Weekend on the White River

Another weekend trip down to Northern Arkansas is in the books.  The plan was to take the kayaks down there and float the Buffalo River.  I've always heard good things about the Buffalo and have been wanting to give it a shot.  But with low water forecast on the White and North Fork for the first time in months, the Buffalo would have to wait.  Rachel and I skated out early from work on Friday afternoon, and after five hours of driving we pulled down the dusty rock road to Rim Shoals resort where a "camper cabin" awaited us.

Under normal circumstances we would be unloading a tent and sleeping bags from the back of the Carp Ride about now, but this weekend we were meeting up with some friends who were in another cabin at Rim.  This way we could walk over to their place in the evenings and enjoy gourmet cooking and a maintenance-free campfire.  The campfire crowd didn't retreat to their respective sleeping quarters until half after midnight, which made watching the morning sunrise an unlikely event.

Saturday morning we had the kayaks unloaded at the Cotter Access just before 10 a.m..  The weather couldn't have been better as we pushed off the rocks, beginning our kayak's maiden voyage on the White.
The water was incredibly clear, and we were able to witness thousands of fleeing fish as we floated downstream.  The highlight of Saturday wasn't even the fishing, it was floating right over a whale of a blue cat lounging in what was left of his "hole" somewhere between Cotter and Rim.  That fish honestly had to be in the 80 lb range, but he had no interest in my caddis-green soft hackle.  We the first couple miles just enjoying the float.  I'm sure there were fish to be caught, but we were holding out for more interesting water.  Our first stop was the island at Roundhouse, and a few fish were landed along the way.

Back on the water we floated over the shoals to another long stretch of wide, flat water, where we enjoyed our first 'yak lunch, and I played a bit with my new GoPro camera.  In the future I plan on doing a lot more with this thing, but I hadn't taken enough time to familiarize myself with it's 2 buttons yet to mess with it much Saturday. 















It wasn't long until we were down to the Rim Shoals C&R area.  We stopped and fished the upper shoals, then floated past our cabin down to the firsts island where we beached the boats and enjoyed a couple more hours of fishing.

 

We'd had our fill of fishing for the day, and camp was only a few hundred yards of upstream paddling away.  It was a perfect Ozark evening for popping open a Busch Light and watching the sun go down.  A feast of dry-aged steak kabobs, smoked rainbow trout, along with mussels in a creamy tomato and vodka reduction awaited us.  It really doesn't get much better than that.

Another late night around the fire made for another late-start to the morning.  I'd wanted to head over to the North Fork and float from Quarry Park down to the Handicap Access, but with the drive back to KC ahead of us, we left the kayaks on the rail rack and walked in at the Ackerman Access.  It took awhile to figure the fish out, but finally a #18 orange scud started bringing fish to hand.

This was the first time in the 6 years of going to the area that we lucked out with low water on both the White and North Fork ALL WEEKEND!  The weather was fantastic, and although we didn't catch a fish over 16", most of these fish put up an insane fight for their size.  We'll definitely be going back sooner than later!

Unplanned Detour

It's hard to fish when you can't find Toto.  I found the weather this past weekend more prone to sight-seeing than fly-fishing.

Heat Up the Peanut Oil

The day's are getting longer, and the temperatures are rising.   The warm water species are just beginning their annual spawning rituals.  And I'm just about ready for some fresh, flaky, cold-water fillets.  Carp take a backseat for the moment, with all my attention focused on bringing home dinner.  It's not my favorite type of fishing by any means, but my stomach doesn't care. 

Friday night a group of us headed out to the Milford dam after the sun went down with hopes of bringing home a limit of Walleye.  With temperatures topping out around 80 degrees the whole week before, they had to be up on the rocks.  Well they weren't.  We fished until about 10:30 and went home.

Saturday morning Bayes and I decided to once again hit one of my all-time favorite fishing holes near the Little Apple.  The moving water allowed the fly rod to be just as effective, if not more, than spinning gear.  The fishing was still fairly slow, but it wasn't long before Bayes was hooked into a deceptive White Bass.  They sure feel like a Saugeye on the end of your line when the water's this cold.

In an effort to keep my fly near the bottom, I began dead-drifting Clouser's back towards me as I faced upstream.  This tactic, which I've had lots of luck with in the past, was quickly depleting my streamer selection.  After losing my last Clouser in the rocks, I tied on a smaller, more realistic shad pattern.  Two casts later and I was yellin' for the net.  Before the net man could wade over to help, I was cradling this fat 21" Saugeye.  It wasn't as big as I thought when I first saw it shaking in the depths, but I was happy to have something for the stringer!

Bayes managed a few more White Bass before the bite slowed as the sun got a little higher.  He ended the day with around 5 Whites and a small Carp.  I only managed one White along with the Saugeye, but was happy to watch Bayes carry my dinner back to the truck.

And the payoff...

Carp Ride

The Honda is now accessorized for 2012.

I drove down to Springfield last weekend to pick up a couple kayaks I had ordered through Backcountry Outfitters.  They are currently the closest Diablopaddlesports dealer to me.  I have been drooling over these kayaks since I caught wind of them via online fishing forums when they were still in their prototype phase several years ago.  They currently make 2 models; the 12.5 foot Adios, and the 10.5 foot Chupacabra.  I bit the bullet and decided on one of each.  Bring on warmer water, it's going to be an exciting Spring!

The howling winds last weekend kept me off the water, but Saturday morning I convinced my friend Jake that he needed to help me take 'em out for a test-float.  Upon arrival at our planned destination, we were informed that no boats of any type were allowed on the water due to fear of spreading zebra mussels.  Bummer.  We turned around and headed for Plan B.  The wind was blowing a bit when we arrived, but not enough to keep us off the water. 

This was the earliest I've ever tried to fish this place.  Usually it's no problem to spot tailing carp, but with the water temps still on the low side, we struggled to find any targets for the first hour or so.  At least the 'yaks paddled nicely.

 
 After a little exploring we found a shallow cove with it's mouth facing East-Southeast.  The prevailing southerly breeze must have been pushing some warmer water into this protected pocket because the fish were stacked in there.

The water was muddy enough we couldn't see what the fish were doing, we only saw the mud plumes they left when we disturbed them.  Some of the plumes may have been caused by fish feeding on the bottom, but there was no way to tell for sure.  We beached the kayaks to break for lunch and let the area calm down a bit. 

After a short lunch, Jake tried a few casts off the back side of the island where he had seen a few other fish. He sounded awfully surprised when he hooked up.  This was his first time chasing carp with a fly rod, and I don't think he really believed they'd take a fly. 

It turned out to be a Smallmouth Buffalo (I think). 

After that short battle (they don't fight very hard in cold water apparently), we jumped back in the boats and tried approaching the cove a little more cautiously.  We would paddle out, then cut over to the leeward side of the point and let the wind push us back towards where the fish were holding.

Standing up on these things was no problem.  What a fun way to see the water. 

Now it was my turn for a fish to even the score.

The first fish aboard the Adios was also a Smallmouth Buffalo.  I need to remember to bring a net next time.  The hardest part of the fight was trying to get the fish in the boat.

With the score tied at 1 buff apiece, we decided to call it a day.  We'll definitely be back again when the water's warmer. 


 

I also went out in the rain for a bit today trying to bring home a pre-spawn Walleye for dinner.  No luck on the 'eye,  but I did catch a lethargic White Bass.  I liked the way the pic turned out.  Again, a little early yet.

14 Miles of Sheddin'....

I went back home this weekend for a weekend of dedicated shed hunting.  The group met up before sunrise to cook up a pre-hunt breakfast to put some fuel in our legs.

 After breakfast we through on our packs; loaded with extra clothes, water, binoculars, and most importantly toilet paper.  It was long before I found the first antler, adding to the enthusiasm for the rest of the day.  I got my first "hanger"!

 We continued scouring the canyons, and saw plenty of fresh deer sign.  But it was several more miles before Eric stumbled on this skull in a plum thicket.

I brought my GPS along today.  We had always been curious how much ground we covered during a day of walking.  I would glance down occasionally to check our progress.  3 miles.....5 miles...5 1/2 miles...  

We seemed to be "racking up" more miles than antlers, but it was a perfect morning to be outside.

 

Eric had to head home around Noon, so we looped our way back towards the truck.  By the time we got back to the cold beer, we had walked just under 9 miles.  My legs were getting wobbly and my knees started to burn.  Looking at my tracks, it looked like we were fairly thorough. 

I was glad to sit back with a Busch Light and let somebody else fire up the grill.  

 

So far the day was a little disappointing in the "finding" department.  

After lunch we loaded up the truck and headed to another location.  Our luck started to change as Ryan saw an antler from the truck out in the middle of a wheat field.  As he ran out to get it he found another smaller one he didn't see at first.  

Another mile down the road he spotted another from the truck (on a spot we had permission to be on).

We had doubled our shed count on a 2 mile drive, but it was time to get back out on our feet.

It didn't take long for Clint to spot this one.  Followed by another that Ryan spotted with his binoculars from several hundred yards across the pasture.

We were nearing the end of the main canyon when I found what I considered the best find of the day.  Nobody else knew that they were pre-historic dinosaur fins until I showed them how they would have looked back then. 

When we turned around to head back to the truck, we split in pairs and walked the smaller "tributary" canyons back.  Charlie and Ryan headed East, while Clint and I took the Westerly route.  It had been a long time since I had found an antler, and I didn't appreciate it when Clint "poached" this one from out in front of me. 

 I took the high ground back.  It didn't lead to any more antlers, but the views from atop the vast hills were better than you'd expect to see in western Kansas. 

 We beat Ryan and Charlie back to the truck, but could see them coming from a long ways off.  It appeared they hit the mother-lode, as we could see they each had both hands full of bone.  It had been a long day, 14 miles in all, and I was glad we finally had a little something to show for it. 

 

We covered a lot of ground, but I see some good looking stuff we didn't get to off to the East.  Maybe have to get back out there another weekend and match some sets.