Favorite Fishing Destinations Countdown: No. 4 - White River, Arkansas

The Bull Shoals tailwater is about a 12-hour drive from my house, and there truly is no practical flying option for most travelers. (If you happen to own a small plane, you fly directly to Gaston's!) Despite the long drive, I've always visited the White River as often as have had the opportunity, and if such an opportunity were to arise, I'd happily hop in my car and make the trek as quickly as I could pack my bags and load appropriate gear!

The trout fishery below Bull Shoals Dam extends approximately 100 miles, and more than 1 million trout get stocked in these highly productive waters every year. Stocking efforts and excellent fishing continue 12 months a year, and the fishery is as diverse as it is large. It can be fished from the shore, from various kinds of boat, or by wading (dependent on water levels), and fly-fishing, lure fishing and bait fishing are all popular and productive on the White River. Rainbows far outnumber other species, but any given cast in this river could produce a rainbow, brown, brook or cutthroat trout (along with a few non-trout species, which become more plentiful as you move downriver).

Many anglers travel to the White primarily for fast action from stocked rainbows, with expectations of taking home a limit each day. Quite a few of those plan annual fishing vacations to riverside resorts like Gaston's White River Resort, going out in guide boats in the morning and spending the balance of each day simply enjoying the river. For some, it's the only fishing they do all year, but a trip they wouldn't miss for anything.

By far my favorite way to fish the White is from a boat with a jerkbait at the end of my line, casting to shoreline cover and over midriver gravel bars for hefty brown trout. Unlike the rainbows, browns in the White are river-bred, and a very restrictive limit makes it a virtual catch-and-release fishery. Average size is outstanding, and any given fish that hammers a jerkbait could turn out to be a genuine trophy.

Jerking for the big browns works best with at least a few generators running. Browns are pretty cautious by nature, but higher flows put them in ambush mode. On lower water, I like to wade the river with light spinning gear and small plugs like a Rebel Middle Wee-Crawfish or TD47 Tracdown Ghost Minnow. That approach produces mostly rainbows, with an occasional brown in the mix.

Because the river is so large, the rainbows spread out, and many don't get caught right away. Because stockings are spread through the year and fish grow quickly in the White's fertile waters, you don't catch all "cookie cutter" fish like you do in many stocked trout streams. Common rainbow catches range from about 10 to18 inches, and they vary substantially in fatness and coloration.

Of course, as good as the trout fishing is, the White River's appeals extend far beyond fishing action. It's a beautiful river bounded by high bluff banks and is thick in Ozarks culture and simply a great place to be. From fabulous shore lunches with good friends at Gaston's to riverside camping in Bull Shoals/White River State Park to days of catching jumbo browns with Donald Cranor and his team of trophy trout specialists, I've enjoyed so many extraordinary times at the White since my first visit, which was more than a dozen years ago.

Most of my experience on the White has been in the first 20 or so miles downstream of the dam, so I know I've only skimmed the surface of what this amazing river has to offer. You can trust that my intent is to continue White River exploration for many years!

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.

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!

Spring River Success

Day one of our autumn Ozarks adventure is in the books, and we four worn out dudes. In fact, I think two of four are gone. We drove all night and hit the ground running at daylight to fish Spring River. We fished the spring all day and had a big time doing so. The bite was good, as it always seems to be at the Spring, and we caught a lot of fish.

Tomorrow we head for Dry Run Creek, where only Asher may fish, and we might make it to the Norfork tailwater, where we can all fish tomorrow. Now it's time to sleep, though!

Autumn Ozarks Adventure

Objective are simple: Explore rivers, enjoy autumn in the Ozarks and catch fish. Agenda is lightly defined. Likely stops include the Spring, Norfork, White  and Buffalo rivers (plus Dry Run Creek for Asher). Little Red is a possibility, too. How and exactly where we fish and where we put up the tent each night will depend on river conditions, weather, results and simply what we feel like.

That's a nicety of November. Campgrounds are uncrowded, so no reservations are necessary.

We leave tonight and should be in Arkansas by daylight and fishing by mid-morning or so. Crew includes my 17- and 11-year-old sons and one other friend. Trout and smallmouths are the primary targets, but I'd be surprised if we don't catch some rock bass, misc. other panfish and who knows what else.

We'll likely float the Spring River with help from a friend. Everything else will be wading or bank-fishing, so river conditions will dictate quite a bit, especially in the tailwaters.

I'll certainly pack several cameras, and truth be known, gathering work photos, video clips and other content has to be also part of my objectives list. This one is a little different from normal media trips I take, though. We're just going fishing and letting the photos opportunities happen. Of course, I don't think good material will be hard to come by while as we fish four or five Ozarks streams during the first week of November.

I supposed I'd better get back to packing and to getting stuff done so I can travel tonight!

Tubes, Tubes & Tubes

Jim Byler only fishes a tube the first 12 months of the year. In truth he throws a tube less during mid-summer, but that's because he gives bass fishing a bit of a break during that time, when most of the best action occurs at night in the Ozarks. If Byler is bass fishing, he probably has a tube tied on, and there's a very good chance it's the bait he is throwing.

Nathaniel and I spent this afternoon fishing Norfork Lake with Byler, who lives in Mountain Home and grew up in the Ozarks and spends a lot of time on Norfork and Bull Shoals with a fishing rod in his hand.  We mad a few casts with jerkbaits, but the 40 or so bass we caught all bit tubes, cast toward the bank and worked down rocky slopes with pulls or small hops.

Specifically, Byler likes a 4-inch green pumpkin/black fleck tube, and he rigs it with a 3/8-ounce jighead on the inside. He pours his own heads to get the specific 4/O hook, round head and weedguard he prefers. He spools spinning tackle with 20-pound braid and attaches 7 or 8 feet of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader to the end with a double uni knot. He typically works the bait with quick, slight hops that don't pull the bait more than a couple of inches off the bottom.

Byler doesn't stray from his tube plan or vary his presentations for clear or stained water, for different black bass species or based on weather conditions. He simply alters the kinds of banks he fishes. No matter where he starts a day, he always watches for common denominators in the places the fish are hitting and focuses his efforts accordingly. Today, main-lake points absolutely were the deal. We started the afternoon fishing many types of areas, but by day's end we were running from point to
point because that was where almost all our fish were coming from.

I learned a lot about tube fishing today, and had a big time catching a bunch of bass, including some nice smallmouths.

Norfork Lake Beckons

Trey Anderson shows off a chunky Norfork
Lake largemouth.

I can't imagine how much time I'd spend fishing in the Arkansas Ozarks were it not for the 650 miles between here and there. As is, the region's beautiful lakes, trout-filled tailwaters and tumbling smallmouth streams lure me a few times every year, and somehow that 12-hour drive doesn't seem that long when I'm Arkansas bound.

Early Tuesday morning, when Nathaniel and I hop in the truck to head for Norfork Lake, it'll already be our second Ozarks excursion of 2014. Last month we enjoyed a wonderful visit at Gaston's White River Resort, and we actually spent one day in the shadows of Norfork Dam so Nathaniel could spent a little time fishing Dry Run Creek.

I'm looking forward to spending a few days at Mockingbird Bay Resort, getting better acquainted with Norfork Lake. It appears opportunities striped bass, largemouths, spots, smallmouths, walleyes and crappie could all be on tap. A classic Ozarks lake -- clear, rocky and spectacularly scenic -- Norfork also serves up outstanding fishing, especially during the spring, when the fish tend to be shallow and active. I've only been out on Norfork a couple of times, so I'm eager to spend more time out there.

Of course, if time allows before or after our Norfork adventure, Nathaniel and I might have to slide just a few miles down the road so he can make a few casts into Dry Run Creek. He turns 16 in a month and a half, so next week likely marks his final opportunity to fish this fabulous youth-only trout stream.

After we leave Norfork we'll slip down to Mountain View for a day, and Nathaniel will trade his fishing rod for an instrument and will compete in the Southern Regional Mountain Dulcimer Championship at the Ozark Folk Center. Then we'll cap off our Ozark Adventure with a bit of floating and wading in the Spring River for smallmouths, trout and more before beginning our journey toward home.

Should be quite a week of fishing. Watch for reports and photos here, on my facebook fishing page, on Twitter and now on Instagram.

The Ride

"You did it again!" Nathaniel said with a big laugh as he pointed to the lures on the bumper of my Expedition.

Sure enough. Twice in a single day of hopping from access point to access point along the White River I'd taken lures off rods, set them on the bumper and failed to move them to a more secure place before driving. Twice the lures survived rides along several miles of winding Ozarks roads.

I don't think I do that very often, but I suppose if those baits had fallen off along the way I'd have never known what had happened to them -- so maybe I do it more frequently than I realize! I'm just glad I didn't leave my wallet or my phone on the bumper!