hoglaw

I'm surprised to hear about the 20" cat. Did it have a tag in it?

Note to self - launch at 10:30 next Friday.

Thanks Finley, that's what I needed to know. Didn't want to pull into the parking lot at 10 and see a "no camping" sign.

Two questions. First, can you camp at the Snow access? At least I think it's snow - it's downstream from Pyatt and upstream from George's Creek. That's Snow right? I've got a couple of lawyers I work with going for a two day overnight and we'd like to camp in the parking lot the night before we start floating. Otherwise it will be like hearding cats trying to get these guys out of town the morning of the actual float. Second question, anyone have the guy's name who lives on the left on the road between the highway and Snow? He drove my car downstream last time I floated out there and charged me a very reasonable price. I think he actually kept the car at his house overnight to keep it from being parked at the slab. Nice guy.

Fished twin pretty hard yesterday from sun-up until about noon. We only managed four small males. We were fly fishing and spin fishing with 1/4 oz road runners. Didn't see many being caught either.

There used to be an annual drum rodeo in Smackover on the Ouachita River. Everyone fished exclusively with large eating size live crawfish. Don't think any of those folks kept their fish though. It was more of a slaughter.

I still have it. It's sitting in my pole barn in Fayetteville Arkansas.

I've got one of those little boats, bass cats maybe? It's a hard plastic square pontoon with a trollin motor mount. When I picked it up it had a bad leak on the front of one of the pontoons. On the seam actually. I tried to patch it but I'm not sure if my patch job worked because I haven't put it back in the water. It's no more convenient to me than a canoe, so if you want it come and get it. Let me know asap because it's bound for the dump otherwise.

I wasn't sure if we could clear that tree or not. The last thing I wanted to do was get hung up on it in the middle and start going sideways - would have been a disaster. First dink was caught on a spinnerbait, second dink was caught on a hula grub, and the big fish was caught on a trick worm fished weightless and slow. If we didn't have nice gear with us or if we were in yaks instead of my giant coleman, we could have had a little more fun on the wave train. We stayed way to the left and managed to avoid taking on any water.

Beautiful day on Saturday. Thought I'd take my brother up to the Elk and go from Noel down to 43. I called Russ at about 10 a.m. to arrange a shuttle. We headed to the Heaven and found him moving around without another soul in sight. I asked if he'd run a shuttle for us and he was a little reluctant. With no paying customers around, this was going to be Russ' float day too. Glory Daze was set up camping down by the river, and Russ indicated they were thinking about heading up Indian Creek. He offered to run us up there so we could get a headstart. We thought we would take it slow and bump into them on the river at some point that day, but some folks are a little quicker in the mornings than others. They must have stayed up late singing songs or something. Anyway, I'm not sure where Russ took us, but it was about 12 miles or so up the Indian. The water was MOVING. We loaded up the canoe and put in around 11 I think. We were clipping along at a pretty good pace, but the fish weren't moving for us. We fished pretty hard and only managed three bites and three smallmouth on the whole float. I caught a dink, and my little brother caught a bruiser female and a dink. Not sure on the length, but she was pushing 3lbs. Like I said, the water was really moving. We portaged a low water bridge about half way through the trip. Not far below that, we rounded a bend in a narrow fast chute. Dead ahead was a huge tree completely across the channel with a bunch of other brush piled on it. We were freaking out at this point because there was no turning back and we were in a good 6 ft of FAST water surrounded by big cut banks. We managed to grab onto limbs and ease up to the tree. After a good five minutes of planning and balancing acts, we managed to get our canoe over the snag and got safely in it on the other side. I was pretty much 50/50 that I'd never see the Loomis again. In low water, I'm sure Indian is no thing. Saturday though, it was cruising. There were a couple of other tricky spots, but we managed to stay dry. Fishing was pretty poor in the fast water, and all of our (make that, all three) fish came from slower spots along the deepest pools we could find. All in all it was a beautiful day and I have the sunburn to prove it. Thanks for taking time out of your float day to put us in Russ. The Elk looked like the Mississippi when we got there. Was it still on the way up?

The discharge is vertical at the moment. Plan B is inevitable at this point.

Yeah, the Porch restaurant said they were getting buckets a few minutes ago. The same system came through Fayetteville earlier and it rained good for 30 minutes but then it stopped. I was hoping it would do the same over there but maybe not. We will see.

Color me stupid. Thanks for the tech support.

I've got tomorrow free for a single day trip, and I'm itching to get back to crooked. I'm planning on Snow to the slab. Two questions: 1. Anyone have the guy's phone number who runs shuttles out of his house right there by the Snow access? 2. Obviously water level is a big concern. Right now it's sitting over 13 and 1/2, which is over the slab. I don't mind higher water since it's going to be a one day trip of a good distance. My concern is how high is too high? I was expecting big rain here in NWA, but so far it seems to be a lot less than I expected. If the level is still on a sharp rise in the morning, I probably won't go. If it looks to be plateauing, I'm probably going to hit it. "Crooked Creek Angler" posted about the same stretch in high water a while back. Do you have any recollection of what the actual level was? Also, does anyone have a maximum level for safe floating? My brother and I are experienced canoeists and strong swimmers, but I'd rather not chance it. If the water's up and a little cloudy, it's my hope this warm rain will make for a good spinnerbait day. If it's a raging torrent, I don't want to get into anything stupid. Any thoughts?

Does anyone know off-hand what the water level would be if it's even with the top of the middle of Kelly's Slab? There used to be a red line in the USGS hydrograph showing the top of the slab but it's not coming up for some reason when I check the water level. I know my water levels in relation to the top of the slab only, so without that line I'm taking a shot in the dark.

It's a pretty river but different. The water always has a lot more of a greenish tint to it than the gin clear waters farther north. There are prettier rivers you could float, but I suppose that's a pretty subjective judgment call. For me, the Mulberry has always been a whitewater destination. If water is low and I want a fishing trip, there are other places farther up on my list. Not to say the Mulberry doesn't have good fish - it does - but as far as a smallmouth float I'm generally willing to drive a little farther to hit other rivers. The ratio of largemouth and spots in the Mulberry (as I recall) is a lot higher than the northern rivers as well. I would imagine there are some slower floats without so many tight turns as you get closer to the river. I've never floated below Turner Bend, so I can't confirm this. I do seem to recall hearing about some serious rapids or waterfalls downstream from Turner Bend though. I've only gone underwater once on the Mulberry, and it was during a low water fishing trip. If you have issues controling your boat in faster water, I'd reccommend walking your canoe down many of the stretches or picking a different river. The Mulberry can be powerful, even in lower water.

Friday looks to be a nice day and I've got the day off. I have to head to Mena for the weekend, so I'm considering leaving early and spending three or four hours wading somewhere between Fayetteville and Mena. I'm looking for something south of I-40 - something new. So for all you folks in the know about the Ouachitas, where would you go with half a day to spend? I can carry a canoe to paddle upstream or hit a big pool if necessary, but would rather travel light. Also, my new toy is a 1998 4x4 Tacoma, so the national forest roads are an option. I'm wondering about the Cossatot. I think I'll be pretty close to it and what I've heard about it has been good. Just checking to see if anyone has advice for accesses off the beaten path they might be willing to share, or general suggestions if you don't want to give up your "secret spot." Of course, if anyone would like to join me I'd appreciate the company.

This one is easy. I got up before daylight one morning to head to Lincoln Lake (NW Arkansas). It's about a 25 minute drive from my house. Loaded up the canoe trailer the night before, and just jumped in the car with my dog (a puppy at the time). I tried to hit the bathroom before I left, but it was too early and I just wasn't ready. Stopped at a gas station on the way for some honey buns and another trip to the head. Once again I was unsuccessful. I didn't have the urge at the time, it was just a preemptive strike. I got to the lake, unloaded the canoe and gear, set up the trolling motor, hopped in and headed for my spot. I motored about half way across the lake and started fishing in the dam area. First rumble hit me. I shifted my weight and delicately tried to relieve the pressure. After venting a little, I felt a lot better and kept fishing towards the creek at the back of the lake. I had the place to myself and it was a picture perfect morning. Now, if you're not familiar with Lincoln lake, it's no motors and terribly difficult to access the water from the bank. If you're in a canoe, it's tough to find a spot where you can get out. The banks are steep for the most part, and the ones that aren't have a 5-10 foot collar of weeds. The banks are extremely brushy. They're so brushy it's almost impossible to get out of the boat. Anyway, nature called with a thundering roar. There would be no "holding it." This demanded immediate attention. Doubled over in pain and frantically searching for a spot to get out of the water, I decided on a mid-lake boulder that stuck up about six feet. I pulled alongside it and tried to wedge the canoe in a crevice to hold it while I did the deed. Fortunately this rock was well angled and made for a perfect "dumping ground." I de-pantsed, took a seat on the apex of the rock, and let lose with authority on the other side. Unfortunately, I didn't have the lake to myself as quickly evidenced by two or three other boats who were rounding the bend opposite the dam. They had a full frontal shot that I could only hope was obscured by the low morning sun. With one hand holding onto the rock for balance, and the other holding the TP, I was in quite a predicament. Footing was a little....messy. Just as I was scrambling to attempt clean up duty (no pun intended) and get my pants back up, my dog decided it would be a great time to jump up on the rock. Well, the rock was steep and he missed. He was in about 20 feet of water and couldn't climb up. He was starting to freak out. Newton's first law came into play as well. Sam's leap from the canoe sent the canoe in the opposite direction and it started drifting away from my rock. There I was, panicking dog in need of rescuing, pants around the ankles, poo all over the rock, and my last vestige of dry TP in my hand, and onlookers who were probably ready to call the police. I triaged and went for the canoe first. I grabbed it with a foot and managed to pull it back my way. Sam was next and he got belly tossed into the canoe like a lunker on a crankbait. Everyone else would just have to enjoy the view. I've done lots of other embarassing things in my time fishing, but I still can't paddle by that rock without a laugh.

Who had them? I didn't see it in the thread.

Are you talking about just shortening the grip, or physically shortening the rod? I'd look on some rod building websites about cutting down blanks before I did anything to a GLX. I seem to recall quite a few conversations on rodbuilders.org about shortening blanks. I think there were a lot of warnings about cutting down drastically changing the action of a rod. Not sure if that's true or not, but it might be worth some research. By the way, do they have any more GLX's at 40% off?

Did this fall off a truck?

Yeah, I figured leaves might be an issue, but I always carry too many rods for just that reason. I just can't go smallmouth fishing without a sammy anymore. On my trip down the lower buffalo wilderness a month ago, I couldn't get bit on anything BUT a Sammy and I would have thought the top water bite was non-existent there too.

Actually, I need another group to go with us for shuttling purposes. I've got the Honda with canoe trailer, so if we could get another rig capable of carrying my canoe and another boat (whatever you're using), that would be awfully convenient. Not sure if I'm going to hit it up on Saturday or Sunday yet, but I'll let you know. Just to be clear, you're wanting to go on Saturday, or do you want to wait until Sunday so Jean Anne can go?

Well, what do you guys think? I've floated all of the river below Rockhouse, but never Marble to Marshall or Marshall to Rockhouse. The Berryville graph shows above four feet at the moment and it's not dropping very quickly. With a few more rains predicted, I would think it would likely be the same by this weekend. Is that sufficient water to push me down to Rockhouse in a single day? I'm guessing it is. I'd like to take the wife for a fall float to look at leaves (while I fish from the back of course). Can't think of a better way to spend Halloween then slinging a Sammy - if I'm not going to the game that is. I'm assuming the fishing is still pretty good this high up, but if anyone has any nuggets of wisdom they'd like to share, I'm all ears.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll keep doing my research and hopefully I'll have a great report in six months or so!