We decided to recon as much of the river as we had time for on Tuesday. We looked at Access Points 1-6 trying to find a place to wade fish. Pine Ridge Access/Little Hope Road was about the only one that had a gravel bank that we could wade fish up and down stream. The Oden Bridge at Hwy 379 was another option. The rest of the access points were not conducive to our needs.
Gravel bank allowing us to fish from shore.Any shade dropped the Temps by 10F.Big chunks of quartz were everywhere.
We did stop for lunch at El Diamante’s Mexican restaurant in Mt. Ida Arkansas. A lot of food for a reasonable price. After, we stopped at Bob’s Food City to replenish a few supplies. It was quite the eclectic grocery store offering some outdoor camping gear too. Managed to grab some souvenir T-shirts as well.
Driving back to the cabin on Hwy 88, I noticed a Forest Road (#274) and we decided to see where it went. There ended up being a turn off that led to a small lake.
Fished all the way around and caught nothing. Lots of algae in it.
We drove several miles of the Forest Roads (#274, #274A and #274B) just to see where each branch led. Lots of washed out low water bridges that really needed some repairs. Most of them ended in places that the Subaru Forester couldn’t safely go. We had fun irregardless of the outcome. We love driving down roads just to see where they go.
After returning to the highway we opted to head back to the cabin. It was after 1600 and we decided we wanted to fire up the grill for dinner and try to clean up and cool off. And true to form…like each day we’ve been here…the heat caused clouds to form which produced thunder and lightning in abundance but didn’t give us any rain. At least it blocked out the intense sunshine!
We had been looking over maps while camping last month and settled on an exploratory trip to the Ouachita River in Southern Arkansas. All we had to go on were some brief fishing reports, some paper maps and Google Maps satellite images. We were unable to locate anyone we knew who had ever actually been there.
Due to the summer heat we opted to rent a cabin this time as opposed to staying in a tent. We chose to stay at River View Cabins in Oden Arkansas.
Monday morning bright and early, we made arrangements to rent a canoe for the day to take a 10 mile trip. Our plan was to paddle and wade fish as much as possible. We were on the water by 0820 and immediately I was having issues with the canoe. The right side of my seat was broken and hanging down so I had to paddle to shore and tie it up into place with some paracord I always carry. This is nothing new with rental canoes and we’ve experienced similar issues in the past. With the seat fixed, we were on our way. I noticed we were slowly taking on water but it wasn’t of great concern since I figured we would be stopping often and we could empty it out. We were never in danger of sinking, it was just an annoyance.
Typical rental canoe…beat to hell and beyond.
First thing we noticed was that this river was definitely a canoeing/kayaking river and wade fishing would be available only in a few spots.
Most of the river was like this with very few places to pull over and fish like we wanted to.
As the day progressed, the sun was more and more intense and the heat really kicked in. By noon it was showing 94F with a heat index of 110F. We took every opportunity to submerge ourselves to cool off. As it turns out, we were the only ones from the canoe rental place to complete our chosen route. Everyone else quit at the 4 or 6 mile mark due to the heat. Can’t say as I blame them!
It was HOT!
We tried to fish the riffles and rapids every chance we could. The slower sections never produced for us which was expected so we avoided them.
We always have fun catching Smallmouth.
We always had to be aware of where we were on the river. Neither one of us had canoed this river before so we were always on alert. I’m comfortable in a canoe but the wife had never paddled through rapids before. Most of her time has been spent canoeing on lakes. We had a few Class I/II sections and I could tell she was really nervous. She did great and became a lot more comfortable with it as the day wore on. It probably didn’t help her psyche seeing a destroyed tandem kayak in the parking lot from a couple who failed at navigating correctly under a low water bridge. Yikes! Just hope whoever it was managed to come through OK.
We stopped for lunch around 1330, and after, we realized that the pick up was scheduled for 1530 and we had 4 more miles to go so we needed to get moving. We managed to catch a few more fish before paddling the rest of the way to the take out.
The Cave at the 6 mile mark.
We ended up catching 19 smallmouth between the two of us with one going 2 pounds. We had fun despite the blazing sun, the “beater” canoe,and the oppressive heat and humidity. I did a blog post entitled “The Thin Blue Line” and this was a classic example for us. We saw it, researched it and decided to give it a go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained…
My other wading boots, the Simms Flats Sneakers, were having delamination issues with the soles. I took them to a local cobbler for repair but that didn’t work too well. I have since done my own repair but have not tested them yet.
I opted to get a pair of Free Salt boots for an upcoming trip we have planned. The construction on these boots is burly. My only complaint so far is the lack of a removable insole. The footbox is roomier than expected but I have a wide forefoot so they should work OK.
I opted to use the Simms Guide Guard wading socks with these boots.
3.5mm neoprene bootie with built-in gravel guard.
These boots lace up securely and don’t seem to be too cumbersome or overly bulky. I wear a size 10 but purchased a size 11. They fit with a fingers width from the front of the boot, so walking downhill won’t be an issue. Looking forward to putting these on and wading a river!
UPDATE: The wife and I rented a canoe to fish a 10 mile stretch of the Ouachita River in Arkansas. We stopped often and wade fished the runs and riffles. I wore these boots for 9 hours straight and did not have any issues. They were comfortable (not as comfortable as my Flats Sneakers) and provided great ankle support while wading through sections of riffles. Even portaging a canoe around a low-water bridge, they did fine. Time will tell how they hold up in the long run, but I plan on using them as often as possible.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Climatologist or a Meteorologist.
I am curious by nature and tend to observe and absorb things. I do not possess enough information or facts to have a firm position on Climate Change. What I do have is observations spread across decades in my area. And with that, I can safely say that things are abnormal, or at least abnormal to my eyes and brain.
I don’t remember having a “rainy season” like we’ve been experiencing for the past several years. I remember having “heat waves” where we endured multiple weeks of 100+F days. Now those events have shifted to a few days of high temperatures. Winters have changed as well. The weather is often dismissed here because of the old saying, “if you don’t like the weather wait a few minutes and it will change.” I say dismissed because people believe that it’s normal. Yet you can clearly see things have changed.
So why am I bringing this up? I began to think about weather and how it relates to my fishing. I try to read any and all scientific papers I can get my hands on in regards to my beloved Micropterus dolomieu velox…the Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass.
Most of their habitat is classified as “discontinuous streams” which means that they don’t always flow or have a consistent water level. Droughts and floods are possible and negatively affect these fish. Which brings me to the present year-2021. These fish cannot successfully spawn if the river is running at 18ft. It completely washes the nest and eggs away. Yes, the water level drops and the Velox begin to rebuild and start over only to be faced with another high water event resulting in a second loss. Rinse and repeat for 2021 has been the norm. Which causes concern for me.
The hottest part of our local climate hasn’t come yet. That usually entails high temperatures and low water flows due to lack of rain. This forces the Velox to seek refuge in deeper pools to wait for better conditions. This species relies on flowing water and relatively cool water temperatures (around 31C max) compared to other bass species. As stated before elsewhere, this species of fish does not grow to enormous sizes and as such, most people overlook them in favor of Largemouth Bass. I seriously doubt if anything will be done to help these fish if it becomes necessary for their survival in the face of extinction. That may sound drastic but it is a very real possibility.
As a person who fishes…we take all of these things into consideration when planning our trips. If the water is really low or really hot, we don’t go. We know that these stressors negatively affect the fish and don’t want to add to it. Also, they generally spawn over a 3 week period so we leave them alone as well. There are other fish we can chase.
I’m not suggesting that we are perfect. Even practicing catch and release and using barbless hooks, we know about mortality rates after release and try to mitigate that as much as we can. So I wonder how much mitigation we can do to offset climate change. I’m sure we can do more as a family…
When I got home from work Friday, I was chatting with the wife trying to figure out what we were going to do this weekend. She wanted to go fishing on Saturday and I reminded her that it was going to be 95F and sunny. I mentioned that Sunday was supposed to be cooler with a high of 82F. We both decided to go fishing on Sunday! What we didn’t count on was a thunderstorm Saturday night. As we went to bed, I was checking the stream gauges and noticed the river was rising. Outside, thunder was booming and lightning was flashing. Rain was coming down in sheets. But it was moving fast so we called it a night. I decided to check in the morning to see if we could actually fish this river.
Upon hearing my alarm at 0430 I immediately grabbed my phone and checked the stream gauges. The water had risen but was dropping fast. Sunday was a GO! After a 2 hour drive we were standing on the riverbank by 0720. Temperature was at 69F with a slight fog. We were the only ones there.
I’m going to diverge a bit here and try to explain this river. The last time we were here we noticed that everything was different. Looking back over my notes I noticed that on May 28th, 2021 the water level in this river was almost 18ft high. That amount of water and flow drastically changed the riverbed. I mentioned that in a previous post. So I had the wife take a photo to give you an idea of what occurred.
I’m 5ft 9in and my rod is 5ft long…so lets call it 11 feet. The water level was at 7.3 feet when this picture was taken. No wonder everything changed.
We stepped into the river and began casting and trying to locate some fish to develop a pattern. It didn’t take long and we had 5 fish to hand. They were in their summer pattern so would be hanging out in pocket water amongst current. If there are stretches of slow water you might catch some little ones, but generally, only perch and gar are hanging out there so we skip those sections.
Slow water…Any obstruction or seam in the river is a top spot for us to cast to.All of the fish we caught today were healthy and feisty.This one put up a great fight!Last Spring this gravel bar had 3 branches flowing through it.This Cottonwood didn’t stand a chance.Best fishing partner EVER!Beautiful coloration.We covered 3 miles of new water on this river.82F with a breeze and good cloud cover. Perfect day to be on the river.
We fished for 5 hours and covered 3 miles of new water. Last Spring we did a reconnaissance trip to this area and realized we would be swimming a lot to cross several sections. This time, we were able to wade across everything so it was a lot more enjoyable.
All told we caught 101 Neosho-strain smallmouth bass on this trip which is a new record for us (We are 100% Catch and Release and use barbless hooks) I would estimate that about 40% were dinks, 40% were decent and the remaining 20% were above average. We were very happy and had a great time. The only downside was that we noticed the Owner Cultiva JH-85 and JH-86 2.2 and 2.0 gram jig heads didn’t seem to be as sharp as we prefer and we ended up losing quite a few fish. Definitely considering switching to the Gamakatsu Round 211 3/32oz jig heads.
She was trying to get a picture of a big Velox but he had other ideas and escaped. The look says it all!
Daiwa Presso LTD 1025 reelMajorCraft Finetail Banshee FBA-602L rodShimano Vanford 1000 reelMajorCraft Troutino TTS-562L rodShimano Stradic FL 1000S reelMajorCraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler FTX-46/505UL rodShimano Soare Ci4+ 500S reelMajorCraft Finetail Works Tune Area Spec FTA-582UL rodShimano TwinPower C2000S reelTenRyu Lunakia LK6102S-MLT rod
Please don’t take this as me showing off…that’s not what I’m about. Rather, when researching JDM tackle, you run across names and numbers without pictures provided. I’m merely putting forth pictures to anyone interested in JDM tackle.
I have ZERO affiliation with MajorCraft but have found them to be good values in terms of quality and performance. There are LOTS of other brands out there and there are higher and lower priced rods and reels as well. As stated before…we are really happy with these rods in regards to price vs performance.
Two of the main places I purchase my JDM tackle from are Digitaka and JDMTackleHeaven. I have found them to be reasonably priced with fast/reliable shipping. Again, no affiliation. Also, Chris Stewart over at http://www.finesse-fishing.com has a selection of BFS rods, reels, lures etc. He’s based in NY so shipping might be faster on certain items.
I am by no means an expert on JDM tackle, rather I try to post stuff I have researched, purchased and used. I hope it might prove helpful to someone…Cheers!
Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS reelMajorCraft Finetail Area Stage FAX-B642UL rodShimano Calcutta Conquest BFS reelMajorCraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler FTX-B46/505UL rodShimano Calcutta Conquest BFS reelMajorCraft Finetail Stream FSX-B502L rodShimano Calcutta Conquest BFS reelNOT JDM: Shakespeare BMG2SC 46/1 UL rod
I know it sounds weird but recently I have started to become proficient with baitcasting tackle. Late bloomer I suppose, but it has been an interesting new aspect to my fishing.
I ran across a headstone in a National Cemetery. It listed the gentleman’s date of birth and date of death. Under that was the Branch and Unit, as well as the War. At the bottom it simply said, “Gone Fishing.”
I got a chuckle out of that because it sounds like something I would put on my grave as well. I stood there paying my respects and began to realize that this guy had lived a long life…yet it had all been compressed into a hyphen. An entire lifetime reduced to one symbol.
It makes a person wonder about what all he did, where he traveled, his family and many other aspects of his life. A simple hyphen cannot express all of that and seems like a huge injustice. All I know is his name and that he’s “Gone Fishing”, hopefully one day we might possibly fish together. I have a lot of questions…
I have tried several different makes and models of pack rods through the years and have settled on the MajorCraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler series of rods.
The species of fish I’m chasing (Micropterus dolomieu velox…Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass) do not require heavy tackle so these rods are more than adequate. I wanted something compact that I could stow in one of my packs and these are perfect for my needs.
I chose the MajorCraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler Switch Style FTX-46/505UL and the baitcast version, the FTX-B46/505UL. MajorCraft does make shorter or longer versions of these rods.
As you can see, they come in a heavy duty zippered pouch which thoroughly protects the rods. However, that comes at a significant weight- 12.1 ounces for the spinning rod and 13.1 ounces for the baitcast rod. So I opted to ditch the zippered cases and just stow the rods in the cloth sleeves they come in thereby reducing the weight to 3.6 ounces for the spinning rod and 4.1 ounces for the baitcast rods.
How I stow them in my pack. Currently I am using the Yeti Panga 28 or the Patagonia Stormfront Sling pack. They fit inside both without issues.The reels are a Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and a Shimano Stradic FL-1000.
I find this setup suits most of my needs for the small streams I have been fishing lately. As of yet I haven’t felt underpowered and have all the leverage I need and my casting distance is on par with other JDM rods I have. As a bonus, all of my gear fits inside my pack during transport so I rarely worry about the rods being broken.
FTX-46/505UL spinning rod.FTX-B46/505UL baitcast rod.
For open stretches of a river I prefer the spinning rod but when things get tricky with overhanging trees and such, I prefer the baitcast rod since I find it to be more accurate. Plus, it also depends on what type of lures I’m using at any given time. Since these are 5-piece rods, I have the option to remove the 6 inch insert section and go with a shorter rod if necessary. I have yet to have one of these rods come apart while fishing, but I do check the sections periodically to make sure they are still in place.
I’ve caught quite a few fish on these and have been very pleased with their performance.
We left the house at 0535 and entered the river at 0725. There was a fog in the river valley and the temperature was 63F. It was a beautiful start to the outing. Considering that we had been inundated with rain for most of the week, we were really looking forward to some actual sunshine. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the sun came up and the fog lifted.
With all of the rain recently, it was interesting to see how much the river had changed. Pools had shifted, gravel bars had moved, the river had split in a couple of places. What used to be an easy walk is now precarious. As the old saying goes…”no man steps in the same river twice.
My main intention for this trip was to try out a new rod. It is the Majorcraft Finetail Trekking and Travel FTX-B46/505UL.
It is a 5-piece baitcast rod with a stiffer action. I kind of like the fact that I can stash 2 rods in my pack. One is a spinning rod and the other is the baitcast rod.
Majorcraft Finetail Trekking and Travel FTX-46/505UL. Picture taken just as the sun was coming up.
We had a really good outing with 34 fish being caught with about 8 of them being decent. Neither one of us took fish pictures since we were releasing them right away. For 3 hours we had the river to ourselves before a few other fisherpeople showed up. It was well worth the drive.
On the way out we ran into the Game Warden and he checked to see if we had our licenses…which we did. He thanked us profusely after noticing all of the trash in my sling pack I was digging out while getting my license. We talked for a bit and we thanked him for doing his job and for caring about this river. We also ran into a few other people that we chatted with and in the end we all had similar thoughts about this river. “Mum is the word” and none of us mention it, instead preferring to keep it hidden for as long as possible.
I thought I’d write a blog post about this backpack since I have used it quite a bit over the past 2 years. I usually carry it when someone else is fishing with me so I can carry their rain jackets, phones, a water filter pump, spare water, lunch etc.
I prefer a pack without a lot of padding when I am wading. I generally don’t carry enough weight to require padding.
The construction of this pack is exemplary so I won’t complain too much about the price tag. In this instance, you DO get what you pay for. And the main selling point for me was that it is waterproof and submersible. I have used it several times as an impromptu flotation device to help get me across deep water.
I like the 3 grab handles on the sides and top. With some velcro strips I can secure rods or rod tubes.The shoulder strap buckles are metal and heavy-duty.Comes with a removable waist belt.The inside has a sleeve, a velcro patch and a zippered pocket. The lighter color on the inside makes locating items easier. It’s the simple things that add up to a nice design.The pack contents from our recent trip.
I have been very happy with this pack. Zero complaints so far. I rarely notice it when I’m wearing it and fishing a river. The plastic baits on the right are usually carried in the thigh pocket of my shorts along with a few spare jigheads so I don’t have to dig into the pack very often.
I have no affiliation with Yeti and purchased this with my own money. If anything happened to this one…I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.
That’s what my friends call it. I call it an opportunity.
Oklahoma has a few trout streams and they usually contain too many people for my taste. I prefer my own company and hence, try to find overlooked or ignored places to fish. And catching trout is fun, I just prefer another species at this moment in my life.
I’ve spent thousands of dollars chasing the Micropterus dolomieu velox or Neosho-strain Smallmouth bass. I don’t see an end to it in the foreseeable future. Sure, I could go to the North Country and catch really big Smallmouth bass, and I’ve done that many times, but there’s something special to seeking out our native Smallmouth bass.
I don’t go with the “societal flow” or “social norms”, in fact, I could care less. I am on this Earth for a certain period of time and plan to use as much of that time as I can wisely. So I prefer to chase whatever species I am interested/fascinated in. And if I do it right, you will never know I was there. Since I enjoy my solitude and “soul time”, I don’t always give trip reports or name locations of where I’m fishing…and I think most readers understand the WHY behind it. It’s my way of recharging my internal batteries.
I enjoy fishing immensely and hope to continue doing so for years to come. I don’t care if its a really small creek leading to a stream. And if I’ve never been there…that’s a bonus.
So…Ditch Water huh? You never know what you’ll encounter. You will never know what’s around the creek/stream/river bend unless you go. And I WILL GO.
Velox Seeker 