The kayak has been grounded for a month or so due to some costly car repairs, so this trip was much needed and appreciated! Our last kayak trip was on December 31st, which is way, way too long to wait to paddle. Glad to be back!
This river is one of my favorites in Arkansas. If you are looking for extreme kayaking or that kind of stuff, this would not be the river for you. I have found it to be very calm with a slight current, and an easy paddle to get some milage in, as well as some fishing.
I decided to take it all the way to the dam/falls from the put in point (see map below for details). The weather in Arkansas/Missouri has been incredibly mild this late winter. The temps were in the 70's. I decided to wear my Kokatat dry suit, due to the fact that I know the water temps are not that warm yet. I brought my fishing rod, but did not have much success....still early in the season. I spoke with a gentleman on the ramp who said they had walleye in the river, which sounded real intreging!
We woke up on December 27th with about 2 inches of wet snow on the ground. I decided that snow would not stop us from another winter paddle. I was really dying to get out and try out my new Kokatat dry suit, so I was determined to get out. Little Dixie Lake is located in the Little Dixie Wildlife area just before you get to Columbia, MO. off I-70. I have fished this lake in the past, and it is a good lake to do so. Incredible catfish lake, as well as a nice largemouth lake. The lake is chock-full of stumps. As you paddle to the back of the lake, it gets more shallow and has a lot of timber. I am not the biggest fan of stumps since my experience with the sea kayak on Lake Conway in Arkansas (I got caught in a stump field and centered up on several stumps, almost tipping). Especially in cold weather with cold water (dry suit or not)
View while eating lunch...amazing!
Took a quick lunch break and packed some soup. Quick cooking tip: if you have some instant rice cups, put them into boiling soup, seal up, and by the time you get ready to eat it, the rice is cooked into the soup- yum! As I was taking in the scenery, I got a chance to watch a family of bluebirds as well as a red-headed woodpecker in action. As cool as it was, the day was beautiful.
The winds really started to kick in, and that provided the biggest challenge on this paddle. I originally was going to go to Mark Twain Lake, but the winds were even more intense up that way. I left the house when there was still snow on the ground and the winds were in my guess about 7 mph....by the time I got through the paddle I would say they were about 18 mph. This difference really effects the lay of the lake. Towards the end of the paddle, the lake really started to swell up, but not enough to white cap. I decided to take it in and call it a day....this trip was a short one.
my new Kokatat dry suit
This is a great lake to kayak fish. I look forward to coming back with my SOT fishing kayak and doing some fishing here in the spring
