I found myself in a dry creek bed surrounded by steep
dirt banks reaching at least 15ft. high on both sides of me. On top of the dirt banks were tall trees with
their limbs reaching out across the creek bed creating a dark canopy beneath
them. As I stood frozen in the shadows the
scream I heard coming from around the next bend made my hair stand up…and
suddenly I realized…
...There was no way out…!
My story begins with an email I received shortly after
posting the Blog “Catching Spots in Kansas”. A member wrote that he had a place where he
caught Kentucky bass while stream fishing and that I should try it. A little research showed that Michael Pearce
(outdoor editor for the Wichita Eagle and long time acquaintance of mine) had
written an article back in April 2010 about his positive experiences fishing
the same stream.
The
stream is Fox Creek located just outside Strong City, Kansas at the junction of
177 and Hwy 50 and is on the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve. Easy to find since it’s located just off 177
a couple of hundred yards north of Hwy 50.
Turn in at the Anthony Cemetery and follow the road east 1/3 of a mile
and you can’t miss it. It’s County Road
227 although it isn’t actually marked. Clearly the State of Kansas has done an
incredible job with this land. The
restrooms were extremely clean…maybe better than any I have ever seen at a
public State fishing lake. There is a
crushed gravel trail starting at the parking area that is ¾ miles long with an
occasional signage telling of various interesting things about the area. All in all…it was very impressive.
At
the halfway point of the trail another trail cut through the tall grass continuing
north taking you on private property that is part of the F.I.S.H. Program
(Fishing Impoundment and Stream Habitats)… property leased by the State for
fishing only….essentially an extension of their “Walk-in Program” for hunting.
I
took the “road less traveled” and found myself about 1 mile from my truck and
decided it was time to go fishing.
Okay…yes I know we are in a drought situation…but truly…I didn’t realize
that the stream would be THAT dry…! How
dry? At times I would walk 200-300 yards
between “pools”. “Pools”?
Most of them were simply to shallow to hold fish…they were more like
puddles. The stream was REALLY low
which not only made fishing extremely difficult it made just getting from place
to place very difficult. Having to
constantly fight my way up embankments, climb over large fallen trees and walking
through tall grass with the snakes made it an “interesting” experience.
To
be brutally frank it really was an extremely physical experience and one that,
without being the athlete that I am, would have surely been met with an ill
fated end. Fortunately my athletic prowess,
though often tested, never wavered. In
the end I made it back to civilization…alive but not unscathed.
As
for fishing here is the truth (that’s why you belong to this Blog right…you
want the truth). While most “pools”
were shallow and stagnate I did find a couple that held fish. (They had to be somewhere right?) I had a LOT of strikes but for reasons I
can’t explain had an extremely difficult time hooking and landing them. Did I keep my streak alive under these most
trying of conditions?
If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know that I have caught fish on every trip I have made…that’s 12 different bodies of water in a row…and many done under extreme weather conditions from 40-mph winds to 102-degree temperatures. Most from land, a couple from a boat…one from my belly boat. That said (given these almost impossible conditions) would the streak end at “unlucky 13” or would I keep it alive?
If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know that I have caught fish on every trip I have made…that’s 12 different bodies of water in a row…and many done under extreme weather conditions from 40-mph winds to 102-degree temperatures. Most from land, a couple from a boat…one from my belly boat. That said (given these almost impossible conditions) would the streak end at “unlucky 13” or would I keep it alive?
I
will tell you this…there was nothing easy about traipsing through this creek
bed…including the fishing.
My
recommendation? Wait until next spring
to go. Plan your trip starting about
2-weeks after the major spring rains (hopefully!) have stopped…probably from the first of
May through the middle of June. Will you
catch fish? No question about
it…!!! Most of the creek bed is rock
(It’s in the Flint Hills) and I would expect it to be semi-clear. (It would have to be to contain Kentucky
bass.) I can guarantee that if you time
it right you will have the time of your life.
I just picked the wrong time to go.
And
now for “The rest of the story”.
Once
the screaming sound stopped I stood still…not moving even a small muscle…for
more than 10-minutes. Carefully scanning
both down the creek bed as well as up on top of the creek banks…watching for
any movement. As a hunter I can tell you
that rarely have all my senses been so “in tune” with nature. If there is such a thing as being “in the
zone”…I was in it. With no way out the
only thing I could do was continue forward.
With all senses on full alert I carefully took the first steps.
Hearing
no further sound I rounded the next bend…stopping every few feet to survey what
was in front of me. I came to a place
that I could not continue forward without crossing the creek bed. As I carefully walked across a log left long
ago by a fallen tree something caught my eye.
Not because it moved but because it looked out of place. There laying in the stream bed…neck and head
laying in the shallow water….was a dead doe.
Fresh blood covered the hind end of the doe as well as the surrounding
creek bed. The water was stained red
from its blood. Suddenly a turkey buzzard perched high on a
limb on the opposite side of the creek flew from its perch literally scaring me
beyond belief.
Something
wasn’t right but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I had already decided that if it was a
mountain lion/cougar (don’t laugh…they are in Kansas…my kids and I saw one
years ago when we owned a meat locker plant in Stilwell, Ks…check it out for
yourself…!) I was going to turn on my camera so when they found my stuff the
camera would tell the whole story of my gruesome end. It was also going to show how I had fought to
the bitter end. I was carrying a walking
stick I had broken off from a larger limb.
I had been using it to help make noise as I walked through tall grass
that could contain snakes.
Now
it had become a weapon!
As
I took another step a movement occurred immediately to my left in some tall
grass. It was a “rustling” sound and it
was obviously made by something with size. Instantly I made a decision to move
immediately to my right and angle up the hill away from this freshly killed
deer. Once on top of the creek bed I faced one other
problem…I was now on the wrong side of the creek to access the trails and my
truck. I needed to cross back over. I came to another pool…a small one that
connected to the largest one I saw all day.
Where they came together the
water was only about 10” deep and 6ft. across.
Laying a stick across the pool and using my “weapon” for balance I
managed to cross the stream.
Now
how was I to get up the other side? Not
knowing for sure what was just behind me in the bend with the dead deer…I had
made up my mind it was time to get to the truck. However, I was faced with a steep dirt bank
with no apparent way to get to the top.
There was a deer trail that, if you deer hunt you will understand, only
a deer could climb. Not being a deer…but
fortunately being a great athlete…I made the decision to climb this deer trail
anyway.
I
had two fishing rods with me and given the difficulty (and danger!) of climbing such an
embankment I knew I might change my mind…so…I took each rod and threw them like
a javelin to the top of the embankment.
Now I was committed!
I had to climb this steep embankment or lose
my rods. With my “weapon” in hand I
started to climb. The steepness combined
with the loose dry dirt made it all but impossible. Time after time I would get half way only to
slide back down to the bottom. I didn’t like how much noise I was making and
the attention it might be drawing from whatever was just down the creek from
me.
The
reality began to sink in…at my age…regardless of my great athletic abilities…I
may have bit off more than I could chew.
Then I noticed something…a small root the size of a pencil…growing out
of the bank from the top of the deer trail and hanging down about 1/3 of the
way from the top. I climbed to where I could grab the
root…climbed 2/3 up of the hill…and the end of the root broke sending me
tumbling back to the bottom of the rocky creek bed with a loud
crash.
It
didn’t so much hurt as it made me mad. (Actually it did hurt...just don't want my wife to get upset in the unlikely event she should ever read this...or more likely some of my so-called "friends" (or my daughters) might just happen to tell her just to get me in trouble. She thinks I'm to old to be climbing steep creek banks and fighting off mountain lions. No...seriously...she really does...!)
It was now or never…once again I climbed to where I could reach the root and using it for both strength and balance climbed to where I could just barely see over the top ledge. In a last ditch effort…using my elbows for leverage…I managed to pull myself up to the top. Uncertain exactly where I was I now began the long walk back to the truck but not without first having to walk 300-yards through head high grass, weeds and thickets to get back to the trail.
NOTE: When you watch the fishing video please take note of some of the creek banks in the video to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation, my dilemma and the highly trained athletic ability honed over many, many years that was required to scale such an obstacle. Thank you. Did I mention "highly trained"?
On a serious note (hey..."highly trained" was serious!) what
was it in the creek bed? Fortunately I
didn’t find out. Would I do it all over
again? Yes, if it meant continuing to
bring you the most exciting, entertaining and educational fishing Blog in
Kansas…heck…probably any where in the world…! Maybe even the universe!
If you enjoy this Blog please let me know...it's the only "pay" I get for doing it you know..lol.
Until
next time…go fishing…just don’t do it on Fox Creek right now…!
PS:
I left my “weapon” lying along side the trail…just in case you decide to ignore
my advice....!
Clay
