White River, Arkansas · access
Ozark foothills below Bull Shoals Dam, Arkansas, United States · United States
- Bull Shoals State Park rampThe head of the fishery; generation starts here and the water arrives fast.
- Wildcat ShoalsClassic low-water wade spot when generation is off; dangerous when it is on.
- Norfork confluenceTwo tailwaters meeting; the junction pool is the best brown trout water on the river.
Licence and rules
Licence and rules. Arkansas requires a fishing licence from 16 and a separate trout permit; a three-day nonresident licence is available. The White below Bull Shoals has special regulations: bait is allowed in some zones and prohibited in others, and the boundary between them is marked by signs on the bank and by river kilometre. Read the zone map before you tie anything on.
Season
Year-round, but the fishing depends entirely on whether Bull Shoals is generating
Flow
2,000–16,000 cfs depending on power demand; generation schedule is published twice daily
This is the most important paragraph on the page: the White rises and falls by two metres or more depending on Bull Shoals generation, and the schedule is published the afternoon before. Anglers who wade the shoals when generation begins can be caught by a wall of water. If you hear a siren or see the water start to move, get to the bank immediately — the rise reaches Wildcat in roughly 20 minutes from the dam.