Arkansas River 8/10 Part II

[AllenOK]

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.

[greenlantern]

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.

[Gandolf]

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

[AllenOK]

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.

[FishnDave]

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

[drolfson]

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.

[AllenOK]

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.

[drolfson]

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. 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!

[AllenOK]

Below Zink Dam, at the Pedestrian Bridge.

[Uncle Jesse]

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