Arkansas Trip 4/24-4/28

[basska]

Well, I just got back from an amazing trip. Truly. It was a blast and one I will never forget. Almost everything went just about as good as it could've.

Thursday morning, I woke up at 7 and gathered 3 good buddies. We loaded the vehicle and were on the highway out of KC around 9. We hit Springfield, enjoyed the Buc-ees experience, and then divulged in our route. We were in no rush to our 4 o'clock check-in in Lakeview, and I wanted to explore some Ozark country I hadn't seen before. I received zero objections. So, we hopped on 14 East through Ava all the way to Vera Cruz Access on Bryant Creek. It was cloudy and it may have rained a drop or two on us, but otherwise, I thought the conditions were perfect. We decided we (mainly I) would wade around the access for an hour and see if we couldn't catch any fish. 

First off, this was a beautiful little access, and the country around Ava was stunning. Everybody in my group (4 20 years olds) was absolutely giddy with excitement and just happy to be out in the country. The water was clear, the trees were green, and the bluffs were high - this is truly what we had been waiting for.

On this river I threw a ned rig and an underspin. Wading in some shallow water, I was able to pull out an 8 incher on the underspin. It was small, but man I was happy. First Ozark Smallmouth of 2025! After a little longer, we decided to pack it up. We drove the scenic route through Gainesville all the way to Lakeview, where we found ourselves amazed by our AirBNB, a nice little unit with direct river access. We were not far from Gaston's. 

We set up shop and began grilling some Brats. In the meantime, I set up in the backyard with the goal of catching some trout off the bank. The river was definitely high and tough to fish, but I was able to find some slack water off the bank. I threw my bait to where that slack water met the current, and let it settle. I fished a simple rig with some corn as bait. Don't crucify me for the bait fishing. I was just trying to have a little fun from the backyard. Well, about 5 minutes in, I saw my line run and set my hook on.... a Brook Trout! Wow! Casted out to the same place and over the next hour was left with a total of 4 Brookies and 2 Rainbows. Needless to say, I was surprised about catching the little Brookies. I knew they were in the river, but I had thought they were few and far between. They seemed to be in bunches. At dark, I went up, enjoyed a few beverages, and got to sleep for an early trip in the morning...

Woke up at 6 and had a buddy drop me and my friend who enjoys fishing off at Cranor's. We set up with our guide and got out there. He brought us way upriver, closer to our place. The fog was unbelievable. It actually had me a little worried with the boat and river moving like it was. We began drifting shad with a river rig. The style of fishing was a little tough to adjust to with the casting, and I think our guide was pretty frustrated with us. Regardless, it didn't take long for both of us to put a 20" brown in the boat. Beautiful fish, and one to cross off my list. The sun came out strong and I definitely caught a few more rays than I needed. We had lunch and fished the rig for a couple more hours. I ended up with a total of 6 Browns and 2 Rainbows. He went ahead and dropped us off the boat into our backyard, which was a big help in driving time! In 24 hours, I had a caught a Smallie, Brookie and a Brown. I was thrilled. 

I napped, and then we went for a hike on a bluff trail near Bull Shoals. After getting home, we grilled burgers, listened to some music and relaxed with a White River view.

The next day we woke up and checked out at 11. We had the drive to Jasper ahead of us. On the way I implored we stop at Crooked Creek (Kelly's Slab) for our second hour-long wade fishing adventure. The water didn't seem too great to me. It was high and a little murky and most of the promising looking spots with a little current were out of reach. Regardless, I threw around a Rage Tail Menace around the bridge and was able to pull out 3 footlong Smallies in an hour. For not having too much hope, this was awesome. We saw some kayak fisherman floating by. I assumed they had a great day.

We checked into our home south of Jasper. It was truly amazing. It felt far too fancy for us to be at, but this is what I had been saving up for. The views were amazing, the accommodations were nice, and we couldn't be happier. We enjoyed some more beverages, listened to Bluegrass and started a bonfire. This was awesome!

The next day we took our time getting up and embarked for our float with Buffalo Outdoor Center. We went Steel Creek to Kyle's Landing. The river was incredible. This region had truly exceeded my expectations in scenery and I believe I had a grin on my face for most of the float. As for the fishing, I continued throwing a Rage Tail and a Zoom Curly Tail grub on a jig head. It didn't take long for me to get on them. I feel like I had really improved on my positioning and finding where to cast since previous trips, and I had found a lot of confidence in bouncing the Jig. A lot of this I can thank to this forum. I ended up with nearly a dozen Smallmouth and 2 Rock Bass. My biggest went for 15, which was just about a new personal best for me. The river was a little up, but not terribly and I thought the conditions were near perfect. Mix of clouds and sun, and nearly zero wind. Just casted behind rocks and where slower current met structure. It was a blast. 

I went for two swims, one voluntary and one by the way of flipping. I'm not the most experienced fast water floater and one little chute sent me right against the bluff wall, where I tried to gently push off it. It sent me flipping, but thankfully I was able to hold on to everything. Rod, paddle and all. Being able to keep my possessions, it didn't spoil anything at all. 

We went home and found ourselves realizing we had to leave the next day. It was sad because we really had a great time. We got a fire going and had a jolly night. The next day, we woke early and departed home. We ate lunch in the wonderful town of Eureka Springs (I was very tempted to make a wading stop on the Kings) and made it home around 6.

It was a great time for friendship, scenery and fishing. Ended with a total of 15 Smallmouth and about the same in Trout. I will DEFINITELY be back.

 

 

[basska]

[basska]

[basska]

[basska]

[Quillback]

Great trip for sure!

[WestCentralFisher]

That's awesome. Smallies, rookies, and browns in one day is a pretty rare accomplishment in the Ozarks. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

What a trip!   Thanks for the report and pictures!  

[gotmuddy]

awesome report, and thank you for sharing it with us.  those are memories that you will carry for a lifetime

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Sounds amazing.    Thanks for the report,  and get out there and do it again.  And again.   Life is short.  Have fun.