Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AR 27 bridge - upper crossing AR 27, at Bayou Bluff | Bridge crossing | 35.52864, -92.94164 | Chain-km 0.0, 0.07 km off the centreline. The top of the mapped main stem, immediately below the junction of the North, Middle and East forks. OSM carries no name on the span; it is placed and labelled from ref=AR 27. |
| 2 | Bayou Bluff Recreation Area Ozark National Forest, on the bank | Park / conservation area | 35.52348, -92.94410 | Chain-km 0.6, 0.14 km off the centreline. Forest Service recreation area at the AR 27 crossing, operator tagged US Department of Agriculture - Forest Service. The first developed ground on the main stem below the forks. |
| 3 | AR 27 bridge - second crossing AR 27 | Bridge crossing | 35.50263, -92.97192 | Chain-km 6.9, 0.07 km off the centreline. Second of the two AR 27 spans on the forest reach; unnamed in OSM and labelled from its ref. Useful as the only other fixed landmark in the first 19 km. |
| 4 | USGS 07257500 - Illinois Bayou near Scottsville Reference gauge for this water page | USGS gauge | 35.46639, -93.04111 | Chain-km 19.1. Real-time flow, and the station the water page itself links. Coordinate taken from the site roster rather than typed by hand; it sits on the centreline at an unnamed tertiary road crossing 19 km below the forks. |
| 5 | AR 7 bridge at Dover AR 7, north edge of Dover | Bridge crossing | 35.41098, -93.13332 | Chain-km 33.9, 0.07 km off the centreline. Tagged State Route 7 North in OSM with ref=AR 7. The main highway crossing of the bayou and the practical dividing line between the forest float above and the backwater below. |
| 6 | Pleasant View Road bridge Pleasant View Road, north Russellville | Bridge crossing | 35.32040, -93.14486 | Chain-km 51.1, 0.06 km off the centreline. Named span on the channel in the backwater reach; a second Pleasant View Road bridge 0.23 km out is the same crossing and was not shipped twice. |
| 7 | Interstate 40 bridge I 40 | Bridge crossing | 35.30915, -93.15004 | Chain-km 52.6, 0.09 km off the centreline. The interstate crossing of the lower bayou, unnamed in OSM and labelled from ref=I 40. Two parallel carriageway spans and a proposed third were merged into this one point. |
| 8 | Bass Mafia Tackle Outdoors Tackle shop, Russellville | Point of interest | 35.29202, -93.15990 | Chain-km 53.5 but 1.67 km off the water, in Russellville - the only shop=fishing in the corridor that carries a name. The nearest tackle over the counter to the lower bayou and the Ouita ramps; the forest reach 30 km upstream has none. |
| 9 | Ouita Boat Launch Lake Dardanelle State Park, Ouita area | Access / boat ramp | 35.30626, -93.16504 | Chain-km 53.8, 0.38 km off the centreline. Two slipway lanes and a parking area tagged separately in OSM and shipped here as the one facility they are. The upper of the two Ouita-area ramps on the bayou arm. |
| 10 | Illinois Bayou Park On the bayou, west Russellville | Park / conservation area | 35.31948, -93.17759 | Chain-km 55.3, 0.50 km off the centreline. The one green space in the Russellville reach that OSM names for the bayou itself, which is what separated it from the city parks dropped nearby. |
| 11 | Ouita Launch Ramp At the US 64 crossing | Access / boat ramp | 35.31867, -93.18672 | Chain-km 56.5, 0.21 km off the centreline, where the bayou opens into Lake Dardanelle. A named ramp with a slipway node 16 m away and an unnamed service slipway 0.3 km upstream - one facility, one point. US 64 crosses here. |
| 12 | Lake Dardanelle State Park Visitor Center Arkansas State Parks | Agency / conservation office | 35.28307, -93.20312 | Chain-km 62.4, 0.53 km off the centreline, near the mouth. The staffed agency point for this water; the park's own polygon centroid 0.85 km out was dropped in its favour as the less precise of the two. |
Gauge: USGS 07257500 — Illinois Bayou near Scottsville, AR. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Longear Sunfish, Ozark Bass, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Walleye, White Crappie
Regulations: www.agfc.com/regulations/general-fishing-regulations/
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Scottsville - the gauge reach, with a county road crossing and gravel bar access.
Highway 27 crossing - the common upper put-in for a float through the middle reach.
Lake Dardanelle backwater - the lower end, with ramps reaching the slack water.
Russellville - the nearest town of size, with supplies, lodging and guides.
Ozark National Forest - public ground on the upper forks with walk-in access.
Hickey Crossing - a mid-stream gravel crossing used as a take-out.
East Fork confluence - the upper limit of dependable float water.
Spring: the best float conditions of the year, with smallmouth active as the water warms.
Summer: low clear water, topwater at dawn and dusk, and a good deal of walking between pools.
Fall: cooling water brings the smallmouth back on and the crappie move in the lower reach.
Winter: slow in the stream, with the Dardanelle backwater holding the better winter fishing.