Trip Report - 5/22/2020

[OzarkRiverCamper]

About 10 of us went for 3 nights Friday - Sunday.  We put in at the Culvert where North and South Prongs meet.  USGS gage said right around 350 CFS...perfect conditions on the Jacks Fork.  Then the rain came.  We got rained on for about 2.5 hours, during which I caught about 8 fish...the fishing never quite recovered from there. We camped just short of the 17 bridge.  River did rise and was running fast and strong on Saturday.  It was a beautiful day with poor fishing.  River was dingy but still clearer than most Missouri rivers.  We camped Saturday at Jam Up Cave. We finished up Sunday at Rhymers.

I was a little disappointed in the fishing but after looking at the gages when I got back, the river jumped to 450 CFS by Saturday and it was tough to get anything to the bottom where the fish were hanging out.  In the few somewhat slower sections, I did catch smallmouth and rock bass.  Me and the other fisher in the group were always 20 minutes behind my group so I am not sure what they were up to...it also seemed to pick up a bit on Sunday as the levels lowered and water cleared.

All in all a good trip.  My last trip on the JF was after some pretty serious flooding so it was good to see it back in it's full glory.  While there are some stretches and rapids that remain recognizable to me, that river changes every time I am on it.  It will never get old.

 

[jdmidwest]

Its been 5 years since I was there.  Last trip of the season before the cancer diagnoses.  Missed the big flood in 2017 while doing radiation. 

I really need to hit it again this season.  Been a long time since the upper portions.