Rain keeps it cool on Kings River float trip

Eddy Silcott of Rogers fishes from a Kings River gravel bar during a float trip. Smallmouth bass are a favorite species for anglers on the stream.
Eddy Silcott of Rogers fishes from a Kings River gravel bar during a float trip. Smallmouth bass are a favorite species for anglers on the stream.

A nasty weather forecast brings some head scratching when the day rolls around for a float trip that's been planned for weeks.

photo

Anglers found fair fishing for smallmouth bass on an overcast and rainy day.

photo

Silcott paddles down the Kings River.

photo

Eddy Silcott catches a King River smallmouth bass in the rain.

photo

Blossoms carpet a Kings River gravel bar.

photo

Silcott does some wade-fishing during a Kings River float trip.

Rain chance was 100 percent on June 9, the date set for a Kings River float-fishing trip. Eddy Silcott of Rogers looked forward to canoeing and fishing five miles on the downstream end of the Kings. A steady, moderate rain at 7 a.m., found the floaters on the phone, pondering the weather. To float or not to float?

Float the Kings River

Here are some popular sections for floating the Kings River. Distances are approximate.

Marble access to Marshall Ford: 11 miles.

Marshall Ford to Rockhouse access: 14 miles.

Rockhouse to Kings River Outfitters: 7.5 miles

Kings River Outfitters to U.S. 62: 11 miles

U.S. 62 to Arkansas 143: 5 miles

Grandview to Stony Point access: 5 miles

Stony Point to Romp Hole access, 5 miles.

Information: Kings River Outfitters, 479-253-8954.

"Aw heck, let's just go," Silcott said. Neither one would melt in the rain. Time to get some money's worth out of their rain gear.

The shower turned to a sprinkle, then fizzled all together on the drive to the Kings River. Game plan was to start at the U.S. 62 bridge east of Eureka Springs and take out at the Arkansas 143 bridge near Grandview, west of Berryville.

The float is one of those that's perfect for fishing. Anglers on a typical Ozark river trip travel about one mile per hour. Five miles and five or six hours on the water is ideal. One thing nice about the Kings, there are plenty of four- to six-mile trips available for float fishing.

Silcott's car was left at a private pay access at the Grandview bridge, then the floaters hopped in a pickup for the quick four-mile drive to U.S. 62 where the trip would start.

This was the first time for the floaters to launch at the new J.D. Fletcher Kings River Public Access at U.S. 62. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission finished building it last spring. It's a great improvement over the old U.S. 62 access, where vehicles sometimes sank up to their axles in gravel and party-goers left litter.

Game and Fish named the new access after Fletcher, a legendary guide on the Kings River for nearly 50 years. Fletcher died in 2014.

A low, gray sky and cool temperature was welcome. Current cradled the canoe like a gentle hand. The river level was perfect thanks to two inches of rain that fell four days earlier. Silcott's let's-go attitude earlier that morning was the right call.

So it was appropriate for him to tangle with the day's first smallmouth bass. The fish bent his fishing rod clear to the handle. The fishermen could see the smallmouth waging its battle deep in the transparent water.

"I thought I was hung up at first," Silcott said, sitting in canoe's bow seat. "It was a little hard to tell if it was a fish until he started pulling."

The smallmouth bit a green-colored Zoom Fluke soft jerk bait speckled with black flakes. It was tube baits or bust for his fishing partner in the stern of the canoe. Dark colors work best for either lure.

Floods over the winter have changed this part of the Kings River. A few tricky twists and turns now test the mettle of paddlers on this section of water. Overall, navigation is easy.

Some of the best fishing came when they stopped to stretch their legs and wade-fish for a spell. Silcott had the hot hand with his Zoom Fluke. Smallmouth bass bit his lure each time they took a break.

Midway through the trip, Silcott offered to switch seats. That was music to the ears of his friend in the stern. The stern paddler spends more time keeping the canoe straight and less time fishing. Sitting in the bow, he fished the rest of the trip never picking up a paddle again. Silcott has run some of the wildest water in the United States and could do this float with his eyes closed.

That 100 percent chance of rain came all right, but it only rained about 20 percent of the day. A little water dripping off the hat brim is a small price to pay for a fine day on the river.

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 07/05/2016

Upcoming Events