Smallie Heaven
May 7, 2008 by mountainriverjournal
Look what happens when your smallmouth teacher is Ozark guru Duane Hada ….
The past week the Ozarks streams have finally cleared and the smallmouth action is underway. That is one fat 16” Crooked Creek brownie pictured above caught by Anita Cho, an exchange student staying with the Hada family in Cotter.
Duane of course is not just a great artist and trout guide, he is the guru that disciples seek out. Duane he was literally raised on Crooked Creek water, Marion County’s famed blue ribbon stream, fed, washed and sustained the Hada family, throughout his childhood.
“My childhood days were filled with wading the cool bluff-lined streams casting for Brownies. I can’t think of a better way to have channeled my youthful energies and fueled my creative desires. I never tire of the peace, beauty and tranquility of jade-green spring-fed waters flowing over a dappled sunlit bed of limestone.
“The native smallmouth are to me one of the true symbols of the wild Ozarks. Their requirements for survival are not unlike my own, a clean and pristine environment that showcases more of nature than of man.”
Crooked Creek fishing is often best accomplished from a canoe but Hada and his colleague Ben Levin will take wading trips. Be warned these aren’t for the faint of heart, you’ll be covering 2-3 miles through some interesting terrain. It is a wild Ozark experience. Canoe Floats cover 7 to 11 miles of river and offer the chances for the trophy Smallmouth that Crooked Creek is noted for.
But like any trophy fishery is plays to be prepared. Smallmouth offer more challenges and rewards than run of the mill stocker trout. Casts need to be made in the right place, and the flies retrieved in the right way. Duane and Ben can make the transition from trout to smallmouth an easier one.
Call the store to book a float trip with Duane or Ben. Full Day float trips for one person $300. Two person trips (1 guide each) are $425.
Note: The Journal is somewhat of a neophyte when it comes to both Crooked Creek and Smallmouth. Check this Blog post “Springtime Brownies” for a report on our first Crooked Creek trip.
