Cedar Creek Lake offers small bass, but impressive scenery
Outdoor writer and photographer Corbet Deary is featured regularly in The Sentinel- Record. Today, Deary writes about Cedar Creek Lake.
When lake fishing is mentioned, most folks here in the Ouachitas automatically think about the reservoirs located within minutes of Hot Springs, and rightfully so. Lakes Ouachita, Catherine, Hamilton and DeGray are all productive and easily accessible fisheries.
I, too, gravitate toward these reservoirs. But, every now and then, I find myself longing to try different waters. It’s not necessarily a matter of finding better fishing. Instead, I look forward to new scenery and avoiding the masses.
When afflicted with this need, I pitch the kayak atop my rig and head for Perry County. This neighboring county sports six watersheds, all of which are situated in areas that are prone to flooding.
Although these reservoirs are effective at controlling, or at the least slowing, high waters along the nearby South Fourche LaFave River, they are also great fishing destinations. The small lakes provide habitat for bass, catfish, bream and crappie to thrive.
And although not capable of supporting the yields of the aforementioned lakes in the vicinity of Hot Springs, these reservoirs don’t see remotely the fishing pressure. In turn, they provide pretty good action and occasionally cough up a dandy.
Last week, Hack and I decided to visit one of Perry County’s hidden jewels. One of the younger of the six reservoirs, Cedar Creek Lake was built in 1998. Having previously fished the watershed lake, I recalled catching several small bass. But that was no indication a trophy wasn’t swimming within its perimeters.
And even if it once again failed to produce anything of impressive stature, it would certainly provide us with plenty of beautiful scenery. And knowing the area was secluded in the Winona Wildlife Management Area and abundant with wildlife, there was a chance we might have an opportunity to see a few native critters going about their everyday rituals, as well.
Arriving at the ramp shortly after daylight, we were greeted with a blanket of fog hovering over the water’s surface. Although the air was thick with moisture, I could see the faint outline of the partially submerged standing timber located in the pocket where we would slide our boats into the water.
Hack began paddling toward the timber and within a few casts had tied into his first battle of the morning. The bass was small, but at least the fish were biting and, hopefully, bigger fish awaited father from the ramp.
Although Hack had experienced a tad of success in the timber early on, I opted to travel along the right- hand bank in the opposing direction. The shoreline I would be fishing was steep and somewhat rocky. Hack would be paddling toward the nearby dam and I would be heading along the edge of the main body of water, in the direction of where the creek fed into the 86- acre reservoir.
The direction I chose to travel would eventually lead into a maze of timber located in the back of the reservoir. And I would have an opportunity to try all types of terrain in between. Deep, shallow, rocky and brushy terrain was ahead. So I would hopefully manage to locate the habitat in which the fish were holding while the sun remained low in the horizon the bass was still interested in biting.
The chugger I was casting proved productive upon reaching the first rocky point. But both of the bass, however, were rather small. Continuing alongside the shoreline, I managed to entice a couple more into hitting the lure, but neither managed to stick.
The sun began to peek over the eastern horizon and cut through the fog just about the time I reached a maze of standing timber. The scene was incredible, as the quality of light changed by the second.
I first noticed a reflection in the water as the sun illuminated a few white puffy clouds suspended in a blue sky. Diffused by the fog, which by now had started to lift, the scene was subtle and appeared as a watercolor.
As the sun climbed higher, the background changed noticeably. Topping the distant mountain, the harsh light suddenly cut through the moisture- laden atmosphere. A scene of which was so soft only seconds earlier suddenly grew vibrant, as a beam of light reflected across the water’s surface.
The contrast of harsh light beaming on the water accentuated the standing timber. And as the sun quickly grew higher in the sky, I once again noticed the reflection of a blue sky on the water’s smooth surface. But the standing timber that was earlier hidden in the fog was now producing incredible reflections. It was a sight to behold.
Peering to the south, I noticed a distant Forked Mountain watching over the Winona WMA. I had seen this rugged and beautiful mountain from angles throughout the years, and had actually climbed to atop its peak. But this was my first perspective from the water, and the reflection made the view twice as admirable.
Paddling father into the maze of timber, I noticed a ripple on the surface. Before long, a minnow hastily skipped across the water as a bass suddenly bolted and made waves, while chasing its next potential meal.
Casting within inches of the activity, I began chugging the lure toward the yak. Within a couple twitches of the rod tip, the fish attacked my presentation. This one was large enough to keep. But I released it back to the water and paddled deeper into the maze of cover.
I noticed yet another commotion, and quickly maneuver the craft within casting distance. But this time, I was obviously dealing with multiple fish. As the school of bass churned, I cast beyond them and began retrieving the lure in their direction.
Once again, the presentation was more than they could resist. In fact, I managed to coax two into the boat before the feeding frenzy ended and they disappeared into the depths.
As the morning progressed, several more bass eased to and fed at the surface, giving away their whereabouts. Although I enjoyed the action, not a single bass proved impressive; in fact, very few would have been large enough to reach the frying pan.
As the sun continued to grow higher in the sky, Hack and I eventually opted to call it a day. While paddling back to the launching ramp, we both agreed that this lake was full of small bass.
But we were also confident a few linkers likely lurked in the depths. And we had still not tried our hands at fishing for crappie and bream. That in mind, we eagerly awaited our next visit to Cedar Creek Lake.
To get to Cedar Creek Lake from Hot Springs, take Highway 7 north. Travel 13.7 miles north of Jessieville School and turn right onto Trail 86, beside the Hollis Volunteer Fire Department. Go 3.9 miles on Trail 86 and turn left onto a dirt road. Travel 0.8 miles, turn right at the Cedar Creek Lake sign and follow the road 0.3 miles to the ramp.