Any Suggestions Would Be Great

[snagged in outlet 3]

I tried last year and never got to it. Either the water was high or we couldn't go.

I'm determined to take my 11 year old daughter floating and fishing.

We'll go during the week and we want a short float with decent fishing. We spinfish with soft plastics and C n R.

We live in St. charles and want something relatively close.

Fire away!

Thanks, SIO3

[Outside Bend]

If you haven't checked out Onandoga Cave State Park before, you may want to plan a float around that area. The river there is pretty scenic, decent fishing, and weekday crowds probably won't be an issue. Plus the state park is worth a spending a few hours in, and it's one of the few caves which will remain open to the public for a while.

Have fun, always a great thing to take a kid out! : )

[lizard]

Im gessing your looking for smallies, a one day trip, and short float.... might try brickies to HV Resort

Wow ...the caves are closing? I'll have to let Lester know. Man to bad.. he just put in that zip-line too!

[patfish]

I like a 5 miler out of Ozark Outdoors(formerly Keyes, yeah Bear is still there) in Leasburg called the Courtois Primitive. Takes you on the Courtois, Huzzah and the Mac. Plus you take out right at your car. The only thing I don't like is that they won't put you on the water before 8 or 830 or some crap.

[Outside Bend]

Im gessing your looking for smallies, a one day trip, and short float.... might try brickies to HV Resort

Wow ...the caves are closing? I'll have to let Lester know. Man to bad.. he just put in that zip-line too!

MDC is closing many of the public caves due to a fungal disease which is affecting many bat populations in the eastern US.

[Al Agnew]

Your girl will probably like Huzzah or Courtois better than the Meramec because the water is clearer. Fishing can be good on any of the three if you go during the middle of the week...but although I hate to say it, taking an 11 year old girl on a Friday or Saturday can be a nightmare because you're likely to run into idiots that have no compunction about using loud, foul language, exposing themselves to pee, and making lewd comments to anything that looks vaguely female. All these things happened on the Huzzah the last time my wife and I took our two nieces, 9 and 14 at the time, on a Friday. I really wished I was a 6'5" martial arts expert or had a very big handgun at the time.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Thanks everybody.

I'll look into the Huzzah and Courtois trip Pat. That sounds like what we are looking for. Thanks.

I know what you mean Al. I'm thinking Tuesday or Wednesday after the fourth. My wife and I used to float 4 or 5 times a year but we quit after a bunch of incidents you described.

Our last trip was horible. We were getting bullied by some drunk kids and I couldn't take it anymore. I had a few M-80's with me and started throwing them in the river. The kids backed off and went and told the authorities. Luckily we just blended in with a big crowd at the ramp and walked right past the drunken idiots to our car and drove away.

My wife's still mad about it and it was 7 or 8 years ago.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

SIO3

[Gavin]

That Cortois trip is a nice one..We usually do Butts slab(Bass Resort) to Scotia Bridge on the Huzzah(Browns Canoe), or pull out at Onandaga on the Meramec if we want a longer float(Ozark Outdoors). Its a total zoo on the weekends, but its usually peacefull early in the week (Sunday PM-Tuesday). Cheers.

[cwc87]

I get the question (where can I go with kids and catch fish away from the foul lanquage idiots) My best advice is definitley go during the week, and go before 9:00 a.m. so you can get ahead of the crowds. Now catching up with other people putting in down from your starting point is the next issue. Be familiar with what outfitters are on that stretch of river and what access points they use. Another tip is just stay away from rafts (they move slow and usually have a party crowd in them) plus they are hard to get by them. I think that question you asked is one that every fisherman, parent, and outfitter should be asked before you get on the water. As a outfitter myself, it is very hard to determine those who turn into foul lanquage idiots when they sign up for a float trip. And how to keep em from becoming one on our waterways. It's kinda like when I go to a cards game and a group behind me are foul lanquage idiots and drunk and I like to $#@$$#%^ them but i can't. Maybe if we had those gadgets you blow into to determine if your legal to drive if you have been drinking and try that to those before they embark on a float trip. (probably wouldn't matter).

[Al Agnew]

Corey has some great advice, and just to follow up on it a bit...the float that Ozark Outdoors does that they call the Courtois primitive or something like that would be great because you get to experience three different streams. But the problem with it is that you are in civilized water, mostly a long campground, from the put in on Courtois to below Scotia bridge. You'll be putting in with others probably, and then you may pick up more floaters at Scotia Bridge, and when you come out on the Meramec it'll probably be just in time to join the groups that are floating from the Bluffs on the Meramec.

Best bet might be to go to Huzzah Valley and ask them to put you in on whichever float that has fewer people booked on it for the day. Since Huzzah Valley is basically the only outfitter that regularly services the Huzzah, whatever canoes they are putting in are what you'll encounter. they do two 6 mile floats, one above their place and one from their place to Scotia Bridge.

You could probably do the same thing with Bass on the Courtois...they also do floats both above and below their place, if I remember correctly. Either creek is beautiful water.