We were up at 0430 so we could be at the hospital by 0600. I was in the operating room by 0715 and the surgery took about 2 hours. So far everything seems to have been a success, but I will know for sure by tomorrow when the anesthetic fully wears off.
I have to wear this wrap for 14 days and am not looking forward to that at all.
For the procedure, it consisted of an A1 pulley release at the left index finger. An Endoscopic carpal tunnel release and a cubital tunnel release and transposition of the ulnar nerve. And thanks to the “Opioid Crisis” I was given a whopping 10 painkiller tablets. Yeehaw!!!
I’m just hoping for a successful and speedy recovery. Granted, typing with one hand takes me a lot longer lol.
Monday was another hot day with temperatures peaking at 97F. Most of the local residents that I speak with are tired of summer. It has dragged on too long for their liking, and mine.
Oklahoma weather is fickle and such is the case this year. However, the North Wind made a surprise appearance today with a steady blow and temperatures topping out at 77F during the day and dropping to 50F as of this morning. Boreas tempts and teases us time and time again. Promising relief with a glimpse of the season ahead, only to vanish leaving the heat to fill the void.
And true to form…the days of this week will be pleasant, yet by the weekend we will climb back into the mid-90’s. Frustration looms large, yet patience is the order of seasonal change. Roller coaster rides with brief respites intermixed, autumn is coming…it’s just not here yet…but soon will be.
I was talking to my Dad last night via Facetime and he was giving me a little grief about not fishing. He said, “you say its too hot yet you’re running around all over doing other things.” He was right! We were trying to come up with something to do today so opted to hit both of our local lakes. We got up early to beat the heat and headed out.
The first lake was a bust since it is completely overgrown now and fishing from the shore is virtually impossible. We caught zero fish after walking all the way around it. As usual I was on the lookout for plants. Here is just a few of what we ran across.
Indian woodoats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Prairie sunflower
Prairie sunflower (Helianthus annus)
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
After getting skunked and picking all of the burs and stick-tights off of us, we opted to try the other lake near us. As we were driving down the gravel road we were witness to a Bobcat crossing the road carrying a rabbit in its mouth. We watched as it loped across the road and coursed up a steep hill. We thought that was pretty cool…especially with how big it was.
We reached the next lake and chatted with a local. He was out on his 4-wheeler with the grandkids and was letting them burn off some energy. We know the feeling all too well.
Managed to catch a Crappie here.
All told we caught 5 largemouth bass, a perch and a crappie. I wanted to get a few pictures for the blog and quit fishing after an hour. Remember me mentioning that this area was covered by the Western Interior Sea during the Cretaceous Period 145 million to 66 million years ago? I took some pictures of the fossils that cover a large portion of this area.
These fossils are everywhere.
Lots of bi-valves.
Not sure what this one is.
As we were roaming around the area just looking, we ran across this guy!
Eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos)It was pretty docile despite the flared hood. They come in a remarkable range of coloration.
After interacting with the snake we decided to move on and see what else we could find. As usual, there were numerous plants in bloom in the area.
Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) Watch those thorns!
Giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) This plant was cultivated by several indigenous tribes.
Bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa)
Rough gumweed (Grindelia scabra Greene)
Gumweed flower
Purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea)
Field thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Field thistle flower.Winged elm (Ulmus alata Michx)Common whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia) When reeling in I hooked some weeds and it rode them all the way in.
We had fun with the few hours we were out. We tend to free-range the chickens on the weekends so we decided to head home to let them out for the day. As I sit here typing, I’m surrounded by foraging chickens. There is shade at the moment and a breeze blowing through the tree tops.
They do a good job of keeping the raised beds tilled up…so I don’t have to do it!
Due to the heat, we haven’t been doing much fishing lately. Today was the first time in weeks that the temps were below a 100F. The high was slated to be 87F but ended up being 90F. No worries…we’ll take it!
We opted to hit a lake relatively close by and try our luck catching catfish. Spoiler Alert: We didn’t catch any. We each managed to catch a Drum and a White Bass so we still had fun. It was kind of nice to just sit there and watch a rod tip as opposed to wading mile after mile.
For bait we used a cast net to gather shad. It’s hard work and takes both luck and skill to catch them. We cast probably 50 times and ended up with 5, but it was enough to get us started. Later in the day I managed to spot and throw into a bait ball. I could hardly drag the net in because it was so full. We tried using slip bobbers but the wind kept blowing them by us way to fast. Plan B was to fish on the bottom or a little bit off of the bottom. Not ideal because this lake is full of turtles.
We fed a lot of turtles!Is it a turtle or a fish??? Hmmm.Early morning quiet with the sun coming up.
We arrived at about 0815 and left around 1315. Up until 1230 we had the place to ourselves. A nice quiet cove entrance, sunshine, moderate temperatures and a breeze. Then the Jetskiers and Kneeboarders showed up, making waves with their stereos cranked as loud as they would go. Time for us to leave. Besides, we promised our son that we would stop by his house on our way home to help with some carpentry work.
Change is inevitable. That’s a fact and a fundamental law. We are surrounded by change and are a function of that process. Not all change is good and not all change is bad…we know that, we see that, we experience that, but more importantly, we deal with that.
As humans, we are generally disinclined to change unless we are forced to. Yet all around us things are constantly changing and we have to adapt or die. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed and we struggle with it.
I struggle quite often. I try to keep my bearings amidst chaos, amidst responsibilities and balancing my life. Thats where my passion for fishing comes into play. When I step into a stream all of the bullshit fades into the background. Somehow when I’m at the car and gearing up, I do a cursory check of my gear, and consciously decide to leave all of that unnecessary “mental detritus” locked up in the car. I hit the key fob and begin to relax and calm my mind.
I focus on being present and trying to blend into the river. My mind begins the process of focusing on “solving the puzzle.” I try to find my place! Doing what brings me a semblance of joy and happiness. I feel completely out of place surrounded by coworkers or mobs of commuters and being choked by the hustle and bustle of change.
I am not an “escapist” by nature and take my role as parent, husband, co-provider etc. seriously. But not to the point where I feel overwhelmed and lost. I know when to take a break and go somewhere that allows me to recharge my internal batteries. That place where I feel as if I belong. And for me, that is usually a place where I can fish and be away from people. A place where I find happiness. We ALL deserve a chance to not feel Out Of Place. To do something that brings us joy.
I have been curious about this rod for quite awhile. I like the price ( $137 shipped ) and the hardware. The fact that it has a screw-down handle is a bonus.
Fit and Finish was nicely done.
We finally had the time to go fishing this morning so I took this rod along to test out. I paired it with the Shimano Stradic FL 1000 and I think they compliment each other quite well. It is a 2-piece rod with 6 eyelets and it casts as expected. The reel seat and handle consist of nice hardware and geometry.
The lake was calm and quiet.
We managed to catch 11 bass but didn’t bother taking pictures since they were only about a pound in weight. The rod performed well and I really liked using it. I am impressed with the Tailwalk quality and might look into some of their other offerings.
The rod and reel balanced well.Sun starting to come up over the ridge.The obligatory trash pickup that we always do.
I had wanted to try this pack rod to see how it compared to my MajorCraft pack rods. I had an Abu Garcia Revo MGX Theta 1000S spinning reel that I didn’t have a rod for so I decided to pick one of these up to try.
This is the Abu Garcia Troutin Marquis Nano TMNS-575L-MB spinning rod. It is a 5-piece and fits in the packs that I use currently.
Nylon zippered pouch with integrated sleeves.5 pieces.
I broke it while catching my first smallmouth of the trip while using this rod. The fault lies solely with me. I lifted the fish and put too much bend in the tip section causing it to snap at the joint. I always advise not to high-stick or lift a fish with these JDM rods.
SNAP!
Upon opening the case shortly after receiving this rod, the wife commented that “it seemed thin and fragile.” I didn’t think anything of it but she proved to be right. I wouldn’t say that JDM rods are more fragile per se, but they are less forgiving to user errors. Again…the fault is mine alone.
I am going to see if I can fix it, if not, I might be able to order a new section. Time will tell and I learned my lesson…again.
With it being “hell hot,” we opted to rent a cabin on this trip. We had been watching a YouTube channel named Dome Life and they had stayed at these cabins. We were curious about the Ouachita River so took their advice and chose this place to base our exploration forays out of. Included in this blog post are pictures from Cabin #11 which is a 2-person cabin. They have cabins that run the gamut from 2-people up to 16-24 people if I recall correctly. I will include a link to their website for those who are interested.
Cabin #113/4 wrap-around deckKitchen AreaAll you need to bring is food!The jacuzzi was a blessing after a day of canoeing or fishing!Queen size bed!Fire place and entertainment center. We watched movies during the evening hours. I brought 2 thumb drives full of movies so it was plug-and-play.
I’m normally not one for staying in fancy places. I much prefer to rough it and go on the cheap. However, the A/C was REALLY nice and worth it to us. Plus, staying in a cabin means we didn’t have to bring as much gear with us and gave us a comfortable base to explore the area.
We woke up early and packed camp quickly. Our first planned stop was the Ed Banks Access point. We wanted to fish further downstream this time. We drove through a clear cut area along the way and also ran into a work crew who were prepping the area for replanting.
Clear cut area.
The Ed Banks Access area is one of our favorite spots. There are two primitive campsites, one on each side of the low water bridge. The Ranger told us that they were free to camp in, but we had already set up camp back in Cossatot Falls. Had we known, we probably would’ve camped there.
Ed Banks Access downstream side.Fishing in shade was nice.
We ended up catching 50 fish in the 2 hours we were here. About half of them were perch, but they were fun nonetheless.
To reach the Brushy Creek Access Area we had to drive out of the Forest Area and take Highway 246 west a little ways. This is a really nice Day Use Only area that tends to be a major swimming hole during the summer months. We opted to head downstream to avoid the swimmers and also because we had never fished this section of the river.
Bring your “A” game!
This section required a lot of wading across slippery rocks and lots of boulder hopping. You WILL get a helluva workout. We fished downstream for about a mile and a half before the heat really kicked in and we decided to head back. The rocks were a killer due to being so slippery. You need to wade this section very carefully. Even the rocks that looked dry were sketchy with wet wading boots. You have to do it to fully understand.
We only caught 10 fish in this section before we decided to call it a day and begin the 3.5 hour drive home. We got home at 1635 and began the process of cleaning gear, doing laundry and getting everything put away. I updated my log book and we started making plans to do another trip. That’s how we roll!
P.S. We apologize for not taking many fish pics. Our cameras were stowed in our packs which made it time consuming to get pics. In this heat we generally release the fish immediately. Also, both of us were constantly leap frogging each other to explore and fish so we weren’t in close enough proximitiy to get pics of each other. Thanks for reading.
We rented a cabin for 4 days which left our checkout time on Thursday. Not wanting to head home yet, we diverted over to the Cossatot River. We really liked that river and wanted to explore it some more.
We pulled off to check out the Cossatot River Visitors Center since we didn’t bother visiting the facility when we were here in June. There are a bunch of exhibits explaining the history of this area. Besides, we needed a sticker for the cooler!
After camp was set up at Cossatot Falls Camping Area…we geared up and hit the river. It was already in the 90’s F at 10:30 and the sun was beating down. The river was about two feet lower than when we were here previously.
A section above Cossatot Falls.
We fished upstream to about a mile and a half above the Sand Bar Access Area. In this heat, you can’t drink enough water and staying somewhat cool was a serious issue. We fished until around 1430 and decided to begin the slog back to camp. We ended up catching 29 smallmouth bass with only one reaching 2 pounds. The rest were one pound or less. We didn’t bother with pictures since we weren’t catching the bigger fish we had hoped for. We were absolutely beat and overheated upon arrival back in camp so we climbed into the Subaru and cranked the A/C until we had cooled off a bit.
Camp Site #2Trying to beat the heat
We called it a night around 2100 and climbed into the tent. It was still 93F but dropped to 72F by morning.
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…
