Why Are Some Members Deathly Afraid To Say Where They Fish?

[waterback]

Crooked Creek is a shadow of what it used to be. I think Gravel Mining was the biggest part of its degredation, but increased fishing pressure took a toll as well. If you think Crooked Creek is one of the Top Five Smallmouth Stream in America, you are either delusional or ignorant. I don't mean either of terms as an insult, but just descriptive of fact. I'm not sure that Crooked Creek was ever in the Top Five.

Go fish some rivers in Maine, Minn, the New River in Virginia, John Day River, the Columbia River, the Susky, and about 100 other great smallmouth rivers and get back to us on Crooked Creek being in the Top Five.

I love Crooked Creek, but I don't lie to myself about it being one of the Top Smallmouth Rivers in the country.

My life is fishing and I am fortunate to fish about 5 days a week. I put many miles on my feet and canoe and don't foresee many water holes that I haven't touched, yet. I know crooked is not what it was many years ago due to the mining but alas, they have stopped and the fish could have only gained ground again. It is the only place that I can say spoiled me with its quantity and quality of fish... I will not catch less than a hundred fish any time I go....and I don't mind taking anyone who likes to fish just to see them have one of the best days on the water to be had. Delusional , thats a negative ghost rider

[Bird Watcher]

Geez o' pete. Some of you high brow stream smallie fisherman are thin skinned and long winded...

You guys really need a trip to an unamed creek to catch some fish and relieve some stress.

[ness]

I don't have time to read all 6 pages. But let me guess what's been said:

Some folks want more specific info in the reports people post here. Others argue it's not always a good idea -- for obvious reasons. Nobody's changing their mind.

Am I close? Please let me know. Thanks in advance.

[Al Agnew]

That about covers it.

About Crooked Creek...for those of you who aren't old enough to remember, back in the 1960s Crooked Creek was actually touted in the big national hunting and fishing magazines as being one of the best smallmouth streams in the country. There were articles written about it and every list of top smallmouth streams included Crooked Creek. How in the world could a stream with such limited waters (only about three days' floating at most under normal water conditions, and not much water area) get such national notoriety? It all came about because the float trip outfitters on the White wanted to give their guests options, and started offering johnboat floats on Crooked Creek. It was undeniably excellent fishing, probably partly because it hadn't been pressured much before that, but also because the stream WAS a lot more fertile than other Ozark streams in the area. Of course, the outfitters kind of exaggerated the possibilities, and there was talk of 3-5 pound smallies being common on Crooked Creek with 6 pounders possible. So for a while Crooked Creek attracted a lot of out-of-state anglers, many of whom were probably sorely disappointed if they tried to go in mid-summer when it was too low for the big johnboats the outfitters ran.

About that time, too, the gravel mining got into full swing as the demand for gravel for construction exploded with the building boom in the area of Harrison and Mountain Home. Between the fishing pressure and the gravel mining, Crooked Creek went downhill, and if those 3-5 pounders were ever there, they weren't anymore. Pretty soon the White River outfitters pretty much stopped publicizing Crooked Creek, the furor kinda died away, and Crooked Creek went back to being just a good Ozark smallmouth stream. But it never quite lost the reputation, and it's still on everybody's radar as being one of the best streams in the Ozarks. Whether that's deserved or not, each angler that fishes it must decide for themselves.

There were also some other rather exaggerated tales told in regional magazines about Crooked Creek, most notably articles about the wild and wooly lower end, below Yellville. It was said to be brushy and full of cottonmouths and tough to access and tough to float, but with some areas just full of monster smallies. I'll bet a lot of people who read those articles were shocked when they tried to float it below Yellville and ran into a dry river bed! Maybe there are places between Yellville and the White where enough water remains to keep some smallmouth alive, but for the most part, the creek dries up below Yellville by mid-summer. If there are places below Yellville where those huge smallmouth exist, the people who know them are keeping it a secret.

[ness]

There's always chatter about this place or that. Chatter makes traffic and the traffic makes more chatter. Thing is, the chatter is not necessarily accurate. And, the lack of chatter doesn't mean a place has nothing to offer.

A lot of the fun in all this, for me, is figuring out the spots that are off the radar. And, when I do find a spot...well, you guess the rest.

Al -- I enjoyed your other post a lot. Good descriptions of techniques, fish locations, tackle, time of day, etc. That's the kind of stuff that should be soaked up by a fisherman. Throw a stream name in there and that good stuff becomes secondary.

[Mark]

I think everyone should divulge the locations of their honey holes - as well as the phone number to your favorite mistress.

[fishinwrench]

Amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! talk about needing to get the sand out of your pussy.....Geez

Ohhum ! Wait 'til Phil wakes up and sees THAT !

You'll smoke a turd in purgatory for that one young man

[Ann]

Just my two cents (for what it's worth)

When posting reports on OAF, do you not file them under the body of water you fished? It would seem to me that if a report states what the conditions are that they were fishing, that in itself should be more than enough. You are given a general location. Besides just because a person had a good day at a "honey hole" does not mean that the next time you are in that same spot you will have any luck yourself. Heck even I have learned that because a lure worked wonders to day at bringing the fish to the boat, it isn't always the same for me the next day.

If you are inexperienced then find someone who knows more and ask them to go fishing with you. I find that people here are more likely to help you out face to face.

I know I am lucky (some would say UNlucky) that I have Trav to teach me the ropes. Thanks to him, I am learning a lot and catching fish not just throwing a hook in the water.

You need only the conditions on a particular body not an exact location. Again, just my two cents.

[jdmidwest]

Did anybody catch the f-bomb on page 3?

[snagged in outlet 3]

Phil must be in Alaska!!

And the substitute teacher is on a smoke break. Probably a cigar.

SIO3