delta_queen

I can't speak to obstacles on that trip as it has been a while for me, but I do recall that having to portage OVER the Ponca low water bridge was a pain in the you know what with camping gear. http://www.buffaloriverandrain.com/ has the most authorative recommened floating levels and current guages - in case you haven't been to that yet. check out the forum here http://ozarkmtnpaddlers.org/forum/ - especially 'River Beta' for float specifics.

in the market ... anybody?

we went to the natural area yesterday and the day before; caught some red eyes, small smallies and a striped. (and brrrr, it was chilly) warming up though! Looks like canoe heaven right now that won't last much longer. Still haven't found a rental place, but certain I will find one. Bro will be joining us and we'll go on a weekend float/fish/camp. Thanks for your help Ten In and Hog Law. A small canoe outfitter is needed in this county IMHO.

found this on the internet. I'm not the author, but thought I would post for the interest of the greater good

Hi RiverRunner, I also just looked in an AR Canoe forum and there are some reports of smallmouth on this creek. I am pretty sure we are going to float and fish it when the weather warms up and there is still enough water in it. It's a wild creek in our neighborhood .. gotta check it out first hand. I'll report back here Perhaps someelse might still chime in here.

We're growing gills waiting for the season to turn in our favor. Yesterday we walked around Big Creek Natural Area. The creek looks swift, floatable and fishable in many areas. Downright beautiful place. I have questions for this group: 1. Is there anywhere we can rent a canoe around Searcy, Pangburn, Heber? We will be buying one some day soon, but would like to rent in the interim. 2. Do any of you have an old canoe under your house that you might consider selling or leasing? 3. Have you floated the Big Creek? What about put ins/ take outs? Falls or dangerous areas to discuss? 4. Any fish stories? 5. How much does this creek disappear in the summer? Thanks so much in advance for your help. Any input would be appreciated. ~Virginia April 23, 2008 Trip Complete! Report below...

Nice rounded documentation. Thanks for sharing. Wow; that flood water IS clear!

we're all in for a doozy tonight and tomorrow......"extreme danger", "record Breaking", etc....

well maybe I was wishcasting b/c the weather was so nice today! just looked at the weather map. boo hoo.

just fished the Buff and Sylamore this past weekend and as the weekend progressed the water went down a lot and cleared up a lot. We caught a few small smallies - in the calmer more protected areas. There is supposed to be substantial rain on Thursday, but if it doesn't rain until then, I predict some good fishing for next weekend!

we're ok here in Searcy. Wet, but ok. It was a doozy last night.

my brothers made it off the river before the storm hit. they caught 4 smallies even in the brown high level lower buff - yay, but man oh man did it rain hard last night. 4" on some parts of the already flooded lower river!

did I tell you thank you for posting this? I should have; thanks.

The River just went through a major evolution with the flood last week. The gravel bars are displaced and campsites will be an adventure to find. My family is fishing alongside the Buffalo (lower/mid section) as we speak and they haven't had one bite yet. The canoe outfitter is closed. The water is brown. More rain is expected today and tomorrow. With the lag time , I suspect it's just going to keep on rising into early next week. The smally you see in my pic was caught on the Lower Buff last April (spin casting / rooster tail). All the bigguns were caught in the deep pools. Yet plenty were found in the shallows as well. If you're aiming for the later part of next week, I think you'll be in for a better experience - IMHO. ~Virginia

I appreciate this reply. Thanks Al

Well this is very helpful. THANKS!

The rain just won't stop. Weekend after weekend we've put off casting b/c of the rain. I've got family in town and everyone wants to go fish. The stream where we want to head to and spin cast from the banks is officially flooded, yet this saturday is supposed to be sunny. Aside from the postive affects of just being outside, do we have a shot at catching some smallies? Any lure suggestions? Thanks, Virginia PS. I am also subscribing to the belief that these floods are great for our fish in the long run. In the short run, can we fish?

you've done a superb job of documenting. THANKS!

http://www.ozarkmtnpaddlers.org/index.php there is a forum here with trip reports on different streams at different levels, etc. great resource to compliment our time on the water.

I get so many tick bites... comes with the territory. they all remain red/ hard for weeks. I figure I'll go to the doc if I feel sick enough to, yet all these stories are starting to get to me. Am I coming down with a cold or is it RMSF? Yikes.

So it's good you "chickened out"?? Check out this vid on youtube of the Buff @ dillards ferry that weekend "Well I ain't never seen the likes of this!" (Or did this flood happen just a little later?)

dang. and here I sit drooling at my desk....... Wonder what this weekend might bring....?

Thanks for posting these. They are beautiful, yet sad. If anybody wants to see more vids and pics, this guy has almost made a full time job of documenting the flood on the White, Mulberry and Mill Creek. http://www.exploreizard.blogspot.com/

the water is still high. (duh). My phone takes lousy pictures, so why don't I ever carry my true camera? Strange indeed. There actually was a guide service out on the river this day. I could see their jeep parked. They were fishing on the opposite side of the bend. In the trees. Pretty brave I thought -as swift as this river is in its current stage. Anywho, I'm headed out of the country for a good spell. Ya'll keep the threads going and I can't wait to hear some good fishing reports when I get back. ~Virginia PS, if anybody finds a Gerber Multi Tool at Ramsey, pls let me know. My husband swears I lost his tool.

Lilley, I wanted to give you special thanks for your warm welcome to your world on the web. You and your help have done a masterful job of creating a much needed community. And thanks for the props on the vid. Can you tell I had fun making it? ~V