Arkansas Trout Fishing

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

In 1988, in the small town of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Mike Manley hauled in a 38-pound, 9-ounce brown trout, astounding the whole of the trout-fishing world. Still, fishermen worldwide were in for another surprise. Not more than five years after, another angler from Arkansas snatched Manley’s record by caching a 40-pound, 4-ounce brown trout in Little Red River. His name was Howard Collins of Heber Springs. When he stepped out for his impromptu fishing trip with his neighbor, that fateful day of May 9, 1992, little did he know he would return with the world record holder for the trout.

The brown trout and its cousins the rainbow, cutthroat, lake and rainbow trout thrive in the waters of Arkansas’ cold mountains. Brown trout may be the biggest of the bunch, but rainbows are still the number-one catch in the area.

The best know spots for trout fishing in Arkansas are to be found in the rivers of White, North Fork, Spring and Little Red. The Spring River, a favorite fishing spot of fly fishermen, is actually the closest thing to a natural trout haven in the whole of Arkansas. It is boosted by the cold waters of Mammoth Spring and runs cold and shallow for as long 15miles.

Once unknown as a fun, legitimate fishing activity, trout fishing started becoming only popular only after World War II, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Norfolk and Bull Shoals lakes. These lakes provided an ideal habitat for the trout. The Beaver Dam, located on the upper areas of the Greers Ferry Dam and White River, was added during the 1960s, and served as haven for the trout.

Today, the state boasts of more than 150 miles of streams where trout thrive. While fly-fishing is a favorite activity in the waters of the state’s huge dams, anglers must be careful for abrupt changes in the river stages because of the power sites on each area. Fishermen usually prefer boats with flat-bottomed rigs when traveling underneath the big dams. The state provides services, resorts, lodging and recreational areas in the trout zones.

Anglers also have to observe several regulations, which include catching up to a certain number of daily creel limit for a specific trout specie. Fishermen can only use barbless, artificial lures on certain areas. A catch-and-release policy in some rivers is also observed to ensure that the trout can provide the same excitement for future anglers.

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