Headed to Arkansas
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated Oct 28, 2013 at 9:24 am by
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Funny that you mentioned the White Zach, I am in the planning stages of heading out there in Feb./March for some streamer fishing. Problem is I really do not know much about the area or the fishery other than it produces big browns. Anyone out there have some input for me on planning a 5 day trip?
Eric
Eric, I am assuming you know the cautions of a tailwater so I will steer clear of those. Couple of options. You can book a guide through Dally’s in Gassville. These guys are streamer addicts and will get you on some good fish. A good amount of water would be to your advantage for this. There website and shop is littered with big fish. You could also get comfortable with a section of the river, Cotter (above the 62 bridge), The Narrows, Rim Shoals, etc… during the day and go back and fish it at night. That is if they are not running too much water. I floated it at night for the first time last weekend on about 1,000 to 3,000 CFS. We were able to wade in about 1,000 to 1,500 CFS safely. We boated 7-10 fish that were 17-20″ and one fish that was 23″. I have fished the White and Norfork since I was in college but the night float was absolutely bonkers. I am not sure if I will fish in the day again. That is a stretch, but it was that good. If you are solely looking to wade fish you also have the Norfork about 30 minutes down the road. So if they are running water at one you can possibly go to the other. Both rivers have just recently implemented min. flow. The Norfork is currently in the middle of some stream improvements. The COE is stabilizing the bank a little bit down from the handicap access due to erosion from a couple floods in 2008 and 2011, but there is plenty of good water up from there. They are both great fisheries. Enjoy your time.
Dont discount the restaurants in Gassville. It holds some hidden gems in KT’s BBQ and Nima’s Pizza.This trip turned out to be a bit slow for me; as always the opportunity to catch a bajillion smaller fish was there, but I wanted to target the big dogs. There was a touch more water running than is typical for this time of year, and I ended up expanding my horizons by running around in my boat and checking out a bunch of new water.
I did see a few bigger fish but they were super spooky. Probably indicative of a lot of fishing pressure in the areas they were in.
Zach
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