake. All would be within a 30 to 45 minute drive from Greer.

In all my years in the area, I have never took an overnight, 2 day float on any stream. I have always set up a base camp and did day floats. I have motored to a spot in the afternoon on the river and camped out for the night on a gravel bar and fished the next day.

[Brian Sloss]

You could do just as you suggested, but instead, I would just shorten the float if 20 miles was too far. You could do Cane Bluff to to Turner (13 miles) and get a taste of smallmouth and trophy trout. You could do Greer to Whitten (12 miles) and get Blue and white ribbon trout. I would get a little stir crazy fishing one or two shoals for 3 days, but that is just me.

[ozark trout fisher]

You could do just as you suggested, but instead, I would just shorten the float if 20 miles was too far. You could do Cane Bluff to to Turner (13 miles) and get a taste of smallmouth and trophy trout. You could do Greer to Whitten (12 miles) and get Blue and white ribbon trout. I would get a little stir crazy fishing one or two shoals for 3 days, but that is just me.

I like the Cane Bluff to Turner idea a lot. I've been wanting to try the upper reaches for smallmouth, but would also like to fish for trout. There is one shoal that I camped on and fished the last trip in the general vicinity of Turner Mill (don't know the name or even whether it has a name) that I wouldn't mind spending a few days on though... Decisions, decisions.

Thanks all for the advice. Sorry to ask so many questions.

[jdmidwest]

I like the Cane Bluff to Turner idea a lot. I've been wanting to try the upper reaches for smallmouth, but would also like to fish for trout. There is one shoal that I camped on and fished the last trip in the general vicinity of Turner Mill (don't know the name or even whether it has a name) that I wouldn't mind spending a few days on though... Decisions, decisions.

Thanks all for the advice. Sorry to ask so many questions.

If it had alot of rocks then it would be Mary Decker, a great place to pitch a tent. You could even fish the warm water creek on the west side or the east side above it.

[ozark trout fisher]

If it had alot of rocks then it would be Mary Decker, a great place to pitch a tent. You could even fish the warm water creek on the west side or the east side above it.

This one wasn't Mary Decker, but that's an interesting idea as well. Last time through I was so busy not trying to bust up the canoe there that I never even stopped to fish at Mary Decker. I suspect that was a mistake.

Thanks for the tip.

[Mark]

Ozark Trout Fisherman,

It just goes to show you - different strokes for different folks. Your idea is exactly how we like to do it - especially for a nice change of pace. We float 5-6 times a year (and limit our floats to 7 miles for the exact reason you stated - too much time paddling instead of fishing), but once a year we like to set up camp and stay there the whole time.

Me and a buddy will be on the river also the first week of June and will be camping at one spot all week instead of floating (with a couple more people joing us later in the week). We find it much more relaxing - we even take our guitars!! One suggestion you might want to consider - we hire Mike Jones from Hufstedlers to haul us and all our gear in to our camping spot and we arrange for him to come and pick us up on whatever day we want. That way we can haul in everything but the kitchen sink and not worry about dumping our canoe. A good cooler with block ice will last 3-4 days. Mike does this for us for about $30 per person.

The secret is finding a spot where you can wade upstream and downstream about a 1/4 mile or so. That time of year you are going to catch fish about everywhere up and down the river. We actually got a laugh last year as we would time ourselves - we would sit in our lawn chairs and get up and catch a fish once an hour right at our camp!! We did this all day without fail!! What is nice about this method is you can fish the ideal times of day, early morning and late evening, and not have to worry about setting up or tearing down camp each day. We would also cook our main meal of the day in midafternoon and have all evening to fish, enjoy happy hour, play guitar, and listen to Cardinal baseball on the radio.

As we are totally bait fishermen, we stay in the White Ribbon area. There are numerous spots we have stayed for several days. Stinking Pond (1/4 mile down from Turner Access), Tumbling Shoals (the largest, swiftest shoals about halfway between Turner and Whitten), and Whites Creek (about 1/4 mile down from Whitten)are a few of our favorites (AND MY BUDDIES WILL BE MAD AT ME FOR GIVING UP OUR HONEY HOLES!!). And all of these place provide afternoon and evening shade. But we are trying a new spot this year for some variety.

I highly recommend trying your idea out. After a couple days of getting camp set up just right, you won't want to leave. IF you see a couple guys sitting on a gravel bar with guitars, stop by for a cold one and hear some Ozark Mountain Daredevils!!!!

[Brian Sloss]

There is a nice gravel bar at Little Hurricane shoals accross a deep hole from where Little Hurricane creek puts in that you could spend a couple days at.