Attached are a few pictures from our last trip in Oklahoma. This is from the lower Illinois river. The weather was perfect, the Trout and Striper fishing was excellent and mom and the kids had a great time too... The state record Striped Bass at 47 pounds was caught right behind our campsite. I did not have that kind of luck this trip but will be back. I saw several over 30 pounds but could not get them to bite. My largest was 22 pounds.

Fishing is one of my favorite pastimes... Sadly, it's been too many years since I last went. Looks like a nice area to fish.

Great pics too. Thanks for sharing.

Bill,
That is way too long my friend. I want to hear about your next fishing trip. And, if you ever take that beautiful Barth across country I am always looking for any excuse to wet a line.
I lost my fishing buddy a few years back. My grandfather put a pole in my hands about the time I started walking. I vaguely remember our first and will never forget our last fishing trip together. On this last trip my 6 year old boy finally took too it. He has been with me a hundred times over the last few years and never really got into it. But, on this trip something happened, everyday he would grab his pole and say Daddy I am going fishing and head down to the river. The smile on my face was a mile wide as I grabbed my pole and joined him or just let him go by himself and watched from camp and I couldn't help but wonder if this is what my grandpa saw and felt when we were together.
My son caught a few but that was not really the point. In this hectic, fast paced world of Internet, email, cell phones and text messages the fish could care less about all of that and fishing helps me to unplug, relax and do the same. Grandpa always said that is why it is called fishing and not catching.

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Grandpa always said that is why it is called fishing and not catching.

Grandpa knew the true meaning of life.

Nice pictures what a great place to camp, WOW a 47 pound Bass, I was thrilled to death to catch a 18 pounder. What a great trip.

Fishing is also an exceptional excuse to play with boats!

ditto on fishing/catching... a lot like hunting versus shooting. I hunt fairly often, hardly ever shoot anything.

My Barth runs have been mainly long haul but we plan some more short trips soon. Your pictures are very relaxing just to look at!

This was a good striper season due to the heat. The lower illinois river comes out of the dam at lake tenkiller. The water stays between 50 and 60 degrees all summer. It is one of only a couple of trout streams in Oklahoma and the big stripers come from the gulf of mexico, up the mississipi to the arkansas river. They come into the lower illinois when it gets hot to chase the trout. That is what most people catch them on. We will go trout fishing in the morning and use them as bait for the stripers. People were catching a lot of fish between 10 and 30 pounds this year. The guy camped next to us fished all night the night before we left and caught 22 stripers all over 10 pounds and two over 20. I want to go back one more time this year before the fish head back into the arkansas river. This place is kind of a secret in Oklahoma so ssshhh don't tell anyone.

Steve,
I love boats, always have. That was one reason to justify the Barth. I know they are a hole in the water you just throw money into but I can't help it. With the family I had to settle for the fish and ski but it has turned out to be not much of a settle. I have fished her in less than a foot of water and then pulled the kids on the tube all afternoon. In Oklahoma Will Rogers once said if you don't like the weather wait a minute. So true and this boat has a full rain top (which we have had to use on several occasions) that a full on bass rig does not have. She will also run at 60 mph all day. Not the fastest but fast enough.
I agree with you on the hunting and maybe even more so. You really have to be in tune with nature on a true hunt. I haven't done that in years loved it, I am laughing at the thought of how many deer I shot with my camera instead of my gun. I guess I just got more pleasure out of watching them instead of shooting them..just me. Our trips this year have been the short trips. I am working up the nerve for a long haul. I don't completely trust my mechanical abilities that so many of you guys have and I don't completely trust the Barth yet. She has not let me down and pulls the boat like a dream. I did not even know it was back there until I hit a really steep hill. I have read on this site that the extension could break but so far no problems. One day I may have my diesel pusher but we just wanted to see if we would use it first.

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Fishing is also an exceptional excuse to play with boats

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he will sit on a boat and drink beer all day. Allah does not deduct from a man's life the time he spends fishing.

Growing up in Missouri, we spent a lot of time on lazy rivers in Arkansas and Missouri. Love that campsite on the bank.