South Fork Spring River 3 day trip - advice needed

[jwitt618]

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting- I've been coming to this site for a few years to dig up information for canoe trips and fishing trips. Quite a good online community.

Anyway, a friend of mine has the dubious honor of planning our annual 3 day float trip, contacting outfitters, cat-herding everyone into forking over cash and bringing the right provisions etc. I just show up with a big knife and a fly rod, scoop some caddis flies out of the air with my hat, and play the wise angler (knowing that the fish will get a good laugh when I throw whatever I pick). Great times for sure. I don't usually get to do much fishing, but I try to call lunch and camp stops near fishy looking places. People are pretty receptive since they might get a tasty snack out of the deal.

Since we've been on just about every notable river in MO that's long enough to jive with our "2 nights on gravel bars" format, Eric picked out the South Fork for this year. There's next to no information available, but I know I can find some here.

1) He's of the opinion that we would be better in kayaks than canoes since we'll be running multiple falls. Of course, that takes away most of the luxuries we're used to hauling- which is both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. More like a trek, less like a guided safari complete with china plates. But...no cooler of beer. Any opinions on choice of boat?

2) I read the horror stories about the Spring River's hooligan visitors. Not terribly worried- we're all in our early-mid 30's and know how to keep our noses clean, but we like to avoid crowds as much as possible. I assume the South Fork is much less popular and we have nothing to worry about?

3) Any specific outfitter recommendations?

4) Fishin' on the South Fork? Species, rigs, locations? Especially if we run kayaks I won't be taking both a spinning rig and a fly rod- I'll have to pick one and roll with it. From my reading, we're headed to smallmouth heaven. I've only ever caught a few, randomly stripping streamers in fishy looking spots.

Thanks in advance for whatever wisdom you guys might be able to pass on,

Joe

[jtram]

But...no cooler of beer. Any opinions on choice of boat?

Sounds like a bad idea......

[jwitt618]

Enduring that hardship will be made easier with a couple gallons of 2012 homemade apple wine, 16% abv. I've been too lazy to bottle it...I mean...I was holding it in case I need to put some in plastic bottles for treks like this. Pack light

[Al Agnew]

The South Fork doesn't have the kind of falls the main Spring River has, so I don't think that's much of a consideration. But unless I missed it, you didn't say when this float is planned. The South Fork has a LOT less water in the summer than the Spring, and if there's been dry weather it will a float-drag-wade trip no matter what kind of craft you're using. The kayaks might be better then simply because you won't be tempted to take a lot of gear that will weigh you down even more

And what I said above includes the lower end...the farther upstream you go the less water there will be if it's low, and a three day trip will put you a good ways up the river to start out.

[Bill Anderson]

Avoid weekends and holidays like the plague. The boatloads of drunken fools will ruin your experience. I have floated the warm fork from Boy Scout Camp Kia Kima to Hardy,and it is an easy float and you won't run into many others untilyou hit the cold fork junction above Hardy.. But the spring fork can be a nightmare. 99% of the canoes put in at Dam 3, so anything below that is a circus. If you want to just fish, drive up to Mammoth Springs and fish at the Lassiter Access on the opposite side of the river. Few canoes up there. Memorial Day, July4th, and Labor Day are a drunken circus on the Spring. Go early in the week, and it won't be as crowded. The best time of year is in late October or early November before it gets too cold.

[jwitt618]

Thanks for the tips! Looks like we aren't hitting the Spring after all, but I'm holding on to this info for the future.

My buddy contacted some outfitters and they didn't seem too interested in arranging a multi-day trip for us. Since we're going June 5-8, we're doing the upper Current. The USGS gauges look perfect right now, and none of us have floated above Akers Ferry. (hoping that the "float season" hasn't kicked in yet since the weather's still mild). It will be neat to canoe sections of the river I've waded. Gonna have to make stops at some fishy spots.

[Paparock]

Hi, Joe, my name if Rocky Latham and I am a former owner of Southfork Resort on the South Fork of the Spring River. My wife and I had to sell the resort years back due to the advancement of my neurological disease that just made it to hard for me to do the work I needed to around the resort. That said, Southfork Resort is a family oriented resort for families and fisherman. You want to go fishing in the springtime when the water flow on the Soutfork of the Spring River is at its best. You should contact the current owners for how the conditions and fishing have been. There are current flows on their website also. There are Tiger Musky, Rainbow Trout, and Smallmouth Bass available on the Spring River but as you have heard the Spring river can be full of college age party animals during weekends and holidays.  Southfork resort runs trips on both the South Fork of the Spring and the Spring River. There are times even on the main Spring River you can have some great fishing especially in the spring you can catch Tigers but you have to go in just south of the spring itself. Something only the locals know if you walk upstream keeping low and out of sight above the highest canoe/kayak put ins there are some pools full of BIG Tigers but if they see you or your shadow you are busted and will have to come back hours later to try again because if the have busted you they have lock jaw. As you go down river you catch mostly Rainbow trout and as the water warms as other creeks come in then the smallmouth start to show up until they become the dominate species.

The Southfork of the Spring River is a total smallmouth river. Start off lure color is anything pumpkinseed and if they are not chewing on that start experimenting. Sometimes "hot pink" is the hot color on the Southfork River. Just don't get a mindset stuck on what has worked before for you. I have seen some days when fly anglers came in saying their arms were wore out from catching smallies while spin fishermen were coming in saying the river was fished out. They would say, it just wasn't like it used to be. The next day I would be picking up fishing parties where the spin fishers tore the smallies up and the fly guys could hardly buy a bite. It was funny really and I noted the difference in the days as to temperature, sky cover, wind, etc. Pumpkinseed was the most consistent color for soft plastics but when it was off you just need to experiment to see what they want and it could change daily or even hourly when they were on their finicky faze.  Sometimes they can be so finicky I've had guys ask if we sell dynamite, lol. Then there are they guys you have to teach. They would come in saying, "wow, we saw a lot of big smallmouth, and we threw everything we had at them but they just would not bite." I would gently advise them guys relax tonight and enjoy the campground. Tomorrow is a new day, but tomorrow when you go down stream and you see some smallmouth holding in a spot note where they are by something on the bank of the river and quietly fish on down stream. Then in about 20 minutes as quietly as possible paddle back within casting range of where you saw those smallmouth. Cast upstream of them and let the current bring you lure to them. I explained to them that if you can see the fish the fish can see you and smallmouth will not bite.  Next day, happy campers when I picked them up as my "trick" worked. Customer happy and friend made.

There is a special creek I ran trips to out of Southfork Resort. I don't know if the new owner still does. Its Myatt Creek, and it is water sensitive and it can be a bear to fish but when everything comes together there you can have one of your best stream fishing days ever. The water is clear.  It contains good populations of smallmouth and spotted bass, and shadow bass. Most of the smallmouth will be 10- to 12-inches in length but there are 20-inch fish in this creek. 

I hope this helps you.

Rocky