South Fork Caddo River and Thunder Mountain Riverfront Cabin, Caddo Gap, Arkansas

Ellen and my ears perked up at the sound of truck tires rolling over gravel. It was the telltale sound of a vehicle approaching the cabin. We both looked at each other excitedly, "They're here!" she said, and then promptly scampered off the back porch, through the backdoor of the rental cabin, and onto the front porch. We could see the headlights of Van and Katie's truck as they made their way to the cabin. The truck's headlights bounced along the gravel driveway, weaving through the trees. A weekend of fishing and exploring the waters of the South Fork Caddo River was about to begin.

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Floating Big Piney Creek, an Ozark Gem

I think Van would agree with me, Big Piney Creek is one of those rivers that you could float over and over again without getting sick of it. Granted, I think we hit the river when the conditions were just right. If the water had been lower, we would have had to carry the raft for 7 miles. If the river had been higher, this novice oarsman would have been a little sketched-out.

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Village Creek: A Fishing Synopsis in the Pineywoods

While thumbing through an issue of Southwest Fly Fishing, I saw an article about a small creek east of Houston called Village Creek. At the office, the following day, I gave the article to my friend Alex, who read it eagerly. We both decided that this little creek, in the eastern Pineywoods of Texas, absolutely needed its local fish population terrorized by two guys and a dog. Alex and I loaded up the inflatable Flycraft drift boat Friday morning and before the sun rose over I-10, we were heading down the highway eastward.

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