White River, Arkansas

The river

Bull Shoals Dam impounds a deep, cold reservoir and releases it into 116 km of the White River, creating the biggest tailwater trout fishery in the American South. The river is broad — 100 metres or more in places — and its flow swings by a factor of eight with power demand, so almost all fishing is done from a drift boat or jon boat. Reading the generation schedule is a more important skill here than casting.

On this river

Fishing the generation schedule

Plan the day around generation, not around the clock. When the dam is off, fish the shoals with a dry or a shallow nymph; when generation starts, move to the bank and switch to a deep two-fly rig under a float. The first hour of rising water is often the best fishing of the day because dislodged scuds and worms are drifting while the fish are still shallow.

Night fishing for big browns

The White's reputation for 3 kg brown trout comes largely from night fishing with a large streamer or a mouse pattern around the Norfork confluence. Use a floating line, a short leader with 12 lb tippet, and fish by feel in the dark. The take feels like a hook set into a log rather than a bite.

Drift-boat positioning

The boat is your casting platform and the rower is the reason you can fish 100 metres of bank in a minute. Fish from the back of the boat with the fly already in the water before the boat settles, and let the rower pick the line: the most productive drifts follow the 60 cm depth contour where gravel meets weed.