In about two hours, the Caddo River went from being as tame as a carnival pony to as wild as a National Finals Rodeo bronco.
It happened Tuesday in what seems to be a new tradition. The last several times I've floated the Caddo River were in torrential thunderstorms that hit about midway through the trip. Almost all of them were in the company of Ray Tucker, host of Ray Tucker's Arkansas Outdoors radio program on KABZ-FM, 103.7 The Buzz.
The first storm hit so fast and so fierce that it put several inches of water in our canoe in a very short time. "Don't Be Prepared" is our motto, and we certainly weren't prepared for that. I used a sandwich bag to bail water. This amuses Tucker immensely even still.
It happened again last summer, but Tucker was ready. He brought rain gear. I did not.
We were in different boats, and he ventured far ahead. The storm hit with such ferocity that the wind made it impossible to make headway. It blew me against a bank, where I had no choice but to wait until the wind abated.
When the wind finally died, it only meant that heavy rain fell vertically instead of horizontally.
Do you wonder why people hunch over in the rain when they will get just as wet as if they were upright? I pondered that question at that moment and determined that hunching is a symbol of humiliation and defeat. I continued downstream as erect as a United States Marine Corps captain, with my head held high and proud.
This was the figure I cut when Tucker saw me materialize from a leaden veil of rain. He was secure against the bank, beneath a bush, protected by a rainsuit and enjoying a snack. The scene amuses Tucker immensely even still.
The best way to ensure good weather, I concluded, was to not float with Tucker.
That conclusion proved incorrect Tuesday as I drove through rain to Glenwood. It had been a light rain and appeared to clear when I arrived at Lucky's Canoe Rental. I drove my truck onto the gravel bar, and Lucky soon joined me. The sky looked angry to the north.
"I figured you drove down here to try to get a fix on that storm," Lucky said.
"We're gonna get hosed," I said.
"I don't think so," Lucky said. "It looks like it's going to split off and go around us."
I looked at the clearing sky and concluded that Lucky was right.
By the time Lucky deposited me at the put-in at Caddo Gap, the sky was mostly sunny, and the river was perfect for floating. Usually in early July, you can expect to drag through riffles and shoals from Caddo Gap to Glenwood. It was just full enough Tuesday to guarantee water under the keel from beginning to end.
Flood damage was evident throughout Caddo Gap. The river has washed away immense swaths of bank, creating wide rock and gravel bars where once were tree-lined soil banks. A great amount of the eroded silt and gravel has settled above the mouth of the South Fork of the Caddo River.
A gravel ridge used to curve into the main stem of the river on the downstream side of the South Fork. Now, the ridge is upstream from the South Fork, creating a dam that impounds a wide shoal that filled what was previously a deep hole. That hole was a great place to catch big smallmouths, and I lament its demise.
Farther down is the most egregious example of erosion, a tall dirt bank that holds a couple of well-manicured lawns in front of some fine homes. Every flood sloughs off more and more of the bluff, cutting ever closer to the homes. That's some expensive real estate to just let the river take it away and give it to somebody else downstream.
I noticed a change in the river's temper as I approached the S-Turn rapid downstream from the South Fork. It sounded like someone turned up the volume. The water, which had been fairly clear, had turned muddy and roiled with plant material and algae flushed from upstream.
Fishing had been slow, but the surge killed it. It was pointless trying, but I was too stubborn to quit. I caught one more bass, a Kentucky, the biggest fish of the day.
When I reached Lucky's landing, the water was well over the spot where I had parked hours earlier.
At least I didn't get wet.
Sports on 07/04/2019