Been wanting to go to the White River for years and try to catch some trout.

Finally going to make the trip next weekend and stay at the Bull Shoals Campground. If I could get any advice on tackle set up, bait, lures, presentation etcetera I would really appreciate your advice.

The smart thing to do would be to hire a guide but being a humble school teacher finances are a issue and I really cannot afford to go that route.

Will be fishing out of my 15' Jon Boat with 25 HP motor.

Thanks.

Yassir
It has been a few years but I have been on the White River about 10 times. I always had two spinning rods similiar to a crappie set-up. Light or Ultra Light in 6' with 4 lb mono. One of the baits that always worked was whole kernel corn. You can also use the Berkley Power Baits. For true artifical baits try a small Rapala Count Down in Black/Gold or a Blade Bait in Gold. The Rainbows should be plentiful but the Browns are the best fight. Good Luck!
Phill

I fished there once years ago. It is great and you should really enjoy it. On worms or corn the trout would just tap the bait. Set the hook. Don't wait for them to take it or run with it.

If you are going to the State Park area. You'll need to get up about 4:00 A.M. if you are wade fishing. The water will be down low. When the horn sounds don't waste time to do things. Get your gear and get out. The will open the gates to the Hydro dam and water will rise quickly.

If you are floating the White River in a Jon Boat. DO NOT drop anchor with the turbons generating. The pull of the current will drop the corner of a jon boat and sink it. A buddy of mine went a few years ago and went with a guide, so I didn't think to tell him about it, since he was with a guide and they sunk the boat and he lost his father to the river, and alomst his own life. The guide claimed no resonsiblity and that he pulled everyone a shore. My buddy is a Fireman and pulled everyone a shore and walked 3 miles for help with hypothermia.

I would consider trying the Norfork River for at least a day or so. We fished it last year and caught a lot of big brown trout, up to about 6-7#. We caught them on sculpins fished on the bottom, not unlike fishing for catfish. Sculpins are little,ugly fish that live in the rocks in the river. You have to fish with them dead or they will swim under a rock and hang you up. The browns really loved them.

If you fish for rainbows, I would use lures. Rooster tails and Little Cleo spoons work really well, especially when the water is down. Four pound test line is about as heavy as you can get away with. Just set your drag pretty loose and you will be ok.

ttt

Be advised that there has been lots of rain and all the lakes are up. Day before yesterday the area got an additional 5" of rain. Bull Shoals is 40' above normal and all of its campgrounds are under water.

Register or read at www.ozarkanglers.com

There are guys from that area on that forum. Some of them are even guides and are helpful.

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I just got a weather report for the area. 3" of rain is expected tonight.

You might call before you head out and see what the conditions are like.

The upper end of Bull Shoals into Missouri should have some real good fishing right now with the high water. We were there one year when it was like that and we killed 'em.

Corn for the rainbows is real good. Now for Browns, try and catch some Sculpin Minnows. If you can't find any, I have caught some Nice Browns on a Clown colored Rogue jerkbait.

Try this website, you'll find it helpful. http://www.flyfishingarkansas.com/

Up there last week and the White was really muddy!

A trick that we used to use was to take a coffee can of small gravel with us. We would cruise the river and look for the deeper holes and circle back around and anchor up above the hole. Then we would throw a couple of handfuls of the gravel into the deeper water and immediately cast our lines with either corn or salmon eggs. The hatchery fish (which make up a huge portion of the population) would turn on because the gravel hitting the water sounded like the feeders going off at the hatcheries. Worked great on the rainbows but those browns were a different story.

Marshmellow over the eye of the hook with a meal worm on a splitshot rig!

Grandpa used to take me to his trailer near the White River in eastern Arkansas. I sure this was a very different White River than the section with trout. The trailer was on Indian Bay.

He would often run down Indian Bay, up the White River and into Big Creek. He would motor his jon-boat into the woods to get to his honey-holes.

One Saturday, Mom called and said that Bop-Hyed was lost. He didn't come back for lunch as was his custom. At the bait shop, Grandma had to tell the authorities, "He's 79, he's not old!"

Mom and I made the two hour trip from Memphis. Other family came over from Helena. Mom and I pulled up to the trailer. Bop-Hyde shook his head and said, "I didn't get lost, Big Creek got lost!"

I imagine the honey-holes he would have had with the assistance of a GPS unit.

The river is going to be very high during you visit and you may have to go to the Norfork and fish dry run creek to get any good trout action. The lake is so high that they may have the flood gates open on Bull Shoals and I would not get on the river in a 15' jon in that situation. My river boat is a 22' extra wide river sled and It is just right up to eight units but after that when they crack those flood gates I fish the lake. Walleye fishing in the Fairview area of the lake is good right now. Get a map and find the corp. brush piles and troll a dd22 over them. Crappie fishing at night over the piles is often great this time of year if you put out some lights. Will be up there myself in a couple of weeks.