Smallmouth, eagles, and alligators, oh my!

[Flysmallie]

In a world where everything seems so harsh it’s nice to find the time to get back to living at a slower pace. But plans don’t always work out and changes are made. Still people considering passing on the trip late in the game. I had the same thoughts myself; nothing seemed to be working out as usual, but still we pressed on. Standing on the bank of the river Friday morning with a canoe loaded with three days’ worth of supplies I still had reservations. But I was with three of the best guys you could possibly float with. We shoved off and let the river swallow us up. The best float of my life. Hands down.

 

Did a little gravel mining of my own.

 

Surprisingly Chief wasn’t too busy telling a story to catch some fish.

The water consumes you. 

 

We covered a lot of miles on day one and were rewarded with a nice meal over the campfire. We also did a foil pack of vegetable goodness that I failed to get a picture of. 

 

The next morning brought the rain. Jeff and I waited too long to get our tents down before the monsoon developed on top of us. But we did manage to get the coffee made and headed on down the river.

 

Eventually the clouds passed.

And the catching took off.

 

Look at the tail on this future freight train.

 

Ran across Mabel’s spot on the river. Not sure if this is her original resting place but it’s absolutely beautiful.

 

The majority of my fish came on a PBJ ned or pink floating worm. Including this 17 incher right before camp.

You notice in the underwater shot she has a big sore on her mouth. Saw a lot of fish with sore mouths but also saw an Amish clan with minnow traps and stringers. Not sure who is hurting these fish but they need to be more careful.

 

 

If you are one of those types to take dehydrated meals or some soup then you are doing it wrong. Corn on the cob, BBQ nachos, and peach cobbler were on the menu for Saturday night. And of course there was a campfire.

 

You ever put an empty beer can on the fire? What about one of those Coors Light aluminum bottles with the screw on lid? They don’t call them Silver Bullets for nothing.

 

The sun finally came up on day three. 

 

And we made our way out with a bunch of birds leading the way.

Chief getting jiggy with it.

 

It was the perfect weekend. Great friends. Amazing food. And the fish gods smiled upon us.

 

And just when you think you have seen just about everything that you can see on an Ozarks stream.

 

People ask me all the time why I like to camp and float these beautiful rivers. It’s not something that I can easily explain. If they don’t get it they never will.

[MoCarp]

<----Slaps Britt because he has too much fun.....next time you talk to Roy ask him about the last time he had to go diving for the truck Keys 

as a note my health is getting better and I look forward getting back out more.....

[Johnsfolly]

Flysmallie - another great photo essay! That just looks like a great trip whether you actually caught a fish or not. No worries since this trip had it all including nice fish on the line ! Even JoeD would like the enjoyment of the campfire cooking!

[Chief Grey Bear]

 Epic photography!

 As I reminisce with all of those photographs,  I can't  help but think, "Wow! I got to live that!"

 

[BilletHead]

   Well done Ronnie!

    Thanks for the write up and share,

BilletHead

[DownStream]

Great trip report. Looks like a blast. Does alligator have a tiger head? 

[Gavin]

Good for you guys! Thanks for the report!

 

[KLiK]

Great pictures, looks like it was a fantastic trip! Thank you for sharing your adventure. 

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

Flysmallie - another great photo essay! That just looks like a great trip whether you actually caught a fish or not. Now worries since this trip had it all including nice fish on the line ! Even JoeD would like the enjoyment of the campfire cooking!

Thank you John.

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

 Epic photography!

 As I reminisce with all of those photographs,  I can't  help but think, "Wow! I got to live that!"

 

Hell you were the Narrator!