Friday June 4: we left Springfield after 9 a.m. and drove to moon valley on the Niangua River, which is upstream from Bennett Spring S.P. I took the truck with a kayak with Rod and Warren riding together from Springfield. It was after 10:30 a.m. when we drove into moon valley access. Unfortunately, there were thirty canoes in the water waiting for a church camp group. I was hoping for a calm day on the water; it was not to be. I shoved off, Rod and Warren drove to Bennett Spring to fish. We agreed to meet at the mouth of the spring creek flowing out of the park at 3 p.m.
I fished the first shoal after Moon valley, finding a few sunfish and three small-mouth bass before an armada of canoes passed through. I walked back up stream, waited for the water to calm down and fished through the shoal again finding another small-mouth in the hole below the riffles. I looked at my watch and realized it was time to put the paddle to the water. I had six miles to cover in two hours.
I paddled to Bennett Spring S.P. and was right on time. Rod and Warren were there with the truck, we loaded the kayak and we drove to Roach, MO to the Windermere Resort for the weekend. After arriving the resort, we picked up our registration packet, unpacked our gear, set up the room and had supper at the resort facility. We found and talked with Kevin Lohraff and Regina Knauer. After, supper we grabbed a rod and a few flies and walked to the lake. Rod and Warren started near the docks and worked their way to the cove. I walked to the end of the Windermere property and worked my way back. We caught a few white bass; a few small large-mouth bass, sunfish and Rod reeled in and released a carp. We called it a night at 10 p.m.
Saturday June 5: Our class met at 8:30 a.m., there were thirteen participates with plenty of enthusiasm and feathers flying in the air. For most, this was their first time at a vise tying a fly. The class went smoothly, we explain of the macro-invertebrate in the rivers and helped them tie three different flies.
We finished at noon and had the rest of the afternoon off, we stayed inside to tie our own flies since the temperature was over ninety and humid. That evening the MDC had a catered barbeque dinner.
The women had several programs with a campfire planned for that night. Rod, Warren and I grabbed our rods and went back to the lake. Warren stayed near the docks and caught sunfish galore.
Rod and I walked the cove and had a difficult time finding cooperitive fish. I finally caught a large-mouth bass at 10 p.m. Calling it a night at 10:30 and walked back to the staff lodge.
The next day we had another class with seven. It went better than the day before. We packed up at noon and said our good byes to Kevin, Regina and others. We returned to Springfield.
June 16, 2010: Jim Scheve and I had another day to fish the North Fork of the White River.
The river gage height was 2.9 feet and very wadable, near normal conditions and perfect for wade fishing Craig, owner of Pettit Canoe rental dropped us off at Kelly Ford and we fished 5 miles to Blair Bridge.
The water was clear and cool with a partly sunny sky that produced a few pop-up thunder storms in the afternoon. We heard thunder and saw the building thunderheads in the western sky; it rained on us on our drive home. Jim had a good day of catching, releasing a dozen to hand with several fish breaking off. I rolled a few in the riffles and released three rainbows, one was fifteen inches. Just below the River of Life Farm, we saw a deer running from the noise of a mower and ran the path along the river bank near us.
I turned a few stones and found a stone fly nymph willing to pose for the camera. We finished our fish day at Blair Bridge a few minutes before 6 p.m. Jim and I plan to fish the Eleven Point River next month.
Saturday June 19, 2010: I drove to Greer access on the Eleven Point River; I left Springfield at 6 a.m. with a light rain and a few flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder. I knew the signs, not a good start to a trip on a river.
Needless to say, I drove out of rain, driving 150 miles to the east then going south from Winona. I found Kevin Smith and Jeff House getting their watercraft ready to fish for the day. We made our plans several weeks before this day, with Kevin and Jeff driving down setting camp the day before. On Friday, they fished upstream above Hwy 19 Bridge finding a few rainbow trout for day.
The access was crowded with several groups renting canoes and floating for the day. We waited for them to depart and fished the areas not normally traveled by canoe at islands with the stream splitting into two directions. We floated and fished a three-mile section to Little Hurricane creek and camp on a gravel bar for the night. The gage height read 3.85 feet for the two days, which was up a few inches for this time of the year with the water slightly off color.
We fished slowly and steady throughout the day, the bright sun was hot with the cool waters keeping us comfortable while wet wading. Here is a photo of a damsel fly on the abundant stream side plants.
We found a few fish and considered it a good day of fish. We stopped at a gravel bar below Little Hurricane Creek, pitched the tents, gather some wood and fished again for a short time before preparing dinner.
I packed some halibut and garden fresh green beans; Jeff had some fresh corn on the cob, which was roasted over a campfire. We grilled the halibut and had more than enough to eat. We fished a short time after dinner. I saw some high clouds to the northwest and grew concern for an overnight rain; it did not happen. I did learn when returning to Springfield the next day; a storm did hit southwest Missouri dropping two inches of water in the rain gauge.
We called it a day before 9:30 p.m. turning in for the night. The river covered in a silver fog that radiated by the moon’s light. The moon was waxing, sitting in the western sky giving us light past midnight. The stream sounds whispered in our ears of sweet dreams and a better day of fishing tomorrow.
This is the view from our campsite of the river in the morning
Kevin was the first to wake, I heard him at 6 a.m., going through the dry good bag in his canoe looking for a coffee pot. The sun was not seen from behind the hills, with a persistent fog filling the valley. A few spinner mayflies were seen over the water making their final journey upstream to drop eggs on the water’s surface. We ate a quick breakfast, repacked our gear into our watercraft and back to the river and fishing before 7:30.
I found this fellow under my kayak, can you see his smile?
Kevin and Jeff floated on down to the boulder above Mary Decker shoal to start their day. I fished the shoal just below our campsite. I managed to hand release a few rainbow trout and a goggle eye in the deep water below the shoal.
Kevin and Jeff had a terrific day in a riffle above Hurricane Creek and the shoal above the cave hole releasing more than forty rainbow trout, maybe more.
I managed a dozen for the day with a fourteen-inch trout my best in length for the day. Kevin released a trout of nineteen inches with Jeff catching a plethora of trout.
I did video some of the river during the day of fishing and have it for your viewing pleasure. It was great to be on he best stream in Missouri and looking forward to my next trip.
