Red Creek in Mississippi

Trip Overview

Me and a friend had planned on launching early in the morning to avoid the heat and provide plenty of time for the float. Our trip would begin at City Bridge Rd. and we would leisurely paddle approximately 10 miles to a friend's property located near Hwy 15.

I had studied Red Creek on Google Earth and took screen shots of it with my phone so I could refer back to them while paddling. I needed to save my phone battery since I would be gone for two days and didn't want to be constantly opening my iPhone map to see where we were at. I noticed on the map that we would pass two islands along the way. I made a mental note of the distances between the two islands and our destination which made an easy landmark to gauge our ETA by. I would call them "Small Island" and "Big Island".

On the morning of our trip we got off to a late start, leaving my house around 9:30 a.m. We both had a late night considering the day before was the 4th of July. My wife drove us from our home and I made arrangements for her to pick up my friend later in the afternoon at our destination. I planned to camp out for the night on the property.

We arrived at the launch and we were on the water by 10:15 a.m. The river was at 5 1/2 feet (normal of about 4 feet I think) and it had a nice current to push us along our way. I immediately knew I would enjoy this trip. I told my friend I hoped to see a soft shell turtle.

In about the first two miles we passed a few homes/camps sitting behind a white sand bar. Past that, the creek became quite desolate and only a few sandbars appeared to be accessible by land. We stopped on one of the many sand bars and ate our lunch and waded around the cool water. We threw our fishing line into the water a few times to no avail before continuing down the creek.

As we floated the clear water I was able to get a glimpse of that soft shelled turtle I had hoped to see. It was only a quick glimpse though as it swam from the shallows to deeper water in a flash. A short time later I would see a large slider swimming along side of me as it too attempted to find deeper water to disappear into.

About halfway we came across two guys who were wade fishing up the creek. They had been catching bream and redbellies. They said they had come from a camp a little further down the creek. We came across the camp a short time later. It was a small wooden home up an embankment with wooden stairs leading down to the waters edge. Two ladies were laying out in lawn chairs in the shallow water. We waved and floated on by. We soon heard the screeches of a hawk. It would fly from tree to tree keeping a close eye on us as it continued to warn us that we were too close to it's home. I assumed it had young in it's nest. It stopped following us after a short distance but continued to screech until we were out of ear shot.

The paddling was very easy and it was mostly to keep us going in a straight line or to maneuver around a downed tree. There were only a few places that required us dragging the kayaks across a shallow stretch. And those sections were only for a few feet in distance. We stopped again on a shady sand bar and took a swim in the cool water.

As we continued on, we attempted to fish but the current would move us along a little to fast for it. I managed to throw my line into tree branches on several occasions as well. I would fight the current to go back and retrieve the brand new lure my friend had let me borrow. In the shallows my friend would test his skill at standing up on his kayak. He was able to do so without falling or tipping. I don't think my ride would be that stable.

Near the end of our trip was a long straight stretch of deeper darker water in which the current was not as strong. We soon approached "Small Island" and I knew we were close to our destination. We arrived at our destination at 4:15 p.m. and my friend and owner of the property was there with his family. The property has gorgeous oak trees and a large sand bar. He had been fishing and had better luck than us. Before he left with his family he gave me some fish for dinner.

My wife arrived a while later and picked up my friend and left me with my 8 year old daughter to stay the night on the property. I pitched my daughter's tent and hung my hammock from couple of oak trees nearby. We made a fire and cooked the fish my friend had left for me. My daughter crawled in her tent around 9:00 p.m. and I stayed up awhile longer sitting by the fire and reflecting on what a great day it had been. My wife returned the following day with my other two daughters and we enjoyed the day at the creek.

Outfitting:

Field and Stream Talon
Jackson Big Tuna

Fees:

No fees or permits

Directions:

Put in: From Gulfport, MS, drive North on Hwy 49 into Stone County and turn East on Wire Rd. Drive East to City Bridge Rd. and turn North. Drive to bridge, launch is on south side.

Take out: From Wire Rd. at City Bridge drive East on Wire Rd. to Hwy 15. Drive North on Hwy 15 to the bridge. Take out on North side of bridge.

Resources:

Red Creek Blueway webpage