‘Tank’ busting: Crooked Creek delivers epic day of trophy bass fishing

YELLVILLE -- Rusty Pruitt said he expected us to catch two trophy smallmouth bass on Crooked Creek Tuesday.

We caught a lot more than that to solidify that trip as one of our best.

We couldn't have picked a better place than Crooked Creek. It is renowned for being Arkansas's best stream for trophy smallmouth bass. Pruitt calls them "tanks" because of their strength and indomitability. We use light tackle because we enjoy the challenge. To catch tanks on light or ultralight tackle, an angler cannot make mistakes.

We couldn't have picked a better day. There was a slight dip in the heat Tuesday. An overcast sky made fishing conditions pleasant for a few hours, but it didn't last. A stiff wind blew away the clouds and restored the swelter. It wasn't quite as hot as it had been, but it was still broiling.

Also, the creek's longear sunfish were spawning on the full moon. The air was thick with the sweet smell of spawning bream, and the creek bottom was pockmarked with bream beds.

Pruitt and I rode in one canoe. Ed Kubler and Bill Eldridge occupied a second canoe. It was their first trip to Crooked Creek in two years. Their last visit included an immersion under a bridge when they encountered a snag. We returned two weeks later to see if we could recover any of the gear they lost. The fishing was mediocre for both trips.

Floating conditions were not good at Snow Access. Low water and meager flow meant we would have to drag through shoals and rock gardens. Pruitt and I prefer those conditions for fishing. It means we can fish pools thoroughly. It also means we can walk instead of float. That enables us to fish slowly, methodically and thoroughly.

It also means we will not quit until dark. That strains relations with people that fish faster, especially when they are in charge of the shuttle back to the put-in spot.

While the others prepared the canoes, I caught a smallmouth on the first cast from the ramp. A little one hit my Zoom Tiny Brush Hawg in a side channel, foreshadowing an active bite. Having to pull our canoes through the rock garden directly downstream of the ramp also foreshadowed arduous navigation.

Not surprising, the fishing was dull in the first hour or so. Fishing near public access points generally isn't great because those waters are heavily pressured. We recognized this and paddled through the first half mile quickly. As usual, Eldridge and Kubler dashed ahead and stayed mostly out of sight.

Pruitt and I caught a couple of small fish here and there before we encountered Eldridge and Kubler having lunch on a gravel bar beneath a steep run between pools. As they adjourned their lunch break, I tossed a Tiny Lizard on the upstream end of a fallen tree. I did not expect much because the water was very clear. No bass were visible, and there appeared to be no place for a fish to hide.

I was mistaken. The lizard had scarcely hit the water when I felt a heavy weight as I reeled in my slack line. I set the hook immediately upon feeling the pressure and found myself at odds with the biggest smallmouth bass that I have encountered in a long time.

Compounding matters was my tackle. I used a 5-foot Eagle Claw FeatherLight X-Stream rod mated to a Shimano Calcutta GT-51 ultralight baitcasting reel spooled with 6-pound test line. The rod, in addition to being short, is about as thick as a spaghetti noodle. Despite its small size, the reel is strong and beefy, but it has a slow retrieve that makes it suitable only for bottom contact baits and crankbaits.

I used this rig exclusively during my 2006 Summer Smallmouth Tour, but I have not used it at all since 2011, by which time I had relegated it to trolling stickbaits for walleyes on the Ouachita River. However, walleye trolling duties demonstrated this rig to be highly capable of handling large fish. I hooked and landed a 14-pound striped bass below Remmel Dam while fishing with Mark Roberts of Maumelle in 2008. Again with Roberts, I used it to land a 19-pound striper on the Ouachita River in 2009. I took it out of retirement for this trip because I hoped it would restore the magic of the golden 2006-08 period.

It still has the magic. The smallmouth in the rootwad pulled that tiny rod into a tight arc. When the fish ran or surged, the reel's drag released evenly and prevented the fish from straining the line or the knot. The key to fishing light tackle is to trust the tackle and let it tire the fish. When its strength ebbed, I netted the fish easily. It was 16 1/2 inches long.

I didn't catch any more big fish on the Tiny Brush Hawg or on any other bottom contact bait. An hour or so of inactivity persuaded me to try a topwater lure. I tied on a Whopper Plopper to a different rig, a Falcon Lowrider medium-action rod mated to a Lew's Speed Spool with a 6:2-1 retrieve speed. It's fast enough for topwater lures, and it also keeps pace with bass that often run at me when hooked.

With Eldridge and Kubler out of sight, the first bass hit the Whopper Plopper. The strike was so light and so delicate that Pruitt and I mistook it for a small fish. When I hauled back to set the hooks, I quickly realized it was substantial. After a spirited fight, I netted a 16 3/4-inch long largemouth bass.

Two more smallmouths accepted the challenge, as well. They were 16 1/2 and 15 inches, respectively.

After the clouds departed, the bites departed as well. Fish ignored the Whopper Plopper and also Pruitt's chug bait. A steady stream of small fish up to 13 inches continued to hit soft plastic lures.

Late in the day, we arrived at a long run that had a deep, wide, boulder-laden overflow cove on the other side. The water in the cove was still with a yellowish color from algae. There was also a lot of slime. It isn't smallmouth water, but it probably sheltered a largemouth or two.

Pruitt accompanied me with his camera running as I cast the Whopper Plopper to the far side of the pool. There was a massive splash as a fish slammed the plug. My hookset was sure, and Pruitt videoed a spectacular fight full of high jumps and streaking surges that left massive wakes.

It wasn't a largemouth that put on that show, however. It was a 16 3/4-inch smallmouth.

With the sun almost gone, we fished the last pool. We saw a "tank" patrolling the shallows. It was a good bit larger than 16 inches. With the ultralight rig I cast a Tiny Brush Hawg to a spot in front. We watched the fish take the lure. I set the hook, but there was too much line out. My spaghetti noodle rod didn't have enough backbone to stretch the line and drive the hook through the thick jaw of a big fish. It happened two more times.

It taught me a lesson. Long casts to big fish require heavier tackle. I will continue to use the ultralight because it is fun, but I will have a beefier rig, as well. Sometimes you need it.

Print Headline: ‘Tank’ busting

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