doohickey

Very noble indeed. I've met that dog before and he's a sweetheart.

Jigging spoons are what I was using, specifically War Eagle jiggin' spoons.

@Stump bumper I was using a silver/white spoon due to it being a sunny day. What are your most productive colors for stained water on cloudy days?

Put in the boat around 8:30am. My neighbor was already out there and had caught a keeper striper jigging spoons. I trolled with an umbrella rig on one side and a flicker shad on the other for a couple hours. I caught a small striper and a bigger hybrid both on the umbrella rig using chartreuse grubs. I started jigging spoons around 11am and finally caught my first fish on a spoon (I've been trying this technique on and off all year). Boy, what a fish it was. I didn't have scales but I'd say it was about a 20lb flat-head catfish. He bent my swivel and my spoon came loose, but thankfully he was already in the net. I caught another small striper on the spoon shortly after the cat. My boat battery died on me so I had to call it an early day. I still had a blast and we feasted on fried catfish for dinner.

It was great to meet you guys. I did alright for the newbie that I am. Caught a couple hybrid and a 19" striper. Only the 2nd striper I've ever caught. I was trolling an Alabama rig with bait fish zoom super fluke jr.s. I tried other things but the A-rig was the only thing that got hit.

He admitted to shooting into the water. I was standing in the water. Also he was yelling at me to get off his land while shooting.

I agree with everything you said F&F. The main reason I posted this incident is to make others aware of this particular situation and hopefully learn a little myself, which I certainly have. I have yet to hear back from the Sheriff's office, but I'm already expecting it to come down to my word vs. his. Worst case scenario, he denies everything and presses charges against me for trespassing which I've already admitted to. My hope is that he realizes the dangers of shooting at people and thinks twice next time. My mind is still blown by the fact someone would shoot into the water, which can be quite dangerous.

It was more of an opportunity to work with the dog really. And she's not completely untrained, I've been working with her for almost 6 months. I had been painting my house all day and just wanted to take a little trip, figured I'd take the pole with me. I have a boat and normally go to the lake (with my dog, every time). Guess I'll just stick to the lake.

I was working closely with the dog, to the point I was really hardly fishing. It is a young dog and relatvely new to me, and she had been doing fine, for at least an hour, then she just took off. I immediately followed trying to get her to come back. As I said previously, I admit the dog should not have gone up onto the property and it would ultimately have been my fault if she had been shot. However, I feel that it escalated quickly once I realized this guy was not only shooting towards me, but admitted to shooting into the water, which itself is quite dangerous. Him yelling to get off his land while shooting made it apparent to me that it wasn't just the dog this guy was trying to scare off.

I went ahead and filed a report. I'm waiting to hear back from a deputy so we'll see. My main concern is that somebody may get hurt. Hell, I was going to take my 11 year old son with me but he ended up going to a friends house. This could have ended badly for sure.

Yes, the one closest to the creek, just north of the property you had marked in the previous picture. the star is where he approached me.

That is the side I thought he was shooting from. I am deaf in one ear so it's near impossible for me to tell which direction it was coming from at the time. However, the landowner approached me from the opposite side of the creek so I am under the assumption it was the guy living in the house just to the north of your marking, across the creek.

I would love to take this to court, unfortunately, I don't have the means to do so.

Yes, very same stream. The lady at the AGFC stated that the county has the authority. It's a very grey area which I believe needs to be addressed. There are federal and state mandates and sometimes a stream may fall under one, or both, or neither. Totally confusing IMO.

This past Sunday I took my dog and went fishing on Clear Creek just west of Johnson, Arkansas. I parked at Wheeler bridge and walked downstream to a hole and began fishing. The dog is young so I was working with her and making sure she stayed with me. Another fisherman came walking upstream during this time and we talked and he then continued off upstream. About an hour into the trip the dog takes off, so I go after her downstream. I went a couple hundred yards calling for her but staying in the stream the entire time. Suddenly I hear a man yell "get out of here" and then a gunshot. I yell at him to please not shoot my dog and that I'm just trying to get her back. He then yells "get off my land" and three more shots. I'm completely deaf in one ear so it was hard for me to tell exactly where he was shooting from. I'm freaking out at this point thinking my dog is shot and not even realizing this guy might be shooting at me. At the time I was thinking it was just about the dog and was under the assumption that the creek was state property and I was legal as long as I didn't go beyond the high water mark. I've fished in this location twice before and have friends that fish there all the time, several times a week in fact. So I start walking back upstream towards the bridge and that's when the guy comes down to the creek with his pistol now holstered. I ask him if he shot my dog and he says no, he shot into the water. That's when it dawns on me, I'm standing in the water where he was shooting. He then starts yelling at me to get off his land, it's private property and he's tired of dealing with "you people". I didn't argue with him as I wasn't armed and it obviously wouldn't have been a very good idea. Fortunately, the dog was waiting where I had left my gear and she was terrified, but ok. So I go home and call the AGFC after not being able to find much information about the legal status of Clear Creek. I had read enough to understand that it's only legal if it has been deemed navigable, but was unsure of it's status. The very nice lady who answered the phone told me that Clear Creek is deemed navigable in Crawford County, but she didn't know about Washington County so she had to call me back. She called back shortly and informed me that no streams or creeks in Washington County had been deemed navigable. The captain she spoke to said the land owner had the right to tell me to leave but it was illegal to shoot at me and that I should file a complaint with the County Sheriff. At this point I don't want to deal with it further. Admittedly, the dog should not have gone up to his property and I'm very glad she didn't get shot. I'm not happy about being shot at myself. I have always been cautious about the laws, purchased necessary licenses and made sure to clean up after myself to the point where I usually pick up any trash I see, whether it's mine or not. I thought I would leave this here as I know many people who are under the assumption that these creeks are public property and fish them all the time. I really hope this hot-head doesn't end up shooting somebody. In my opinion, the area should be posted as it's obvious people fish there all the time.