Big Sugar Creek

Summer outings with the whole family to a beautiful area with a crystal clear creek were the cats meow. Back in those days, the Big Sugar Creek area was pristine and we rarely saw other people on our outings. Here’s my story.

 

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Big Sugar Creek

 

 

On many of summer trips to Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, between 1951 and 1956, the whole family would pack up and drive north into Missouri and spent the day on the Big Sugar Creek. There was a lot of places we could access the Big Sugar Creek, so we would move around during the day to different locations and have a lot of fun. My brother, Craig, was just a baby during most of the early trips to Sugar Creek.

 

There was one location that had a concrete  road that damed the creek that always had an inch or two of water flowing over the road. It made a great place for young children to wade in the water. The water was deep just behind the road, so it was ideal for swimming also. The water in the creek was crystal clear and very cool making it even better on a hot summer day. The banks were lined with round multicolored stone that added to the beauty of the area.

 

This was a very fun area for children to wade and swim. We also spent a lot of time looking for crawdads under the rocks in the downstream area.

 

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We always brought a picnic lunch. My Mom would spread a blanket under a shade tree close to the creek and set up the picnic. We usually had my Grandmother Lucy’s home fried chicken with potato salad and baked beans. The food always tasted better in a beautiful outdoor location.

 

 

It was almost like being in dream world on those outdoor picnics out in the pristine area near the Big Sugar Creek. Craig’s in a crib behind that tree asleep.

 

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My Dad and I always brought our fly rods and found a good location to fish after we finished our lunch. My Uncle George, who lived next door to my Grandparents, had given me a bamboo fly rod and reel when I was 8 years old and my Dad actually taught me how to use it right there on Big Sugar Creek. We caught Large Blue Gill and Small Mouth Bass with wet streamer flys. Most of the Small Mouth Bass were small, but they were a lot of fun to catch on the fly rod. On one occasion, my Dad hooked a small Small Mouth Bass in a deep blue pool and as he was bringing him in, a very large catfish came out from under a rock and inhaled the bass. The battle suddenly changed from a fun retrieve to a serious battle. He fought the catfish for five or six minutes and suddenly the catfish saw him and made a fast run and snapped his fly rod about the middle. Without the pole in play, the line snapped immediately and the catfish was gone. It was very exciting to watch my Dad fight that large catfish for the few minutes he had him on.

 

Damn, there is a crippled Small Mouth Bass hung up on something. Looks like I eat good tonight. I’ll suck him in before he gets out of site.

 

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I think that I experienced my first tick on the scrotum ( see Tick On The Scrotum blog ) on one of those summer trips to the Big Sugar Creek.

Thanks for reading Big Sugar Creek,
Bill