Something Wrong with Black River?

[trouty mouth]

I think the live basket he was mentioning was an actual fish trap.

[cwc87]

I've fished the west fork last late August. Only smallmouth caught where in the ugliest nastiest swift log riddled areas.

I fished above k Bridge second week of April this spring and caught smallies in predictable areas.

The black has its problems easy to talk about and nearly impossible to fix.

[rFisherk]

Ah, heck, Ron, I've floated the West Fork from Sutton Bluff down, and am pretty sure I could float above there...of course, I don't care what the bottom of my canoe looks like.

I know of several 20 inch class smallies that were caught in fish traps in the Middle Fork. If I could ever figure out how to turn the guy in without him knowing how I found out and his family then putting out a contract on me and the person who told me, I would

In all the years I've waded the upper forks, I've never seen a canoe, or even a kayak, but I've always though it could be done with some difficulty, especially during the spring. Each spring I've intended to float the West Fork from Sutton's and the Middle Fork from Centerville, but haven't done it. My worry has always been about downed trees blocking the way. Wish I still had a kayak. I think it is something very few people have done.

[Pat Magee]

A couple weeks ago MoSmallies and I waded up about .5 miles on the upper forks above Lesterville. At first glance I was wondering why we never floated the upper but after a short hike I realized that the downed trees would make it extremely difficult. There were at least two 40-60ft trees blocking the path and they were holding steady in a strong current. The trees were down in an area where there was a steep bank on one side and a steep gravel bar on the other. Portaging a kayak/canoe around that would be a real PITA. I am sure it could be done at some point in time, just not when we were there.

[Al Agnew]

You gotta travel light, have a lightweight canoe or kayak and not care too much about scratching it up. Nice thing about the Black headwaters is that there's almost always a gravel bar on one side (or both) that you can drag across. Nice thing about canoeing it rather than wading it is that you can fish everything fishable, and paddle through a lot of shallow water that you'd have to slog through wading.

I do a lot of solo floats on these small streams, but I have canoes that weigh no more than 43 pounds (and one that weighs in the upper 30s), and other than fishing tackle the only things I carry on a day trip are a small cooler, a trash bag, and an extra paddle. I can cover 6-10 miles per day in the canoe, while about the most I can cover wading is 3 miles.

[Smalliebigs]

A couple weeks ago MoSmallies and I waded up about .5 miles on the upper forks above Lesterville. At first glance I was wondering why we never floated the upper but after a short hike I realized that the downed trees would make it extremely difficult. There were at least two 40-60ft trees blocking the path and they were holding steady in a strong current. The trees were down in an area where there was a steep bank on one side and a steep gravel bar on the other. Portaging a kayak/canoe around that would be a real PITA. I am sure it could be done at some point in time, just not when we were there.

Hey Pat, that area where all the logs were is where you should have been fishing......although I herd the fishing sucked......so bad MOsmallies was about to give up river fishing unless it was from a boat. I can't say I blame him. I hope the Coosa performed good??? I truly hope it serves you well....we are going to do some work week trips this year

I have caught some of my biggest fish out of log piles, the bigger and more hairy the better. When I see a big pile of wood coming ahead I usually begin the process of sneaking up on it.

[Smallieguy87]

All this fishing on the Black makes me want to head to Lesterville and give it a go.

[jdmidwest]

All this fishing on the Black makes me want to head to Lesterville and give it a go.

I wouldn't, something is wrong with the river and fish are gone. But some posts say there are lots of big fish there.

Go. It is a nice float, plenty of cool clear water. They even found a shark at the K bridge once.

[ness]

Ever since I saw the guy wading without any pants, I've avoided the area. See

[rFisherk]

That's actually a woman, Ness. Man does not live by fish alone.