White River Return

First of the week, I'm loading up the fishing car and pointing it toward the Ozarks for a few days of chasing trout in the White River region. It's a bit of a haul -- 11 or 12 hours -- but a very familiar route. There's no practical flying option to the region, so I almost always drive, and I'm sure I've driven there at least 20 times. Predictably good fishing and very good services for anglers make this area a chosen destination for many media events, and it's somewhere I gladly drive to on my own because the fishing is outstanding and simply because I like the rivers, the people and the culture.

I fished the White last year around this time with a team of guides headed up by Donald Cranor, who I'm fishing with next week, but conditions were radically different. Last year's weather was classic January. Next week, highs are forecast to be in the mid-60s. We also had flood conditions last year, with eight spill gates at Bull Shoals Dam running around the clock, forcing some innovative drifting tactics. This year it's more likely to be unusually low for the season, based on what they have been doing with the water and on the mild forecast, so I'm guessing we might be casting Rebel Tracdown Minnows.

I don't actually know whether we'll fish the White, the Norfork or both from the boat, but I'm certain Donald will pick the best section for conditions. I'm also to plan a little fishing on my own the day I get to town and the morning before I start toward home, so I'd be surprised if I don't spend a little time on both rivers (plus maybe the Spring River, along the way).

What I do know is that I'm look forward to getting back to the White River area and catching some trout! I don't leave for a couple of days, but my gear is already gathered and ready to toss in the car.

Arkansas Trout Awaiting!

Long drive today, but that's OK. Arkansas' White & Norfork rivers are at the other end, and three days on these fabulous trout river easily warrant a 24-hour roundtrip drive. Last I heard the White was running hard and the big browns were biting.

Big browns are the primary targets, in my mind anyway, but last year about this time I fished the Norfork with Donald Cranor (the guide who is leading the charge), and we managed a Norfork slam, catching browns, rainbows, brook trout and cutthroats in a single day. The catch included several browns like the one Donald is holding in the photo above, and we caught them all on Rebel Tracdown Ghost Minnows.

Watch the Rebel Lures Facebook page and rebellures.com for reports, photos and more.

#WinterTroutSlam

Dry Run Delight

I spent today at my favorite creek to NOT catch fish. You see, I don't get to fish at Dry Run Creek. It's a youth-only stream. That's exactly why I like it to much, though. This little Ozarks creek is a gem for young anglers, and it's incredibly fun for me to watch my boys catch fish.

And boy did Asher catch them today. He landed 25 trout, with fish up to about 4 pounds, and he got at least 10 almost in before they shook free. Since it was a November weekday, Asher had the whole creek to himself.

I had heard that late fall was prime time to visit Dry Run because fish from the Norfork River would pile up in the creek. Was that ever true! I've probably been there a dozen times (all but the two most recent with my older son, Nathaniel), and I've never seen more fish in the creek.

While Asher fished Dry Run and I watched, Nathaniel and our friend Caleb fished the Norfork. Tomorrow's plan is for all of us to fish the White River, but it looks like we might get a bunch of rain. We'll see!

First Month of Fishing

Guide Donald Cranor with a pretty cutthroat, which was part of Norfork River
trout slam (brown, rainbow, brook, cutthroat) and species No. 9 for my 2015 tally.

Sometimes the fishing year starts sort of slowly, with limited angling opportunities during January. This was not one of those years. My first fish of year, bluegill and bass from a pond near home, came only a couple of days into the new year, and last week, while trout fishing on the Norfork River with guide Donald Cranor, I tallied species No. 9 (a cutthroat trout) for January. Looking back, it looks like I got to spend at least part of about 10 days fishing during January, and all except for a couple a short pond outings were full days on the water.

Fish listed came from four states: Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. I also got to spend a couple of days at Lake Taneycomo in Missouri and caught a bunch of rainbows and browns, but those species were already on the list from a fun day on the Chattooga River earlier in the month. Three species (pumpkinseed, yellow perch, black crappie) came to me courtesy of holes in the ice in Pennsylvania while fishing with Dave Lefebre.

From a fish species list standpoint, the cutthroat might be my favorite January fish because that's not a species I get the opportunity to even fish for every year. I do anticipate more opportunities to fish for cutters this summer, when Asher and I head west on the #RebelTroutTrek, but I'm happy to already have one on the list.

I wonder what February will bring!

Creekside Blogging Today

Nathaniel are on our way out the door, headed toward Arkansas' Dry Run Creek. I can't fish there (youth only stream), so I'm going to take at advantage of my phone (when I can get enough signal) and blog live from the banks of the creek. We might also end up fishing a bit together in the Norfork or the White before the day is over, but we'll see. Nathaniel gave Dry Run a quick stab last night and caught about five trout. No big ones, which is a little odd last night, but he hooked a couple of 4-pound rainbows that got off. We only had an hour or before sunset, when the stream closes each day, to fish. Full day ahead today!