Kayak fishing the beautiful Flat Creek in Barry County, Missouri....outstanding ozark stream!

Flat Creek in Barry County, Missouri is a place I have wanted to kayak for sometime now, so I was grateful to get a chance to explore it over the weekend.  I had a feeling that the water was fairly skinny, so I knew I would most likely have to portage and fish upstream, then kayak back, which is exactly what I did.

This would be an excellent float with several parties to make it a one way float....real challenging going up stream, then back down, but we were able to make it happen.  The water is nice and cool (due to several springs along the way) and is a prime environment for smallmouth bass.
Fishing wise, the Chomper hula grub on the stand up jig was what they were really hitting on (orange colored).  A lot of times when I am smallmouth fishing, I like to throw a texas-rigged zoom trick worm, but they were not liking these on Flat Creek...they like the hula grubs!

I would say we caught approx. 10-12 fish (all caught and released), most being of a smaller size.  There were a couple that were not bad sized (as you can see in the video).
The Missouri Ozarks have some of the most incredibly beautiful waters in the U.S.....worth it to get out and explore!

Click HERE for a map of the trip

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayak fishing the BEAUTIFUL Kings River in Northern Arkansas- August 18th, 2013

Nice Largmouth- last fish of the day!

This is one of my favorite rivers to kayak fish on. The scenery, not only getting there, but once you put in is incredible. I put in at the Romp Hole access just south of the Missouri border. If you paddle from this point downstream, the water starts to get "wide and fat" due to going from river to becoming Table Rock Lake. I think this transition makes the fishing potential at this point incredible, especially for large bass and white bass that come in from the lake in the spring.

When I am kayaking I like to paddle up stream, then drift fish down. Due to the rains a couple of weeks ago, the river still had a fairly good flow (unlike last year when it was in drought conditions). Due to the flow, there were several points I got out and portaged, wade fishing the whole time. The biggest surprise of the trip was catching a walleye mid stream. He hit the lure (orange hula grub on standup jig)on the retrieve, so when I got him in, I was very surprised.

I know that Table Rock Lake has a good fishery of walleye (at least that is what I have been told), so I figure he came upstream for some of the cool fast water. I am glad I had enough foresight to not lip him when I brought him in...that would have been a painful surprise. I spent the entire day out there, met some really cool canoe folk and could have spent even more time there....even saw a roadrunner when in the car on the way out.

 

Click HERE to see the map of the trip

 

"Life is better on a kayak"

 

Mike 

 

Kayaking Saline River, Saline County, Arkansas August 17th, 2011: Nice gravel bottomed river was some good fishing potential

Kayaking the Saline River, Arkansas

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Little Rock, Arkansas

This was my first shot at the Saline River in Arkansas.  It is just due south of Little Rock, AR.  The river is a nice, slow moving river in most places.  As I kayaked up stream, I came across a nice little run.  I attempted to portage it for awhile (it felt good to get in the water- it was about 100 degrees out) however, the current gets kind of sporty (fairly shallow, but sporty).  So I shore fished for sometime and then I turned around and headed back.

I have heard some great stories about this river in regards or smallmouth fishing.  I just do not think they were on.  I got some nice taps, but could not get anything to connect.
It would be interesting to see what this river looks like either north of the spot or south.  Water had a murky, green-ish tint.  It really reminded me of the James River south of Springfield, MO.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Little Red River, White County, Arkansas April 5th, 2011: Nice 6 mile paddle on the Little Red

This was a nice 6 mile paddle on the Little Red River.  I put in at the Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake WMA in White County, Arkansas.  This is a bayou-like area with a lot of incredibly "fishy" looking lakes and oxbows.  I plan on coming back later and hitting some of the lakes with my Mokan fishing kayak.  However, today was all about getting up the river.  I also brought a fishing rod and fished it as well.  Caught one nice smallmouth towards the half-way point of the paddle, but he spit it out before I could get it to the boat for a photo.
If you take a look at the video, there is a really nice looking dock/dock house that had something happen to it and 1/2 of it is in the water- what a shame!  Looks like it was once a great place to hang out for the day....nothing beats a day on the river!

Paddle ON!

MLT

River Gauge (Judsonia, AR)
Height: 400 ft.
Flow: 290 (cfs)
Miles: 6
Total miles year: 36.5 miles
Goal: 800 miles

Little Red River, Arkansas: Kayaking and fishing

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