Fishing From Small Boats

Last weekend I took what will likely be the last catfish run of the year to Lake Dardanelle, fishing the bridge at Delaware Bay, about 14 miles west of the town of Dardanelle. The small Delaware Bay bridge has been one of my favorite fishing spots for nearly three decades with fish gathering in mass in the channel, around the bridge and in the bay at various times of year. All species can be found there according to season. Bluegill, largemouth bass, white bass, stripers, hybrids, and the big three species of catfish, flatheads, blues and channels. And catfish are what I was after last week. Danny King’s punch bait was the bait.

Here’s the thing about the Delaware Bay bridge. There’s always something there. Fishing here can range from spectacular to slow, but nearly always produces something. And when fish gather in mass around the small bridge, the fishing can be unbelievable. A friend and I tied up to the bridge a few years ago in late October and without moving caught over 100 catfish from 2-10 lbs without moving.

During the spring and early summer, night fishing around the bridge for catfish and particularly white bass can be your best bet. I have often taken off work at 5 p.m. and headed to the lake with both rods and juglines in tow. I place the juglines, baited with cut shad in the bay then go tie up to the bridge to fish for white bass while the jugs do their magic. With a light hung overboard just above the water, insects soon gather followed by tiny minnows. Then the food chain spirals downward as the white bass gather under the boat. A quick limit is nearly

always possible by dropping a weighted hook with crappie minnow to the bottom then slowly reeling it up. The bite comes as the minnow travels toward the surface. After rod fishing, I’ll head out into the bay with a spotlight to chase down the bobbing juglines which by this time will generally be loaded with catfish.

Lake Dardanelle Catfish

But last weekend was one of those “just enough” days when the fish bit every so often…..just enough to keep me on the water through mid afternoon. It was a beautiful breezy day with almost no boats on the water which is in itself a rare occasion. And the catfish were willing enough to put a decent limit on the stringer. Once you get a few, you know you’ve got to stay long enough to get a decent stringer. So, bottom line it was a pleasant and enjoyable day on the water with the bay and bridge doing what they do best….producing some fish and keeping me entertained.

More reports to come from the Delaware Bay bridge in the year to come.

Well, my latest foray into river kayak fishing was on the Little Red River below Greers Ferry Lake dam in North Arkansas. Arkansas has world class trout fishing and the Little Red is one of the best of the best. The river boasts 29 miles of trout water from the dam downstream with abundant rainbow trout which are stocked by the hundreds of thousands each year, and big wild brown trout that hang out in deep pools, under steep undercut banks and around the numerous fallen trees that dot the river bottom. The world record brown trout, just over 40 pounds came out of the Little Red River in the early 1990s and the record still stands today. Fish in the 20-30 pound range still come out of the river regularly.

The Little Red, as all other trout waters in Arkansas is produced by the water release below Greers Ferry dam. Water is released for both power generation and flood control. When water is not running, the river is a shallow, clear stream that meanders through the country side and is only deep enough for a kayak or canoe to traverse. When power generation is high or water is being released for flood control, the first seven miles of the river is a challenging float that should only be tackled by experienced paddlers. Thankfully on the day we went in mid October, we launched our kayaks 17 miles below the dam in a relatively safe area when water is high. Turned out that was a wise decision.

This is what the water looked like when we launched our kayaks. Slow and easy.

When we first put our kayaks in, it looked like conditions were going to be perfect for a slow, controlled drift. Water deep enough to keep trout from being spooky, but water slow enough to move us just the right speed to drift bait or cast flies or lures. But it was not to last. Within about 45 minutes of hitting the Little Red River, the floodgates opened up.

We went from a slow drift to a fast, nearly unmanageable rush. In the section of the river we were in, rapids were not severe, but docks lined the shore, and stickups from fallen trees were numerous in the five mile stretch. Being swept up under a dock or turned over on a stickup would have very likely meant death in the fast moving 50 degree water. So, instead of fishing intently, just as much time paddling and strategically drifting to avoid disaster took up a good deal of our time.

The water was moving so fast carrying my kayak with it, I couldn’t even frame a scene to take a good picture. I managed to drift through a few sheltered spots where the current broke and caught two modest size fish. That was it for the three of us fishing. No more the rest of the 4.5 hour trip down river. We had some considerable fish follow our lures to the boat including one rainbow trout that was at least 2 feet long that followed a small crawfish lure nearly right up to the rod tip. Some people were on the river in jon boats with motors and were doing fairly well. But with the necessity of using paddle power to fight the river, that’s what we mostly did….fought it. The trip was short, interesting, but disappointing as far as the water level and fast current. These type trips are a huge effort and lots of work, and hitting the river right is important. But, it’s back to the drawing board. The fish are there. We’ve just got to get em on the right day.  And like always in Arkansas water, whatever the outcome of this trip, we’ll eventually be back.

The river was truly dangerous near docks. Water moving right into the docks like here was treacherous to our kayaks.

My next river trial by kayak will be the Lower Illinois river below Tenkiller Lake dam in Eastern Oklahoma. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.