Trout Fishing on the White River Arkansas Updated

Trout Fishing on the White River Arkansas

Huge Trout Expect in Arkansas' White River

Prepare confronting a beautiful properties, the fabled river offers spectacular cold-season trout line-fishing.

Huge Trout Await in Arkansas' White River — Many of the fish in the White River are wild and naturally reproducing, offer anglers a bays trout fishery. (Shutterstock image)

March 03, 2022

Annotation: This article was featured in the South edition of February'due south Game & Fish Magazine. Click here to subscribe

Arkansas may exist the only country in the U.S. that produces diamonds, and diamonds may very well be a daughter's best friend, but that's not why you'll find me crossing the land line.

Open up any map and the conspicuous ribbon of bluish just below the northern border is what captures my attention.

Running roughly 720 miles through the great Ozark Mountains and down into the land's lower delta region is the fabled White River. As y'all'd wait from a river of this size, the water betwixt its banks is home to many varieties of fish, including catfish, bass, walleyes and sunfish.

But information technology's the four species of trout, and specially the monster predatory browns, that dwell below its surface that draw me in.

THE HISTORY

Trout are not native to Arkansas, and the White River wasn't always a world-class trout fishery. In 1941, Life mag featured the White River as one of the Ozark's peak tourist attractions, highlighting a 65-mile bladder trip in a wooden longboat complete with overnight camping ground on gravel bars (likewise known as shoals) and some of the finest smallmouth bass angling in the earth. Fast forrad two decades and 5 hydropower dams subsequently, and hundreds of miles of bass habitat had been all but destroyed.

Just, as they say, when life gives you lemons—in this case, when dams requite you cold water—you stock trout, and that's exactly what the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began to practice in the 1950s. Just like that, 168 miles of cold tailwater trout streams were born, and soon the White River was one of the country'south finest trophy-trout fisheries. Today, many of the trout are wild and naturally reproducing, and anglers from across the land come to the White to state one of these gems.

THE STRETCH

When anglers mention the White, nearly of the time they're talking almost the 40 miles from Bull Shoals Dam to the city of Norfork where the White and Norfork rivers run into. For the sake of this commodity, we'll also focus on this section, which I find to exist pure gold. This stretch has many areas of wadable water, innumerable boat ramps and a lot of public access. Many of the lodges, hotels and rentals offer river frontage with fishing right exterior your dorsum door.

Gaston's White River Resort (gastons.com) only below Bull Shoals State Park is what many describe as the finest getaway in the region and the perfect setting if you're bringing the family unit.

If you're on a budget, you tin easily notice a nice place that won't intermission the bank. Factor'south Trout Fishing Resort (genestroutfishingresort.com) on the Norfork River offers cozy and affordable cabins and fantabulous access to wade line-fishing on the Norfork.

If you similar to army camp, the Regular army Corps of Engineers has created a cute campground at the base of Bull Shoals Dam with all the amenities for those hardy plenty to rough it in winter.

Arkansas White River — Large brown trout crowd the waters of the White River. (Shutterstock image)

Come up WHILE IT'S Common cold

While I'm not normally a winter-weather, cold-water-fishery type of gal, the White in the cold makes sense to me. Winters in the Ozark mountains are generally mild. In November, the fish start their migration toward the dams to spawn. There is no airtight flavour on the river, simply fishing during the spawn is highly discouraged.

I fish in February because the spawn is over, the fish are only beginning to move and they are hungry and eager to eat. There are also fewer anglers on the water compared to the summer months, which means less fishing pressure. Plus, it'southward easier to find a great place to stay, an open up guide day and excellent line-fishing in late winter.

GO-TO TECHNIQUE

In that location are many ways to catch trout on the White at this fourth dimension of yr. Of course, indicator fly angling is always productive and offers an opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime, but I'm a streamer junkie. I've defenseless my largest browns by stripping articulated streamers on sinking lines with a technique I was introduced to by renowned guide and professional wing tier Steve Dally  (theozarkflyfisher.com).

Dally has dedicated his life to mastering this stretch of water and knows the runs by name. He has put me on more large browns than any other guide I've ever fished with. I was a bit skeptical of his unusual technique at beginning, but I'm now a believer.

Browns live in deep holes. If you don't get the fly to where they live, your chances of catching them are zilch. Dally'due south technique is to cast a fast-sinking line at a 45-degree bending to the banking concern. Once the wing lands, plunge the rod tip directly down into the water as far as you can to push button the wing deep and create a directly connection between the fly and rod tip. Then, strip with reckless abandon. I have put more big browns in the internet than I can count using Dally'south technique. Yep, you demand to be aware of the depth. Yeah, it'south physical. Yep, it sounds crazy. Yeah, information technology works.

Often, nosotros fall into the habit of strip-strip-strip no matter what fly we have on the end of our tippet. Always remember to "be the bait." If you take an articulated streamer on, call back that a dying baitfish will pause for a cursory second, so adjust your strip to match that hatch.

THINGS TO Practise

If you've been bingeing Ozark on Netflix, you lot know the family will have a lot to exercise in this area while y'all're fishing. Branson, Mo., with more 100 alive shows, numerous museums and great shopping, is a brusque drive away.

Even if you're not staying at Gaston's, its eating place offers culinary excellence not normally plant in angling towns. Meals are prepared by Executive Chef Rick Gollinger and paired perfectly with wine offerings sure to please any palate.

If you want to take the kids line-fishing, Dry Creek, located next to the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, is a take hold of-and-release expanse for kids sixteen and under that will be sure to get them hooked on fishing for years to come up.

VISIT THE FLY Store

Wing anglers beloved fly shops, and this area has a couple of expert ones. I love Coquet'due south Ozark Fly Shop because of its great women's area, guide-tied flies and even a section with fine art from local artist Duane Hada.

I distinctly remember one Feb trip to the White. Information technology was 73 degrees the day before we arrived. That night, a freak snowstorm rolled in behind us. We woke to temperatures in the 20s and what seemed like more snow than I had seen in a lifetime. That day, at the terminate of the bladder, we had to use a blowtorch to gratis our fly rods from the rod holders in the drift boat.

It was miserably cold that day, but I caught a giant brown 10 feet from the launch ramp and the rest of the day was one for the scrap book. Perchance Arkansas isn't on many people's list for a winter getaway, but fly anglers in search of giant trout need to consider this diamond in the rough.