Bourbeuse River, Wenkel Ford to Peters Ford

[hank franklin]

Hit the Bourbeuse for an overnight last night. Fishing was slow and the spawn did not appear be in full swing yet. River was up and somewhat murky but rolling very nicely. Caught just a few fish, including two suspected hybrid smallie / spotted. I didn't get a photo, which is unfortunate, I was in bad position for a photo both times.

I'm not 100 percent sure on how to identify a hybrid, but both sure seemed to be part smallie, part spotted. Both had the head and general profile of a smallmouth, no rough patch on tongue, but the coloring and markings greatly favored the spotted. Any help on this point would be appreciated.

[Al Agnew]

Hank, ask and ye shall receive...

I've been taking pictures of hybrids I catch, and it just so happens that I fished Big River this morning and caught a couple. I also have pics of one I caught last summer on a small Mississippi River tributary...I caught the same fish again this spring.

Smallmouth x spotted bass hybrids vary in appearance. This may be due to individual differences, or it may be due to the amount of genetic material from each species is in them, since the hybrids tend to be fertile and back-cross both with spots and smallies.

Here is the one I caught from the Mississippi River trib. As you can see, it looks very much like a smallmouth. However, it is a bit more greenish yellow in color, and has hints of the rows of small spots below the mid-line of the side that are characteristic of spotted bass. Most people would assume it's a smallmouth, but if you would compare it side by side to a smallie from the same water, you'll see the subtle differences.

This one is one of those I caught today. As you can see, it's much more intermediate between smallmouth and spotted bass appearance. The rows of small spots are more pronounced, and there is a hint of the dark band running down the midline of the side. However, the band is barely noticeable, and the fish is still strongly yellowish to bronze in color.

Here is another one from this morning. This one is much more strongly spotted bass in appearance, having all the characteristics, including the rows of spots and the prominent dark band down the side. However, it is still more brassy yellow with some bronze, not the more greenish color of a pure spotted bass. I caught several pure spotted bass today, and the color difference between them and this fish was very noticeable.

[hank franklin]

Al, photo 2 is a dead ringer for the two fish I caught. I think id-ing them is in the "you know it when you see it" category. You look at the fish and say, it ain't a smallmouth, but ain't quite a spot. Must be both!

The smallmouth I caught looked like photo 1, though maybe a bit lighter in color. (Which maybe means they weren't pure smallmouth?) I didn't catch any real dark fish. The pure spotteds I caught were unmistakable.

Did you see fish on the beds yesterday? I really didn't, though the water was stained and low viz so it was hard to tell what was happening on the bottom. Fish I caught were generally in current. I didn't target obvious bedding spots, but definitely knocked on the door to see if anyone was home. Didn't find anyone.

One other observation: I saw more people out than I've ever seen on the Bourbeuse. At least 5 groups of fishermen, several others out just messing around, people at the clubhouses. Spring fever in abundance. Great day.

[Gavin]

Sounds like a good trip. Floated the Huzzah up above Eagle Hurst yesterday. Its usuallly a drag & float, but it was at a realy nice water level yesterday. The water wasnt mid-summer air clear, but we could see bottom in all but a few of the deeper spots. Most of the fish were in the riffs, and we didnt any active beds. Not a great day for numbers or big fish but we caught enough to keep it interesting. Fun day.

[hank franklin]

Pretty good flow up there yesterday, Gavin? Lovely spot at Eagle Hurst, been a while since I've been in that neighborhood. That stretch just above Harper's Slab has always been good for me.

Bourbeuse was in excellent floating shape, we only had two long dead sections out of an 11-mile float. I had never been on that stretch before. Not as much rocky substrate as I'd hoped, too many muddy banks. I would have to rate this stretch a little lower than areas around Tea, Shawnee Ford and Mill Rock. Still nice though.

[Gavin]

Hank, we started at the railroad tressel and floated down about 6-7 to the first slab. Flow was similar to the Current up in Montauk state park. Fast, but just on the margins of easy floating. A 4" drop in the water level would have made for a lot of dragging. Havent floated that section in two year and I was a little disappointed. Looks like someone did a little gravel mining between my last trip and this one.

Dont think I've ever done Wenkel to Peters, if I'm fishing down that low on the BB I usually put in at a friends place and float down to Rieker or wade fish around Guth's Mill.

[creek wader]

Al, thanks for the pics of the Spotted Smallies. Or whatever they call them. That's what I've been catching on the Lower Osage and Moreau rivers. Also, I've caught some that varied even more. I'll have to take some pics.

[hank franklin]

I've now floated the entire Bourbeuse from Hog Trough Road (below Highway 19 in Gasconade County) down to Highway 50 bridge at Union. Haven't been below Noser Mill however since probably 2000 or so.

If the rains continue I might try putting in at Mint Springs.

[Seth]

I went floating from Mill Rock to Wenkel's Ford a few years back. That was the first float trip I had been on in forever. I caught one smally about 12" and a small largemouths that trip. It was fun.

Where do you live at hank? You from around the Gerald/Owensville area?