If the beloved War Eagle River has a twin, it is Bryant Creek, a jewel of a stream that flows through the Ozarks in south-central Missouri. The two are strikingly similar.
Both have a grist mill along their course. Each river is narrow with clear water and superb scenery. Fishing is good on either.
Visit Bryant Creek
Bryant Creek flows on a southeast course through Douglas and Ozark counties in Missouri. Forty-two miles of the stream can be floated during wet periods, and the 16 miles below Hodgson Mill Spring can be floated year-round.
Bryant Creek is suitable for beginner paddlers. Fishing is good for smallmouth bass, goggle-eye and sunfish.
—Missouri Department of Conservation
Bryant Creek is within easy reach from Northwest Arkansas, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive, 25 miles north of Mountain Home, near Gainesville in Ozark County, Mo.
Bryant Creek was the destination for a fall foliage float trip, river camping trip and reunion all in one during a weekend on the stream. A trio of river rats cherished the reunion most.
Hog Ears "Mark" Hughes of Anchorage and his brother, Matt, of the Kansas City area, grew up on Bryant Creek when their dad had a cabin beside the stream. No wonder the two planned a Bryant Creek float trip when Hog Ears visited the Lower 48 in October.
One doesn't make many lifelong friends, but Hog Ears and Matt are two of them. A weekend on the river was a much anticipated trip. Adventures with Hog Ears have been shared on these outdoors pages for years. His ears are quite normal. About the only one who calls him Mark is his lovely wife, Cindy.
The float plan was to put in at Hodgson Mill on Bryant Creek and canoe seven miles to the Warren Bridge public access. Hodgson Mill is similar to our own War Eagle Mill, but a spring turns the water wheel. Hodgson Mill Spring pours 24 million gallons of cold, clear water into Bryant Creek each day, making the stream floatable year-round below the mill.
Matt Hughes is the Bryant Creek expert. He's canoed it a bunch since the days of his dad's cabin.
Bryant Creek is a tributary of the North Fork of the White River, a more popular float stream with outfitters and resorts. There are none on Bryant Creek.
"Everybody floats the North Fork," he said. "Even in the summer you hardly see anybody on Bryant. Mostly local people float it."
Nary a human being was seen during a Saturday and Sunday on Bryant Creek, Oct. 17-18.
"The river is narrow, as you'll see," Matt Hughes dded. "It's a tricky river. If you're not paying attention you can go around a curve and you'll be in the trees."
A gentle current carried the two canoes downstream, along forested banks and occasional bluffs. A bedrock and gravel bottom was easily seen through the water.
Smallmouth bass and goggle-eye are the marquee fish at Bryant Creek. The Hughes brothers launched cast after cast the first day of the trip. Fishing was slow.
"We'll get into some better fishing downstream in the deeper holes. It'll pick up," Matt Hughes assured.
A perfect gravel bar for camping revealed itself when the canoes rounded a bend about 3 p.m. It had all the amenities of a paradise campsite. Plenty of room for our tents with trees for shade. Lots of dead wood laying around for the campfire. Here Bryant Creek poured over a shoal, so the music of flowing water would be a lullaby for sleep.
When Hog Ears Hughes pays a visit, he brings the Alaska goodies procured on his hunting and fishing trips. Two years ago it was moose steaks grilled on the campfire. This trip it was salmon that he brought from the Kenai River.
The fillets were so red and rich they looked good enough to eat raw. Hog Ears Hughes grilled them in gourmet fashion with a delicious sauce he made. Potatoes and carrots wrapped in foil packets cooked to perfection while salmon sizzled over the coals. Gravel bar dining doesn't come any finer.
Matt Hughes stoked the fire in the morning and got coffee going in a percolator coffee pot that looked old-timey by today's standard. Hog Ears Hughes whipped up a batch of breakfast burritos. With gear packed, the group bid a fond farewell to this primo camp spot.
Back on the river, they gazed at a half-dozen turkey vultures circling overhead with a pair of red-tail hawks, two birds not often seen together. A juvenile bald eagle flew from a streamside tree. That's Bryant Creek. Lots of wildlife, few people.
Most of the attention was below the water. Fishing picked up, as Matt Hughes predicted. He struck first, catching two smallmouth bass right away using live worms. His brother jumped on the worm bandwagon and picked up a dandy 2-pound largemouth bass. About lunchtime, the two scored a double on smallmouths, each catching a fish at the same time on their live worms. All fish were released.
At Warren bridge, the two canoes were unloaded. The brothers laughed at how much gear three guys can take on a 24-hour float trip. There was so much stuff we spread it out on the bank and took a group picture with it. It was a fine weekend on Bryant Creek.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at fputthoff @nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 11/10/2015