War Eagle Creek: Highway 412 Access to Withrow Springs State Park (Highway 23 Access)

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 The appeal of War Eagle Creek to paddlers/fishers in Fayetteville and other parts of NWA can be boiled down to these three reasons:


  1.  It’s convenience to those who live in NWA
War Eagle Creek at Highway 412 is approximately 40 mins from Fayetteville (depending on exact start location) making it a much closer stream than the likes of the Buffalo River which is at least an hour drive. For those who don’t mind crowds, 412 access to Withrow Springs State Park is about a 4 mile float that can easily be completed in a half day with fishing. 

2. Potential for solid fishing

Photo taken up about a quarter mile up Holman Creek from its confluence with War Eagle
The popularity of the Highway 412 to Withrow Springs State Park float makes the fishing on this stretch quite tough. But for those who want to catch a couple fish on an otherwise tough fishing float, can walk about a quarter mile up Holman Creek from where it meets War Eagle. This little creek has the clear water and deep pockets that Smallmouth love.

 3. Opportunity to see beautiful views

The short aforementioned stretch of stream has much beauty to be seen. Beauty in the form of high bluffs and tall rock walls (some of which are perfect for cliff jumping).

   Cliff jumping at the end of this War Eagle float is always a blast

 
Within the stretch from Highway 412 to Withrow Springs lies some of the classic Ozark beauty that many people associate with the Buffalo River. Much of that beauty is due to the towering rock walls that can be seen consistently throughout the float. 

However, the more serious fisherman who don’t mind a longer day on the river might be more interested in the float from Highway 23 to Highway 412. This float is around 10 miles but has no shortage of excellent Smallmouth bass habitat. Another perk to floating this stretch is that seeing other paddlers is far less likely. There are a couple of difficulties associated with this float that include: a longer shuttle and need for portaging over several dams.


On one amazing float in 2020, dad and I managed to catch many Smallmouth about the size as the ones posted above

Hopefully some of this information was helpful! Now get to fishing!



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