Bark river

Trip Overview

my wife and i decided to paddle the bark river to fort atkinson this is a multi day weekend task . Section 1 to 2 . This was pretty easy paddling we had only one section that we bottomed out at .other wise pretty easy excepf for the private bridges that were a slight challenge for my sit on top kayak . The water is really clear we saw 3 lrge snapping turtles , percn ,bass, carp . Very nice . Only down fall is you can still hear the road noise. about 2 hours

section 2-3 hwy 67 - hwy 18 . This section started out easy but had many rocky sections which were easy to navigate until we got right in town of dousman then we bottomed out in mud until we got under the bridge after that things went smooth for a while . This section had lots of switch backs and manyspots the bottom would go from rock to sand to mud to grass weed . This might be the most fishable section as there are areas go deeper in the corners . This section towards the end had 3 down trees that we had to get out and and carry kayack over but realtively easy . About 2-3 hours

section 3-4 hwy 18 - hwy county e . I found only one review prior to launch so this one was unknow how bad it could be the launch was very nice on the natrual part of the river nice sheltered from all the trees made for a easy start . Until you get to the man made channel this is nice a straight but all sand and unpredictable we would be crusing along and be fore you could turn you would bottom out in the sand walking in the sandi would sink about a foot in the sand hoping not to loose a shoe. This is right next to the bike trail so people can be seen in case you want out. Towards the end the sand turned to a light mud which stopped the bottom out . As the channel turned south is where the adventure begins lots and i mean lots of down trees to navigate some you can paddle fast end to hop over .others you are pulling yourself over by grabbing the spiderweb filled branches . We pushed on as we are closer to the end than the beginning . The closer we got to the take out the worse things got with trees many spots we found ourselves waist deep in water throwing the kayak over 2 times we had to portage in the grass as no other solution could be found . This section ma,es you feel like a real explorer and if you are afraid all the bugs slime and nature that comes with it then this is not for you . Looking at the shore line there are many more trees ready to drop . Trip was 6.9 miles and took 5 hours to navigate . Glad that section is done !!!

Section 4-5 length 4.5 miles 2hours 30 min . This section was quite tame only a few spots the water got low . More intresting part was the amount of carp in the river and lake. Paddling down the river you can see the carp sunning with their backs up out of the water just wiggling around until you get closer then they zoom into the deep . The river is Nice quiet channels protected by tall reeds. When you arrive at rome pond turn right to head towards the bridge some areas get shallow here to but not to hard to find the deeper sections . There are 2 kayak exits on rome pond one by "dig n cats"bar and grill another by the dam .