If
you never took the opportunity to float one of Missouri's Ozark
spring fed streams, you are missing out on an opportunity to experience
not only memorable fishing, but Missouri's outdoors at its best.
Recently, fellow Heartland Hunter, Matt and I took a trip to Pulaski
County to experience the Big Piney River.
The
Big Piney, may be one of Missouri's best kept secrets. It flows
NE from Cabool in Texas County and flows approximately 114 miles
to its confluence with the Gasconade River. It has a special Management
area along the way for trophy smallmouth bass, but fishing can
be great anywhere along the river year long. We camped out at
the Wilderness Ridge Resort, who took good care of us and supplied
us with our canoe and transportation up river.
You
can opt to do a one day float that will take you 7 or 8 miles,
or if you want to truly experience the River, you can do a 15
or 23 mile, 2 day float on the river, spending the night on one
of the many gravel bars along the way. Matt and I opted for the
23 mile trek, which turned out to be more like 25 according to
our GPS. We packed light with enough water, sandwiches, and primitive
camping gear to get us to our destination. But we did pack some
foil and butter for a riverside shore lunch to accommodate a few
fresh caught rock bass.
The
river along the way evolves and changes as you go. Some sections
are wider with slower moving water, lined with lily pads and other
vegetation. It was here that we saw swarms of gar cruising the
surface and huge carp exploding out of the vegetation as they
fed. What I wouldn't have done for a bow fishing rig in these
parts. But there were plenty of narrow sections, where the tree
canopies closed out the sky above you. It gave you a feeling of
paddling through some version of a North American jungle as the
current swept along and a faster pace.
It
was these spots we caught majority of our fish. We used a combination
of lures along the way. I caught by best smallmouth (17",
2.2 lbs) on a 3" gulp minnow, and Matt caught his best (16")
right after mine using live crawfish we caught along the way.
But we also had great success on Rebel's crawfish crank baits,
soft plastic grubs and top water buzz baits.
I
highly recommend trying the top water bite when fishing for smallmouth.
They're known for fighting like a Sherman tank when you hook up
with this muscle bound welter weights, but if you tempt them with
downsized buzz bait, they will crush it like a torpedo on steroids.
This was certainly one of the hi-lites to the trip. I think my
heart skipped each time they hit my buzz bait.
Of
course, it wouldn’t be a true adventure if we didn’t
have a few perils along the way. The 100 degree heat was manageable
with the occasional dip in the cool river. But my luck also came
with me turning my one piece ultra-lite St. Croix into a 2 piece
4 hours into our trip, black flies that would swarm us any time
we hit certain areas of the river, thunder storms at night that
had us having one way conversations with our maker as we huddled
in our one man tents, and one lone rock at the beginning of some
fast water that dumped one unsuspecting fishing partner into the
river. I was happy to just stay dry and save the canoe and all
out gear from becoming river ornamentation.
But
during our 20 plus mile trek down river, we got to see every thing
from deer, turkey flying over the river, otters, a bald eagle,
raccoons, soft shell turtles, one of the largest snapping turtles
I have ever scene swimming by, countless gar, blue herons, king
fishers, ducks, you name it. Folks have even scene black bear
and wild hogs along the Big Piney. Even on one of the hottest
days of they year, the rivers aesthetics were nice to take in.
I could only imagine what a fall or springtime float would be
like when the fishing is at is best.
The
Big Piney is known for one of the best small mouth rivers in the
state, and we were not disappointed. It also supports a large
rock bass (goggle eye) population. The nice thing is, the rock
bass hit on smallmouth lures, so you have an opportunity to catch
both species easily along the way. We even hooked up with a few
largemouth, just to keep things interesting.
Whether
you are looking for a relaxing day on a cool Ozark stream or a
multiple day adventure, the Big Piney has it all. You are missing
out on a great opportunity to experience what Missouri has to
offer if you are spending all your time fishing big lakes or small
ponds, when you can take advantage of one the many smallmouth
streams in southern Missouri that are close to home. We will be
back again, that it for sure. I only wish I hadn’t taken
so long to experience it for the first time.
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