Dan's River Ramblings: White River Trout Fishing; April 27-28, 2013

I flew to Arkansas for a long weekend to fish the White River at Bull Shoals with our daughter, Jenn. She lives in Fayetteville in the northwest corner of the state, home to University of Arkansas, Walmart, Tyson’s Chicken. It’s a two hour drive east through beautiful Ozarks country to get to the White River at Bull Shoals Dam, about mid-state and close to the border with Missouri.

Bull Shoals Dam; the lake above, the river below

This was our third fishing trip to the White River. Our first trip was in a February, and we froze our butts off. The other trip was in March, better weather but still pre-spring in the Ozarks. This time, spring was in full bloom. It is gorgeous country; rolling hills, high ridge vistas, cattle/horse grazing.

White River trout fishing happens in the tailwater below Bull Shoals Dam, a huge, towering structure (250 feet high, 2,200 feet across, the 5^th largest dam in the world at the time is was built in 1951). It is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers with everything in mind except fisheries management. Though the trout fishing is big commerce there, it doesn’t hold a candle to the mission of flood control and power generation. The water releases go up and down like a yoyo, and this instability adds a real complexity to the fishing. Fluctuating flows move fish around to find cover and to feed.

This is a textbook tailwater fishery. The ice cold, gin clear water provides trout habitat for nearly thirty miles downstream to the junction with the Norfolk River, where another tailwater release boosts things again. Prolific aquatic insect populations including midges and sowbugs mean fast growth rates for the fish. It is supported by a robust stocking program of rainbows and browns.

Trout docks on the White River will rent you a johnboat w/ outboard

But, the fishing regulations for such a tailwater are anything but textbook. While there is a catch-and-release stretch of the river just below the dam, harvesting fish is the norm. There is a lot of bait fishing, and there are many so-called trout docks along the river where you can rent an outboard-powered johnboat to go anchor midstream and catch your limit.

Nevertheless, the flyfishing niche is firmly established on the river. The catch-and-release section is very popular. We fish each time with Ron Yarborough, a long-time fly guide on the river. Depending on the water releases, you are either wade fishing or drift fishing from Ron’s johnboat. Though there can be good dry fly and streamer fishing, all three of our trips have been fishing nymphs with indicator rigs.

Jenn and I always have a good time fishing with Ron Yarborough

Our day with Ron on this trip was wet, cool weather. Normally, that makes for good fishing; however, the water releases were constantly fluctuating throughout the day. We had to move around a lot to locate the fish.

Despite the difficult water conditions, we had good action throughout the day catching about two dozen rainbows; chunky, well-fed fish in the 12-13” range. The big brown trout that the White River is known for eluded us this time.

On Sunday, we did some sightseeing along the river and at Bull Shoals Dam. An excellent visitors center there tells the story of Bull Shoals. It was a big-time tourist destination for river float trips and smallmouth bass fishing through the 20^th century before the dam was built in the late 1940s.

Saturday was a wet day on the river

Sunday afternoon, we tried our hand at wade fishing on our own right at the dam. It is a daunting sensation wading knee-deep just a hundred yards below a massive dam that holds back 3 million acre-feet of water. The water is a bone-chilling 48 degrees as it leaves the power penstocks. A broad shoal extending well out into the river channel allows for decent wading here.

I didn’t have the locally-tied sowbug nymph that was the go-to fly the previous day. But I did have a beadhead black midge that I had tied, patterned from previous trips to the river. Using small stick-on strike indicators and 6x tippet for stealth in the shallow, clear water, we landed several nice rainbows on our own and missed a few other strikes.