Caddo River - Reregulation Dam to I-30
July 10, 2023
by Kent Walters
This was a quick and easy paddle to reinforce this short, convenient route in my mind. We left Bismarck just ahead of 7:30, and Sam, his son Nathan and grandson Sam met me at the put-in where we startled a cottontail rabbit and unloaded the kayaks. Nathan and I drove to the take-out to leave a truck, and came back to the put-in,. We prepped our kayaks, and I started the GPS. Yes, I remembered to start the GPS before we launched this time, mirabile dictu.
Prepping the boats at yet another tough put-in
The Reregulation Dam above the Put-In
We were on the water by 8:15, drifting over a shallow gravel bar between grassy and flowered shores. It was very peaceful, and we did nothing to disturb that peace. Nathan and little Sam did some fishing as we floated downstream. Big Sam and I sat back and enjoyed watching the gossamer dragonflies and damselflies darting and shimmering over the water in the low-angled sunlight. There were butterflies and water beetles adding to the quiet commotion.
Little Sam fishing
Big Sam is soaking in the peace
About half an hour into the paddle, Nathan pulled his kayak up on a gravel bank and tilted it up - water poured out of it through the drain and through a can-sized hole in the hull near the bow. I got out my handy-dandy tool kit and some Flex Seal tape, and we bandaged it up well enough to go the rest of the way with no more of the shifting ballast challenges he was experiencing.
Everyone pitched in to fix the hole in the hull
There were about a dozen entertaining riffles, but nothing tricky. Toward the end of the route, there was a large lake-like area off to the side which we explored. This is where we saw our only large wading bird, which I could not figure out. I sent a couple of photos to Bruce, and he said, “That is a limpkin! A little while ago they were considered rare outside of Florida. Now, they are turning up from Texas to Wisconsin.” Well, we know at least one of them is in Arkansas.
Sam in his Bismarck-class camouflaged battleship kayak guarding
the entrance to the side lake area
Kent in his just-out-of-drydock Pyranha Fusion (skeg mechanism fixed)
Wildlife sightings consisted of the rabbit we saw at the put-in, a couple of turkey vultures circling overhead, the insects, a few turtles, the limpkin, and two fish that somehow managed to get themselves hooked – a goggle-eye bass and another bass of some kind.
Parked at the take-out
LESSONS LEARNED:
Reinforced: Bring the repair/tool kit every time
New: When patching an irregular area, don’t try to cover it all with one piece of tape. Use smaller pieces of tape and shingle or mate segments from stern to bow. Maybe add an extra and bigger shingled “shield” layer to the front-most two segments.
Please see photo album Caddo River - ReGen Dam to I-30
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The author, Kent Walters |