Float from Hwy 133 to Hwy 7 this Saturday

[GotaFish]

A couple of life long friends and I are going to float the Gascondae from Hwy 133 to Hwy 7 this Saturday. 
 

The gauge at Hazel Green shows:

The river was at 4.48 ft on June 15, 17.84 ft on June 17 and 6.96 ft today. If they don’t get any more rain we should be good to go on Saturday. 
 

Although I just checked and when I floated it last year it was at 2.18 ft. So we are going to have a lot of water and will probably be a pretty fast float.

Any advice you have for our trip will be appreciated. 

[Seth]

Creek mouths and current seams should be your friend for smallies. Any slower pockets with wood as well. Spinnerbait, crankbait and some sort of plastic or finesse jig for dragging bottom. Water may not be high enough to put them in creeks, but they should be near mouth or along structure just below creek mouths with water dropping hard.

[Al Agnew]

First of all...are you sure you can put in at 133?  From what I've seen on Facebook, the owners of the property have shut off all access recently.

Second, to get the most out of the gauges, stop going by level in feet, and go by discharge in cubic feet per second.  It's a universal measure, while level is different for every gauge.  And if you use flow in cfs, you can find out what the normal flow is for the date.  Right now it's at 3930 cfs.  That's a heck of a lot of water.  And even assuming no more rain, it will only be down to something like 2500 to 3000 cfs by Saturday.  Normal flow is around 450 cfs.  It may or may not be muddy, but it's going to be moving fast, and certainly very murky at least.  Muddy water is pretty much a no-go for me.  I want at least 18 inches of visibility.  

Only advice I'd have is to look for fish in eddies along the bank, on the downstream end of islands, and as Seth said, around the mouths of creeks.  Bigger crankbaits and spinnerbaits to find them, then slow down with jig and trailer type lures to see if there are more than one where you find one.

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

  It may or may not be muddy,

Likely muddy is my guess.  

[GotaFish]

Thanks for your valuable information and suggestions. It does look like the private access at the old highway 133 bridge is closed. 

How is fishing and access further upstream?  Maybe from Barlow to Gasconade Hills or to Hazelgreen?

Is there a boat ramp at Barlow where I can launch my Shaunee?

[Al Agnew]

Barlow has a gravel bar access, if I remember correctly.  May or may not be able to launch your boat with the water high.  There are other Forest Service accesses, but the only access with a ramp is Anna Adams MDC access.  It's all good water.

[WestCentralFisher]

Just be careful. At low water the upper/middle Gasconade is as easy as it gets, but the water will be really high, and who knows what new hazards there may be.

[GotaFish]

Thanks again for all of your responses.  Everyone's willingness to respond and provide guidance and advice is what makes this forum so Great. Given that the water is high and the temperatures are forecast to be 95+, we decided to postpone this weekend's trip until late in the summer.

[snagged in outlet 3]

7 hours ago, GotaFish said:

Thanks again for all of your responses.  Everyone's willingness to respond and provide guidance and advice is what makes this forum so Great. Given that the water is high and the temperatures are forecast to be 95+, we decided to postpone this weekend's trip until late in the summer.

Smart move