Arkansas Trout Trip!!

[Daniel Tn]

I hope this falls under the guidelines as general chat.  Fishing has always been my #1 hobby.  You all know me from Civil War relic hunting and such but that's always been 2nd or 3rd tier for me.  I live in the foothills of Tennessee and North Carolina...trout fishing was huge in my life growing up.  So when my brother inlaw tried to get me to go to Arkansas to fish for trout..my first thoughts were...WHY?  Why drive 10 hrs one way, to catch fish I can catch 20 mins from home?  After nearly 3 years of begging me, I gave in and off we went to the White River.  Now lemme tell ya...up to the day we left, I wasn't exactly giddy about this trip.  What in the heck is in Arkansas? And why am I wasting a weeks vacation to go there.  

As soon as we got past the flat terrain and into the hills and ridges of Central Arkansas...I saw why my brother inlaw likes it so much .  It looked like it does back home....minus the subdivisions and housing market explosion.  It was like taking a time machine back to how it was back home, 30+ years ago.  I was liking it more by the mile.  Then when we saw the river...ohh yeah.  My kinda place. We arrived with just a couple hrs day light left. We got our licenses and went to fish from a public spot on the river. My first cast from the bank...and I was holding a rainbow trout equal to the size of my biggest back home.  It was just the start of what was to come. The White is known for big brown trout...something I had only caught a few of back home.  

The next day has us up early waiting on the fishing guides to pick us up. After introducing ourselves, we shoved off onto the river boats.  First cast later, my wife was holding a 22" brown trout...her biggest trout and I had never seen a brown that big in person. Before I could get my phone out...the guide slid it back into the river. He said "I promise...they get a lot bigger".  I couldn't fantom that. But he was 110% correct.  By the end of the day we'd boated 19 brown trout and a half dozen rainbows...and that 22 inch brown was the smallest.  The next day we woke up to 19 degrees with a 20 mph wind. I was about froze...my fingers numb.  And it was a slower start than the day before. A cold front had came in and we didn't really get on a strong bite til after lunch and still managed to boat 12 browns, including my biggest to that date, a 25" five pounder.  I said my trip was made with that.  The next day...started with my wife putting every fish in the boat up to lunch.  She had me at 8 to nothing including some really good 25-26 inch fish....5 and 6 pound browns.  Then...about the last hour of the trip, I hooked into a big brown...28" and 8 lbs.  I was grinning from ear to ear.  And ready to come back before we even left for home!  I can't believe I'm saying it...but within the next 5 years, we'll hopefully be leaving TN for Arkansas.  I loved it that much.  I'm not a people person and like solitude.  Tennessee has become the opposite of that.  Go figure...a trip I wasn't even wanting to go on, has me ready to move haha.

[The Seeker]

Holy mackerel, I mean trout 😎 Those are some beautiful fish. I also enjoy fishing but mostly for large mouth bass. Here in CA we don’t have nice rivers or lakes like other states unfortunately so other hobbies take priority. Thanks for sharing and good luck on your next trip.

[Doc Bach]

Those Browns are ferocious predators and notorious for attacking and eating just about anything that they see and can catch.Would not be surprised if they had Rainbows in their stomachs. I have caught the sea run version in the Trinity River here in Northern California and their bellies were full of Salmon and Steelhead Smolts so many that they were regurgitating them.Anyway very nice fish!

[jim tn]

Glad you (took) the chance to experience White River trout fishing. Trout fished up there several times over the years. The Little Red has some good trout fishing, too. I seldom fish in Tn anymore.  In fact, 3 sons and I are going to Greers Ferry lake early Wed. and return Sun. Nice write up and pictures. HH jim tn

[JCR]

Excellent post. Thanks

[Valens Legacy]

Love the fishing in AR. as it always brings in the nice size fish to the boat.

We have some good lakes close to home that has great bass in them so I don't get a chance to fish very far from home. There is nothing better than the fight that you get from a large determined fish, unless it is a beautiful woman when you have had one to many.

I hope that you had a chance to detect when you were there as there is a lot of historical relics in that neighborhood.

Good luck, good fishing, and good hunting.

[Daniel Tn]

I didn't bring a detector with me.  I looked up the state park rules before I went (Bull Shoals State Park) and it wasn't allowed.  I only brought clothes and fishing gear. We are going back in May to fish a day or two and look at some land while we are there.  I went fishing earlier this week here in Tennessee and was only catching little stocker size trout. I got tired of catching them and loaded up and went back home.  Arkansas spoiled me.

[Rob_R]

Nice fish.  Every September, my brother and I try to hit a different state for trout fishing.  The best one so far was Montana, Snake River valley.  We will have to start looking into Arkansas.