TOSfly crew, I have just returned from a four-day float on Missouri's Eleven Point River located in the Irish Wilderness of the Mark Twain National Forest. I must give thanks to Tom Sr., Jim, and Tom Jr. for allowing me to join them on their annual winter trip. I must all also thank the Lord for the safe keeping and the beautiful blessing of seeing majestic Bald Eagles giving our campsite a fly-by everyday. Tom provided all of the great camp food and gear that made the camping trip extremely comfortable in the midst of freezing temperatures. Jim provided the boat ferry as well as the great history of the area that we were fishing. Thanks to both gents for the fellowship that was shared over coffee and bacon-wrapped chicken. I would love to share every detail about the trip but word counts will not allow. Therefore I will hit the highlights. We caught fish. Lots of fish. The two types that were caught in abundance were beautiful, golden bellied rainbows and red-eyed goggle eye. The river, according to Jim and Tom, was a lot lower than usual therefore producing a lot of different runs/shoals throughout our 6-mile stretch.
We caught the great majority of our fish stripping boogers (olive/brown/black) across the shoals and through the deep holes at the end of the shoals. The rainbows averaged around 13'' with a few fellas around the 17-18'' range. The colors on these fish amazing. They had this golden belly with orange tips on the fins. I had to take a double look to make sure we were not catching some rogue cutties. The goggle eye were caught where a warm creek flowed into the Eleven Point. The fish were hanging out at the bottom of the river and were enticed by our olive boogers. They were fun fish to reel in.
Throughout the trip we battled harsh conditions. Wind began to pick up as a cold front was pushing through. The night before this front we made about a mile hike up river to fish a certain shoal that proved successful in the past for the natives. All four of us (Jesse, Thomas, John, Myself) caught a lot of rainbows. The fish seemed to be gorging themselves before the cold front hit. It was a great couple of hours stripping some boogers. It is always fun to feel the tug.
This trip was amazing. There was turquoise water with shadows of eagles over top, mixed with the emerald flashing of bows feeding underneath. It was a great trip indeed. New faces became friends over campfire fellowship and stories of the days fish. Not to mention the roasted mallows that accompanied our stomachs after filet mignon. Thanks Tom and Jim for the opportunity. Im a lucky man. Check out the slide show below!
Until next time, cast to The Other Side
Blessed waters,
Chad
How long was the goggle-eye?
ReplyDeleteSome up to 10 inches!
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