Sylamore Creek

[ccroom]

Do any of ya'll know where I can access the Sylamore for wade fishing? I'm not familiar with that area and I'm staying the weekend over there. I think we are staying at the Redbud motel the first night and possibly camping at Blanchard Springs the next. Any help will be appreciated.

[octoberbuck]

Here is a link to the USGS drainage map and geological info. Hook it up to a county road map and you can find the areas you're looking for. There was a lot of rain North of there this weekend and some late last week. The creek was rather low at Allison Sunday afternoon. Hope this helps. Click for the PDF version and you'll see the map. Interesting read.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1173/circ1173b/chapter02.htm

[Earnhardt fan #1]

Get in touch with Sylamore he knows that area better than anyone else here:thumb:

[Sylamore]

About 1/4 mile up stream from the White River the Sylamore splits into North Sylamore Creek and South Sylamore Creek.

Blanchard Springs Recreation campground is located on North Sylamore Cr.
The water is pretty low right now and the fishing is rather slow. If you walk the creek in the day time you would swear there is not a fish in the creek. But if you fish at night you will not believe the size of the Smallmouth Bass you can catch. I would wade down stream from the Blanchard swimming area and fish the holes of water with a brown tube bait or a 1/4 oz. jig/#11 pork rind in brown or black.

On South Sylamore Creek I would put in at the highway 87 bridge and fish the holes down stream. South Sylamore is a bigger cr. and has better holes of water in it.

You can get USGS Maps at the Blanchard Caverns visitor center and that would show where the public roads cross the creeks.

Basically fish at night, take plenty of insect repellent and be careful about snakes. Good luck! :thumb: :thumb:

[Cache]

The smallmouth fishing is my favorite up there, but to add some variety you may wanna go for some trout in Mirror Lake too.

Cache

[Deerman]

I found something that works real good on smallmouths, at least in Sylamore Creek. There are some small very thin plastic worms called trout worms that you can buy at Wal-Mart in the trout section, they cost under a dollar. Carolina rig them up just like you would a larger plastic worm for large mouths on the same size hook you'd use for largemouths and fish them just like you would for largemouths. Purple seems to work the best for me in Syllamore, but they really seem to like them.

[ccroom]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've never fished a stream at night, but I nightfish lakes all the time. I will give it a try for sure. That c-rigged trout worm sounds like a good choice. I tie my own custom skirts on the bass jigs. A ballhead finesse worm is hard to beat as well. What about topwater?

[Sylamore]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've never fished a stream at night, but I nightfish lakes all the time. I will give it a try for sure. That c-rigged trout worm sounds like a good choice. I tie my own custom skirts on the bass jigs. A ballhead finesse worm is hard to beat as well. What about topwater?

Might try a couple different size solid Black Jetterbugs. Be sure to take a first aid kit for dislocated sholders, broken arms, etc. Those smallmouth are mean. :thumb:

[ccroom]

I got those black jitterbugs but never use them. I guess I should dig them out of that hug pile of tackle in my house.

[Deerman]

Black jitterbugs work real good at night. I caught the biggest smallmouth I've ever caught on a black jitterbug right under the bluff at Blanchard Springs campground in the swimming area past the low water bridge. It was around midnight and a group had just left from swimming, I'd never thought that hole would hold a big bass.

[ccroom]

Wow, thats way cool Deerman. I will be camping there. I packed a black jitterbug into my tackle box last night.

[Gobbles]

how big was it deerman

[ccroom]

how big was it deerman,
yeah?

[Sylamore]

Black jitterbugs work real good at night. I caught the biggest smallmouth I've ever caught on a black jitterbug right under the bluff at Blanchard Springs campground in the swimming area past the low water bridge. It was around midnight and a group had just left from swimming, I'd never thought that hole would hold a big bass.

Let me guess. I'd say 3.5 lbs and about 18.25 inches long. I have caught a lot of Smallmouth that size in both north and south Sylamore Creeks.
The largest I ever saw was caught by my buddy and it was over 5 lbs., also caught on a black jbug at night. :thumb:

[Deerman]

Good guess! It was around 3lbs. I sure wouldn't have thought there would be anything that big in that swimming hole. Sylamore is the only place I've ever really fished for smallmouths, but I've caught few in Greers Ferry lake that weren't too big. Does anyone know of any good smallmouth streams in Cleburne County?

[Sylamore]

Good guess! It was around 3lbs. I sure wouldn't have thought there would be anything that big in that swimming hole. Sylamore is the only place I've ever really fished for smallmouths

Did it look something like this:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/Sylamore/Im000289.jpg

My son got this one out of the mouth of Sylamore Cr at the White River in 2003. :thumb:

[ccroom]

nice smallie. I will try to catch one of those this weekend. Post photos next week.

[ccroom]

Mt.View was awesome this weekend. It was really HOT. We stayed at the redbud inn thurs/friday nights. Sat/sunday nights we camped at the swinging bridge, don't remember the name of the resort though. I enjoyed the live folk music saturday night. We visited a couple of craft stores on the main st. that were awesome. I finally got to do some fishing after all my honey-does were completed. We paddled/drug a canoe to the N/S Sylamore junction under the 14 bridge. You could feel cold water when you stepped on certain areas of gravel. Its amazing how far the water retreats into these creeks when they are generating. Its a tidal situation of sorts. Very unique. Anyway, I caught several bass on a senko but they were small. A storm rolled in saturday evening and thats when I caught a 4 pounder undere the swinging bridge. I was throwing a white zoom horny toad around laydowns and boulders. The big fish was the only one that bite the buzztoad. It was a blast. I will post pictures as soon as thgey get developed.

[Sylamore]

Good to hear you had a good time and caught a big fish. Was it a smallmouth or large mouth bass? :thumb:

[ccroom]

It was the only LMB that I caught. All the other fish were smallies. I really didn't spend much time fishing. That should tell you how good the Sylamore Creek can be this time of year. I hope to return soon.

[Gobbles]

ccroom that was the Holiday Mountian Resort yall were staying at it is a great place we are lifetime members there. If you walk down the creek the other way not toward hwy 14 bridge you can catch some nice sized smallies. I have been fishing that creek for 15yrs

[ccroom]

http://www.heavygator.com/Photos/data/media/1/Swinging_Bridge.jpg

[Sylamore]

Good photo and a nice looking Bass. Just down stream from where you were standing, I caught several about the same size over the years. Glad you had lots of fun. :thumb:

[ccroom]

Im ready for a return trip. Its weird how the White pushes a tide in there when they generate. It real unique. The aquatic vegetation was loaded with baitfish and bass. There was more vegetation there than any other Ozark stream that I've fished. Its the reason I chose a weedless buzz bait like the zoom horny toad.

[Gobbles]

man thats a nice one there ccroom i've got a picture of one i caught back in march its about 3lbs. I usually use a brown, pumpkin colored tube bait (or some refer to them as gitzits) to catch the small mouth on and occasionally some large mouth. there is also some good catfishing around that swinging bridge.

[ccroom]

catfish? I should try for them too.

[Gobbles]

shoot yeah we usually catch them at night on shad that we catch out of the creek there or catapala worms, sometimes on crawdads never really did good with chicken liver. the biggest we have caught was an 8lb blue

[Ozarkian]

Hello folks! I'm new here and am going to start off by asking some questions about Sylamore creek as my wife and myself are wanting to go over there and do some squirrel hunting in the morning and evenings and fishing mid day and at night. My wife especially wants to do some catfishing. 1. Does Gunner pool have any catfishing in it? 2. Where is the swinging bridge from Blanchard Spring caverns and 3. How far up creek from the White river can you do some catfishing? We are planning on camping 3 or 4 days. Thanks in advance for any advice and answers to my questions.
BTW, I live up north of Pocahontas in the Warm Springs area. I see there are several on here from around these parts. Thanks again.
Ozarkian

[ccroom]

Ozarkian,
YOu want to fish as close to Allison as possible. The two Sylamore Creeks merge there and dump into the white. blanchard is about 10-15 miles west of Allison. I think anything around gunner or blanchard is too low right now. The swinging bridge is located at Holiday Mountain resort. They have real good rates and you can use theirs canoes free of charge:razz:

[Ozarkian]

Thanks for the info ccroom. We are palnning on doing the primitive camping thing somewhere in the National Forest along Sylamore creek. As low as it sounds like the water is the fishing part might be off for now. We have always primitive camped as we like getting out back as far as we can away from it all most of the time. However this time we will be bringing a couple of 4wheelers so we can ride a few of the unrestricted trails to just look around. Again thanks.

[TheBattman]

That ain't no smallmouth!! Still a nice wadefishing bass!

[Sylamore]

Thanks for the info ccroom. We are palnning on doing the primitive camping thing somewhere in the National Forest along Sylamore creek. As low as it sounds like the water is the fishing part might be off for now. We have always primitive camped as we like getting out back as far as we can away from it all most of the time. However this time we will be bringing a couple of 4wheelers so we can ride a few of the unrestricted trails to just look around. Again thanks. I would recommend the Push Mountain area on the East Side of the road. I think the road number is 314. It is a paved road. The West side of the road is the Leatherwood Wilderness, so don't go in there with 4-Wheeler's. I would recommend you stay on the FS roads with the Wheelers or you can walk off into the head of North Sylamore Cr. and see some wonderful country. Forget the fishing for now unless you go down toward the White River. If you are going to squirrel hunt just look for hickory trees.
You can call the FS at 269-3228 for more info. or to order maps. Maps are also available at the Blanchard Springs Caverns Visitor Center. :thumb:

[Ozarkian]

Thank You for the reply Sylamore, I appreciate it.
Ozarkain

[ccroom]

That ain't no smallmouth!! Still a nice wadefishing bass!

Lets see, I guess you missed this post.
"It was the only LMB that I caught. All the other fish were smallies."

It was fun for sure. Anybody that thinks the creeks get too low for fishing is dead wrong. Sept. is one of the finest months of the whole year for creek fishing.