Fourche Maline (Oklahoma stream)

Fourche Maline (pronounced foosh-ma-lean) (Bad Fork, French) is a 70.0-mile-long (112.7 km)[1] tributary of the Poteau River in Oklahoma.[lower-alpha 1] The headwaters of Fourche Maline are in the Sans Bois Mountains in northwest Latimer County. It flows southwestward through Robbers Cave State Park, then southeastward past Wilburton before turning eastward until it reaches the Poteau River in Le Flore County. Fourche Maline's confluence with the Poteau River is now submerged in Lake Wister, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the confluence. The distance from origin to confluence is about 37 miles (60 km)[3] Oklahoma Historian Muriel Wright translated the French name as meaning "treacherous fork" in English.[4] During the days of the Indian Territory, Fourche Maline served as the boundary between Skullyville County and Sugar Loaf County, two of the constituent counties making up the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.

View of Fourche Maline

Fishing

Fourche Maline is habitat for the following species of fish:walleye, bream, bluegill, catfish, smallmouth bass, carp and rainbow trout. According to the Hook and Bullet source, the stream is about 5.3 miles (8.5 km) from Wister.[2]

A 1.5 miles (2.4 km) section of Fourche Maline downstream of Carlton Lake Dam to the South Boundary of Robbers Cave Park is listed as a good area for rainbow trout by the blog Troutster.[5] The same blog warns that trout generally fare poorly in Oklahoma summers. The state restocks trout every winter, starting November 1.[5] At the Fourche Maline, the stocking season ends March 15.[6]

Notes
  1. The stream name often appears in print as Fourche Marine River, Fourche Marine Creek, and simply Fourche Maline.[2]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 3, 2011
  2. "Fourche Maline Fishing near Wister, Oklahoma." Hook and Bullet. Accessed November 15, 2016.
  3. Wister Lake O & M Program, Poteau River: Environmental Impact Statement. June 2002. p. 3. Accessed November 15, 2016.
  4. Wright, Muriel. "Some Geographic Names of French Origin in Oklahoma." Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol. 7, No. 2, June 1929. Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Accessed November 14, 2016.
  5. "Oklahoma Trout Fishing." Trotter.com. Accessed November 15, 2016.
  6. "Warm Water Delays Trout Stocking at 2 Seasonal Sites." Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. October 26, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016.
  • Headwaters of Fourche Maline-Map from TopoQuest (accessed June 29, 2008).
  • Mouth of Fourche Maline-Map from TopoQuest (accessed June 29, 2008).
  • "Fourche Maline". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2012-12-01.

34°55′24″N 94°48′03″W

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