The big news in the July issue of Traveler was the reintroduction of alligator gar to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. This fish, which can get as large as 300 pounds, was once an important part of the swampy ecosystem of Mingo. Traveler territory is mainly the central and eastern Ozarks, but like the Indians that lived here before, the swampy land that marks the beginning of the Mississippi River delta is of interest to us. The stocked fish were radio equipped and their movement is being tracked.
Besides there sheer novelty of perhap one day seeing one of these huge fish basking at the surfaceof Monopoly Lake, it is also likely they'll improve the fishing for game fish by reducing the population of large rough fish.
There is a story about a Fathers' Day fishing trip, a beautiful but poisonous flower and a geologic story about how the rocks at the Tiemann Shut-Ins on the St. Francis River came about.
Jim Featherston's history relates the tale of a guy by the name of Dunk who worked in the Grandin sawmill in the early 1900's. It reveals what life was like for many people along the Current River valley back in those days.
Rudi Rudruff recounts a trip with his son way up on the St. Francis River. They counted 39 shut-in sections on their way down to Highway 72, almost none of which could be run in a kayak. The trip became an ordeal as they dragged and carried their watercraft down the river. In larger holes, they had to fight a strong head wind.
Charlie Slovensky began writing for Traveler in 1980. There's a story about Charlie and his love of writing. His roots are in the Meramec River valley although his job has taken him to Georgia the past few years.
With rain moving in from the west, a float trip on Black River was scraped. Bob and Pat Todd drove east instead, taking in a high sand ridge that was once a sand bar on the Mississippi River. They continued on for a jazz concert at a winery north of Commerce. A float on Black River was made a few days later.
Publisher Emery Styron got in floats on Jacks Fork and Eleven Point Rivers in June. His account is repeated below.
Jason Brooks said now is the time to get even with those squirrels that gave deer hunters such a hard time last fall. Squirrel hunting is a good way to introduce young people to hunting and a good way for seasoned hunters to stay in practice.
There also recipes, seasons, sunrise table, travel maps, coming event, the new deer season regulations, news and other features.There's even a story on the rare chicken turtle, found just this spring near Lake Wappapello after not being seen since 2001.

Publisher floats on Jacks Fork, Eleven Point

By Emery Styron
Jim Anderson of Eminence and I spent a pleasant day in early June fishing and floating the stretch of the Jacks Fork River between Bay Creek and Alley Spring. We didn't put a big dent in the smallmouth population, but can you think of a more enjoyable way to pass the time than canoeing down a lovely Ozark river on a fine spring day?
Jim grew up in Piedmont, earned an ag degree at MU, and worked in agribusiness in Iowa, Kansas and Colorado before buying the Shady Lane Cabins and Motel in Eminence five years ago. He's a wealth of information about the Current and Jacks Fork.
The night before we fished, we drove out to see some of the wild horse band that roams the Scenic Riverways. As many Traveler readers know, the horses are descended from those turned loose by farmers in the Great Depression of the 1930s and have been the subject of much controversy and publicity over the years.
It was fun to watch the stallion, mares and colts graze and frolic in the dusk. Jim tells me the National Park Service culls the herd to keep the numbers around 40.
So far as the fishing goes, we caught enough to keep things interesting but nothing to brag about. Jim's an excellent guide and didn't want me to be skunked. I don't think he went so far as to put a fish on my hook when I wasn't looking, but he worked hard to make sure I caught something.
One lesson learned is to be careful about pulling on lures caught in tree limbs. I had one, I think it was a Rooster Tail, come flying back across the river and knock the right lens out of my glasses and cut my cheek. I'm lucky not to have lost an eye. Snipping the line or at least ducking my head would have been the wiser course. Hindsight's 20/20, even out of one eye.
It was also nice to renew the acquaintance of Shane Van Steenis at Harvey's Alley Spring Canoe Rental. Shane hails from Bloomfield, Iowa, near where I worked and lived the past several years. He and Jim both report a good start to the season on the Jacks Fork and Upper Current.
Nice floating on Eleven Point
Three Styron brothers, two of their sons enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the Eleven Point River in late May. We put in at Whitten and floated to Riverton, with a stop at the lovely Boze Mill Spring. All agreed that the view of the spring was worth the trip.
Water was a little higher than normal for this time of year and a stiff wind blowing upstream made it a little hard to get started. We eventually learned how to travel with the current and found the going easier.
It was the first time in a canoe for young James Styron, who sighted a muskrat, several turtles and herons and a kingfisher.
Another plus was getting acquainted with Mike and Wendy Jones, friendly proprietors of Hufstedler's Canoe Rental at Riverton. Mike works the timber business in the winters and enjoys the demanding outfitter business in the warmer season.

Two dozen years ago, July 1983

When bass fishing got slower than slow, Jerry Stone and Bob Todd tried for anything else. Taking a lunch break, they set out a minnow trap and caught a few small minnows.
They ended up hooking a 53 inch long-nose gar on a minnow and a 10 pound buffalo that surprisingly took a lure. Both fish were on at the same time. It was quite a circus before they managed to get the two fish beached on a St. Francis River gravel bar.
The historical story, by Emma Comfort Dunn, was about the 40 years the Spanish ruled this area. Population went from 900 to over 10,000. Yet today we celebrate the early French history, but are hardly aware of the contribution of Spanish culture to the River Hills area, she noted.
The Missouri Legislature had just passed a measure calling for a vote on a parks and soils tax in November, 1984. The Legislature also went on record opposing a proposed sale of Mark Twain National Forest land by the Reagan Administration.
Due to a growing popularity of tubing on lower Current River, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways now requires licenses of people who rent tubes. The licensing system could be used to put a limit on tubes if that ever becomes necessary, the park said.
The idea of having three duck zones in Missouri has been turned down by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the past but the Conservation Commission was proposing the idea once again.
There was a story by A.E. Lucas about “prospecting” up a creek bed of an intermittent stream. Many kinds of treasure can be found.
A fellow by the name of Carl Gray caught an eight pound largemouth bass below Clearwater Dam. It had been tagged in 1978 in the Webb Creek area of the lake proper. It was 18 inches when tagged.
A much-awaited nesting success for bald eagles on Mingo National Wildlife Refuge ended in tragedy. An eagle hen and her eggs were killed by lightning.
There was a picture story on Lake Wappapello’s Dike 3 Camp. The site has since been obliterated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - a money-saving thing during the Reagan Administration.
Charley Slovensky wrote about the art of tight-lining. Finding a good gravel bar casting distance from deep water is one thing needed.

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