Arkansas River 8/10 Part II

Well, after putting around for a little while with a spinning rod, I decided to give my fly rod a try. I tied on a streamer, olive over chartreuse over white, with green krystal flash and flashabou, size 6.

I?ve tried this, and other, streamers before, but haven?t had much luck with them. Well, with the hot bite that was going on, I was about to start giving a clinic on catching Sand Bass (White Bass) on the fly.

I wasn?t quite sure how I was going to approach this. I had a band of current about 15? wide in front of me, moving right to left at a good clip. There was slack water on the other side of the current. On my right, across the current, was a concrete ledge coming out from the base of the dam (you can see it in the video) that had a little water running over it. There was also a big rock in the middle of the current, creating a patch of slack water with current on either side (is this what the trout folks call ?pocket water??). From my experience earlier with my spinning rig, I knew that the Sandies were holding in the slack water, on the current seams (all FOUR of them), as well as IN the current. Basically, fish were everywhere.

I tried quartering upstream throws, and drifting/stripping back. I couldn?t keep up with the line as it moved downstream. I tried quartering downstream throws, letting the line/streamer swing. I caught some that way. I also threw straight across the current, about 10? into the slack water, holding the line up out of the current as best I could, and letting the water pull the line, leader, tippet, and streamer through the slack water into the current seam, eventually making the swing through the current, and into the current seam on the side I was standing on.

Pretty much EVERYTHING worked! It was a really hot bite! There was even a small, short ?blitz? with a few Sandies trying to grab some bait on top. I was already in a retrieve, or I would have put a streamer right near one. There were times I could a fish chasing my streamer, making attempts to grab the streamer, splashing on top several times in a row. Sometimes I would see a flash as a fish boiled on the streamer from below; they were facing upstream and saw it coming, and intercepted my streamer.

Here?s the video. Please excuse my amateur casting technique. I?m still learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1qxN...ature=youtu.be

All totaled, I got three Stripers and probably 30 or 40 Sand Bass (White Bass). The Stripers were a hoot! Now I know why folks target them with a bigger rod. I think I see an 8wt in my future, come tax-time.

There is almost no water in the Ark here in Wichita glad to hear you have enough to fish in. The irrigaters west of here are pumping like crazy and the low water table affects the river level.

Hi AllenOK,

Nice video, I like to fish moving water, but we basically have little to none in the Texas panhandle. Thanks for posting it, it was neat to watch.

Thanks and regards,

Gandolf

This river is still rather low. Plus, there's a couple dams upstream that control the flow. The closest of those is what really dictates how much water is moving, due to hydroelectric generation.

Where I'm fishing, the river is about 1/4 mile across. There are two channels. The channel I'm fishing is maybe 50' wide, and 3 - 4' deep. I have to wade the other channel, if you want to call it that. It's about 100' wide, and averages less than knee deep at the flow rates I wade-fish.

Now, come Spring, when we normally get a "flood", we'll have a prolonged high-water flow event that will raise water level anywhere from 6 - 12' higher that what I've shown. If you can hit it while 20K cfs is moving downstream, the big blue cats show up, making for interesting fishing.

Awesome! Looks like a lot of fun, fast action!

Nice video! Looks like a fun place to hit.

I am gonna have to try more of those places somewhat close by. I did hit the Lower Illinois for a bit a few weeks ago, but then the lightening started and it was time to pack up.

I hope Biot Midge won't be mad about me fishing his hole :) I know he fishes here, from some of the pic he has posted. I just haven't met him.

I wouldn't mind getting over to the LIR. Gas money is an issue for me, though.

I would really like to take my kayak back over to Spavinaw Creek, between Eucha and Spavinaw Lakes. That was a nice paddle last Spring. Although, I don't want to paddle all the way down to Spavinaw Dam. Just the low-water crossing before you hit Lake Spavinaw for a take-out. I wasn't in to Fly fishing when we did that float, but I can see how various dry and wet flies would be killer there.

I am just so overwhelmed by the amount of water, that I have too much trouble figuring out where I want to go. I'd like to try them all, but I need to learn a peice of water, which means multiple trips. All that makes me stress eat (or so I claim) and then I never get out. :rolleyes: Actually, the thing that causes me the most consternation is the plethora of fish I have yet to catch. I need to get me some stripers, wipers, and whites.

The LIR was great fun, but I only made it because the family had left me and gone out of town. I was surprised with how slowly the water was moving. I think a kayak would have been ideal, as I did not get very far from the parking area.

That spavinaw float sounds fun. I may have to look into that some.

From the video, it looks like you are below a dam or something. Is that true, or is it something else? I assume it is close to Tulsa, but is it out by the reservoir?

Thanks for the video, looks like tons of fun. I'd stand there catching those all day long! :D

Below Zink Dam, at the Pedestrian Bridge.

I have to ask to satisfy my curiosity, in Oklahoma, is it the R-Kansas river or the R-can-saw river?

Jesse, the only place it is the R-Kansas is in Kansas.....it annoys me a great deal! I wish the fishery in our stretch of the Ark was anything like it is in Colorado or Oklahoma. I am definitely jealous!

I've had a guide tell me that the stretch of the Arkansas River, north of Kaw lake, will hold some nice Hybrid Striped Bass. Scout the river, find the holes, have fun!

Allen,
You can fish that hole anytime you want to. I don't own it and I am not the first person to fish it, LOL! I'm glad to see you got into them. The Arkansas can be a fickle River. Sometimes you can't keep them off your fly and sometimes you can't buy a strike. The nice thing about it is that is close to home.
Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by quivira kid

Jesse, the only place it is the R-Kansas is in Kansas.....it annoys me a great deal! I wish the fishery in our stretch of the Ark was anything like it is in Colorado or Oklahoma. I am definitely jealous!

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That, and the fact that Greenwich Road in Wichita is Green-witch :-?.

Steve, if you plan on fishing the Fall run, START DOING IT!!!

I didn't post it on this board, but I caught an 11 lbs Striper on hardware fishing last Friday. Early morning, when the "surge" is coming down from Keystone.

I also caught a couple 6 lbs Stripers, an 8 lbs Hybrid, and had numerous Stripers pull off of the lure I was using.

How much of the river does the run cover?

(Noob questions from the guy who would like to get into some stripers but knows nothing aboutthem besides they have stripes. :-) )

Stripers were initially stocked in Kaw lake, and in the Spring Floods immediately following those stockings, went over the dams at Kaw, Keystone, Zink (Tulsa), and eventually established a breeding population in the Arkansas River.

I do not know if any Stripers are still in Kaw. Most of the locals seem to talk about Hybrids and Blue cats in that lake.

The only thing I can really say, is "give it a try". Start fishing. Pay attention to stream gauges, either USACE or USGS. When water is moving downstream, really start looking. If there are any low-head dams on the river near where you are fishing, that can be a prime spot.

BE ADVISED LOW HEAD DAMS DANGEROUS! They aren't called "killing machines" for nothing.

Learn the holes in the river in your area. If you have a canoe or kayak, maybe launch into the river and paddle around, exploring.

It may take you a few years to learn the when's, where's, and why's, but once you start to put one and one together and come up with three, the fishing can be very good.

Don, I just looked at Google Earth, from the OK/KS line, up to near Douglas, KS

I saw what appears to be a low-head dam in Winfield, KS. I saw a few smaller riffles here and there, but nothing major. It's probably going to take some locals willing to spill info about fishing up there.

Boy, that river gets small!! It was starting to look like one of the creeks here that I take my kayak into.

I guess I need to double-check a regular map, besides just checking Google Earth:

"...I grew up in Winfield from the age of 15-25. We moved from there last year to Owasso. The low water dam in Winfield (Tunnel Mill Dam) gets a lot of Wipers from Kaw with the spring floods. It's not the Arkansas River in Winfield though, its the Walnut. The Walnut drains into the Arkansas in Arkansas City, KS but most of the wipers, flatheads and hybrids turn and head up the walnut. A couple of years ago, a lot of big ones (6-12 lbers) were caught in early March. I don't believe there are any stripers in Kaw or we would have caught one at some point in the Walnut. That low water dam is a phenomenal Flathead hole in the Spring. There will be 20-30 people standing shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the river trying to catch the big flatheads. On a good day 40-50 flatheads in the 15-40lb range will be caught. The biggest I've heard of coming out of there is 55lbs..."

and:

"...Thanks for the input zhall. I suspected that there would be hybrids up there but its nice to hear from a local perspective to reinforce my belief that the fish move upstream. There are a small number of stripers in Kaw (a tiny reminant population from early stockings in the 70's). I would bet that they run upstream as well, but are just so few that they go unnoticed. About 7 or 8 years ago when I was first starting the hybrid stocking project on Kaw we found thousands and thousands of striper fingerlings in Kaw. So the few stripers in the lake did have a quality spawning run that year. Most years we see a few fingerling stripers which is a sign of a definite upstream spawning run...."

The second quote is from an ODWC fisheries Biologist.

I did some more looking, making sure I was following the Arkansas River this time. The river is a typical "braided prairie stream", wide, shallow, multiple channels weaving together. Didn't see anything that reassembled a tailrace until I got into Wichita. Where W McCormick ST t-bones into S McClean Blvd. That might be bridge construction. This photo could be a couple years old; if it's construction, it's possible that the construction is finished now.

That is very recent. They are building a new road bridge with a new dam and footbridge downstream. They are also building fish ladders and paddling access structrers. It is still ongoing and should be finshed this fall. Still not much water in the river, though. The Little Arkansas has more even north of town. Maybe the rain this week will help some.

I did what looked like a Low Head Dam on a fork in the river on the north side of town. Is that the one you mentioned?

That's actually right in the middle of town. It's where the little Arkansas joins the big river. The Arkansas is usually a robust river, but two years of drought have wreaked havoc on it. That and those accursed dams in Colorado.

From an ODWC fisheries biologist:

"...Tell all your Kansas buddies to be on the watch if they catch a striper or hybrid in the Walnut this spring for a tagged fish. Look on the fish's belly between the vent and the pelvic fins, there will be a scar about 1 inch long with stiches if present. If these fish are harvested, please call our fisheries office in Ponca City, OK. We can recover the tag, turn off the battery and possibly use it again to gain more information on this population. If it is returned, we would also like a phone call just to notify us where it was caught for our records..."

Great video and nice fishing outing. Hope to get down your way one of these days as mixed bag like that is some of my favorite fishing.