2 Day Float Suggestion

[TroutRinger]

I'm planning a two day float for about 8 of us total in mid-August. We are going to camp Friday night and float Saturday and Sunday. What's a good section of the river for fishing with either a campsite or ample on-shore spots to camp in the middle? We are looking more for smallies but definitely don't mind some rainbows. We'll need canoe's and shuttle service as well.

Also, how does the Eleven Point compare to the Jack's Fork as far as speed of floating? We usually float Alley to Two Rivers (16 miles) on the JF fishing heavily on the way in about 12 hours.

[Brian Sloss]

You probably won't have enough water at Thomasville in August, but if you do and you want smallies, Thomasville to Greer would be good at 18 miles. Cane Bluff to Turner would be 12 miles with both smallmouth and trophy trout water. You could go Cane Bluff to Whitten at 20 miles and get smallmouth, Blue ribbon trout and white ribbon trout. You could do Whitten to 142 which has smallies and white ribbon trout and is about 17 miles. The speed of the river will be somewhat similar to Jacks fork, but bigger below Greer spring than Jack's Fork. Feel free to call me if you need a canoe @ 417-778-6497. The blue ribbon trout area will probably fish best at that time, but will not give you much smallmouth action in that stretch. With a handle like yours, I figured you would want to trout fish. Smallmouth are found in all stretches, but are more populated in some stretches (upstream of Greer and downstream of Riverton, though there are good numbers between Whitten and Riverton).

[TroutRinger]

You probably won't have enough water at Thomasville in August, but if you do and you want smallies, Thomasville to Greer would be good at 18 miles. Cane Bluff to Turner would be 12 miles with both smallmouth and trophy trout water. You could go Cane Bluff to Whitten at 20 miles and get smallmouth, Blue ribbon trout and white ribbon trout. You could do Whitten to 142 which has smallies and white ribbon trout and is about 17 miles. The speed of the river will be somewhat similar to Jacks fork, but bigger below Greer spring than Jack's Fork. Feel free to call me if you need a canoe @ 417-778-6497. The blue ribbon trout area will probably fish best at that time, but will not give you much smallmouth action in that stretch. With a handle like yours, I figured you would want to trout fish. Smallmouth are found in all stretches, but are more populated in some stretches (upstream of Greer and downstream of Riverton, though there are good numbers between Whitten and Riverton).

Thanks for the info. I do love trout fishing, but the group I am going with rarely, if ever, fishes for trout. And honestly, having never fished a river, I would be much more confident in my ability to catch smallies than trout.

[Stoneroller]

greer to riverton is a nice 2 day float. there are float-in campgrounds around horseshoe bend to camp at, or you could just camp on the bend. mostly a trout stream in that section, but really beautiful. beware of the river patrol though, they are hot and heavy down there and use the typical, hide in the bushes and watch gravel bars then come blasting up river in their jet boat to rain on your parade. "officers will be waiting for you at the takeout" has ruined many a people's float on that stretch. I've never had an issue with them, but everytime i've been there i've seen multiple groups get popped. unfortunately that kind of overbearing, draconian pressure on floaters doesn't do a single good thing for the reputation of the river or the area.

[scotth]

greer to riverton is a nice 2 day float. there are float-in campgrounds around horseshoe bend to camp at, or you could just camp on the bend. mostly a trout stream in that section, but really beautiful. beware of the river patrol though, they are hot and heavy down there and use the typical, hide in the bushes and watch gravel bars then come blasting up river in their jet boat to rain on your parade. "officers will be waiting for you at the takeout" has ruined many a people's float on that stretch. I've never had an issue with them, but everytime i've been there i've seen multiple groups get popped. unfortunately that kind of overbearing, draconian pressure on floaters doesn't do a single good thing for the reputation of the river or the area.

So what are the river patrol busting people for?

Scott

[Stoneroller]

the group i saw the first time i was down there was busted for smoking a joint on a sandbar. not a single other person in sight, the cops were in the bushes watching, called their buddies down stream who came up in the boat, the group tossed the roach in the gravel, when they heard the boat, and stomped it in, which the lurker saw. when his crew showed up they searched the gravel for a full hour just to find .0003grams of weed. sorry, but that's ridiculous. 2nd group I saw got busted for similar consumption, again, by themselves, not like they were on a crowded gravel bar or drunk as hell and screaming and yelling and generally causing havoc. Clearly just a money making effort by the local constables. just a word of warning, that area is economically depressed and this is one of the ways those areas make money. bust people for nonsense, fine them, get the money, rinse, repeat. I'd really like to see law enforcement bust people for littering more than personal consumption that isnt' harming or otherwise taking away from anyone else's experience on the water.