[Horseshoe]

Last night we received about 4" of snow and its blowing sideways right now.....got me thinking about our move to Izard county later this year even more!

Any fisherman out there that can shed some light on the fishing in the Strawberry River (specifically from HWY354 south to the 289 Bridge) or on Crown lake in Horseshoe Bend? I'm looking to hook into some big cats.

Crown is pretty big, i'm thinking of picking up a GPS fish sonar set up to check out the bottom and pinpoint my hotspots when i find fish. Is Crown pretty predictable as far as fish location or do you have to work for them?

Also looking for a recipe for smoking catfish...RogMar any pointers? You seem to have a great grasp on the surroundings in Izard. Supposedly there is a spice guy around Oxford that sells mixtures for smoking meats, marinades, jerky, roast, etc.....any experience with this place?

Thanks for this board!!!......i have to check it every day!

[RogMar]

Well, Horseshoe......repeat after me:

"How y'all doin'?"

That "y'all" part is important, it's gotta roll off the tongue.

They really should make a Rosetta language course for southern.

Strawberry's good, bud. Not right now, though. We've had big rains here and the rivers are rollin'. There's a nice little spot below the bridge on 289 just south of the Horseshoe city limits, and a good spot below the bridge of 56 just east of Franklin.

Crown Lake is plentiful. I don't fish it because I generally just hit the Strawberry, but I assume you know that there's a fishing club in Horseshoe and they're very active. I'll probably go over and hit it a few times this spring.

The catfish are always dining on chicken livers. Locals say the Strawberry catfish are best up to mid-july.

Electronic equipment would be helpful, but ol' boys living over there will be glad to tip you to spots.

Might also want to add a trout stamp to your license and go over to the Mammoth Springs. It's close and got real good fishing and some pretty decent eateries. Go down "main" street, to a little hole-in-the-wall called "The Out of the Way Cafe", on the right hand side, end of the "business district". That's where the locals eat. Order a "Mammoth burger", and good luck putting it away.

I haven't smoked fish in *years*, and the last ones was a bunch of carp. I stick to meats, but I'll ask around the "neighborhood" and see if anybody's got insight.

Two ways they fix catfish in these parts are fried, and deep fried. Don't *ever* forget the hushpuppies, that's a hangin' offense.

What state are you coming from?

Got your Carriage Room membership yet? Fridat night seafood buffet, Saturday prime rib specials, and Sunday brunch. Don't diss thehillbilles, I might be sitting next to ya'

You realize that for package goods you gotta go to either Baxter county or Thayer? I'm doing a Thayer run today. A "sin" run they call it around here.

Somebody over in Horseshoe has got a big movement going on to put Izard on the ballot to go wet, and it just might make it this time.

[Horseshoe]

Well, Horseshoe......repeat after me:

"How y'all doin'?"

That "y'all" part is important, it's gotta roll off the tongue.

They really should make a Rosetta language course for southern.

I'm working on my language skills, but it's tough to chase out "yankee" talk from my head. I always catch flack from my family in AR about my accent, but I always remind them where their roots came from...

Strawberry's good, bud. Not right now, though. We've had big rains here and the rivers are rollin'. There's a nice little spot below the bridge on 289 just south of the Horseshoe city limits, and a good spot below the bridge of 56 just east of Franklin.

I get the local newspapers mailed to me from the area and saw in the Salem News the water damage and pictures of all the high water, just amazing. I'm glad our place is on a hill! I'll have to wet a line in the spots by those bridges soon as i get the chance.

Crown Lake is plentiful. I don't fish it because I generally just hit the Strawberry, but I assume you know that there's a fishing club in Horseshoe and they're very active. I'll probably go over and hit it a few times this spring.

The fishing club in HB, what is involved with that? Do you have to be a member to fish the lakes in town? Is there a sticker on your boat or what is needed to get on the lakes to fish?

The catfish are always dining on chicken livers. Locals say the Strawberry catfish are best up to mid-july.

Electronic equipment would be helpful, but ol' boys living over there will be glad to tip you to spots.

Might also want to add a trout stamp to your license and go over to the Mammoth Springs. It's close and got real good fishing and some pretty decent eateries. Go down "main" street, to a little hole-in-the-wall called "The Out of the Way Cafe", on the right hand side, end of the "business district". That's where the locals eat. Order a "Mammoth burger", and good luck putting it away.

Mammoth is one place high on our list of places to explore once we get settled in. I'll definetely have to save a corner or two in my gut for that Mammoth challenge. As far as trout fishing, my brother use to own land by the Little Red and "boy howdy" did we have fun with trout, I'd be happy with 10% of the success on the local rivers.

I haven't smoked fish in *years*, and the last ones was a bunch of carp. I stick to meats, but I'll ask around the "neighborhood" and see if anybody's got insight.

Smoking fish and venison sausage was always entertaining when I was a kid and kind of a family tradition. I picked it back up again lately and would like to give it a try on some big cats. Hams, jerky, turkey breast....are going to be runthrough my smoker once I get it down there.

Two ways they fix catfish in these parts are fried, and deep fried. Don't *ever* forget the hushpuppies, that's a hangin' offense.

What state are you coming from?

Got your Carriage Room membership yet? Fridat night seafood buffet, Saturday prime rib specials, and Sunday brunch. Don't diss thehillbilles, I might be sitting next to ya'

My wife and I always wanted to check out the Carriage Room, but always had too much going on in town to get that done. We are not beverage enthusiasts, so the membership for that would never get used. Hard to believe that people coming from the land of "Cheeseheads" and green and gold don't partake in the fermented arts. As far as diss'n the hill folk.....I feel I'm a hillbilly stuck in a yankees body, so no problem there!!

You realize that for package goods you gotta go to either Baxter county or Thayer? I'm doing a Thayer run today. A "sin" run they call it around here.

Somebody over in Horseshoe has got a big movement going on to put Izard on the ballot to go wet, and it just might make it this time.

[RogMar]

I'm not sure what's entirely involved in the process for the fishing club, but I get the newspaper from HB, the "Pacesetter Times", comes out once a week as does the paper from Melbourne. I see the fishing club mentioned frequently, sponsering this 'n' that, having a meeting, etc.

Not sure about what you need to put a boat in the lake, but I shall ask if you're not in a hurry, I have a buddy who docks both a houseboat and a ski boat over there. He's always busy, with several farms, a heavy equipment operation, he's doing timber now also, and has 6 kids, so........we usually just talk every couple weeks.

You're going to find that HB is a very socially active place, with state clubs, garden clubs, they have a social center and clubhouse for residents, and always seem to be bringing in a band for mainly country or gospel music.

I went to Thayer yesterday, and it was the first time I'd been off the hill since the big rains, and nobody's going to be fishing for awhile in the rivers. I saw the Spring River in couple of places, no way can a boat get on that. The local places where I crossed the Strawberry showed water had gone over the bridges.

You're gonna want to do that Carriage Room thing. It's $10 per person per year, the bar is seperate from the dining area so people who want to avoid it can. It is one of the social anchors in town, and when we eat there, I see most of the people in the room saying hello to other tables, all HB'ers.

[nicsan]

RogMar - you must live fairly close to HSB - I live here in HSB since '74 with some time away that I traveled all over U.S. - Moderator cut: edit - please, no personal info on the net I'm a member of Boating & Fishing Club - no charge to launch your boat here on Crown Lake if you are a property owner. If your not an owner it costs $5. Club does a lot of civic stuff and raises money through food booths , etc for stocking lakes. has social events, meetings, all kinds of good stuff. Horseshoe, there are lots of people 'round here who will tell you where to fish, what to use, etc. Many cheeseheads live here also. I grew up in Nebraska and came here via Dallas. I know allot about the area and have seen lots change since'74 - also lots stay the same. I do almost all outdoor sports and was the golf pro here from '76 to '83, chamber pres, had the marina on crown lake in the 70's and lots of other things so if I can help answer anybody's questions I'd be happy to try! I'm a busy dude so usually only check these forums a couple times a week so be patient when making a post for me! Later!!

[RogMar]

Nicsan, yes, I'm in the hills south of 56. I make it to HSB maybe once or twice a month on average, over to Ash Flat a little more often, and into Melbourne on a regular basis. No matter which town I go to, it's 15 miles, so I kind of like being "centrally located".

Horseshoe, who is the OP of this thread, is moving to HSB and could use your assistance. You'll know the finer points that I don't know like the info you provided on boat launching/docking on Crown.

If you get a chance, maybe you could help make his transition a little smoother. With all the things that HSB has to offer in the social arena, I'm sure he could use the slide greased a little bit.

I'm sorta deficit in that area, if you have read any of my other posts, I'm pretty set with the hill folks out here, and that's mainly a Melbourne thing.

DHL won't even deliver where I'm at. If it comes DHL, they either drop it at the Evening Shade post office, or flag down the UPS driver, who isn't afraid of red dirt roads, and give it to him.

Ain't that a hoot?

[in_the_gloaming]

What's the sales tax in Izard County? Does this also apply to groceries you buy from the grocery store?

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by in_the_gloaming

What's the sales tax in Izard County? Does this also apply to groceries you buy from the grocery store?

AFAIK, it's 6% all over AR. Yes, groceries and all.

There was a plan last year, and I don't know what happened, because it apparently didn't make it, to drop that to 3% for a period, then phase it out completely.

[in_the_gloaming]

Once awhile ago, I heard of a 12 year old boy that took a graplin hook, hooked a raw chicken wing to it, threw his line in the Arkansas River there in Fort Smith and caught a sixty pound channel cat! (true story, Summer 1975) He tied his line around a tree trunk for safe keeping and it took two grown men to haul that monster in!

That was about the time I first moved to Arkansas. I wanted Ft. Smith, but; iI settled for Hot Springs. About that same time, a married couple from Tulsa caught a 45 pound Red Snapper at Lake Quachita (not sure of the spelling). At that time, it was a new record! They had it mounted by a taxidermist.

[Trace4fishing]

Im new at this. The blogs or posting. But for smoking fish. You can go to a local Wal-mar and purchase the smoking kit. It can be used with all different types of meat. Homemade, i would soak the catfish is saltwater over night in the frig. Then rinse and put liquid smoke that u can purchase in a local mrkt. It's made by Figaro. It's hickory liquid smoke and marinade. Then when you leave it marinade for a couple hours (then drain again.) put it in the oven on low at no more than 100 degrees. (salt and pepper as us like.) Until it is dehydrated. It can take up to 4-6 hours. Make sure u cut out the mud streaks if any. It's trial and error. I have not done it 4 awhile with catfish. But it turned out very good. Good luck.