Ive searched and cant seem to find the info im looking for 
Does anyone know what the river level (and where I can view the gauge online)has to be to run the upper Jacks Fork without alot of walking? From the Prongs or from Buck Hollow down.
I had some buddys go last weekend from Buck Hollow to Alley Springs and they had a blast, with only minimal walking due to shallow water(twice).
I havent been down there this year unfortunately, and with them showing me pictures and rubbing it in about how much fun they had really makes me want to get down there while I have a rare weekend off.
Here you go
http://www.thetent.com/thetent/aogcr/mo/mosf_index.htm - Look at the gauge in Montain View- I would say from the Prongs no less than 2.0. But from Buck Hollow, Iām guessing 1.5-1.75 you will drag, but should still have barely enough water.
Nice Link, Glorydaze
I have 12 separate USGS links to āMyā accesses. With that one link, I have most of mine and several others.
IMHO, I wouldnāt run the Jackās Fork at less than 2ā, and closer to 2.5-3ā on the Mountain View gauge with a loaded boat. Havenāt been on the Jackās Fork this year, just havenāt āCaughtā it at the right level. Weāve had a pretty good drought here in southern MO, while north of us theyāve had plenty. Iād look at the Eleven Point or the Current as alternates if I was āPinnedā to a certain date. WW
I go by the cfsā¦
As you know, the river level graph is totally useless on a river you donāt know well, unless you can find somebody such as the good people on here to tell you. I go by the cubic feet per second graph. Basically, on any Ozark stream, you need at least 100 cfs, and preferably 150 cfs, to get by with minimal walking and dragging and scraping bottom. The larger and wider the stream is, the more cfs you needā¦the upper Jacks Fork is very narrow, so the riffles are deeper until you get fairly close to Bay Creek, and you can float it at 100 cfs, while on the lower Buffalo you need at least 150 cfs for a float that isnāt a lot of work. Ordinarily the upper Jacks Fork wouldnāt be floatable this time of year, and in fact I just went to the website and saw itās down to something like 45 cfs, which is far too low. Itās been dropping since last weekend, when it was up around 150-250 cfs and dropping.
Good Rule of Thumb
As you said, unless you KNOW a river, the water level in terms of āFeetā can be meaningless. I have notes from over the years that guide me to water levels on certain rivers. The CFS is really what I should be paying more attention to. That makes perfect sense, thanks for the tip Al_A! WW