Report from Cotter Trout Dock: Sept 19, 2009

Elk Adopts Fishermen Campers On Buffalo River  

(Photos are all from this trip.)

This is not a fishing story about "the one that got away".  Rather it is about "the one that would not go away". 

Friday, September 18, 2009 Cotter Trout Dock (guided fishing service) put in a one-boat camptrip at the Carver Access Point on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. We put in at Carver because it had rained hard the previous day and we were trying to get to where the water would clear up and drop out the fastest.

 The overnight trip was from Carver to Bakers Ford; about 26 miles.  The cook; Tyler Hudgins, motored down to a point halfway between Carver and the takeout point at Bakers Ford to set up camp.  As he pulled in to his selected camp spot, he noticed an approximate 250 pound elk calf standing there.  He walked up to about 15 feet of the calf and it just stayed there, so he proceeded to set up camp and get supper going.

 Later, the guide; Michael Flippin, pulled in with his two fishermen; Ray McIntyre and Mac McIntyre.  Ray happens to be an expert deer  bowhunter and has published a book "110 Percent Success Bowhunting Whitetails".  The calf was still around camp and stayed there all the time they were in camp.

Sometime during the night the calf decided to lay down against the outside of the tent and was actually pushing against Ray McIntyre who was laying in his cot inside the tent.  He poked at the calf thru the tent to get it to move, but it didn't move until he started hitting it several times.  When he finally got it to move, the calf got tangled in the tent ropes and pulled the tent partially down.

Later, Michael and Tyler were asleep under the fly when they heard footsteps crunching across the river rock about 3:00 AM.  Now, Michael had been watching Monster Quest on TV the day before about the hunt for Bigfoot, so he and Tyler were out of their cots real quick like and some words were said to the affect of "goodness me, I wonder what that is" (something like that).   The calf decided to join them under the cook fly.  They got it out from under the cook fly and the calf went over and looked in the tent window.  Mac McIntyre was looking out the window and was within inches of the elk's face.

The bass fishing was excellent except for the first morning when the water was apparently just a little too murky from all the rain the day before.

Email from Ray:

"  I am afraid my little micky mouse camera didn't do too well in the dark with the elk, sorry.  I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed taking them.
 
Thank you again.
 Ray"

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Ron and Debbie Gamble
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Cotter, Arkansas 72626

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