stream fishing blog – Page 14

My Most Used Fishing Gear of 2021…

I prefer to fish streams so all of my gear is generally tailored for that application. As such, we fish out of backpacks quite often so the rods are usually multi-piece for portability. Also, we specifically target our indigenous smallmouth bass which rarely reach 3 pounds so we don’t need heavier tackle.

The rod I used the most was the Majorcraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler Switch Style FTX-46/505UL.

My favorite spinning reel of 2021 turned out to be the Shimano Stradic FL 1000S. This reel blew the Vanford 1000 out of the water! Price to performance was exceptional.

The Yeti Panga 28L waterproof and submersible backpack was outstanding. Expensive but extremely durable and useful for my needs. Worth every penny and holds everything I could need for a day or two on the river.

My baitcast rod of choice was a tie this year. I used both the Majorcraft Finetail Trekking and Traveler Switch Style FTX-B46/505UL and the Majorcraft Finetail Area Stage FAX-B642UL. Both were great rods.

My Baitcast reel of choice was the Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS-HG Left. An expensive reel, but it worked really well and I had a lot of fun fishing with it.

We had a great year of fishing and managed to explore some new water. We had arbitrarily stated we wanted to make 25 trips during 2021 and according to my fishing journal we reached 27 trips. We spent a lot of time researching gear and tackle but managed to escape without any duds for the year. Everything worked perfectly for our style of fishing.

I can HIGHLY recommend http://www.digitaka.com for reels and http://www.jdmtackleheaven.com for rods.

Here’s to 2022 possibly being a better year of fishing! Cheers…

Replacement Rod Sections On Order!!!

I sent an email to JDM Tackle Heaven and they responded quickly. These guys are phenomenal to deal with and are very helpful. JDMTH is my preferred business to order my fishing rods from in regards to Japan Domestic Market fishing rods.

They quoted me a price of approximately $45.00 USD per section plus shipping. The only caveat so far was that they would contact the manufacturer and try to order the replacements directly from them. Needless to say, I am still on hold but I am hopeful that I will be able to replace these 2 sections. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I figured it was worth a shot and will keep my fingers crossed. I will update the blog IF/WHEN the replacements arrive.

The Search Begins…

Some of you may remember that I broke the tip section on this rod (Abu Garcia Troutin Marquis Nano TMNS-575L MB) at the joint when we were fishing over in Arkansas back in July 2021.

Needless to say, ordering replacement parts for JDM fishing tackle isn’t always easy.
I will fire off a bunch of emails and see what happens. I really like this rod and hope things work out in getting the two replacement sections. I will update the blog IF I am successful.

Very light and very compact! Perfect for throwing in a backpack.

The Surgery Went Well…

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.

A Casualty of the Trip…

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.

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.

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.

River View Cabins, Oden Arkansas…

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.

The jacuzzi was a blessing after a day of canoeing or fishing!

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.

River View Cabins and Canoes-Oden Arkansas website: http://www.riverviewcabins-canoes.com

Ed Banks Access and Brushy Creek Access on the Cossatot River 30 July 2021…

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fishing Trip 29 July 2021-Back to the Cossatot River

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.

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.

We called it a night around 2100 and climbed into the tent. It was still 93F but dropped to 72F by morning.

Recon Trip 27 July 2021…

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.

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!

Ouachita River Outing 26 July 2021…

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!

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 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.

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…

Simms Free Salt Wading Boot…

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.

What the Future Holds?

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…