Cool Fish

The Arkansas River ambles through my part of the world and I can hardly go anywhere in my part of the state without crossing it three or four times. As rivers go, the Arkansas has a lot of faces as it drains the mountains in Colorado and then runs through Kansas, Oklahoma, and finally makes it to Arkansas. Where it comes through Tulsa out of Keystone Dam (built to trap sediment from reaching and silting up the navigation channel downstream) its a big wide river basin with not much moving water in it for much of the year. Holes and shoals and lots of sand. The city has debated for years whether or not to build some low water dams so the river would actually run all the time and hold more water where it comes through town.

It a pretty diverse fishery too. There's some monster stripers where there's water, along with huge catfish. Now it looks like there's sturgeon too.

BKB

http://www.newson6.com/story/2514829...arkansas-river

I love the Ark. River....especially the part of it, right before it enters the Miss. River....great crappie fishing.

Even had a chance, once, to wade in it's head-waters in Leadville, Colo.

Its amazing to look down on it at Royal Gorge and realize its the same river as that muddy thing that's drains half of Kansas. There's a place here in Oklahoma, just north of Muskogee, where the Verdigris, Arkansas, and Neosho (Grand) Rivers all come together within a mile or so of each other. Its on my list this year to do some exploring on that part of the river as the water quality there is really pretty good. I want to try to find some walleye there actually.

When I was a kid, my Uncle used to take me fishing on the Arkansas over by Fort Smith and we'd lock through the lock and dam there to get to his favorite fishing holes. Pretty cool experience to be in a lock with a barge when you're in an aluminum boat.

BKB

I think I'll go there tomorrow! AND Monday!!

Cool deal for sure.

We have caught a couple of them here on the Missouri River and they are a really cool looking, prehistoric fish.

Pretty cool. One of the things on my bucket list is to catch a sturgeon and some of the best sturgeon fishing anywhere is only a few hours away from home on the Fraser River. An Alberta friend was out last year and had a seriously good time catching those prehistoric fishies. Gotta get over there this year!

Definitely an unusual, although not rare, fish. The rare part is having the water clarity to video them. I've fished with hoop nets before in the White and Arkansas Rivers and caught plenty of shovelnose sturgeon. We've gotten nets so full on the White that two guys could barely pull it in the boat. Cool ass fish.