Floating an Ozark stream is the closest thing to a guarantee that you'll catch fish. Lots of fish. Catching and releasing 50 or more fish during a float trip isn't unusual on our area streams like the Kings, Elk and Illinois rivers.
Talking about this good fishing was part of the fun of a program on floating and fishing held April 10 at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area. I was honored and privileged to be invited to give a talk at the visitor center on the basics of float-fishing, how to do it safely and how to get fish to bite.
I catch fewer fish per man hours of fishing than anyone on the planet, but even I can put a few in the boat drifting down a beautiful river. We're truly blessed to have several that are a short drive for most river rats in our corner of the Ozarks.
Telling the audience that it's routine to catch 50 fish a day got their attention. Next came a few tips on handling a canoe or kayak on moving water. That included how not to tip over in a canoe.
The No. 1 thing a canoe paddler can do to stay upright is to kneel down in the canoe. No need to kneel all day, just when you come to some rough water or any stretch you're not sure about. Kneel with your knees braced against the sides of the canoe and rest your rear against the seat. It lowers your center of gravity.
One person in the audience piped it also helps when saying your prayers going into wicked rapids. Most of the waterways we talked about, mainly the Kings, Elk, War Eagle and Illinois are gentle, easy rivers to paddle with little rough water. If you haven't tried kneeling in your canoe, the difference in stability is remarkable.
Most people who river fish are after smallmouth bass. Smallmouths rule the roost in our Ozark streams. They're beautiful, hard-fighting trophy fish. They're protected to the point smallmouth fishing in streams is basically catch and release. On most of the Kings River, the daily limit is two fish that are 14 inches or longer. Smallmouth regulations are tight on all the Ozarks' streams.
Next, we talked about lures that are almost guaranteed to catch a bunch of smallmouth bass. There's the tiny-sized Rebel crawdad crank bait. These will catch any fish that swims in the river, including sunfish, goggle-eye and smallmouths. To target smallmouths specifically, fishermen can't go wrong with a tube bait, soft-plastic crawdad or any lure that looks like a crawdad. An Arkie Crawling Grub, sold by Arkie Lures of Springdale, is a local favorite.
How long is a good fishing float trip? Expect to travel about one river mile per hour if you're fishing. Four or five miles is a good fishing float that lasts five or six hours. If you're with a group, it's almost guaranteed that around 2 p.m., people will start asking, "How much farther to the take-out?" There will be some crabby paddlers if you've bitten off too long a trip and still have four miles to go.
"What about snakes?" someone asked.
Float a few rivers, and you're going to see one or two. Give them lots or room and leave them alone. Most people who get bit are messing with the snake, trying to catch it or kill it. If you see a snake in the water and can see only its head, it's probably a harmless northern banded water snake. If the snake is swimming with a lot of its back out of the water, it could be a poisonous cottonmouth.
When you're on the river, you're in the snake's home. Give them some peace.
All this talk about good fishing and floating has me itching to get on the river. Smallmouth bass, here we come.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 05/10/2016