Making way from NE Alabama to NE TX over father's day weekend. Looking for the best campground and fishing spot along the way.

Two suggestions are Lake Catherine and Degray, anybody with experience at these two places? Will tent camp, and preferably find a canoe rental to float down a river, paddle around the lake, etc. and fish for a couple days.

Other suggestions along the I-40 or I-30 corridors?

If you want a great paddle, you need to go a little further North. Buffalo River is an annual trip for me. Gilbert. Buffalo Camping and Canoeing.

bkag9824 said:

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Making way from NE Alabama to NE TX over father's day weekend. Looking for the best campground and fishing spot along the way.

Two suggestions are Lake Catherine and Degray, anybody with experience at these two places? Will tent camp, and preferably find a canoe rental to float down a river, paddle around the lake, etc. and fish for a couple days.

Other suggestions along the I-40 or I-30 corridors?

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Just spent the weekend at DeGray - beautiful area and deep clear water lake. Rent anything from kayak / canoe to a pontoon boat in the lake. You can also rent tubes and take a float down the Caddo river below the dam. You can also drive an hour upriver and rent a canoe in Glenwood to float the upper Caddo river. Lots of options and the area is where the Ouachita mountains start. Right off of I-30

River fishing will be easier than lake - fish are mostly in deep water and hard to find. Got skunked this past weekend on lake.

Without diverting much off your path, Degray State Park and Caddo River are your best choice.

Petit Jean State Park is about an hour and a half northwest of your route; but it is spectacular with waterfalls, scenic views, historic lodge, rock formations and hiking trails. There is a lake with canoe, kayak
and small boat rentals. Depending on your destination in NE Texas you could take Hwy. 71 from there and come back into Texas on Hwy 259 and hit I-30 between New Boston and Mt. Pleasant to not back track.

Take 87Flyfisher's recs. He knows stuff.

I leaned toward recommending the Buffalo simply because it's my favorite spot and I'm going there pretty soon.

I spent many years going to college not far from Lake DeGray. It is a beautiful spot and the poster above who mentioned the caddo is dead on. As beautiful as it is I still don't think it holds a candle to the north part of the state.

If you pass by ship and shore liquor ( or it's remnants) on scenic highway 7 just inside the county line coming from Arkadelphia, see if my old college fake ID is still on display there.

Some of my greatest college experiences literally involved bringing quantities of alcohol that would justify a bootlegging charge, into a dry county to party with people at a Baptist University who can and were frequently kicked out of school for indulging in alcohol.

I believe the risk made it more fun and memorable....

Thank y'all. Sounds like Degray will be the place. What's best to throw on the river? I'll be paddling while my son fishes, not above worms if they help increase the odds.

We were just near Murfreesboro, staying on the Little Missouri River, below Lake Greeson. There are a couple of access points along Hwy 19. We fished the Hinds Bluff Access point and caught 5 different species in 30 minutes. It was great. The main run had rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, rock bass, spottee bass and sunfish. It was a good time!

On the fly rod, black woolly buggers and green woolly buggers caught every species for me. My brother in law was fishing convention and crawdad imitations were working best for him.

bkag9824 said:

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Thank y'all. Sounds like Degray will be the place. What's best to throw on the river? I'll be paddling while my son fishes, not above worms if they help increase the odds.

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zoom fat Albert grubs on a long shank 1/8-1/4 oz jighead( green pumpkin is best), 4" zoom flukes, and Ned rigs. Small Black buzz baits early morning / late evening.

If you can catch some crawdads, they are your best live bait option for smallies.

I special order my jig heads from spotsticker since they are hard to find over here in Texas. They are an Ga based company around Lanier lake so you may be able to find them locally
https://spotsticker.com/product-category/ball-heads/

Where do you live in NE Alabama - I worked for ten years in the paper industry in that area - absolutely loved the rivers and lakes all along the Tennessee river

Great info, thanks.

Son going to summer camp in NE Alabama and then another one the following week in NE TX. So this stop is in between the two.

bkag9824 said:

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Great info, thanks.

Son going to summer camp in NE Alabama and then another one the following week in NE TX. So this stop is in between the two.

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Camp Jackson or Comer ? Those were our home camp when we lived in Scottsboro

Comer - first time going for the Troop

bkag9824 said:

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Comer - first time going for the Troop

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that is a great camp - and they have three acre lake on the property that has some really good bass fishing. ( separate of the events lake for swimming and boating merit badges) Haven't been there in over 25 years but they always had a great patriotic assembly in the morning and evenings before meals. Enjoy - it is a great place in a beautiful location

Greers Ferry Lake is about an hour north of I-40 but is the cleanest lake in the state. My family has had land and a business there since 1986. My father lives there. Trout fishing on Little Red River, trolling around the lake and even hiking Sugar Loaf Mountain (the one in the lake, not by Heber Springs) are great to do there. Dam Site, Shiloh, Narrow's or Devil's Fork are great places to tent camp. Beautiful area and not overly crowded. I'd put it up against any lake in the state. I've also lived in Arkansas just about my entire life.

Regardless of what you choose, enjoy your time here!

The only thing TexasAGGIEinAR left out is the very important fact that Cleburne County, and every county that surrounds it, are completely dry. Plan and pack accordingly.