Current River experiences...

[Al Agnew]

At one time or another I've floated all of Current River from Tan Vat to Doniphan. I even guided on it one summer when my friend and guide Gaylon Watson needed an extra hand. I remember one float where we were guiding a big family group, and I got stuck with two teenage girls in my canoe. They weren't all that into fishing, and continually hung up in the trees when they did fish, but I was proud of the fact that one of them actually caught the biggest smallmouth of the trip. This was on Gaylon's favorite stretch, from Powdermill to Van Buren. He had a perfect gravel bar a short distance below Paint Rock Bluff that he always camped on overnight, but on this trip one couple refused to camp on a gravel bar, and we spent one whole day before the trip getting a camping trailer down a very rough road to the vicinity of Paint Rock, so that the couple could camp in it while the rest of the party camped on the gravel bar.

On a trip with Bob Todd below Big Spring, we were drifting through a side channel off the river when we jumped a doe. Then we saw two fawns standing on the bank where the doe had been...and one of them was an albino! Beautiful little creature.

The stretch above Cedargrove is the only place where I've actually seen a live armadillo in Missouri (plenty of road kills, but no other live ones). I've spent a lot of time flyfishing between Montauk and Baptist Camp and below, and that's where I've caught my biggest MO brown trout, a 29 incher.

I floated from Williams Landing to Two Rivers this past summer, and caught more than 70 smallmouths. None were very big, though...I think the biggest was about 16 inches.

It's a great river, and only the boat traffic and party floaters keep it from being one of my favorites.

[hank franklin]

I swore off the Current in 1996 after a hellacious July weekend trip in which the river was overrun by idiot party floaters. One group caused me to swamp and I lost my glasses and other gear, which was the last straw on a terrible day.

But I rediscovered the Current just last year when we went in November, and it was jaw-droppingly beautiful and serene. We've gone again this fall and hope to go again soon. If y'all haven't been on the Current in the winter, try it. It's wonderful.

I want to get into the summer smallmouth water but pretty much need a weekday, which is hard to come by for me. One of these years.....

[Brian Wise]

Hank,

That is one thing everyone needs to remember, the summer on our beautiful Trout and Smallmouth rivers can be a zoo........seeing them in the Winter, totally different story.

Brian

[FishHawk]

Al, I totally agree with you, the Current River is a beautiful piece of water. I have been on every mile of it from Montauk to Doniphan for the past 20 years and love it!!!! Can be a bit crowded in the summer, particulary on the weekends. Just have to pick and choose my days to fish.

I floated from Williams Landing to Two Rivers this past summer, and caught more than 70 smallmouths. None were very big, though...I think the biggest was about 16 inches.

Wow! I think of a 16" smallmouth as "very big". Considering a smalley this size is about 10 years old, that's a monarch of the Ozarks. I know they can get bigger but age is against them.

[Al Agnew]

FishHawk, you're right, a 16 incher is nothing to sneeze at! It's just that, most of the time if I catch that many fish, at least one or two of them will be over 17 inches, with at least a couple more in the 16 inch range. But I can be perfectly happy catching a 16 incher...well, heck, I can be pretty happy catching ANY smallmouth!

I did see one really big fish on that trip, probably 19-20 inches.

[polock]

I have a cabin about 10 miles south of big springs on what is called yellow bank on current river. My bud and his wife were fishing just up from it one late summer evening trolling for walleye and she landed a 23 1'2" 5.28 pound smallie, missing the record of 6 and somethin pounds by ounces, it is on there wall over their fireplace now, biggest darn smallie i have ever seen

I catch a lot of smallmouth in the summer from doniphan up to the cabin and a few miles up to gooseneck, but most range from 8-14 inces, with consistant 14-16's every now and then, and the occasional 17-19 is always nice.

caught my biggest last early summer on a 3 inch pop-R top water, it was 19 3/4" and 2.48 pounds

[Al Agnew]

Polock, the 23 1/2 incher was one HUGE fish! Your 19 3/4 was also a terrific fish...and I know you actually weighed it instead of "guesstimating" weight. A lot of people would have called that fish a 4 or 5 pounder. 2.48 pounds sounds like it was a pretty skinny fish, since a smallie of that length should ordinarily weigh at least 3 pounds and possibly as much as 3.75.

That's why I don't like to weigh smallmouths. Weight can vary depending upon the condition of the fish, the amount of food available, the time of year, even just whether it's been having good luck catching food lately. But a 20 incher will always be a 20 incher, and never get shorter if it had a bad month.

[Kicknbass]

Current River is a great smallmouth fishery. My home stretch of water is from Owls bend to Van Buren. I had several 30 fish days this past year. The only problem w/ the fish is that most fish are 10-13 inches. I did catch a few 15-16 inch fish this year, but not many. I have fished the SMB management areas on the meramec and the big piney rivers. These areas have much larger average fish. A few years back on the piney, I had a weekend float in August catching over a hundred fish most over 14 inches that trip rivaled Ontario.

Current River in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a prime location for a SMB management area. Great population of fish, great habitat and food supply to grow monster SMB. It is not even on the MDC radar for a SMB management area. I remember a trip w/ my father back in the early 70's when dad and I fished one hole of water and caught 3 huge fish. 24, 20 & 18 inches. Wow what an outing. This type of fishery is still possible on this river. The main reason the fish aren't larger is they take a long time to reach these sizes, and are harvested a year or so after reaching legal length.

This river and also the meramec are used extremely heavily in the summer months. If each angler soaking worms takes 1 or 2 legal fish each outing, the number of mature fish is diminished. Changing the limits would force the law-abiding anglers to put the fish back into the river to grow giving more fish a chance to get to trophy size. Current River and the Eleven Point are Missouri's treasures known nationally for their scenic beauty. They should also be known for their fishery.

[polock]

now thats a river i have only been on a few times... eleven point is too far of a drive when i have current river at my footsteps... If we do go we usually go over by wilderness and put in there and float down to the bridge. The times i did float it, didn't have much luck... what does everyone use on 11point

by the way al... sounds like you are around the eminence area. Ever fish jacks fork.. we float jacks fork every other weekend in the summer, but I have never took a pole with me because of the crowding during the weekend.. I have been itchin to get out and do some panfishin during the week,

[Kicknbass]

Polock,

I have family in the Ellington area and put in at the Log Yard access. This area is heavily used by the Jet boat traffic on the major weekends. But if your able to go mid week in the summer or during the off season you will be alone. Even on the major weekends it is a great area to fish before noon. But look out when the Jet boat traffic starts the area between log yard and owls bend can be like party cove at Lake of the Ozarks.

I wish the MDC would change the SMB regs in the ONSR area to improve the size of the fish. Maybe a SMB management area, maybe a slot limit, to allow the rec fisherman a chance to do their thing. I have fished Lake Fork in Texas and let me tell you the slot limit works on that lake. The MDC doesn't even patrol the river. The river is patrolled by the NPS. The feds focus is mainly the recreational use not fish management. The MDC should take advantage of this jewel.