Testimonials

Did you know? Lake Ouachita was featured on Good Morning America as one of three best vacation destinations for a houseboat vacation!

My wife, Julie and I had a great time on our 16 X 66 Foot "Royal Flush" Houseboat vacation with our sons Grant (21), Austin (19), Matt (16) and Frank (our 4th "adopted" son, 19, on his first family vacation) and Macy (21), Grant's girlfriend. Macy helped balance it out a bit for Julie, and was a big help come chow time with 5 hungry men!

Our week was full of fun on the water docked on one of the 200+ remote islands in the middle of a massive 40,000 acre, very clean and clear Lake Ouachita (wa-shi-taw), which is in the middle of Arkansas, just west of Hot Springs, in the middle of a National Forrest (no development and plenty of soaring eagles and other wildlife, simply God's amazing beauty).

From the fully decked out "luxury" houseboat (Julie picked it: basically a custom home on the water that drives like a very slow bus on the water) with a water slide and hot tub on the top deck veranda and perch fishing off the side (Grant caught 20+ of those little boogers in a very short time) to the ski boat with skiing, tubing and just touring that massive, scenic lake, to cliff jumping off two HUMONGOUS sets of cliffs 50 and 70 feet tall!

On our guided fishing trip early one morning, Julie caught a HUGE 25+ lb. Striped Bass (and has a big blister on her right index finger to prove it), which will be on our wall next year (the 10 year veteran Fishing Guide was impressed with the catch), and the boys limited out their 3 a piece in just 19 minutes (!) with 9 Striped Bass weighing 12-18 pounds. This was like no other fishing trip we have ever been on. Awesome; not your typical boring fishing trip, to say the least, with poles bending ever time you looked up at times.

Our boys all said it was the best vacation ever. Of course, what else do you expect from four young men being outdoors on the water doing adventurous, and sometimes dangerous, stuff any time of the day we wanted too? Great fun!

"Thanks for the warm hospitality during our rental last month, by far the nicest houseboat rental we've done and we've done a few. The lake is just a gem. The boat was simply spectacular, from the obvious attention given to every detail in stocking the kitchen to the great audio/video system everything was well beyond our expectations. We will certainly be back. Attached is an early morning shot of the houseboat and our aqua toys as my son Kyle practices his balancing in preparation for the day on the lake. Great job guys, keep it up. The Kovacik family from Crown Point, Indiana "

Striper fishing can be huge experience

Local brother tandem shows not all big bass are largemouths
09:07 PM CDT on Saturday, June 10, 2006 *Dallas Morning News*

At the February Dallas Boat Show, Kier Johnson came across a booth promoting houseboat rentals (Wake Zone) and striped bass fishing at Arkansas' Lake Ouachita. Johnson lives in Flower Mound and works in the computer industry.

A largemouth bass fisherman by choice, Johnson decided to step outside his comfort zone and try something a little different. It was a good call. Johnson and his brother, Torin Johnson of Grapevine, were fishing with a guide May 21 when a huge striper took the foot-long gizzard shad they were using for bait.

After a 15-minute battle, Kier Johnson landed the fish. It weighed 39.3 pounds. "In 2½ days of fishing, we caught about 20 stripers," Johnson said. "They averaged 14 pounds. Torin caught a 19-pounder, and we also had an 18-pounder."

The outstanding catch represents personal-best striped bass for the Johnson brothers, who have done a limited amount of striper fishing, mostly at Lake Texoma. A quick check of Texas Parks and Wildlife big fish awards indicates that no striped bass weighing 30 pounds or more has been reported in the past year.

14 on a boat

LAKE OUACHITA, Ark. -- A stress-free vacation is not the norm in my family. With six siblings, five in-laws, and 13 nieces and nephews, our decades-old tradition of an annual family vacation has in recent summers meant overcrowded beach condos or hotel rooms, competing itineraries and lots of arguments about who has to sleep on the floor.

Like the time we packed into a couple of cheap hotel rooms at a Gulf Shores, Ala., state park. And then it rained all weekend. After 200 rounds of Boggle, we nearly killed each other.

This year, my oldest sister suggested we try something different: a four-bedroom houseboat, on Arkansas' largest lake, where everybody was sure to find something to do--and someplace to sleep.

About half of the family, 14 in all, took the trip to Lake Ouachita (Wash-i-taw). By choosing an off-peak weekend, we saved hundreds on the rental price. Although at $2,100, divided by three families and me, the cost was much the same as if we had rented hotel rooms for the four nights, especially if you add in all the extras (mini-golf, dinners, swim parks) we usually pay for on beach vacations.

Packing enough food for a week and all the water-based toys/gear they had, my parents, two siblings and their families drove the roughly six hours from their various south Louisiana hometowns to the boat's docking point at Crystal Springs Resort.

I flew from O'Hare to Little Rock, Ark., where a friend drove me to the resort, about 90 minutes away.

The houseboat we rented belonged to Wake Zone Luxury Houseboat Rentals, a small, two-boat business owned by two sisters and their husbands.

Don't let the name "houseboat" fool you. These boats are elaborate, techno-gadgeted affairs. Our boat, like most we saw on the lake, was huge. About 16 feet by 66 feet, with four small bedrooms and a pullout couch, two bathrooms with showers, a full kitchen, TVs in nearly every room and a large, carpeted living room. The top deck featured a stainless steel bar beneath a large canopy, a Jacuzzi, several deck chairs and a water slide that sloped off the rear of the boat.

We left the dock early Friday afternoon. With the boat's owner, Donny Kindt, at the helm, we chugged toward the lake's largest island, my sisters popping open the first of many beers we would imbibe that weekend.

Part of the Ouachita National Forest, this 48,000-acre lake claims to be one of the cleanest in the country. It's known as a great place to fish--plenty of bass, trout and other fish--and look for crystals. It has 200 islands and about 1,000 miles of shoreline to explore. The lake was formed in 1953 when the state dammed the Ouachita River basin for hydroelectric power and recreation, and no homes are allowed. But houseboats float aplenty here, with hundreds of docks dotting the lake's shoreline.

Kindt, a friendly man of few words, showed us how to drive the boat, which moved like a camper on water, and how to tie up to dock. (No boat-driving experience is necessary, but Kindt says if renters are uncomfortable driving, they'll drive it for you and come back at the end of the trip to pick you up, no charge.)

On this pre-season spring weekend, we were one of a handful of houseboats on the lake, and got first dibs on "Hotel Island," the lake's largest island. We pulled up to a u-shaped rocky cove. Before us, the island's tree-covered hills jutted at least a hundred feet.

Nature, nature, nature. Unlike a hotel room or even a beach condo, on a houseboat you are surrounded by it. In short, our big family had an endless amount of room to roam. No Boggle games for us.

Right away, the kids on the boat, ranging from 4 to 14, whooped and hollered and made for land. For the next four days, we would have to do little to entertain them. At one point, I heard one nephew say to the others, "What should we do now? We could swim, hike or fish. We could do all three!"

Some points of the lake reach depths of about 200 feet, though most of the shorelines have shallow depths safe enough for a young swimmer.

The kids were fearless, swimming for long spells in the cold water and snorkeling. It was too cold for most of us adults, although by the end of the weekend, the clear, warm weather brought the water up to an almost-comfortable 70 degrees. We even took turns jumping off the top deck of the boat into the water.

The lake boasts more than a dozen types of fish. By the end of the weekend, each of the kids caught a fish right from the top deck of the boat, though most were too small to keep.

While Wake Zone and other companies offer additional rentals of jet skis and sailboats, my brother brought his own speedboat, which allowed us to ski and roam to other islands without having to move the massive houseboat.

After a few days on Hotel Island, we toured the lake, swinging by the Blakely Mountain Dam on the eastern edge of the lake before setting up camp again on another island, No. 39 on the map the rental place gave us.

Here, we found three smaller islands only a dozen yards or so away from each other in a large crescent moon shape. This proved ideal for the kids. They could roam freely, but still be within eyesight of their parents back on the boat.

The adults found solace and relaxation in the early morning calm-water views from three of the cabins (my "cubby hole" cabin near the engine was windowless). We relaxed in our mostly hot hot tub under the stars at night. We spent a good two hours looking for nature items in a scavenger hunt my mother and I made for the occasion.

Each night we vowed to bring out the card games that are an integral part of our family vacations, but except for one night, were too beat by our daytime fun to play.

On our last afternoon, we headed over to the "jumping cliff" Kindt mentioned to us the day we got on the lake, a must-do for anyone visiting this lake.

The rock cliff is about four stories high, but looked and felt more like six or seven. One by one, my family members took the plunge into the deep water.

All I saw was dark green water--very, very far away. I jumped, plummeting for several seconds to the cool lake water below. And screamed like a woman chased by bees all the way down.

As I broke through the water's surface, my fear subsiding, I heard my family cheering. It was the only real stress I felt all weekend.

The drive from Chicago to Lake Ouachita is quite a trip (about 11 hours), but for those looking to take along gear and food could be worth it rather than flying. The nearest airport with available flights from Chicago is Little Rock, Ark., about 90 miles away. Flights are running less than $300 right now.

FINDING THE BOATS

A number of businesses near Lake Ouachita rent houseboats at varying rates and with varying rules on when to pick up and return the boat, and how many passengers are allowed. Most offer a Monday through Friday rate equal to a weekend rate, require deposits and do not allow pets.

Prices range from between $300 a night (three-night minimum) in off-peak to about $3,000 for a weekend during peak summer season. All of the houseboats require, however, that you refill the tank at the end of the trip, which can add hundreds of dollars, depending on how much exploring you do.

We used Wake Zone Luxury Houseboat Rentals (501-991-3600; www.crystalspringsresort.com). This company offers two boats and may negotiate an extra day on the water if business is slow. They're very customer friendly. (Owner Donny Kindt even brought us gas for our speedboat when we ran out in the middle of the lake, at no charge.) They also rent out other equipment, such as jet skis and boats, and offer a package deal. Rentals are booking up for the summer, though the owners say there are still slots available in June and August. September and October, when weather is still relatively warm, are wide open--and available at cheaper rates.