Elk River Report 1/18/10

[kayakrat]

Been a while since I posted a report......need to get back in the swing of it.

Ken, Kevin and myself took the drift boats down the Elk sunday. Put in at Big Elk campground in Pineville and took out at Mt Shira. 7 river miles per the GPS. Water was great with only two instances having to get out and drag. One was a downed tree about 200yds down stream of Hog Heaven campground. The tree is all the way across the water, but looked like someone had trimmed the larger brnches.

Fishing was extremely slow, but the cool breeze and wonderful scenery made up for it. A few bald eagles were spotted along the way as well as a ton of squirrels. Will see if I can get some pictures up before long.

Hadnt been to Mt Shira in a while. Seems they have a new restroom and the parking lot is in alot better shape than I remember it. Lots of dead suckers around Ginger Blue area......not sure why.

[kayakrat]

and the pictures....

[Half Ton]

glad to here that GPS read trip is 7 miles. I had always guessed 8.

I have never been on big sugar to pineville. any suggestions?

BTW - nice boat.

[Cowper]

Is that drift boat safe to use during the summer drinkin' season on the Elk?

Or does it just make you a target for beer-raiding pirates?

(I've found it necessary to camoflage myself at times by not wearing a PFD and always having a beer can in my hand, even if it is empty...)

[kayakrat]

HT - The further up you go, the more water dependent it is. I havent floated upstream from Pineville an awful lot. When water is good you can put in at Cyclone and come down.

I use this for my river break down: http://www.missouricanoe.org/river-maps/elksugar.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cowper - The boat is great for.......errr.......admiring the local color. :) I tend to shy away from the Elk during the "Bubba Hatch". If I venture out, I keep the fly rod with a nicely weighted fly. Being able to cast a weighted fly with precision has more perks than just catching fish.

[RandyJ]

..."Bubba Hatch"...

Funny.