Fish/Hunt
Fishing 2010
White River, Gastons White River Resort, March. I'm a not a trout fisherman but a trip to the White River last week might change that. A writer's event at Gaston's included lodging, meals and two days of guided trips. I arrived early and got three hours of fishing in the day before the event with my buddy Bert. We probably caught 35 or 40 trout. The next two days were with Gaston's guides. It included a lot of drifting baits along with a few other methods. My top bait by far was a black back silver XCaliber X3 sinker crankbait I borrowed from my Pradco buddy, Lawrence Taylor while we were having our first day shore lunch. It was the only one available but I kept it on for a day and half without loosing it. It was responsible for probably 40 or more trout.
There are too many water level variables, safety issues and presentations to give details of how to catch trout there. However, the two top baits I recommend right now are the X3 crankbaits previously mentioned, a small red powerbait worm tipped with a piece of shrimp about the size of a marble. As a fisherman you know that what's hot today might be terrible the next day but give these a try.
One unique part of this trip was two shoreline lunches. Our group of about 18 fishermen along with our guides were treated with a lineup of cast iron dutch ovens filled with fried patatoes, baked beans, hush puppies, biscuits, chicken, pork loin and fresh fried trout that we had just caught. Oh, almost forgot the cherry and peach cobblers right out of the dutch ovens. With a group of friends, this experience can't be beat. For more info: www.gastons.com
Fishing 2009
Current River Mar-Apr. A few trips to current river has been fun but a little challenging. Our best trip with two people has been around 35 fish with probably 25 being keepers. Trips have been to the Van Buren area. Without a doubt, a spinnerbait by C&C Baits has been responsible for many of the fish. The two willow blades of different colors seem to trigger a lot of fish. A swim bait, Gitzit and swimming jig has been the other top baits.
Fishing 2008
Black River, Nov 2008. I'm afraid to tell the truth about this trip. It was a rainy day, Clanahan and I tried to catch a walleye but had no luck. We bass fished a few hours with only a few small ones and one keeper. I hummed a swim bait back to the boat because we were changing locations and a legal fish chased it to the boat. The water was cold, I'm guessing about 55 degrees, but we put on buzz baits due to the previous hit on the swim bait, and we started catching fish. We had about an hour before dark and we had good action until we had to leave. It was too late in the year and too cold for buzzbaits, but they worked.
Current River Spring 2008. I've had the opportunity to fish with guide Greg Clanahan on a couple of smallmouth trips this year. We fished both times on the Doniphan, MO end of the river. One trip we caught over 60 smallmouth and the other less fish but didn't count. Both trips our largest fish was about 18 inches. Top baits were Sinko-type baits, spinnerbait, and jerk/swim baits.
Kentucky Lake Spring 2008. Several spring trips to the Birdsong and Buchannan area produced good bass fishing. The best thing going at Birdsong was the white bass while the largemouth were active at Buchannan. Top baits included Carolina rig for largemouth, Bandit 200 Mad Cow for white bass.
Hunting 2008
Muzzleload deer camp in Ark. was not bad. Weather was moderate for the late October hunt. We got two legal bucks and for the first time in a while my buddies had a few misses. Two missed shots ended up being closer to 140 yards instead of the 100 to 110 they guessed. I won't mention the onther one that killed a limb instea fo the deer. We got to see 8 legal bucks (3-point rule) and got two. I've got to brag on my shot on the 5-point. I picked a spot with a clearing near a fence. The spot was steep so I chose to stay on the ground. I used a tree seat on a small tree but had a big rootwad from a fallen tree in front. I cut small saplings for camo in the open spots. I used no-scent spray each time out. This buck jumped the fence, walked in front of me and I made the shot. For a 5-point, the deer had a big rack with a 14.5-inch spread. Oh, the distance on the shot...9 steps.
My guns. A Knight 50-cal Disc, stainless, scope, and thumbhole stock. Excellent shooting and easy cleaning. My other is an old Thompson Renegade 54-cal. This one could nail a Coke can every shot at 100 yards when I was young, could see and practiced. I upgraded guns when I could no longer see the open sights to go to a scope. Both are excellent and now that I have glasses I can shoot either, but the Knight has a double safety and is easier to clean so it gets the most work.
Hunting 2007
Deer season was as bad in 2007 as it was good in 2006. We didn't all get to camp at the same time, one had to leave because of family sickness and legal deer were evasive. I did get one shot with my crossbow but that didn't go good either. A few hour of tracking and no blood trail after 30 yards led to disappointment. During the muzzleload portion of the hunt, the only legal bucks were too far away for a shot. Some years are diamonds and some are stones. It was still great to visit with my old buddies.
Arkansas Muzzleload Camp...Oct 2006 The Spirit Smiled Upon Us
Bert, James and I have muzzleload hunted together for 27 years. Our dads have been to camp and each of our kids started coming at the age of ten. Kids have grown and moved away but some still make it back. We've also had a few select friends in camp. Mike has been with us for 11 years and his son Nick for three.
We now hunt on privite land owned by a brother and dad. It's mostly cattle ground with patches of woods scattered around the edges. Much of the surrounding land is woods.
The spot, not far from Ash Flatt, is usually not rich in big bucks. We have averaged killing one or two a year but some years none. We fill in with does when legal.
All of that was to tell you that we had a dream year for the area we hunt. Five hunters killed six legal bucks; two seven pointers; two eights; a nine and ten point. This was for three days of hunting with this year's hunters being Bert, James, Dan (Bert's son from MO); Travis (my son from Virginia) and me. Mike and Nick came to camp one night and got in a few hours of hunting.
This year's difference was simple. My father died at 84 years old in January. He had been a huge influence in our camps. We hung a set of horns from a buck he had killed there...our good luck charm was dad's spirit. Due to the exceptional hunting, we're guessing he helped drive some of the deer past us just to get to see us get a deer; he knew we needed all the help we could get. Dad's spirit was with us.
We all miss you, dad. Your smile, jokes, laughter and true friendship will be missed but you will always be a part of our camp.
Current River Smallmouth ... Sept/Oct
2006- Current River going from the MO/AR line to up above Van Buren, MO is filled with clean, clear water, beautiful surroundings, wildlife and plenty of fish. People go for walleye, suckers, pike with the king being smallmouth bass. A late September trip included the start of fall colors, cool morning temperatures along with a few co-operative bass.
Our catch for the day included twenty bass each with about half being over 12 inches. Our biggest was a little under two pounds.
"This is not prime time," says guide Greg Clanahan. "In the spring two fishermen can catch 125 fish a day with a few big fish in the three plus pound range. We sometimes catch one over four. Mid-summer is good but the size goes down. In the fall two fishermen can expect 25 to 50 bass with a lot of short fish. Winter you get very few bites but those are usually the biggest fish of the year; the big bruisers."
We spent most of the day fishing plastics. Anybody can use this tactic in the fast current of the river. Use a four inch worm like a Sink-O. Rig weedless with a #2/0 XPS hook. Use a crimp-on 1/8 ounce worm weight about eight inches above the worm.
Cast at a 45 degree angle upstream. Hold your rod high as the boat drifts downstream. You'll feel the bait bouncing along the rocky bottom. When it gets mushy it's time to set the hook. The bite may be a little hard to recognize at first but Clanahan says, "It cost nothing to set the hook. If in doubt give it a good hookset. If there is no fish just let the bait back down and keep fishing."
That's the over-simplified version of this successful technique. Expect to lose an average of 30 baits in the rocks each trip. For greater detail, seasonal information or to book a trip with Clanahan, call 573-785-0825 or www.gregsguideservice.com. If you book a trip, be sure to ask him to include Pam's super submarine sandwiches for a lunch on a gravel bar.