Report (8/31 - 9/2)

[darbwa]

After much deliberation on where to take our annual 3-day float our group of 4 decided on the Jack's Fork/Current River. We put in at Alley Spring and floated down past Eminence for a few miles where we made camp. It was hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Fishing was pretty slow on day one and we only caught a handful of small ones each - one guy was shutout (for the purpose of this report we'll call him Andi). We had a hard time finding any pattern for the fish as we threw everything at them and caught them randomly. The winning angler for the day caught all of his fish on top-waters.

On day 2 (Thursday) we still could not find any pattern and the fishing and the weather was much like the day before. I was fortunate to catch one on a small plastic craw that was 16" and thought that it might end up as the big fish of the trip. Despite a full day of fishing, 3 of us only had about 5-7 fish each and Andi was shut out again. On Thursday we floated onto the Current and camped near Martin's Bluff.

Friday was a little better fishing as there was a little breeze and an occasional cloud in the sky. On Friday even Andi managed to boat 2-3 very small fish. We were all very happy for him. The highlight of the trip came when Dan landed a beautiful 19" smallmouth. To add to the enjoyment, the fish was tagged by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation and the tag was worth $75.

I think the spike in the temperatures hampered our fishing a little but we still had a great time.

[troutbum479]

So did you kill the fish to turn in the tag?

[Smalliebigs]

So did you kill the fish to turn in the tag?

???????? I'm pretty sure that's tounge n cheek but ya never know....you cut it off and call a number an mail it to MO conservation and give a little info.Then they mail you a check and hopefully he released the killer current river smallie unharmed.

[steve l]

First off - nice fish! Haven't caught a tagged fish in the JF in a long time - I think 2005. Unless there was a more recent tagging effort that fish may have been carrying it for a long time. And at 19 inches maybe so. Assuming the MDOC still sends a short history of the tagged fish (where & when tagged and how much it weighed) upon receipt of the tag please post the history when it comes in. Would be curious to hear how long that fish has been around.

[Spincast]

The MDC just did a recent tagging project on smallmouth.

http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/tagged-bass-can-yield-cash-rewards-anglers

[darbwa]

I should have specified that the fish was released unharmed. The tag was cut off. I will pass along the report info from the MDOC when I get it from my buddy who won the prize.

The fish was caught after we were on the Current River between Powder Mill and Blue Spring.

[The Kayak Kid]

After much deliberation on where to take our annual 3-day float our group of 4 decided on the Jack's Fork/Current River. We put in at Alley Spring and floated down past Eminence for a few miles where we made camp. It was hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Fishing was pretty slow on day one and we only caught a handful of small ones each - one guy was shutout (for the purpose of this report we'll call him Andi). We had a hard time finding any pattern for the fish as we threw everything at them and caught them randomly. The winning angler for the day caught all of his fish on top-waters.

On day 2 (Thursday) we still could not find any pattern and the fishing and the weather was much like the day before. I was fortunate to catch one on a small plastic craw that was 16" and thought that it might end up as the big fish of the trip. Despite a full day of fishing, 3 of us only had about 5-7 fish each and Andi was shut out again. On Thursday we floated onto the Current and camped near Martin's Bluff.

Friday was a little better fishing as there was a little breeze and an occasional cloud in the sky. On Friday even Andi managed to boat 2-3 very small fish. We were all very happy for him. The highlight of the trip came when Dan landed a beautiful 19" smallmouth. To add to the enjoyment, the fish was tagged by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation and the tag was worth $75.

I think the spike in the temperatures hampered our fishing a little but we still had a great time.

Sounds like a great trip! Congrats to Dan, especially, on his 19-incher. That's a really nice smallie.

How many miles past Two Rivers did you float? Encounter many jet boats? I've always taken out at Two Rivers on my trips, so I'm curious.

Ever done the Jack's Fork above Buck Hollow? Bay Creek? I know you probably didn't have enough water this time. As you may know, the upper section is absolutely gorgeous, and primitive. Very productive fishing holes, especially ones like Gar Hole. Several fun rapids in this stretch, to keep things interesting. Cool section we have named "Chainsaw Jungle" (always a nice little surprise for the new guy). I use to go all the way to Alley, but now I cut out the 5 or so miles between Bay Creek and Alley. Prongs to Bay Creek is a really nice 3-day trip. If you ever want help interpreting the Mountain View USGS gauge, just holler. Me and my buddies have done the Upper stretch at various levels...low, high, and in-between.

Cheers!

[darbwa]

Sounds like a great trip! Congrats to Dan, especially, on his 19-incher. That's a really nice smallie.

How many miles past Two Rivers did you float? Encounter many jet boats? I've always taken out at Two Rivers on my trips, so I'm curious.

Ever done the Jack's Fork above Buck Hollow? Bay Creek? I know you probably didn't have enough water this time. As you may know, the upper section is absolutely gorgeous, and primitive. Very productive fishing holes, especially ones like Gar Hole. Several fun rapids in this stretch, to keep things interesting. Cool section we have named "Chainsaw Jungle" (always a nice little surprise for the new guy). I use to go all the way to Alley, but now I cut out the 5 or so miles between Bay Creek and Alley. Prongs to Bay Creek is a really nice 3-day trip. If you ever want help interpreting the Mountain View USGS gauge, just holler. Me and my buddies have done the Upper stretch at various levels...low, high, and in-between.

Cheers!

This was my first trip on the Jack's Fork and only my second on the Current. We took out at Robert's Field on the Current and yes, we did see a lot of jet boats. I would say we saw about 4 or 5 on Thursday between Two Rivers and Martin's Bluff where we camped and we probably saw 6-8 on Friday between Martin's Bluff and Robert's Field.

I am undecided on a return trip. I only have the opportunity to take a trip like this one (maybe 2) times per year and I still have so many rivers to cross. So far, the Buffalo is the only one that has struck me as a definite river to repeat. I want to see every mile of that river. But if I do return to the Jack's Fork, I will be asking questions here in this forum.