Kings River: Upper Campground Cemetery to Marble Access

-

April 8, 2023 

    In my last post regarding the Kings River, I discussed Marble to Marshall's Ford. A 10 mile beast of a float requiring a nearly hour long shuttle (if you shuttle yourself). I covered the giant rock walls, staggering beauty, and mediocre fishing of that stretch. For this post, I'll provide useful information for any paddlers/fishermen interested in this lesser known stretch of the Kings.

    Dad and I caught upwards of 15 fish each. We got off to a slowish start but at about 11:00 AM the bite went from okay to pretty good. Spotted, largemouth, and smallmouth were all caught in numbers. I used my trusty jig combo that is so reliable this time of year while dad stuck with his bare rage menace grub on a jig head. We did briefly transition away from our soft plastics.  When the bite got slow, dad switched to a red crankbait and had immediate success with largemouth. I followed suit and caught one of my own. But aside from that period of cranking, dad and I absolutely hammered fish using soft plastics.

     I can admit that my expectations are way too high for fishing which means I'm setup for disappointment. Although many fish were caught, I can't help but judge the success of a spring float by the average size. Since that average size was somewhere in the 11" range, I wouldn't grade this float too highly in the fishing category. I'm still learning to temper my expectations and just enjoy the day... but its an uphill battle. Another aspect of this float that I wouldn't grade as highly as other floats is the scenery. 

    I'm not actually complaining because the scenery was still beautiful. The weather definitely helped to make the landscape as pretty as it possibly could look. It was a clear, bluebird sky day with virtually no wind. These conditions are hard to complain about, especially when the water is up enough to paddle without dragging but is still clear (approximately 200 cfs). 

    The biggest difference between Upper Cemetery to Marble and Marble to Marshall's Ford is the terrain. The grandeur of the rock formations is significantly less from Upper Cemetery down. This means that the land is flatter and is even more agricultural pasture land. There was still a few cool but comparatively smaller bluffs and rock formations.

     The best reason to choose this float over Marble to Marshall's Ford is its convenience. It's more of a straight shot from Marble to Marshall's Ford so the shuttle is very easy. Since my mother tagged along, it was incredibly easy to just drop off our truck at Marble Access on our way east on 412. Dad hopped in the other vehicle with us and we made our way to Upper Cemetery on Madison 2545. We already had the canoe loaded on our other vehicle so when we got to Upper Cemetery, it was as easy as unloading the canoe, loading it with gear, and taking off. All mom had to do was drive off! Thankfully she loves us enough to get up early to shuttle us on a long day float. Overall, I had a great time and am confident we'll be back to float and fish this stretch again when there is too much water in other streams.


Although there weren't as many majestic views on this stretch, dad and I still enjoyed much of smaller scaled beauty this stretch had to offer


Pictured is dad tying on a new lure next to a beautiful little bluff


Dad and I both had a great day. One of the cooler moments of our "great day" was getting doubled up with a couple of largies early on



To my surprise, largies were caught early and often. This was my nicest one of the day



Unfortunately, this Kings River trip didn't result in me catching a signature 18"+ smallie... it did however result in catching many that were 14" and under



A couple Ozark Bass (other names include: goggle eye, rock bass, and others) were caught to add to the species total which was surprisingly high!

 
Even spotted bass came to play, completing the illustrious "Black Bass Grand slam" on the day. This particularly fat spotted bass made me very happy!



A fish that never disappoints, a 14" smallmouth is always a thrill to catch :)


Thanks for reading, now get to fishing!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mulberry River: Highway 23 Bridge to Milton's Ford Access

-
Image
       In my opinion, the Mulberry River is an underrated Ozark stream. I think it should be talked about as much as the Buffalo River. Since the Buffalo is arguably the most famous of all Ozark streams, I’m on the bandwagon for vaulting the Mulberry to that level of recognition. Both have unique characteristics that set them apart as gorgeous representations of what the Ozarks have to offer. But there’s something uniquely wonderful about the surrounding beauty of the Mulberry that deserves praise. For starters, the stream flows directly through Ozark National Forrest. The variety of trees and vegetation accents the rock formations perfectly. As for the rock itself, the Mulberry doesn’t boast the same massive sheer rock walls that the Buffalo does, but the rock has a beauty all its own. The majority of the rock that makes up the basin is limestone. Dust from the limestone causes the river water to be a bluish color similar to other nearby Boston Mountain streams such...
Read more

War Eagle Creek: Mcloud Ford (Rocky Ford) to Parker's Ford

-
Image
June 4, 2023 Start time: 9:45 am Finish time: 4:45 pm Water fished: War Eagle Creek Mcloud Ford to Parker’s Ford Water level/clarity: 75 cfs/clear Water temp (Start): 75 degrees  (Finish): ? degrees Weather: Scattered clouds with plenty of sun Air temp: (Start): 80 degrees (Finish): 90 degrees Wind: 5 (or less) mph   Direction:? Frontal Conditions: Post Frontal Barometric Pressure: 29.95 mL Moonphase: Full Moon Aquatic Vegetation: Reeds in bloom Bait Fish/Forage Base: Crawfish, shiners/other small baitfish, TOPWATER Pre-Spawn/Post Spawn/Post-Spawn: Post Spawn(?)  Fished with: Dad Lures used: Shiny reddish purple Jewel finesse jig with a watermelon red rage menace grub trailer, PB&J Big TRD Ned Rig, and Strike King sexy shad topwater Smallmouth Largies Spotted Notes Quantity 12+ Many on topwater 3+ 5+ # over 14” 3+ 1 2 Biggest 18.5” (17.5” honorable mention) 14” Biggest came on the jig 14”-15” Both of the big smallies on came on topwater Location Biggest smallie came a...
Read more

Baron Fork: Thomas Bamberger WMA at Proctor to Eldon on Highway 51 (Follow up)

-
Image
 Baron Fork: Thomas Bamberger WMA at Proctor to Eldon on Highway 51     For this "follow up" post, I wanted to briefly outline and highlight what made our latest float trip on this stretch an unmitigated success.       Dad and I have really struggled to catch fish in Ozark streams this time of year in the past. But the opportunity to float a beautiful river with very ideal conditions was too enticing to pass up on.  I also wanted to use this platform as a means of posting my first ever GoPro video. Although I only managed to catch one fish while the camera was rolling, I still think the footage was very cool and features me getting EXTREMELY excited.    Our group was composed of four of people, my dad and I as well as our friends, Max and Chaney. Dad was paired with Max and I with Chaney in canoes. Predictably, the fishing was slow to start out. I hardly casted at all through the first few hours but Chaney was fishing to no avail while d...
Read more