Ouachita River

[Deuce]

Greetings. This is my first post. I'm thinking of doing a float in November from Remmel Dam to Arkadelphia. There are other places I'd much rather go, but that part of the Ouachita is convenient to my brother in Texas. FWIW my vessel is a 14' raft. I've never floated that stretch, so I'd be grateful for any info. Is there camping available on that stretch of the river? How's the fishing? Any areas or activities best avoided in order to keep from upsetting landowners? That sort of thing. Thanks everyone.

[Jim Krueger]

Deuce,

This whole stretch is somewhere around 37 miles in length and I have floated it all in sections several times over the years. It's November now, and we're still way down on rainfall for many streams to be good floating. However, the Ouachita is one river in this part of the state that holds up well due to released water from four lakes in the area. For the first part of the trip, from Remmel Dam to Malvern's Tanner St. bridge, about 6 miles, I would not suggest floating it in a raft unless they are releasing more than the 230cfs maintenance flow, 1500-3600cfs would be best. You can check the current level and recent flow history on the USGS Waterwatch website, also can check the Entergy website for release projections, etc.
The rest of the river, below Malvern should be fine regardless of the flow or lack of it above.
All the land along the Ouachita is private, but there are many nice gravel bars along the way so with just a little discretion, and consideration, you'll have your pick of nice campsites. If you are able to float from Remmel, I'd be inclined to float on past the Grigsby Ford Access to find your first night's camp then a mile or two below Hwy 67 for the second evening.
There is good fishing along the river, and many spots I like well enough to concentrate more on for my fishing interests. If I were going to float this distance, and wanted to enjoy my fishing and leisure most, I would strongly recommend a small outboard motor or a good trolling motor and spare battery. There are many long slow pools on the river. Please let me know if you have more specific questions.
The Ouachita is a beautiful river, it has many pastoral views along most of it as it is bordered by so much farm land, but also has many miles of woods and nice 'wooded chutes' to enjoy. Over the years I have paddled it from Remmel Dam to Camden, well over a hundred miles... In college, some friends and I set out from Arkadelphia to Camden in two flat-bottomed boats one Spring Break week. We just had paddles , and I must say, I pretty much 'lost the victory' in all the paddling! At the time I swore I would never, ever ,do that again without a motor so I could enjoy the trip. .02cents worth...


Best Regards
Jim

[Cowper]

I'm glad Jim spoke up, I couldn't have helped you with most of that. But here's what I know:

From http://www.entergy.com/operations_infor ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
2010/2011 Drawdown begins
November 6 - 12
Lake Hamilton will be lowered 3 feet
and Catherine will be lowered 5 feet

This means the river will be running about 3600 cfs those dates, making it a good time to go if that fits your schedule.
If you go when they are not generating, a lot of good looking gravel bars will go "underwater" if they increase flows to 3600 cfs (the "generation" level).
Also, you need to be aware that Entergy got into trouble during some record flooding on the lakes many years ago. As a result of that, they tend to respond swiftly and forcefully to any rain in the watersheds above the lakes.
Net result: They will quickly open flood gates on Remmel dam, so you may see floods below the dam that rise even more quickly than most natural floods, and may go to much higher levels that what you would guess based on the local rain you might be observing.

Be extremely careful where you camp. Have a route to "high ground", don't camp on a gravel bar that will become an island if the river rises. Drag your raft to a spot on higher ground than your tent if possible, or your raft may be gone, or inaccessible even if tied to a tree, before rising waters wake you up. You might be able to get away without these precautions if you can go at a time of clear weather for 3 days, but remember that even with clear weather and no rain, the river could still experience a moderate rise to 3600 cfs (the generation level) at any time. Since the river has been mostly at the minimum flow of 200 to 300 cfs for several weeks now, the "normal" water line may be a little harder to judge if you are not already familiar with the area.

Be sure to come back later and share a trip report with us!

[Deuce]

Very helpful input, gentlemen. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you very much. I'll be sure to rig a mount for my Minn Kota before I go (if I go). The nice thing about that beast of a raft is the gear capacity. She won't even notice the weight of the TM and battery. I've spent many a weekend on Catherine. We have a party barge and access to a good friend's lake house there, so I've crossed the river on I-30 many times and wondered about floating her. Given what Jim said I wonder if we should consider launching in Malvern. Is the Tanner Street bridge a good access?

[Jim Krueger]

Deuce,

Some more thoughts on this trip; Number one is to echo Cowper's advice when selecting camp sites along the river. Do choose a gravel bar that has a steadily increasing grade up to the top of the river bank, and if the river is low when you stop, do plan to locate your camp at least 5-6 vertical feet above the water at a minimum. Still, I think you should have several nice gravel bars along that will fill the bill for what you need.
If you can float the Remmel Dam to Malvern part ie. they're generating, I think you'll really enjoy the mountain scenery very much. This section is where the Ouachita river makes it's last few miles of Ouachita Mountain topography before it transitions to more the Gulf Coastal Plain topography for the rest of the trip to Arkadelphia. Also, if they are generating you will likely not need to run your motor much during the first day, if at all. The only trade-off with the faster current is it pretty well kills the fishing opportunities due to the speed you'll be floating along plus I think the fish just bite better when it's lower. Lower down stream, past Malvern, even if the river is up some, you'll be able to eddy out in some nice pools to fish. Speaking of fishing, my favorite Bas-fishing opportunities come as I sit in the calmer waters below rapids and fish up toward the moving water. In addition, at camp each evening, I would enjoy a different type of fishing,'tight-lining' where you fish with live bait, meat, etc. to try for some Catfish :) This type of fishing is nice at camp because I can sit on the gravel bar with weighted line out in the river, pole propped up on a forked stick, and just visit until something twitches the rig.
Now a word about accesses; The access at Remmel Dam, The Malvern Whitewater Park, Grigsby Ford, Hwy 67, and Hwy 7 at Arkadelphia all feature ramps where you can back right down to the water to unload/load and arrange gear. The Tanner St. access has some parking but a carry is involved to get everything down to the water, as is the emergency access at the bridge at Friendship. If you launch at Remmel Dam, be sure and drive your vehicle back up to the top of the hill and park in the small lot right by the main gate to the Entergy Hydro facility. I like this place the best for leaving a vehicle due to the video security Entergy has in place. Malvern Whitewater Park and the Arkadelphia access are probably OK too due to police patrols. I would not want to leave a vehicle overnight at Grigsby Ford or Hwy 67. If I did leave a vehicle at Hwy 67, I'd leave it across the river in the vicinity of the Ouachita school.
One last thought; modern gun Deer season starts in a week or so and the woods will be chock-full of hunters. This shouldn't be any problem to you on the river but if ever people can be a bit 'touchy' about territory, it is at this time. With a little consideration, it won't be a problem. If I think of anything else, I'll post. We hope you guys have great weather/water, and a great time. Please post a trip report.


Best Regards
Jim

[Jim Krueger]

One thing I didn't mention is navigating the two major rapids, The Ledge just above the I-30 bridge, and the Tanner St. rapid. Cowper or others who paddle rafts can brief you on suggested routes.

Jim