Chapter Seven

Fishing In Marion County

 by Glenn Johnson

Pages 62-64

Marion County is ideally located so far as good fishing is concerned, with the White River on the east and north, the Buffalo River on the south and Crooked Creek through the center of the county. All of these streams are good fishing for bass, catfish, buffalo, drum, sunfish, and goggle-eye perch.

As we look back through history, we find the Indians staying near these waters because it was a source of food. There has always been the reasoning that there was plenty of fish until the white man came and began to over-kill or take more than he needed. It was a sport and I am sure it was for the Indians, but the Indians had a problem with the fish and game they could not eat. There were the panthers, bears, wildcats and other animals that were drawn by the smell of fish and then the stench of the over-kill that lingered for many days around the area where the camps were, generally, near the rivers. We are not defending the over-taking of fish or game, but most of the time we are able to give to neighbors and friends if we have more than we can eat. Since the common use of electricity is available, the deep freeze makes it possible to keep the fish and game for later needs.

The Indians had the spear, bow and arrow, as well as hooks, made of bone and rock, and they watched for the rise and fall of the river for any fish that might have been trapped after an over-flow of some streams.

With the arrival of the early white settlers, there came the blacksmith who could fashion a three-prong metal gig that gave man an advantage of distance in taking fish from the streams after night with a light made from pine knots. It was not the most pleasant and cleanest type of fishing because the fire would attract bugs, and burning seasoned pine knots would create a very black smelly smoke that settled on everyone in the boat.

With the invention of the gasoline lantern and the car battery with a light bulb under the water fastened to a piece of tin that reflected the light, improvements in this method of fishing were noticed. Many fish were taken in this manner. Some of the men who were very accurate in throwing a gig were E. L. (Sug) Kirkwood, Everett Hurst, Truman Cornell, W E. Rose, Jake Flippin, Frank Flippin, Ralph Wood, Paul Flippin and Vester Smith.

The early settlers also built fish-traps on Crooked Creek and Buffalo in the summer when the water was low. They were not easy to build and took a lot of material. It was actually a fence made of logs diverting the water to a waterfall under which a vat made of wood was located with openings so the small fish could go through but the larger fish were trapped. Generally, it was a neighborhood project and the people for miles around were able to have fish when they were wanted. The last trap that this writer remembers was constructed by J. 0. Linck and the John Jefferson boys. Mr. Luther Owens of Green Forest, Arkansas, the earliest game warden, received a report of the fish trap. He found it by J. 0. Linck's home and the boys were ordered to remove the trap or be arrested. Mr. Linck was the local Justice of the Peace where the case would be tried, if they were arrested, so he told Mr. Owens he would get the trap removed and he did.

Other than the trap, the noodlers or grabblers were the real fish catchers. They were able to dive into the deep water after much practice and could stay under water longer than others. There were stories of men who would go under and ask someone to hold them down until they shook themselves. There was a danger of getting the hand in the mouth of a large catfish and not being able to bring him to the top of the water. Many large catfish were taken in this manner, generally in the 20 to 40 pound weight. The Wilson boys of Fallen Ash were the champion noodlers.

Another method was seining a hole of water where fish had been trapped or seining in shallow streams. This was hard work and required several men, wading in the streams, to pull the seine to the bank.

The use of dynamite was used sometimes, but was not acceptable by the general public because of the complete kill of all the fish in a hole of water. There was also the green walnut way that was known by the Indians who would beat walnuts into a mulch and place into the water where it would kill the fish if the flow of water was decrease to a minimum. The fish were still edible. This writer knows of two men who tried this method while on a picnic with their families and they came up with their bathing suits walnut stained - no fish.

Mr. Bill Wilson of Yellville was one of the early sportsmen who did more for the county in the way of promotion of fishing than anyone because he worked for this alone for many years. He was one who helped create the State Game and Fish Commission and saw it develop into the well-organized, helpful group that he dreamed and publicized so much through the press. He wrote articles for both of the state's papers, as well as the local papers. To him we give much credit.

When the lake behind the Bull Shoals Dam was filling, it was one of the best fishing lakes in the United States. Anyone who could fish at all could catch the limit of fish each day. When the fishermen all over the nation began to hear of this place, they came in great numbers. With the cold water below the dam, there was added to the species the Brown Trout and the Rainbow Trout.

In the mid-1950's Mr. Sam Welch and his wife, Harriet, moved to Bull Shoals from Gamaliel, Arkansas, with their weekly fishing newsletter called THE OZARK FISHERMAN. Each week thousands of people in the midwest were able to hear from radio and TV and read the newspaper accounts of the amount, kind and location of fishing activity on the three lakes in the Ozarks. Mr. Welch certainly deserves much credit for the growth of the fishing industry.

From the MOUNTAIN ECHO, November 13, 1958, this headline was taken: "CBS WILL TELEVISE FLOAT TRIP IN MARION COUNTY." Mr. G. 0. Tilley secured this group from Chicago with Art Micier as narrator for the float trip from below the dam to Buffalo, a distance of 28 miles. Guides on the trip were Forrest Wood, Virgil Humphrey, Truman Erwin, Dan Cornell, Hester Jones, and Paul Flippin. Charley (Polk) Williams and Leland Hurst were commissary men. Mr. Tilley deserves much credit for his great help in advertising the good fishing in this area. There are others who deserve credit but it is impossible to name each one. John Eastwold, Bull Shoals boat dock owner, is continuing the good publicity needed to keep good fishing for the visiting tourists. Those who have fishing services and boat dock services in 1976 are: Rack Pace, Nubbin Stoner, Donnie McCracken, 101 Boat Dock, Wild Cat Shoals, Sportsman, Country Lodge, Stetson's, and White Hole Acres.

Fishing is becoming more competitive and specialized, since the tournaments are growing every year. With the coming of the fish-finders, new baits, fast motors, spin-cast reels, and the many studies made of fish and fishing, the number of people retiring, who like to fish for sport, may not become specialists for many years. We are confident, though, there will always be fish and fishermen trying to land the big ones as long as civiliation lasts.

With the coming of the railroad passenger service in the early 1900's, sport fishermen from the north and east began to visit the county to enjoy good fishing. In the late 1930's, Mr. Russell Evans and Mr. Clay Nowlin began a float fishing service for the streams of the county. This was the beginning of a type of business that has grown and flourished. It is one of the most prosperous enterprises of Marion County.

It has taken a good, patient, hard-working Game and Fish Commission to make the fishing industry what it is today. There was not much enforcement by the game wardens in the beginning because it had to be a work of educating the people to take care of their fish and game. The position of game warden was political in the beginning, but now it is free from this as long as what is good and necessary is done.

Some of those who served as Game Wardens in Marion County were: John Evans, Erwin Wood, Jim Layton, George Fee, Jim Moore, J. B. Osborn, Bill Keeter, R. H. (Perk) Hurst, Loyne Hurst, Dewey King, and Bob Sanders.

In the 1920's, the Frost brothers had a boathouse on White River at the end of the Frost Bluff. A Dr. Frank O'Riley and Mr. A. B. Scott of the Scott Book Company would spend two weeks each year staying with Pearl and Molly Frost where they fished every day and received the finest home cooking this side of Chicago.

Mr. Frank Flippin was one of the best known and most successful fishermen in the county and had a boathouse with boats for rent at Wild Cat Shoals, still a popular place near the airport.