Like most Southern tailwaters, the White River was originally smallmouth bass habitat.
The same government program that yanked the state out of the 19th century hillbilly stereotype created the White River trout fishery -a system of lake impoundments with tailwaters below each dam. Ozarks Brown TroutĪrkansas trout fishing is a direct result of rural electrification. Walmart is open 24/7, but football and trout fishing both kick off in earnest in the fall. Ask people today what they know about Arkansas, and they're now more likely to mention Walmart, Razorback football, and brown trout fishing. Now, those stereotypes are being replaced. In the old days, if you mentioned Arkansas in conversation anywhere outside the state, you immediately conjured up images of Jed Clampett, moonshine, and banjos. The trout, I realized, strongly resembled the football that was about to be placed on the hash mark. One hundred miles away, 78,000 red-clad Arkansas Razorbacks fans "called the Hogs" right before kickoff, as I watched a cruising brown trout lazily wave its tail in the current. Some of my favorite stretches this time of year are Browns Canyon, Wellsville, in town of Canon City and anywhere along Bighorn Sheep Canyon.įly Recommendations- Chubby Chernobyls, Foam PMX, Film Critic, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Parawulff, Stimulator, Graphic Caddis, Nitro Caddis, Buckskins, Barr’s BWO emerger, Juju Baetis, Radiation Baetis, Rainbow Warriors, Rojo Midges, Mercury Black Beauty, Brassie, Jujubees, Dorsey’s Top Secret Midge, rs2, Pheasant Tails, Biot Stonefly, Pat’s Rubber Legs, 20 incher stone, Dirty Hippie, Wooly Bugger, sparkle minnows, slumpbusters.Woooooo! Pig! Sooooiiiieeee!" The tinny crackle of the radio broadcast sounded weakly from under the drift boat seat.
Streamers on days with solid cloud cover can produce a ton of action. Another thing to keep in mind are streamers. When this happens don’t hesitate to turn to dries. Look for fish to rise on warmer days from about 1-4 PM. There will still be fish holding in just about any pocket near a rock but, look for greater numbers in the well defined runs. Terrestrials are also a great option this time of the year and fish will rise to them as late as November.Īs the weather continues to cool look for fish to begin to migrate towards the deeper runs. While the BWOs come of with more consistency in the Spring there are still some fantastic Fall hatches creating some great late season Dry Fly opportunities. The Ark is famous for its October Caddis hatch but, many locals would argue the BWO hatches are the best. Above the surface there will be sporadic Caddis coming off on warmer days as well as strong Baetis and Midge hatches. Underneath the surface all these bugs will be active this time of the year. This stretch of River has an abundance of bugs, Caddis, Stoneflies, Baetis and Midges are all prevalent. The Rainbow Trout population is also a very healthy and can produce fish exceeding the 20 inch mark. The Brown Trout population is completely wild and self sustaining. Fish counts are near 5,000 per mile through this stretch with about a 70 to 30 percent split between Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout. The majority of this stretch has been labeled “Gold Medal Water” by the state.
As long as snow isn’t in the forecast, the Lower Ark is a great destination as late as December. Weather in this stretch has a tendency to be fairly mild this time of the year gradually warming the closer to Canon City. This section runs from Buena Vista down to Canon City. An angler can almost always find multiple stretches of river to have all to themselves.įall fishing on the Lower Arkansas can be some of the best of the year. The beauty of this river is that due to the vast amount of public water availble it almost never feels crowded. Fishing around the deeper pocket water and boulders can produce some hard fighting rainbows that grow in excess of 20". The further west you head towards Salida seems to be more "rainbow" water. From a fish-mix standpoint, the lower section near Canon City has a healthy population of brown trout in the 12-16" range. While a very wadable stretch of river, this section is also popular amongst float fishing anglers as well. A freestone river in every sense of the word, anglers have the chance to fish for both rainbow and brown trout using everything from dry flies, nymphs and streamers throughout the day.
Located along Hwy 50 between Canon City and Salida, this 58 mile stretch of Gold Medal water offers anglers the total package when it comes to a Western fly fishing experience. The section of the Arkansas River is what most people refer to when discussing fishing The Ark.
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