Mingo National Wildlife Refuge - Trip Report Added

[Flysmallie]

Gonna go paddle around a bit and see the sights and maybe cast a fly. Any thoughts on this place?

Any good places close by to grab some food and a beer after a hot day in the swamp?

[slabseeker]

Great place to paddle, view all kinds of wildlife and catch some fish also.  Chunky Boyz BBQ in Puxico was recommended to us and it was really good. Not the prettiest place but the best BBQ places sometimes aren't. Not sure if they have beer, but the sweet tea and fresh lemonade were excellent. We got ours to go and ate at the Mingo Visitor Center picnic area. The boardwalk trail is pretty cool also.

[Flysmallie]

Thanks for the info slabseeker. I'm the dive master as far as eating places go so no fear there. And I'm sure an iced tea will sound wonderful after a 95 degree day. 

[BilletHead]

               I was hoping JD would chime in on this Ronnie. You might PM him. He has not been on here in a few days,

  BilletHead

[Flysmallie]

Yeah i thought @jdmidwest might know something about that area. Either way I'll have a better understanding of it in a couple of days. 

[BilletHead]

               Good deal man! Enjoy and looking forward to the report,

BilletHead

[jdmidwest]

I am sorry, been a while since I have been there fishing.  The last time I went to Duck Creek main pool was when my best friends dad passed a few years ago.  I took him and his two sons out that day in the boat before the viewing and have not been back since.  Cancer struck me that fall and I have only been there hunting one hunt since in the fall.  It was a place where I went and too many things have changed since, both water and fishing, and partners I used to fish it with.  It was a halfway point that we could meet and fish.  MDC management has let it grow up with water weeds and fishing declined.

Stanley Creek in Mingo was alright, hit or miss.  Probably ok right now,  but something we did in the fall.  You could paddle a canoe up in there and catch some bass or crappie.  But it has been 10 years since I have been up into it.  The 2 fighting bucks in the center on display were found by Richard and his son on a trip into the Stanley Creek area one fall.

Puxico had a bar that served a pretty good sliced BBQ on toast with the usual canned beer variety, nothing special.  But its been a while since I have done that.  Hope you have a good trip.

[Flysmallie]

So me and my buddy @Harps headed over to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge on Friday. Something we had been talking about doing for a couple of years. We didn't really know anything about the place besides it was there and held some fish we would like to catch. Namely a bowfin. We had planned the trip a couple of months ago and while we didn't want to wait until it got real hot we didn't want to risk going when it was too cold. Set the date and guess what? It was real hot.

We also chose to camp at the State Park at Wappapello. Looking at the map is was right around the corner from where we would be going. That right around the corner turned out to be 30+ miles and about an hours drive from the put in. But it did open up different choices for dinner and ice cream!

 

We visited Chunky Boyz for BBQ on Friday night in Puxico. That's a good spot and they have upped their accommodations. 

The sunset as we crossed the dam at Wappapello was beautiful.

Then we had to stop at Carolina's Ice Cream Shop & Cafe in Wappapello to get Jr. a chocolate shake. 

 

On Saturday night we ate at Crabb & Co. in Wappapello. Didn't get any pics there but it was another good meal.

While we were having cocktails around the campfire the locals showed up for tent inspections.

Mingo is a pretty place. That is for sure. Well except for that tea colored water. The thing I guess that surprised me the most was the lack of life. Sure we saw a couple of snakes, and turtles, and birds, and a couple of beavers. But no more than you would see anywhere else. And actually saw less turtles than what I expected.

 

We put in on the Mingo River at the end of Flatbanks Road. We had been warned at the visitor center that we wouldn't be able to get into the marsh because of water levels but should be able to paddle up top Stanley Creek. Maybe we could of but it would have been through miles of really nasty weed choked water. 

 

The fishing sucked. You just can't say it any other way. 2 guys fishing pretty hard for two days with only 2 gills and 1 bass to show for it.

 

I was lucky enough to catch one of the gills and the lone bass. The Swamp Witch granted me one wish on that bass.

[BilletHead]

           Great trip report and pictures Ronnie!

   The older I get the more I like the process of trips and not the catching. Catching is a bonus that we need but it doesn't make the trip. The cypress trees are neat and the knees they create are so cool. We have some in the yard we got from the MDC nursery. Some are beginning to produce knees but I blame the Mrs. for mowing them flat. We have them marked now and they are coming up. Thanks for the rode along,

  BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

As always a great photoessay of your trip! To bad that the fishing was not great. Still seemed like a great time. Thanks for taking us along. Like Marty, I also love the cypress trees. Always felt like the south when there was cypress and Spanish moss. Was expecting an alligator photo 😀.