Styx River Revisited

Styx River

For the first time since Emma Krouse was born on 10/4/08, I had a special opportunity to take several days to do some paddling and fishing. In January, rain systems and temperatures play a big role in what is fishable and/or floatable throughout the state. The best plan is to have no formal plan until the day of the trip. I researched different ideas through the holidays, and the weekend of 1/3-1/4 finally arrived. We finalized the best of our options and hit the water on Saturday 1/3.The 2009 paddling season started out strong with big rains in December. There was a solid base flow throughout the state… However, we were a little short on recent rainfall for whitewater runs (other than the Locust and the Mulberry) by Saturday, 1/3. Big rains were expected Saturday night, so we chose to do a blackwater floatfishing trip on Saturday, with the hopes for some Central Alabama whitewater on Sunday 1/4.

We started out with the Styx River for some bass action.

Styx River

Trip Report

Level: Low/good
Flow: 150 cfs, falling slowly
Gauge: Styx at Elsanor
Clarity: Clear
Weather: Near 70 - Cloudy skies, occasional showers
Section: CR 87 to Seminole


















I’m not quite sure why I do this every 2-3 years. It’s a long paddle - approximately 13 miles. The river is pretty well trashed with beer cans, water bottles, and other remains. An outfitter sets up tubing and paddling trips on the upper section from Wilcox Road- CR 87 section. So, the river is a wasteland in the lower section. At this level there are 2-3 logs that you have to pull a boat over, and one major logjam to carry up and around. You also have 2-3 miles of flatwater and tidal flow at the end. The take out at HW 90 is also a bit of an issue. Parking is not allowed around the bridge, so you have to make arrangements with one of the stores in Seminole to leave a vehicle a ¼ mile up the road. The bottom line is that this float takes all day and you better start early.




















Is the fishing worth it ? Well… I guess so. There are largemouth and spotted bass, along with a number of bream. We probably caught 30 or so fish between the two canoes.