Big Piney Report

[ozark trout fisher]

I floated the stretch from Slabtown to Ross on Monday and Tuesday, and I was pretty impressed by the scenery and the fishing. Things started off well, when on the first cast, on the first day, I hooked into a 12 inch smallie. That was pretty much an omen for things to come. Every pool that looked even remotely right produced fish. The size of the fish wasn't exceptional (lots of 10-14 inchers, quite a few smaller fish, and one 17 inch beauty), but the action combined with the beautiful scenery really made for a great day. I set up camp on a gravel bar about 5 1/2 miles below Slabtown, and fished that spot for a bit before setting up camp. It was a beautiful run where a fast riffle dumped into a deep, blue-green pool. The smallies were just stacked right at the head of the pool, and weren't the least bit shy about hitting the Rebel Crawfish that I was using. Once again, no monsters, just a lot of decent sized fish.

Finally I quit fishing for the evening and made dinner. After dinner, I just sat around till the last of the light began to leave the river, tied on a black Jitterbug, and went back to fishing. I fished until about 11 P.M. I caught significantly fewer fish on the night shift, but they did average a bit larger (12-15 inches mostly). Anyway, it was a pretty interesting experience night fishing for smallies, something that I had never done before.

The fishing stayed steady the next day, even though it was horrifically hot outside. Not surprisingly, the fish were hanging in the deep, shaded water during the heat, preferably with some current nearby. I didn't catch as many fish day two, but that was to be expected. I had done a bit less than half of the distance the first day, so I had to paddle quite a bit more. Still, I got the chance to fish quite a bit and caught a few nice fish. But the highlight of the second day was the bluffs for the last for the last couple miles before the takeout at Ross Bridge. It was truly some of the most impressive scenery I've come across on an Ozark river. I will be back soon.

As for what the fish took- A Rebel Teeny Crawfish with a brown body and an orange belly worked best, in the deep diving version. I also had success on Baby Bombers and Rooster Tail spinners, as well as Jitterbugs at night.

Also, for those who are planning to do that float, there is a huge blowdown all the way across the river about halfway between Slabtown and Ross. It made for an interesting little drag through there... It is interesting now, but it would be extremely treacherous at high water.

[KCRIVERRAT]

Sounds like a great trip OTF! I've fished that many times in the past but the last was 4yrs. ago I believe. Those bluffs down below Six Crossings are mighty impressive. I've camped 4 or 5 times at that long, tall one where the river turns left and there it sits river right. Nice report... I'm heading to the JF for an extended weekend. I'll give a report with some nice pics hopefully.

[eric1978]

How many other floaters did you see?

[ozark trout fisher]

Yeah, it was a lot of fun . I hope to get back really soon. Have fun on the JF!

I saw maybe 7 or 8 other canoes throughout the course of two days, which was a lot less than I was expecting. It was really nice to pretty much have the river to myself for a couple days.