Hammock Camping?

[Gavin]

Walking baits and cranks for relatively open water, Buzzbaits, flukes and jigs for cover. Topwater can be great anytime, not just early and late.

 

 

 

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[OzarkRiverCamper]

Having floated the river a few times over the last couple of years, if the water is high enough I would HIGHLY recommend floating from the Highway 17 Bridge down to Bay Creek Vs. Bay Creek to Two Rivers.  Not sure if you have floated this before but if not, I found it to be the best fishing and most will agree the scenery is SO much better on the upper part and the mileage is about the same.  It's personally my favorite stretch of river in Missouri

The trick is to have enough water.  At the Mountain View gage I am personally willing to go with anything above 100 CFS.  You'll scrape a few places but it's worth it in both the scenery and the fishing, IMO.   That's with a fully loaded Kayak for 2 nights camping.  You'll find plenty written about water levels on this part of the river around here.

Judging from the current levels, if you are going this weekend there's a good chance you could have *perfect* water to float and fish the upper Jack's fork.  If you catch it at around 150CFS, it should be crystal clear water and all of the very cool rock features will be visible and holding fish:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv?cb_00065=on&cb_00060=on&cb_00010=on&cb_00045=on&format=gif_default&site_no=07065200&period=5&begin_date=2015-05-07&end_date=2015-05-08

If I hadn't just gone over Memorial Day, that is where I would be headed.

I'll leave the Hammock debate to other but will say that if you want to bring it along I think you wouldn't have a problem finding a place to hang it...but that is just a guess based on what I have seen on the river, not having done it.

[joeD]

A sleeping pad, small pillow, and a blanket next to a fire. If you have to urinate in the middle of the night, you just get up and turn, evacuate, and lay back down, all in one semi smooth motion. Try that in a hammock. Really, comfort is worth a couple of extra pounds. It's not as if you are carrying it on your back. There are no extra accolades for being a minimalist martyr. Deprivation without reason seems silly in 2016.

Aforementioned baits are all good. Fish will let you know. If not, throw your confidence bait as much as possible.

[Flysmallie]

11 hours ago, joeD said:

Deprivation without reason seems silly in 2016.

 

Yep. I carry as much stuff as possible. Going on a camping trip doesn't have to mean roughing it. 

[tho1mas]

You river bank campers need to get a U.S. Military poncho liner. You can find them at surplus stores or order them from Midwayusa. They  are light weight,fast drying & fold up smaller than a basketball. That and a sleeping pad (also mil. surplus) makes for a pretty good night.

[JimmyV]

23 hours ago, OzarkRiverCamper said:

Having floated the river a few times over the last couple of years, if the water is high enough I would HIGHLY recommend floating from the Highway 17 Bridge down to Bay Creek Vs. Bay Creek to Two Rivers.  Not sure if you have floated this before but if not, I found it to be the best fishing and most will agree the scenery is SO much better on the upper part and the mileage is about the same.  It's personally my favorite stretch of river in Missouri

The trick is to have enough water.  At the Mountain View gage I am personally willing to go with anything above 100 CFS.  You'll scrape a few places but it's worth it in both the scenery and the fishing, IMO.   That's with a fully loaded Kayak for 2 nights camping.  You'll find plenty written about water levels on this part of the river around here.

Judging from the current levels, if you are going this weekend there's a good chance you could have *perfect* water to float and fish the upper Jack's fork.  If you catch it at around 150CFS, it should be crystal clear water and all of the very cool rock features will be visible and holding fish:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv?cb_00065=on&cb_00060=on&cb_00010=on&cb_00045=on&format=gif_default&site_no=07065200&period=5&begin_date=2015-05-07&end_date=2015-05-08

If I hadn't just gone over Memorial Day, that is where I would be headed.

I'll leave the Hammock debate to other but will say that if you want to bring it along I think you wouldn't have a problem finding a place to hang it...but that is just a guess based on what I have seen on the river, not having done it.

OzarkRiverCamper, thanks for mentioning this. Being this late in the year I did not really give it much thought as years past it is too low by now, but it looks like there should be plenty of water.. I am moving the float path for sure. Think I'll shoot for Hwy 17 to Alley.. I haven't been on this stretch of water in a very long time... Super excited for this..

[lollygagger]

Chiggers, ticks, spiders also live on the ground...and gravel bars....and rocks.....and dirt.........you can prevent them from getting in your tent...or bed roll....or hammock...or your car....or your pet,,,,or children.....I have hammock camped on a few rivers in my time.....if you use your brain, it is a far better experience  than the ground......ever slept in a rain storm in a tent ?.....Hammock w/bug net...small tarp.......drip string....bug juice....high and dry....not for everyone....didn't think I would like it....will never go back to the ground now.....

[MOPanfisher]

I have been in a hammock I considered comfortable.  I have been in a tent in a rain storm also wind and even a little hail, would much rather be in the tent than a storm than a hammock.  If you have to have a hammock and a tarp, just have a small tent, about the same size.  Good luck on the float.

[go4ducks2]

Everything leaks so I got a Goretex Bivy off ebay, don't like gettin wet..just added protection.   If you like comfort get

the Big Agnes inflatable mat.... worth every penny!!    I think the hammock deal would be worth trying....you try it and let me know.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Woodland-Bivy-Cover-Sleeping-Bag-Cover-Gortex-/172236405884?hash=item281a16fc7c:g:b-4AAOSwT4lWTUyd

[JimmyV]

So I tried the hammock this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was.. (maybe it was because I was numb from a few adult beverages)  I was really happy with the way things worked out.. We were able to find a smaller gravel bar that had a few trees just off the water line and a nice open area for a fire and chairs etc.. It turned out real nice. We were fortunate enough that the weather / dew point was just about perfect as we did not have to deal with any moisture at all; same can be said for bugs, barely saw any of them at camp.

I will have to admit we got a little behind and we were hoping to get a few miles further before we stopped. So we were traveling for a bit and starting to run out of day light and just grabbed the first spot that looked okay.. and as luck would have it it worked out great.. 

Again thanks for everyone's thought on this and the fishing.. We did catch a lot of fish this weekend.. mostly small one in the 8-12 inch range with a few getting up into the 14-15 inch range, and each of us were able to land one nice fish at or near 18 inches..  jigs, crankbaits, and Texas rigged worms all seemed to produce nicely for us, we caught fish on other things but seemed like the jigs and crankbaits were the most consistent producers, my buddy did catch the biggest fish of the weekend on the Texas rigged worm but not a whole lot of other ones..