Like many Arkansas sportsmen, I list the smallmouth bass as one of my very favorite game fish. Although lacking the gaping maws of their bucketmouth cousins, these handsome, slow-growing fish are aggressive predators that willingly take artificial lures, flies and bait. Perhaps best of all, bronzebacks prefer cool, clear moving water, and so live in some of the state's most remote and ruggedly beautiful territory.

Smallmouths are fish that are worth extra effort, though, and some of my best fishing memories involve finding smallmouths in remote waters on national forest land by following winding creeks and their tributaries on foot. With a little determination and a few starting points on some of the Natural State's best smallmouth waters, you can enjoy adventurous smallmouth bass fishing, too.

TRIALS AND TRIBUTARIES
In our younger days, my best fishing buddy, Dan Howard of Little Rock, and I spent countless happy hours hiking through parts of the Ouachita National Forest in search of seldom-fished creeks that might hold a few smallmouths.

Our technique for locating secluded fishing holes couldn't have been simpler: After parking our vehicle where year-round creeks crossed roads in the national forest, we hiked along the creeks, exploring branches and casting inline spinners, jigs and tiny crankbaits into every likely-looking hole. Our primary tools were topo maps, patience and sturdy footwear.

Obviously, this strategy is no startling revelation, but what made the outings so successful was our enthusiasm for seeing what lay just around the next bend. We were willing to follow the shoreline trails or wade or twist our way through brush and briars just a little farther than most of the others who'd been there before us.

When we got out of sight of human intrusion, we also found ourselves in the range of better fishing. We often located fish-filled pools a little as a 100 or 200 yards off the road and surrounded by the prints of only deer, raccoons and the occasional bear. We also learned that you'll find some of the best holes by looking up, where you'll notice sunlight pouring into distant openings in the forest canopy that indicate open water below.

While Dan and I did our smallmouth-stalking on foot, you'll cover even more ground and avoid any chances of trespassing on private property by using a canoe. Here's a quick review of some of the best places in the state from which to start your next smallmouth adventure.

OUACHITA RIVER
The stretches of the Ouachita River and its tributaries that lie within the Ouachita National Forest in western Arkansas' Montgomery County are perfect examples of the types of water my buddy Dan and I explored for great smallmouth fishing. The 40 or so miles of the Ouachita from Pine Ridge into Lake Ouachita provide outstanding smallmouth action, and they're surrounded by public land with plenty of feeder creeks.