Float Fishing America

Float Fishing America is a dream being placed upon a blog with hopes of becoming reality. In this the winter of 2007 I have become more reminiscent of the happy times of not only summer but the warm days spent on a beautiful river. The memories jog me back to days and nights spent fishing, floating, exploring and camping on the beautiful White River of North Arkansas. Now some 50 years later I understand what a perfect experience float fishing is for the health of the soul.

As a result of this late in life epiphany I have decided to attempt one more little adventure. I hope to float the White River from Bull Shoals Dam to the Mississippi. Why ? Heck, I don't know why. I guess it's just for kicks. If you know the river at all you know the beauty and the opportunity for the fisherman. If your a camper that just adds to the fun. Then throw a canoe and the thrill of exploring into the mix we should have ourselves a great time. I don't plan on doing this at one time. And I don't plan on trying to do it by myself. I hope to bring family members along when the opportunity permits. And there are a few old pals I would love to spend some river time.

There are people of like mind who might like to join us when they can. People I don't know might read this blog and decide they would like to bring their boat and spend a couple of days floating with us. That would be great. I would love to see folks get turned onto something worthwhile instead of soaking in what ever crap popular culture is spooning them that weekend. I think rolling down the river would be a good lesson for the health of the body politic as well. Your inclusion is the reason I am posting this ongoing story to the web blog or whatever this is. Come join us if you can.

I hope to post the planning and preparation stages this winter and then post the trip dates when I know for sure I'll be traveling. I expect to get a couple of days on the river at a time. I would like to do more but work will always come first so I will float when I can and complete the length of the river as I am able. The White is many hours from Dallas where I live. I expect to drive on Friday nights after work. We will float Sat. and Sunday, then drive home either Sunday night or early Monday morning depending on the coming week's work schedule.

It's now time for the admissions. I have not floated a river of any kind in years. I have owned a canoe for 15 years but have not used it enough to know what I am doing. I haven't fished avidly for nearly twenty years and even then it was salt water. I will have to learn not only how to handle a canoe but how to fish as well. I have a lot of cold weather camping gear from our years in the Colorado high country. I don't know how storage and the years of inactivity will have treated the gear but I'm sure I'll find out on the first rainy night's encampment.

So here we are. An old, out of shape, canoe novice with little recent freshwater fishing experience, who owns a bunch of 15 year old camping gear, who thinks he is going to float a large river for nearly 800 miles. Well, why the heck not ? The way this idea came up is simple. The White is my home river. In January of 2007 I started researching the web for information on float fishing the White as well as other rivers and shallow lakes. I could not find diddly. Try it yourself. I wanted to find out about where to put in a canoe and where I could take it out two days later. Other than the highly popular areas where the tourists are guided to catch big trout I didn't find any info. I also wanted to see pictures of the legs or float segment scenery so I would kind of have an idea as to what the area might be like before choosing it for a float trip. No such luck other than fishing guide and accommodation web pages. They only show someone with their prize catch and a snatch of river in the background. Hmmm. As a visual person that didn't show me enough.

Next I tried calling various governmental agencies asking for maps and other info about The White. Again, It's all about the travel trade of the northern portions and after that not much at all. The more I thought about it the more curious I became. I knew from having grown up along this river that it has many assets down stream and probably even more history. Heck, my father even named his chili cooking team after the old steam work boats that used to come up the river. The "snag boats" pulled debris from the navigable portion of the stream bed so the steamboats of commerce could go as far up as Earnhart's landing. There they would take on wood, cotton and whiskey before making that long trek back to Memphis. They probably went further up the river but I'm weak on the history and could use a lot of help in that area as this deal unfolds. I love the history of the region and would appreciate very much any one who could add knowledge to the mix of camping, floating, exploring, fishing and companionship. Oh yes, there are a couple other admissions I should make before getting this boat completely away from the bank. I don't know the first thing about blogs, I made this thing up tonight, and I have always been a pitiful writer and I can't spell worth a darn. I guess that's why I have always leaned to the camera instead of the typewriter. Age shows in words sometimes but what the heck. That's who I am.

I hope a lot of people find this blog. I would really like to see "FLOAT FISHING AMERICA" take off and become a great association of people enjoying a wonderful outdoors experience.

When I address this thing again I will try to talk about all the dreaming and preparations we are making to get ready for the summer float trips. At that time I would hope some folks will give me a little advice on the right gear and tackle to purchase for the different portions of the river. Remember the White is a little different from most American rivers. We will be going from the home of giant German Brown Trout to the land of hughmongus Alligator Gar. Different tackle ? You better believe it. Advice welcome ? You bet.

As one of the great poets of my youth, Miss Brenda Lee, once said, "That's enough for tonight." Thanks for reading. God Bless.

John Boykin, Dallas, Texas