Family River Trip Thoughts?

[Crosshairy]

Kids (8 and 11 years old) are on fall break in mid-October. I'm trying to nail down a river trip option for a few days within a ~4-5-hour drive of Memphis. We'll probably stay in a cabin, but might break out the tent.

I've got a 14-foot Jon boat with a 15-hp motor that I could bring, but I'm equally interested in some sort of float trip option in a raft or canoes (no whitewater for our first try). I've been to the Spring River and Little Red River before...leaning toward trying something new. Any thoughts on places we should consider? Here's my list of "places I've never been but sound fun". Given the time of year, do any of you have advice on them?

My main 2 concerns are having a place to stay that my wife would like, and having fishing / sightseeing quality and opportunity for my kids with some bank and/or boat fishing. I like trout fishing, but spotted bass/smallmouth/panfish are great too!

Caney Fork River
Buffalo National River (AR)
Ouachita River (AR)
Barren Fork /Collins River
Elk River
Duck River
Caddo River (AR)

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[scn]

The Caney Fork might be a good bet for you. You could stay in some of the cabins at Edgar Evans State Park on Center Hill. There would be plenty of lake fishing for you and your kids in your boat. For the canoeing aspect, there are several canoe liveries for the Caney that rent the canoes and handle the logistics of getting you back to your starting location.

Fishing is not great on the river right now, but should be much improved for your period of time.

 

[RUGER]

Yep the Caney would be good definitely.

Wife and I went to Tim's Ford lake and got a cabin at the state park not long ago.
Absolutely loved it.

In fact, we are going back in two weeks we liked it so much.

 

[catman529]

Caney fork is always a good float. Should be less tourists in October I would think. It will be chilly in the morning. Have been up that river to fish in October, very peaceful. Check the center hill generation/sluice schedule make sure it's not flowing too high


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[Crosshairy]

Caney fork is always a good float. Should be less tourists in October I would think. It will be chilly in the morning. Have been up that river to fish in October, very peaceful. Check the center hill generation/sluice schedule make sure it's not flowing too high

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Is the Caney an OK spot for my boat? Would you recommend we put in up at the dam, float down, then fire up the motor to return to the ramp?

I also have access to a bigger boat, but I just assumed I'd need to stick to the 14-foot flat bottom.

 

[scn]

Caney fork is always a good float. Should be less tourists in October I would think. It will be chilly in the morning. Have been up that river to fish in October, very peaceful. Check the center hill generation/sluice schedule make sure it's not flowing too high

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Is the Caney an OK spot for my boat? Would you recommend we put in up at the dam, float down, then fire up the motor to return to the ramp?

I also have access to a bigger boat, but I just assumed I'd need to stick to the 14-foot flat bottom.

It depends on the generation. If they are generating at one generator, under 5000 cfs, your 14' boat should be OK. If they are not generating, you would be able to float down, but, likely would have to get out on a couple of shoals and drag through. Without generation, it would be difficult to motor back up to your put in point.

Although you can see some weekly trends in generation, they don't release their official schedule until around 3pm for the next day. It complicates the logistics for the Caney.

 

[catman529]

Caney fork is always a good float. Should be less tourists in October I would think. It will be chilly in the morning. Have been up that river to fish in October, very peaceful. Check the center hill generation/sluice schedule make sure it's not flowing too high

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is the Caney an OK spot for my boat? Would you recommend we put in up at the dam, float down, then fire up the motor to return to the ramp?

I also have access to a bigger boat, but I just assumed I'd need to stick to the 14-foot flat bottom.

if they are generating it should be ok. It's clear water you can see the bottom. If no generators are running it will get real shallow in a few spots.


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[Jmed]

If you end up going to the Caney and need someone to give you a lift to put a vehicle down stream for your float, my uncle lives on the river and would be happy to help. I used to stash a bike in the bushes and would bike back up the road to the dam to get my truck when the water was low. if the flows are you good you can motor up or down as you please. Edgar Evans State Park is right there and has a nice campground on the lake.

 

[Crosshairy]

If you end up going to the Caney and need someone to give you a lift to put a vehicle down stream for your float, my uncle lives on the river and would be happy to help. I used to stash a bike in the bushes and would bike back up the road to the dam to get my truck when the water was low. if the flows are you good you can motor up or down as you please. Edgar Evans State Park is right there and has a nice campground on the lake.

Thanks for the tip!

I have to be honest...the more I think about it, the more I get intimidated by the thought of taking my kids on a fishing float trip in a new river (new to me) in a john boat. Obviously I'll spend a lot of time untangling lines and trying to avoid river obstacles. This would all be new to them. Based on what I've seen on YouTube and such, if we go to the Caney I think we'll probably launch at the dam to start out in "big" water and get comfortable in the boat, then we can venture downstream if depth allows. Seem like a good plan?

I'm going to try to brush up on some river knowledge and make sure I don't bite off more than I can chew. I think as long as I can stick to areas that aren't fast-flowing, we can get some experience under our belts and get more comfortable, then maybe start to venture out downstream and explore. I didn't realize that it was so picturesque at Center Hill Dam until today. It's a pretty place!

 

[catman529]

If you end up going to the Caney and need someone to give you a lift to put a vehicle down stream for your float, my uncle lives on the river and would be happy to help. I used to stash a bike in the bushes and would bike back up the road to the dam to get my truck when the water was low. if the flows are you good you can motor up or down as you please. Edgar Evans State Park is right there and has a nice campground on the lake.

Thanks for the tip!

I have to be honest...the more I think about it, the more I get intimidated by the thought of taking my kids on a fishing float trip in a new river (new to me) in a john boat. Obviously I'll spend a lot of time untangling lines and trying to avoid river obstacles. This would all be new to them. Based on what I've seen on YouTube and such, if we go to the Caney I think we'll probably launch at the dam to start out in "big" water and get comfortable in the boat, then we can venture downstream if depth allows. Seem like a good plan?

I'm going to try to brush up on some river knowledge and make sure I don't bite off more than I can chew. I think as long as I can stick to areas that aren't fast-flowing, we can get some experience under our belts and get more comfortable, then maybe start to venture out downstream and explore. I didn't realize that it was so picturesque at Center Hill Dam until today. It's a pretty place!

the water by the dam is the same as the rest of the river. If they're not generating, you can wade across where the river gets narrow by the boat ramp. It's a good float, I wouldn't be intimidated by it. I guess the first time I went up the caney was in a beat up 1432 Jon boat with a 5hp Briggs and Stratton outboard.


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[TNCanoer]

Try the Eleven Point river in Alton Missouri. Good fishing and a lot of historical spots and whites cave