Blue Spring To Alley Spring

[Mike77]

I plan on floating from Blue Spring to Alley Spring on 5/12 through 5/15. I will be on the river for 2-1/2 days. I plan to fish, and do some off water exploring. Is that stretch possible in that amount of time? Given the recent rain event I imagine the water will still be up, but hopefully not TO high. I have only floated this river one other time in late September from Bay Creek to Alley Spring. So, any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[eric1978]

I would stop often to do a lot of fishing and playing around, because you could easily do that float in a day. Remember that section of river is a Smallmouth Management Area and be sure to know your regs! Have a good time...that's one of the prettiest stretches of river in the state.

[ColdWaterFshr]

Mike, I assume you'll look at the water gauge before you go. Here is the link:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv/?site_no=07065200&PARAmeter_cd=00065,63160,00060

National Park Service won't let you put on if it is much higher than 3, I think, or somewhere in that close range. Obviously it is closed now and probably for the next several days. I'm sure there will be trees crossing the river that need to be sawed out, too.

Jacks Fork drops out quick, but it all depends on how much more rain in the next 2 weeks and how much drying out time we get. If we keep getting peppered with these 1 and 2 inch rains every other dam day, we may all be building an Ark. Have fun - I want to get down there soon, too.

[Al Agnew]

If you are fishing hard and doing other stuff like climbing bluffs and exploring Jam-up Cave, etc. that stretch could take you three days in normal water for that time of year. On the other hand, if it's well above normal, the fishing will be tough and you could float the whole stretch in a day, as Eric said. It's easy enough to time your float. Plan on stopping the first night somewhere not far below Rhymers, and the second night not far below Bay Creek. If you find yourself passing those points at mid-day you know you're going faster than planned. And listen to ColdWatrFshr, if the weather pattern suddenly changes and the rain stops, the Jacks Fork could be down to spring normal levels by then...and if it keeps raining like it has been, you won't want to get on it. At any rate, can't stress enough to watch the weather forecasts! The Jacks Fork may be the most potentially dangerous stream in the state for flash flooding, and the ground is still going to be well saturated, so even if it's at normal level, a big thunderstorm in the upper watershed can bring it up very high very fast. I would not plan an overnight trip on it in early May this year if there is any chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.

[Mike77]

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I am an experienced paddler so I will definitely be paying attention to the weather reports and gauges. As of now it looks like it should be near ideal floating conditions by the time I get down there. Just cant get here soon enough, I am super stoked for my first float of the year.