With the new year comes 52 fresh weeks to fish, hunt, camp, boat and paddle in the Natural State.
I've been planning new adventures to pursue this year, and this short list contains just a few places I plan to visit.
Little Rock
Central Arkansas has some great small-water fisheries, including the Little Maumelle River between Two Rivers Park and Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
Although it's only a few minutes from downtown Little Rock, the tupelo and cypress-studded waters of the Little Maumelle feel like wilderness.
The Little Maumelle is fairly shallow and tight in places, so a kayak is ideal for poking into fishy cover that big boats can't reach, especially as you near Pinnacle Mountain. There you will find largemouth bass, Kentucky bass, bluegills, redears, crappie and catfish.
You can launch for free at Pinnacle Mountain State Park or for $5 at a private ramp off River Valley Road.
Northeast
The area near Village Creek State Park has a number of kayak-friendly lakes, and they are some of our state's finest fisheries.
Avid bass anglers are very familiar with lakes Austell and Dunn. They are great for trophy bass and within the park.
Though only 80 acres, Lake Dunn gave up a 16-pound, 5-ounce largemouth in 2012. It would have been a state record, but the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission disqualified the fish when the angler was found to be fishing without a license.
Lake Austell, an 85-acre lake, surrendered a 15-pound, 12-ounce largemouth a few years ago, so there's no disputing their credentials.
They're basically big ponds, so they are easy to fish. Channel catfish and bluegill are abundant from the bank, but the possibility of catching the bass of a lifetime is ever present.
Near Jonesboro is Lake Frierson and its namesake state park. Lake Frierson is a 335-acre, kayak-friendly lake that is known for producing our state-record saugeye. It also has good numbers of crappie and bream.
For information about camping, call Lake Frierson State Park at (870) 932-2615.
Southeast
On the south end of Crowley's Ridge is 625-acre Bear Creek Lake, in the St. Francis National Forest near Helena-West Helena. It's an excellent kayaking lake, and while not known for big bass, it is full of smaller ones. The Game and Fish Commission is begging anglers to eat a few.
For truly world-class fishing, you cannot beat the many backwaters and sloughs of the White River National Wildlife Refuge. The best ones are the most lightly fished, of course, and those are also the hardest to reach. If you're up to toting a kayak through the woods, you'll enjoy the kind of bass, bream and crappie fishing that make legends.
You can reach isolated waters from public ramps, too, but it takes a powerboat to cover that much distance.
Maddox Bay is a good starting point on the south end of the White River Refuge. Green Lake and East Lake are good portals on the north end. They are all kayak friendly, but a powerboat will get you farther into the isolated backwaters.
West
Some of our best fisheries quietly have come into their prime in the past year or so, including Blue Mountain Lake and Lake Nimrod.
Blue Mountain was inert for years, but its crappie fishery is in full bloom. A drawdown allowed vegetation to grow on the flats and banks. When it refilled, all that growth fertilized the water and became fresh fish habitat.
Bass fishing has been great on Lake Nimrod for a few years, but it is also a great place to catch a lot of crappie and bream.
Both lakes have enough ramps to allow easy access to all areas with powerboats or paddlecraft.
One of my favorite kayaking destinations is Huckleberry Lake, a few miles northwest of Russellville. Gas motors are not allowed, so fishing pressure is almost non-existent for good populations of largemouth bass, bream and crappie.
Lake Ola-Dale is another fine bass lake where gas motors are not allowed. It's really pretty in the spring when the dogwoods and redbuds are in bloom on the surrounding hillsides.
Lake Atkins is ideal for kayaks, which allow you to get really close to the cypress trees where big Florida bass dwell. This is where I go to practice the tight-cover pitching and skipping techniques that I use to fish for snook and redfish from kayaks in the mangrove flats of southwest Florida. The tight, tangled nature of the cover is remarkably similar.
Near Waldron is Lake Hinkle, one of my favorite places in Arkansas. Ringed by tall mountains, it looks like a miniature version of Lake Ouachita and fishes like it, too. It has some big bass, but it also has giant crappie, bluegill and redear.
It has a great ramp on the north side of the lake that offers easy access to all points. Great crappie fishing is available along the flooded tree rows.
Hunting
Arkansas has a lot of great places for public hunting, and I intend to visit as many state-owned WMAs as my schedule allows this year to hunt squirrels and upland game.
Some WMAs require a permit to hunt for deer and turkey. If you are fortunate to draw a permit, a deer or turkey hunt at a WMA is a special experience.
For duck hunting, our green tree reservoirs are world renowned. There is nothing that compares to the sight and sound of ducks fluttering through the trees into flooded timber.
There are more places to enjoy the outdoors in Arkansas than you can visit in a year, but this is a good year to start. The memories you make will make you hungry for more.
Sports on 01/01/2017