My summer on the Eleven Point

[Mark]

In the spring, after a couple of years of talking about it, a couple of friends and I invested in a brand new square stern Old Towne canoe and a 2.5 Mercury motor. With a new toy, I managed to spend a total of 16 days this summer on the Eleven Point.

We are the type of fishermen who like to wade and not spend much time in the canoe, rather, we just use the canoe to taxi from one fishing spot to the next. Although we have been fishing the Eleven Point a couple times a year for the past 10-11 years, we are by no means master fishermen, none of us fly fish or worry about catching a trophy fish. Personnally, I haven't floated the Blue Ribbon area from Greer to Turner's Mill in over 20 years.

Now some of you master fishermen may frown on us novices, we know, but derive our greatest joy from our Eleven Point trips from just catching enough keepers for supper. We use basic ultralight rod and reels, usually PowerBait eggs, worms, and actually discovered a great bait this summer - little frozen salad shrimps for about $1.50 for about 30 shrimp. Fish loved them and they fit on a hook nicely.

Having our our canoe has allowed to shuttle ourselves and giving us much more freedom to put in when and where we want. We made our first trip on the lower river from the HWY 142 bridge to the Myrtle access on the 4th of July - a big mistake going on the holiday. Lots of BIG boats that have no concern for any canoes on the water. We spent most of our time holding on from the wake of big jet props that sped up and down the river. I was amazed at all the nice cabins, houses, and weekend getaways on the lower river. Some really nice places.

Now the only part we haven't floated is the section from Riverton to the HWY 142 bridge. Definitely will have to do it next summer.

If anyone has ever thought about investing in a canoe, I would recommend the place on the square in Alton called Ozark River Canoe. Our canoe retailed for $1,600 and we bought it for $900, although it was called an "irregular" for some minor blemish, we could not find any flaw. The 2.5 Mercury motor was bought new in St. Louis for about $750.

It has been a great investment and we are sure if we use it as much as we did this past summer, it will more than pay for itself

Mark

[snagged in outlet 3]

Great post Mark. Wish I could've been with you. Don't worry about your method or experience, it's all about having fun and enjoying the outdoors. Keep posting your trip results.

SIO3

[Altonite]

That's neat. The only part of Eleven Point I have never been on is the part from 142 to Myrtle(or what I call Stubblefield). The reason you ran into bigger jet boats down that way was because they can run 40hp Jets from 142 down to the AR line, a lot of people play down that way. I don't go near the river on major holidays. I bought a canoe at the place in Alton . They have some great deals, I also have a 25hp jet that I run to fish in too( no throwing rocks fellows). I always go up if I put in at 142 though. I have floated from Thomasville all they way to 142 at different times and have been above Thomasville on foot grabbing suckers on the Eleven Pt. and Middle Fork, actually I have grabbed suckers on Barren Fork, Spring Creek, Fredrick,Hurricane and Mill Creek also(all run into the Eleven Point). Eleven Point is a great river to live by and fish. I havn't grabbed many suckers in the past few years(too much work) but I do like to trout fish a little. Like to fish for smallies and goggle eye too.

Picture of bridge that Boze Mill Spring runs under.

[Rapalafella]

Really nice thread and good pictures and posts... Keep the 11 pt. nice. That river deserves it... We will return, not like MacArthur, but we will return.

That part of the USA is a special place in my opinion...

[Mark]

It certainly is a special place. The Ozark Scenic Riverway has established a stretch of river without commercialism or private property owners destroying the natural beauty of the river. There is no where else in our part of the world like the section of river that we float from Turner's Mill to Riverton. I always get the feeling of going back in time a couple hundred years and seeing the area as it was back then. One can almost imagine the Osage lurking from the nearby woods at some of the first visitors.

Having said all of that, some of my friends and I always have this debate about the area. They are convinced that Hufstedlers' land where the store is at the Riverton bridge is a gold mine in the waiting. The land and business is for sale, although the store and 2 house on it are run down. They have talked about what an investment for someone to come in and level everything and put up nice cottages/rooms/retreat type places with all the conveniences and what a $$ maker it would be.

We have found some nice accomodations in Alton (kudos to Dave and Rosemary Case for their cottages in town - nice places) but it's not the same as being within walking distance to the river. On one hand, I think somewhere nice to stay close to the river with all the modern conveniences would be great, but I would also hate to see the area lose it's wilderness appeal. There are very few places left in our part of the world where you can go and get that feeling of losing touch with the modern world.

[Brian Sloss]

Actually with Mike's improving health, the possibility of a sale is getting smaller. Thankfully for he and his family, he is on the mend and I think he is less likely to sell, but you should talk directly to him if you are interested. I personally would hate to lose him as a fellow outfitter as we get along well and help each other out from time to time. I also love the scenic beauty of this river and hope it stays that way. I am glad you were able to enjoy the river as often as you did this summer, it is a special place.

[Mark]

Glad to hear Mike is doing well. He does a great job and is always willing to do whatever we ask of him. Personally, I wouldn't be interested, we were just talking about how it's a wonder someone hasn't commerialized the area more with places to stay, such as Van Buren, for instance, and how my friends think it's a gold mine for someone with those aspirations. I, personally, hope it stays the same but can see where the day may come when the Eleven Point becomes more commercialized simply because Oregon County is not a wealthy area and maybe the tourism dollars would be good for some people.