LITTLE ROCK – The heat of summer often leads anglers to large rivers and the promise of large catfish and an extended period of fish activity thanks to current keeping surface water moving and slightly cooler than in backwaters and reservoirs. But traveling on a river like the Arkansas can be a daunting task for people who don’t know what all those buoys and channel markers mean. How do you know which side of the buoys to stay on when traveling up or down a river?
Remember the 3 R’s of boating: "Red right returning." It applies in Arkansas and all over the nation.
Whether you are paddling a canoe, chugging along in a john boat, zipping by in a bass boat or cruising on a houseboat, this simple rule will keep you in the right place - in the channel where it's safe.
Returning means coming upstream from the ocean or the mouth of the stream. Keep the red buoys on your right as you travel upstream. That means the green buoys will be on your left.