We couldn’t get a full 2 weeks off of work due to the wife’s work situation. We tried to shoot for a long weekend instead.
We headed back to the Cossatot River for a quick camp and fish outing. Our planned itinerary was to camp and fish the Cossatot, the Ouachita and the Kings Rivers. Needless to say, the week was a blur and we put 975 miles on the vehicle.
We got lucky in the fact that the Ed Banks #2 Campsite was available, so we grabbed it. There are zero amenities here other than a place to pitch a tent. The fishing was tough due to the thunderstorms that were rolling through on a continous basis.
The river level fluctuated on a daily basis. The mornings started off cool, especially with the dampness. We never built a fire but had a small “heater” that fit on top of a single burner backpacking stove.
We caught several decent smallmouth, but only one good one. With the weather we had and the river conditions, we were happy with what we did manage to catch. Quite a few of the smallmouth were decent sized and put up a great fight in the current so we had few complaints. Snakes were abundant on this trip however. I think we quit bothering to count after 10 were spotted in close proximity.
Saturday and Sunday night we rented a cabin and were very glad we did. It stormed quite hard that night with heavy rain, lightning, thunder and wind.
Monday and Tuesday we spent in a cabin on the Kings River up by Eureka Springs Arkansas. This river was on our list but didn’t pan out. I think we caught 7 or 8 fish the 2 days we were there. We rented a canoe and fished a 5 mile section of the river to limited success. Supposedly it was a “Trophy Smallmouth Section” but we never saw anything decent size except carp. Not to mention, every deep hole had someone swimming or throwing rocks. We were NOT impressed and to keep from throwing shade I will say no more about our stay. I’m not sure we even took pictures.
For me…the dead giveaway was when I asked the outfitter what strain of smallmouth this section of the river held, and their reply was “the Northern strain” which I thought was odd. I should have known better and cut my losses.
Anyway…we are cleaning and stowing our gear and getting laundry done so I will close now and get back to the task at hand. Thank you for reading!
Velox Seeker 