Originally Posted by M48scout
Originally Posted by poorcountrypreacher


We used to have 3 floats that we made - put in at Sprott and float to the old Fikes Ferry; put in at Fikes Ferry and float to Suttle; put in at Suttle and float to the old bridge just below Okmulgee creek. I'm not sure you can still get to the river at the last one, but the other 2 floats are still doable.

The river is much different in these floats than those already mentioned. It's below the fall line and has changed from rocks to sand and gravel, along with the somewhat unique soapstone.

We used to get soapstone rocks out of the river and on to the bank, then break them up with a screwdriver and pick out the willow grubs to use for bait. Just about every fish in the river would bite them. I've read accounts of people who snared redhorse suckers in the Cahaba, and they always explained that you couldn't catch one in a hook. They never tried fishing with willow grubs; I've caught a bunch of them. A 4 pound redhorse on a fresh cut rivercane pole is a lot of fun.


So the grubs burrow down inside rocks?? I’ve never heard of that. Pretty neat. You have any pics?


Sorry, I don't have any pictures. The last time I went willow grub fishing was in 1974. I have often wondered if anyone still does that.

I am no expert on the Mayfly, (I don't think willow fly is an official name), but I think that they burrow into all types of river bank except the solid rock. The thing that makes the soapstone unique is that it's hard enough to hold together when you take the chunks out of the river, and still is soft enough that you can break it apart. The soapstone rocks and banks both are filled with the tunnels of the grubs. Getting them out of the bank would be difficult, but if you can get a rock out then it was pretty easy to get your bait.

You had to find just the right spot. It has to be a soapstone bank, and probably no more than 10% of the river had that. Then you had to find a spot shallow enough to wade in, and also a spot where you could roll the rocks onto the bank. Most of the rocks we got out were 20 or 30 pounds, but occasionally we would find one that was 100. If you found the right rock, you could get all the bait you needed in 10 minutes. But sometimes it was a struggle and you might spend an hour. It was always messy work and getting in the river and rolling the rocks out was a job for young folks.

I suspect that there are other rivers where this is done, but I am not aware of them. I don't think that part of the Cahaba that had this kind of soapstone bank was more than about 30 miles long. I don't think you would find it above the fall line. Anyone do it anywhere else?

Once you got your grubs, you put them in a coffee can with a little water and you were set to catch a whole bunch of fish. The most efficient way to fish them was to anchor the boat in a deep hole and use a SC rig. The most fun way was to get out on a soapstone bank and fish with a pole. We probably caught more drum than anything, but almost every fish in the river would bite them. I don't remember ever catching a buffalo, but most everything else hit them

It was an early to mid summer method. The grubs would start to emerge was willow flies in August and that would be the end of it. It was a way to catch a bunch of fish in hot weather.

All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.