An ozark weekend and a choice

[ozark trout fisher]

Spending the weekend in the ozarks...have so far hit the Little Piney, James, and Buffalo. I've seen and caught quite a few smallies in some cool places but blessedly, somewhat unexpectedly, have been able to extend the trip into Monday. So my question is, where to go tonight/ tomorrow? Anything from the White to the St. Francis is on the table.

[drew03cmc]

Upper Jacks Fork. If wading, above the Prongs.

[SpoonDog]

You may think about hitting the NFOW or the 11 Point for a smallmouth or trout float- Monday crowds may not be too bad. If you're wading, Bryant, Jacks Fork, or Meramec up around Short Bend may be worth checking out. Just depends on where you are presently and how far you'd like to drive.

[trythisonemv]

Buddy of mine hit crane creek. He landed a fifteen Inc her on his first visit. Said water looks great and plenty of fish

[ozark trout fisher]

Thanks for the replies. Ended up doing the upper Jacks Fork and Eleven Point today. Guess instead of starting a new thread I may as well just do the TR here.

Friday:

I made it to Little Piney at about noon. I had the idea of chasing trout up by Lane Spring or perhaps a mixture of species in the Milldam Hollow area, but it was out of the way and the weather/time of day wasn't right. So I decided to hit the lower river in search of smallies. And it wasn't much of a search, to be honest. Lunkers they were not, but every reasonable hole and riffle was friendly and productive. What did the best on that day was a bit of green pumpkin plastic worm fished on a 1/8th ounce jighead. I won't say I didn't get the idea from a certain craze that's rolling through the fishing world, but it had to be tried eventually, and what works works

I made it down to the James that evening, floating a short, pretty little float that most wouldn't think worth the time. I've fished it before, and done well, but I'd had my fill for the day, and just enjoyed the scenery. The five mile float passed in a quick two hours with the steady flow and the virtues of a good canoe.

Saturday involved a lot of playing around in the Buffalo National Scenic River, although regrettably, no fishing. We were taking a long, fairly strenuous hike, that did cross the river a few timesthough it seemed awfully low absent a good frame of referenc (yes, I took the time to spot some smallies, a couple large enough to break my heart for not shelling out the money for an Arkansas license.) To say that country is beautiful doesn't do it justice. It's otherworldly. The pictures I will try to get up later are very nice, and yet a pale representation. Nothing like watching kayakers struggle through the bony riffles from a vantage point on a bluff 500 feet above the river. Even the circling birds (of which there were many) are all below you.

Sunday I didn't do much of anything, so I'll pass right on through that. This morning I awoke and headed out from SW Missouri without much of a plan, but in search of smallies, trout, or preferably both. I found the first in spades along the upper Jacks Fork, fishing the skinny, clear waters of both the North and South Prong. That part of the Jacks is no river, only a small creek, but full of beautiful (and little) smallmouth in every pool that looks right. I'm most ashamed to say my Rebel Craw didn't work too well there. What I caught hordes of the little smallies, well yes...my pseudo-ned rig, of which I admittedly enough supplies for along the way to supply a small guide service for a few weeks. I tried a pink jighead this time, a flourish that seemed to excite them even further.

I thought I might be done after that...but I still had a little more in me, and some time. I swung down Highway 19 to Greer Crossing, and bushwhacked my way to the river near the bridge. Not a glamorous spot or a way to do such an awesome river justice...but the holding water is good, and the trout were not hard to find or fool. It capped off a great (and long) weekend in exactly the kind of fashion that you'd hope for.

[GloryDaze]

Fantastic, sounds like a blast! I must admit, reading your report leaves me jealous.

Thanks for posting-

[ozark trout fisher]

Thanks, it was a nice weekend.