Arkansas White River Fly Fishing
The Arkansas White River starts as tailwater from Bull Shoals Dam between the towns of Lakeview and Bull Shoals, Arkansas. It is a cold-water river that is an excellent fishery for both rainbow and brown trout. It is heavy stocked with 9″ rainbows that will take anything on a hook. The task for a fly fisherman is to get past these stocked fish and find the true trophy fish that live in these waters. The stocked fish seem to like the current best and thrive in the ripples. The larger fish hide just off the current in pocket water. Your best bet at a trophy fish is to aim for the brown trout that live under cover in still water, although a 20″ rainbow is not uncommon the farther you are from the dam.
The water in the river is easy to wade until the dam turns on the turbines. There is an alert siren that sounds before the water rises. If you are wading exit the water until the new level is established. You should find that the water is still easy wading in spots. Such spot is at the end of the road that runs along what is now the north side of the river. The river widens out here and there is some good pocket water on both banks. When last there were some tree stumps on the north side or left side when facing downstream. On the south or right side there were some gently flowing flats. Both sides yield big trout as I can attest.
Casting a muddler minnow close to the tree stumps and stripping it back medium-fast produced a two-pound brownie that gave a good fight for a brown trout. I released him and he might still be there just larger. In the flats there is over hanging grass. I tried a black PT for a while with no results. So when in doubt go to the hare’s ear. I cast a couple of times but didn’t get the nymph under the over hanging grass. The fourth cast I made was perfect and I watched my indicator for a strike. It came and after a good fight I landed a 18″ rainbow. After releasing the rainbow, I looked at the area I had fished and thought the only thing missing was a “Please Fish Here” sign. There are many places like that on the White River.
Posted on 26th November 2008
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