Video and Photos: Developing “Streamer Arm” on the White River

Written by: Drew Ross, Looknfishy

The plan was to take our kayaks and chase smallmouth bass on a river in the Ozark Mountains. However, the recent flooding in North Arkansas washed out that plan. So we packed the hog and headed to the White River to throw streamers in high water. It was a great weekend, but there were consequences. . . .

Would you wear out your arm for fish like this?
Photos by Drew Ross

Radial Neuropathy is the “acute trauma to the radial nerve that extends the length of the arm.”  Some common symptoms include, “numbness (back of the hand and wrist), and inability to voluntarily straighten the fingers.  Loss of wrist extension is due to loss of the ability to move of the posterior compartment of forearm muscles.”

The floodgates were wide open on the White River, which made big streamers a necessity.

How do you know if you’re suffering from streamer arm?  Aside from the more recognizable symptoms such as, regularly blaming your poor casting on your throbbing elbow, debating the use of a woolly bugger as a streamer and the constant smell of Icy Hot in the boat.  There are some lesser known signs to look for, like wondering if you can overdose on Ibuprofen.

Articulated meat was the order of the day.

And why do we do it?  When you see a 25-27-inch brown tracking your fly back to the boat, you’ll understand?  It’s worth every painful minute.  Can’t wait to get back to the White River and suffer again!

Not every streamer you try catches fish, which puts further strain on the casting wing.

Drew Ross writes the Looknfishy blog. Check out his Facebook page for more great photos.