hoglaw

Add cow shoals to the mix. Probably the most wadable water there. Downstream from swinging bridge there's a good deal of wadable water. Libby shoals (as I recall and I"m probably wrong) is only accessible by boat or private access. I believe there's some wading access as far down as Ramsey/Dripping Springs. Just pay attention to the generation schedule. The river is long enough that you can get out in front of the water if they turn it on, and wait until they turn it off to head back up. The way to fish the little red is to canoe it. I like the float from Cow to Swinging Bridge a lot, but it's a pain hauling the canoe down the hill. But not nearly as bad as hauling it up the hill if you float from JFK to Cow. My favorite float is from Pangburn to Ramsey/Dripping Springs. The river is a little bigger there, but it doesn't get as much attention as higher up and there are plenty of fish down there. There are also a couple of spots you could get out and wade fish effectively I think. There's one for sure.

The area behind the island at McClellans has been good to me in high water before. I've always been told that browns can tolerate warmer water than rainbows. It makes me wonder if there's a good brown population below the Buffalo and below Red's. I hear you on they are where you find them. It seems like chasing them in low water, particularly on a sunny day is a waste of time. I talked to a "guide" at the Ranchette access for a while while we were out there last. He was catching sculpins on a spinning rod and taking them home to freeze them. I suppose you could always tight line sculpins in the deepest holes and hope for the best, but having done the sculpin thing before I knew what was what and having wounded and possibly killed plenty of large trout, it's something I don't really feel the need to do anymore. Maybe you could get by with a circle hook or something, but a gut hooked double digit brown can sour you on that kind of fishing in a hurry. It did me anyway. We had a blast jig fishing in the White Hole area. It's just too crowded for me. We did see a monster there. My fiancee was bringing in a stocker rainbow in some water that was too deep to see the bottom. I was watching the fish come up, and up from the depths came a massive shadow. He came all the way up to the surface following the rainbow around kinda lackadaisically. I yelled at her to not reel the fish in and just let him play, and grabbed my big jerkbait rod. I ripped a dd78 right in front of his face and he never paid any attention to it. He just cruised right back down from where he came. This was no 5lb brown. It was a real heart stopper. Those fish don't get that big eating jigs and jerkbaits in broad daylight. I've got to figure out how to get into more of them aside from using sculpins and crawfish.

I really like the river around Reds. Even on the busier weekends, it always seems like you can get a little room to yourself. Last trip we took, we decided to try some new ground. The first day we fished the White Hole area and had plenty of company, so we bugged out and headed for Rim Shoals. There wasn't any water running so it was a little tricky getting down and I didn't want to blast through the water folks were fly fishing. We went around the west side of the islands and made it down fine. We caught some fish in the shoals and just below, and floated all the way down to crooked creek. Didn't see another boat. Finished the evening fishing the long holes above Rim and caught a few there too. The next day (Sunday) we put in at Ranchette and had plenty of company again. So I decided to head towards Rim. Saw half a dozen boats parked at even intervals all the way up when I finally got above crooked, so I headed downstream and had my run-in with the rock. Finally called it a day wishing I had gone down to Red's. I'm anxious to learn more about the river downstream from reds. I really like that catch and release area as well as the water just above it where you have the long rocky banks in some deeper water, and one area with a good drop off and good current about half way between Red's and the C&R area. But I want to go miles below that C&R area towards calico rock. Do you know how far down you can still catch good browns from Red's? How far below that do you start to get into the smallmouth with regularity? We caught half a dozen 12 inch smallies in the C&R area that were all FAT. Surely there are some big ones the farther you go down.

bsmith, thanks for the offer. We are looking at taking the trip in October. I have zero problem leaving collateral or just straight cash for you to hang onto until I return. So what about a 7wt? Is a 7 too light for flats fishing? I have an older Orvis Rocky Mountain 7wt that's a great white bass and trout streamer rod and I've never really thrown a floating line on it. I just assumed that I needed something heavier. I need to find my old big rod. It's a 9-11 travel rod, somewhere in there. All I know is it's heavy and cheap. I think Remington made it, or some company like that who isn't really known for fly rods. It's cheap but it gets the job done and has a nice fighting butt.

I know the bridge you're talking about (I think), as does Trophy. He lives on the creek and I live about a mile up the hill from the bridge I think you're talking about. I also believe I know exactly where your golf course pond is too. I've never ventured all the way down to that one. I've only fished the one closest to the clubhouse with minimal success. Trophy, handcuffs is an exaggeration, but I know folks that have been run off from the blessings rather sternly. It's back into that whole navigable/non-navigable issue that has been beat to death. But no bigger than it is, I'd venture that if a landowner owns both sides of clear creek, they can run you off wading in it. Don't see how it's any different from "wading" up to lokomotion, climbing over the dam, and belly boating around it for a while. That won't work out very well for you either.

I'm looking at eloping with my bride-to-be to Acklins Island in the bahamas. I've got an old travel 9wt remington fly rod around here somewhere, but I need to borrow another rod (or possibly two) so that we can both fish. I'll be happy to rent the rod(s). Acklins is apparently a bonefish paradise with some opportunities for Tarpon sprinkled in. I'd be more than happy to trade you a good weekend trip on my boat to the White or anywhere else a 90h jet is appropriate. I'll also be happy to buy/supply my own reels so you don't have to worry about your equipment getting crusted up with salt. We are looking at either October or March/April for doing this (just trying to pick nice enough "back home" weather to throw a Norfork River Resort coming home party for family/friends). I'd also be happy to throw in some free labor on building some custom rods for you in exchange. I just need a couple of rods that are suitable for saltwater fishing for bones.

The float from the ball fields to Cowskin is worth doing. It's by far the least crowded part of the river. I don't think there are as many giants down there as there are on the drunken part of the river, but it is definitely a float worth doing. I've seen the MDC folks running the river down there in their jet which is funny since so few people float it compared to the upper part. Just goes to show you, they're far more interested in playing with their toys than they are actually enforcing laws. I'd like to put in there at Cowskin with my jet at some point and head down towards the lake a little. I'm sure it would be fun to head upstream too. The river doesn't get much different than the rest of the Elk in my opinion. There are more snags and branches and such, but it retains all of its "river" characteristics throughout and you never feel like you're getting close to a lake on that float. It isn't the coolest float in the state or anything, but it's worth doing.

I would GUESS down because lots of folks float from Stoney Point to Romp Hole. Actually, you may like the area upstream. It's basically three really long holes that get pretty deep. That's how I recall it anyway. If you go downstream, you're fishing towards the lake so not may people are likely to float that direction, because it probably sucks to get to the next take out. And I doubt many boats can get up that high unless they're running a jet, so you probably get into some water that doesn't get touched much if you go down from Romp.

They will in places. I've heard that you can just walk on at The Creeks and fish. So that's a few ponds plus a long stretch of two creeks. If you try it at Blessings or Pinnacle, you'll be leaving in handcuffs. At the Blessings, they'll run you off for sure just for wading up clear creek through it. But I suppose it's their right. Pinnacle isn't so much of a problem with them running you off the course. I promise they wouldn't. You just have to be able to get in through security in the first place. I hear Shadow Valley is awfully good but again, you have to get by security. Honestly, I bet the most aggressive runner-offers are the old folks at Bella Vista. I have fished (at night) at Razorback and Paradise Valley. Never had any issues. Never had any at Lost Springs either, but I played there for a while. Lost Springs has some really good fish, and some mega carp. Prairie Creek purports to charge a fee for fishing so I doubt you could get on there. All of the LIndsey courses have ponds in the middle and they won't know you from Adam. I bet you can just say "I'm in D-10" and they won't know the difference. There's a big pond at Stonebridge. It has a lake on some of the maps. It's on number 17 with the green between it and the White River. I'm sure it has some fish in it. Big Sugar doesn't appear to have much worth fishing. There's one good sized pond I can think of. I'm sure there are some fish in the creeks, but I don't want to walk that place just to get at the pond.

That's pretty awesome free diving down to a big pod of stripers in open fresh water.

I just look because I'm curious, and I have a friend with the kind of uncle who likes to buy giant chunks of the earth when he gets a new hobbie. They're outgrowing their 1000 acres on the Cache right now. By no means am I looking for myself or a club I'll be a member of. More like a free access finders fee.

But yeah, the willfully ignorant survivialist types who buy into this kind of stuff are incredibly easy to mislead. It always reminds me of how shocking it is that the Republican Party has so much of low-income white America on lockdown. As long as they keep the focus on guns, illegal immigration, and "small government," it's amazing how their electorate completely overlooks that their party of choice stands in direct opposition to their own personal economic interests.

I'm sure some folks will do okay on the sale of land adjoining the existing refuge, but most don't really want to sell. I've been looking at big tracts of duck land lately - or I guess I should say looking for. Because there really aren't any. There's just not that much good delta timber land for sale. So I guess if any is going to be acquired, it's going to have to be at a hefty premium. The history of Arkansas' big farming families and the succession of what is now the best green timber duck hunting land in the world is pretty fascinating. The Dunklins, Ramseys, and Blacks don't need the money for sure.

Big 10-4 on that JoeD. Our (Arkansas) last session was just downright embarassing. Term limits sound good in theory, but mainly they just serve to keep a fresh stock of morons running the state - that and the folks who are inteligent enough to actually do a good job won't do it anymore. Years ago the legislature used to be packed full of lawyers for better or worse, but at least they spent more time on legislation that actually worked (and was constitutional) than the current crop. Now it seems like they spend more time trying to pass incredibly controversial and incredibly unconstitutional laws in an effort to make a name for themselves than they do actually serving the folks who elected them.

Pinnacle in Rogers is closed on Mondays and has some awesome spots for tossing the long rod - no high grass to deal with and nothing in your backswing. If anyone wants to give it a shot on a Monday, let me know and I'll take you.

What were the formats of the two competitions? Was it use your own equipment or was there a stock rod/reel/line everyone had to use? In other words, what were the rules of the distance and accuracy events?

Not many folks that free dive spear fish in fresh water are there? I've done it once in salt. We were off the cost of Panama in the Secas islands. I'm told Mick Jagger has a place there, but we camped on a little uninhabited island in the pacific. We didn't do open water free diving for the big pelagic fish or anything, just shooting little snapper and grouper on the reefs. I did get to see a real deal goliath grouper that was hundreds of pounds, but we wouldn't have tried to stick him even if we thought we could handle him. I'd love to go in one of our clear lakes at some point. One of my coworkers spearfishes Norfork regularly. If you had a scuba tank plus a speargun on your boat in Panama, it was bye bye boat. Very strict free diving only laws there.

Amen to that. I was on crutches for two months last summer as a result of a June surgery. I rehabbed hard, but still not hard enough. The atrophy is incredible after only a week. Rehab should be a full time job for you, and do whatever they'll let you do now to preserve some strength. Losing a summer sucks, but if you hit it hard you'll be good to go when you get your release.

Muddy: I'll take a pic. It's a pretty long crack but I don't see why it couldn't be welded. I asked a buddy about it who has the necessary equipment to weld it, and he said that I probably needed to talk to a professional as cast aluminum has a lot of impurities, or something like that. Hell, that part doesn't take a lot of abuse unless I inflict it, so I don't see why it couldn't be stuck back together. It's basically a long diagonal crack that's all the way through from top to bottom, but not all the way through horizontally (diagonally actually). But I'll get you a pic. You're in NWA, aren't you?

For me (and most I assume) many parts of the Norfork are non-navigable during low water. But help me with this one. Is it possible to get a boat from the dam to the big shoal above McClellan's in low water? Is it possible to get back? I'm not that familiar with the shoal between the dam and the big trout dock just downstream from the dam.

Well....dangit. I put in at Ranchette on the White yesterday and ran downstream a ways. Zero units had been running for a while, so water was dead low. Got to a shoal that's quite a ways above buffalo shoals still with some big rocks sticking up. Found a nice slot with a few inches to run in, and managed to traverse it fine on plane. I let off the throttle once I was through it and came off plane. Bang. Hit a good sized rock just below the surface and cracked the foot of my intake. Ugh. Seems finding a replacement may not be cheap or easy. Anyone have any experience with the molded plastic ones made by Rock Proof Boats? Mine is still usable and it isn't broken all the way through, but it's a good sized diagonal crack running from almost the middle of the leading edge to the right side edge, and the leading edge doesn't sit flush anymore so the tiller has some pull to it when I'm running fast. I don't really want to take any chances and don't mind upgrading to something that's a little tougher since this is bound to happen again.

Or you could always get a 15, exchange decals and have a new serial plate done by a trophy shop, put in some boysen reeds, shave the head, have your prop machined, and have the rev limiter removed. That ought to make it at least a 22! All the Arkansas boys I know run suzuki and tohatsu 25's in the scatters, but they're about as fast as a 50 when it's all said and done. Way too fast to be running in a foot of water in the dark, and I hear they're about to put an end to the boat races. But for the time being, that's how everyone rolls. I've always been told that the only difference in part numbers between the older 2 stroke 9.9's and 15's from yamaha and OMC is something to do with the carb. Don't know whether that's actually the truth or not. But I know plenty of folks who just run a 15 with a camo'd cowling. I know a trophy shop in Little Rock that will engrave a new serial number plate for a nominal fee. Don't know if you have to tag/title a motor up there, but if you cover all bases there is no way to tell a 15 from a 9.9 aside from physically testing the HP. My 15 yamaha will easily plane out my crappie john jr. with a passenger, duck blind, and gear in the boat.

My dad retired a few years ago after many years of service at a Blue Cross in Little Rock. He was an accountant and CPA, and the job he retired from after climbing the ladder no longer resembled accounting. After retiring for about a month, he went back to work for Blue Cross in the same position he started in decades earlier because he missed it. Then he went to work for BKD doing tax returns. Then he decided he'd go to law school. He has a year of law school left and he's not sure what he'll do when he gets out, but it won't resemble "retirement" I'm guessing.

Looks like the whole White River system is about to get pounded. That sounds great to me as it should make for some good high water fishing all summer. But my question is what is the immediate effect, as in what will the river be like Sunday? Obviously the farther you go downstream the worse the effects will be in terms of muddy water. I would imagine anything below crooked creek or the buffalo will be pretty rough. But what about higher on the river? Will the White Hole area be trashed with that much rain on Sunday, which will otherwise be a really pretty day? I was looking at trying to go this weekend, and I don't mind high water from generation at all. But it's a long drive for muddy water conditions.

On NOAA, I'm reading a total possible 7" over the next 48 hours. That's going to be epic if it happens. On the bright side, they'll be running a lot of water out of Bull Shoals later this summer. About the coolest fishing situation in the state is 8 units in August.