Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Does anyone know of any arky creeks running not necessary (whitewater)? Justed to get the paddle wet!!!


Nathan

mid Buffy is showing low water, up from VERY low.. prob a boost from Richland. The rivers at Clinton are up enough to do some maneuvering. One can put in above the Archey bridge north of town and go down to city park. Caddo is showing water.. not for long probly

Thanks for your help!!!!

bayou meto in jacksonville is up, and should be for several days.
jack danielson

We've been doing some "exploring" (the "new to me", not "new to everybody" kind) of the Saline near Benton. Doug and Gannon actually managed to hit a 5000 cfs flood spike on Monday; it has dropped way out from that, but would still be very floatable as we were floating it the week before at 150 cfs; it is still over 500 cfs at this time. Not major WW, but you could find some good eddy lines and possibly a surf wave or two. There is a low head dam at the Benton water plant; very low or very high it is a non-issue, but I would say be careful, there is probably some intermediate level where it turns into a drowning machine so look before you leap. You'll see the very tall pump houses on river left; look for the horizon line just downstream.

One or two of us will probably be headed that way tomorrow. (Thursday - 12/13/12)

I would like to add some to what Cowper mentioned about that general section of the Saline. Much of the Saline, and it's forks, tend to be more 'woodsy', and more often with braided channels than I have encountered on the Caddo and Upper Ouachita for instance. That means more downed trees and potential strainers. Most of my trips are for sedate touring and fishing and at pretty low levels, so I've never really had much problem, just the inconvenience of a portage now and then.
For anyone floating the section above Lyle Park, I do want to warn of another man-made structure that can be very dangerous at levels above about 6.5feet on the Benton gauge. If paddlers put-in at Peeler Bend or Riverside, and float down to Lyle Park, or below, they will encounter a private, river-wide, concrete bridge 100feet downstream of the confluence of the North Fork. At low levels, this bridge stands about 6or 7 feet above the water. There is usually some debris pinned against it, but not a great problem to negotiate at lower levels. At higher levels it's definately a hazard to avoid.

Best Regards
Jim