A tiny creek in a recreation area in the Ouachita National Forest has caught my eye and raised my curiosity more than once. It’s near an area in Arkansas I occasionally travel to for work.
People visit this site to picnic, camp and play in the creek, including swimming in one pooled section that is formed by a small dam. And while I’m sure a few folks fish the creek when they camp, few would regard it specifically as a fishing spot.
I really enjoy fishing little creeks, though, and I knew the curiosity factor would only continue to grow until learned for myself what was in the creek’s runs. I ended up with a short afternoon window during last week’s Arkansas travels and decided I needed to check it out.
I’m glad I did.
While I didn’t catch anything large, I probably caught 30 or so fish, including five different species, in a couple of hours, and some of the creek’s runs were very pretty.
I fished very simply, with an ultralight rod and reel and a Rebel Crickhopper. I carried a handful of other lures in a little lure wallet that clips to a belt loop, but never had reason to change lures.
While I caught multiple species, I only caught one or two of most species. The bulk of my fish were green sunfish, which are more commonly called black perch in that part of Arkansas. Whatever you call them, they hit lures with vigor on the surface and are a bundle of fun.
I also had the creek to myself. A handful of people drove in and out of the day-use area, roamed down to the swimming area, or were set up in the campground, but no one was using the same part of the creek as me, fishing or otherwise.
I’ll most likely be back at some point, but it’s hard to say for sure because I’m not in that region very often, and a couple of other creek runs also have caught my eye and might need exploring first!
Sometime soon there should be a video from my outing on Fishing on Foot YouTube. I hope you will check it out.
