Near Gerald

[stl chris]

Wondering if there is enough water to float the Bourb this week around the Gerald area?

[joeD]

yes. you might drag in a few spots, but nothing to worry about.

[ozark trout fisher]

It'll be a lot of work up on that part of the river. Be ready to get out and drag through most of the riffles. Not saying you shouldn't do it...It very well could end up being worth it, but I'd try to get an early start and pack light.

Good luck!

[stl chris]

Thanks guys. If I do go I'll have some kids and grandparents so a bunch of dragging would not be too good.

[ozark trout fisher]

You might try further down the river a bit closer to Union. I floated that area about a week ago, and we did have to get out and drag through some of the riffles... That said, the drags were mostly fairly short and not particularly strenuous, really not much worse than what you're going to deal with on any Ozark stream right now. The biggest difficulty down in the middle/lower reaches is that the access tend to be spread out, so you'll be trying to cover double digit miles or at least close to it. I'd maybe look at Mayers Landing to Union. That float is a little over eight miles, which is about as short as you'll find anywhere on that river. That's a pretty manageable distance, even on the Bourbeuse in low water.

[Al Agnew]

Yep, I wouldn't go up that far with kids and people who aren't used to or interested in working a bit to get canoes down the shallows.

[stl chris]

Well after all the wondering and worrying about the water we ended up putting in above Mint Springs. We did have to drag every riffle but we kept it short maybe a couple miles. Everybody had a good time the kids chased bullfrog tadpoles and I even caught some fish the biggest being a 14 in. smallmouth. Needless to say we had the whole river to ourself.

[ozark trout fisher]

Sounds like a fun trip.