Piney Creek - Izard County
Piney Creek is a winding tributary of the White River that begins in northern Izard County and flows about 18 miles to its confluence with the White, 3 miles downstream of Calico Rock. The watershed is composed primarily of hardwood and cedar forest, extensive limestone glade, and pasture land. The upper 1/2 of the stream runs through dolomitic limestone formations, the lower half through sandstone and shale. Most of the stream is less than 50 feet wide, few deep pools are present, and much of the stream is habitat limited. The bottom of the stream consists mainly of sand in the pools, and gravel in shoals and riffles with some bedrock and boulders. The flow of the creek is strongly influenced by spring water. Spring boils are numerous along the creek in sandy areas. The stream is privately owned so - GET LANDOWNER PERMISSION BEFORE FISHING IT! There is some public access from low water bridges on county roads.
Although Piney is habitat-limited it still supports an excellent smallmouth bass population. In 1993, the results of an electrofishing sample showed an estimated 200 smallmouth per mile on average in the stream. Approximately 16% of those were 14 inches long or longer. Anglers catch a few 2-pounders and, rarely, a 3-pounder. We also found good populations of Ozark bass, bluegill, hybrid sunfish (bluegill X green sunfish) that probably farmed pond escapees, and green sunfish. Because the stream is cool, rainbow trout travel up it from the White and are occasionally caught by anglers.