tjulianc

Sounds like Prof. Spitzer has a lot of work to do down there. Doesn't the estrogen comes from human waste, people taking pharmaceuticals that contain estrogen, and then the estrogen coming out as part of human waste? Also from people flushing pills down the toilet. There's probably a pretty high concentration of anti-depressants and antibiotics in waste water too.

I think this started in Marble Falls/ Dog Patch USA area because of the big ice storm two years ago. I think right now they are using a pump to divert the waste water from going down the creek. Maybe someone could confirm that? ADEQ did come to an agreement with Marble Falls solid waste, and the first phase of construction should be completed this May. I don't know if there is any news more up to date than this article: http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2010/09/17/settlement-in-marble-falls-sewer-case

I took my little solo canoe out Saturday and paddled up-stream from the Stoney Point access up around Grandview. I figured there would be just enough water flow below the confluence with Osage creek to get up river, otherwise I would of gone to a more scenic section of river. I also wanted to scout the area out, since I never have been there, and might want to go back later in the year to try to get some walleye. I assume white bass also run up the Kings? I went up 5 or 6 sets of rapids, and had a nice time. I didn't get one single bite, but that was ok. The area was teeming with birds. I must of seen dozens of ducks, in groups of about 6 to 12. Saw a dead female wood duck with a gun shot wound floating down the middle of the river. Lots of eagles were about too, including a juvenile that stayed close to one of the adults. I also saw a huge school of carp, each about the same size, 10-12", and there were hundreds of them. I regret leaving my camera behind, there were some nice scenes with Icicles on the cliffs, and still a lot of ice on the banks. All in all, a pretty nice day.

I think you did about the same things I would of done. I'm kinda of surprised you caught your fish before noon, rather than after. I did a little creek fishing Sat, but didn't even get a bite. The only thing I might of done differently is turn my attention to some crappie fishing if the bass were just not biting.

Kind of reminds me of a Yogi Berra quote, "Now I know why nobody ever comes here; its too crowded."

Ya'll got me wanting to go to the 11 pt. I've got a small solo canoe, are the rapids there tough? Are there sections I would want to avoid without getting into a bigger canoe?

The water in the Kings is much better above the confluence with Osage Creek, because of a chicken factory in Berryville. I'd definitely try to stay above(in this case south) the 62 bridge because of that. Marble to Rockhouse is very secluded with only one take out in a 27 mile stretch. I doubt you see a soul during midweek. Of course the catch is the water conditions. Surely we will get rain by then, and hopefully just the right amount.

I think I would go with either the Buffalo or the Kings River. The Kings river offers solitude on the upper end and good fishing. If you start at Big Onion Creek in Marble and go to Trigger Gap it is about a 35 mile trip. The best chance of encountering groups of people is the last 7.7 miles from Rockhouse to Trigger Gap, so you could cut that portion out and make it a 27 mile trip. You can check out the river map on the link below. I've used Kings River Outfitters in the past, and you can call Ernie and get river info if you need it. http://www.kingsriveroutfitters.com/pdf/upperkingsmap.pdf

I've been thinking about getting a Pflueger reel. I have had such good success with Shimano, that I haven't had the need to try another brand, but I hear good things about Pflueger, especially their spinner reels. I would like to try the President spinning reel, but it has a wooden knob, which I don't like. Does anyone know of a good place to get a replacement rubber knob for one? I used a Diawa in the past, and that didn't go so well, so I just stick with Shimano. My first bass combo, that I saved up to buy when I was a kid was a Ryobi reel, with no magnetic control setting or anything on it, paired with a 6' Berkeley Lightning rod. I caught a lot of nice fish on it, andI still have it in my garage as a kind of a relic. I also have an old Shimano Bantam 100, made between 1978-81, that still works. My buddy fished with it a few years ago, and did well with it. I bought it used about 20 years ago. I also like the All-Star rods I have used. Basically I try to stick with All-Star, Falcon, and Lamiglass for my rods, if at all possible. But, I will go with the best overall deal, which is why I have a hodge-podge of different rods. But I only have Shimano reels.

If I only could have three, then I would keep things pretty broad, nothing too specialized. I'd like to have one reel with fast retrieve like a Curado 200E7 for buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and rattle traps, paired with a 7' med/hvy fast action. Then two moderately fast reels, like a Citaca 200E both with a 6'9" med fast rods. I would rig one with mono line, to give it a little stretch so I could fish cranks with it and Fluoro on the other for finesse worm or jig fishing, possibly cranks too. I'd put braid on the 200E7. I think that would cover all the basics, for me anyway.

The Arkansas River is the best river system that contains Sauger in Ar. Just below Murray Lock and Dam, is a very good spot. The other rivers in Arkansas that have them are the Black, White, Current, Eleven Point, and Spring. There are concentrations of them below every dam along the Arkansas river from the Mississippi to Ft. Smith, but there is good bank fishing on both sides of the river below Murray. Got that info from "Fishing Arkansas" by Keith Sutton.

I've never fished a Wiggle Wart in my entire life of bass fishing. I have been and still am a big fan of Bandit crankbaits, and secondly Bill Norman's baby N. But I grew up fishing shallow swamps and bayous, and the Bandit is a great shallow water crank. I guess I ought to give em a try by now.

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I found this Sebile hook weight system on tacklewarehouse, and will probably order some. I like them because they are very versatile, with being able to add/remove weights, and use which ever hook you like. Anyone else give them a try yet? http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Sebile_Soft_Weight_System/descpage-SSWS.html

Try to be as quiet as you can on the water. The bass are very finicky, even with the rain. Slow dragging a tube works about as well as anything right now.

I just picked up a pair of hip waiters last week, and will be giving them a try later this week. How did yours do? What brand are they? I got a cheap pair made by Magellan, so I hope to get my money's worth out of them this winter/spring.

I'm just glad someone is bow-fishing the common carp in our clear water streams. According to Fishes of Arkansas by Robison and Buchanan, the common carp was introduced to Arkansas waterways in the 1880's from Asia. From the same source, "Competition does exist between young largemouth bass and carp of all ages for the available food. However, carp become most abundant and a nuisance in waters where physical and/or water quality degradation of habitat have already occurred and where such degradation has substantially reduced native fishes, particularly centrarchids and other predators" p. 177. Centrarchids are the sunfishes. I wonder why we don't have a more aggressive capture/kill policy in regards to carp, especially in clear water streams? I catch more fish from a canoe than the other methods Al listed.

The only swim bait that I have had any success with is the swimming senko, but I went ahead and picked up some money minnows. Do you usually rig the money minnow on weighted swim bait hook with the corkscrew bait keeper? I've also seen some people put a soft swim bait, like the money minnow, on a jig head and let it drift down the ripples bouncing off rocks.

That is what happened to my reel with the Red Label. It just would spring off, no matter what I did. Its good to hear that InvizX works for your spinning gear. I would like to use 8 lb test too for my spinning gear too. I will give it another shot next year. Seagur has a new line out called Tatsu, and its $40.00 for 200 yds, if you get 10 lb or less. I'm shocked that there is a market for line that high end.

Nolan, What kind of segaur do you use for spinning reel? I tried red label and had all kinds of problems with line twits. No I didn't overfill the spool. I was told by Segaur in an email, that invizX was best for spinning gear, but I'm reluctant to spend the money on more fluorocarbon until I am more confident it will work for a spinning reel. I used 12 lb red label on my bait caster and it is great. I also used Berkley Vanish, and it worked great for a baitcaster as well. I really like fluorocarbon for finesse worm fishing in clear water. I had some frustration with it knots too. I am currently using a palomer knot, and it has been working well.

I am planning some trips for this winter, and was thinking about taking one of my canoes down the Norfork, which I have never fished before. I would bring both some spinning tackle, and fly rod. I have both a tandem canoe and solo, so I could take either, but first, is it a good idea to take a canoe down the tail waters? I've read that some have taken kayaks, down at low to no flow, so a solo canoe would be about the same thing, right? Thanks for any help, suggestions.

Thank you Dutch, for sharing the Alberto knot. I tried it out, and much stronger than a triple surgeon and double uni. Pretty easy to learn too.

The best song ever for going river fishing, is Hank's Long Gone Lonesome Blues.

5 pound large mouth on a cane pole jigging for crappie.

Yes, browns and blacks work well, I prefer green pumpkin. Try to find a finesse bass jig, something around 1/8 to 1/4 oz ( I really like 3/16 oz for river smallies). Zoom makes a lot of good trailers, (plastic craws) but there are a ton out there (if you can find it NetBait's Pacca Chunk works well too). Tube jigs almost always work well for river smallies. Depending on jig size 1/16- 1/4 oz jig head should be fine. I get frustrated with tube jigs sometimes, because they get caught in the rocks on the bottom and break off or you have to paddle over the good fishing holes to get out of a snag, scarring off finicky fish. For starters the Strike King's Bitsy Bug is a good jig you can find just about anywhere, such as Walmart. Its not my favorite jig, but it works, and is affordable. Here is a link: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_Bitsy_Bug_Jig/descpage-SKBB.html The Zoom super chunk is a good trailer that is also easy to find, Walmart, Academy, etc. Go for the smaller 2" size over the big 3.5" size. You should catch a few more fish with the smaller trailer. http://zoombait.com/chunks-trailers-grubs/chunks/super-chunk-jr/ A good article on fishing a finesse bass jig: http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00181/1.php Hope this helps.