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2595 Views 32 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  gunslanger65, 
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I have never cought a trout. Where is the best place to catch trout and what is the best time of year to catch big trout? What bait to use? I fly fish in my pond, what are some good flys to use?
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M
upper white, norfork, little red, which ever is closest.

november, close to the dams.

cut bait, rouges,countdowns, big minnows.

sorry, but i wouldn't know, i'm not a whip fisher
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muddhen said:
upper white, norfork, little red, which ever is closest.

november, close to the dams.

cut bait, rouges,countdowns, big minnows.

sorry, but i wouldn't know, i'm not a whip fisher
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dang muddhen, sounds like you know enough to be a guide or something:wink::wink:

i love to fly fish, but really don't know anything about flies. i usually only flyfish in the winter and use olive and black beadhead woolly buggers and usually do ok.
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You'll find trout in the tailwaters below the dams of larger lakes. The White River from below Beaver down to below north of Mtn. View. The Norfork, Little Red, Little Missouri, Spring and Ouachita below Blakeley Mtn. Dam. There are also stocked trout in Mirror Lake at Blanchard Springs Caverns that are there year round. AG&FC also stocks several lakes, ponds and streams around the state, but those fish only survive until they get caught or it gets too hot.

The best way for a novice flyfisher to find the right flies is to ask the local flyfishers and also inquire at the area fly shops. Depending on where you're fishing, they may be having success on one river with a particular fly but the same fly wont catch a thing on another area or river. Serious flyfishers will pay attention to hatches and what the fish are hitting on the surface to determine what fly to throw and how to fish it. Its best to go with someone with some experience if possible.

Cache
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The best way I've found to catch big trout is to fish close to the dams in fall and fish a big minnow type jerk bait on a bass rod the last 2 hours before dark and jerk it as hard as you can and still keep it in the water. It will wear you out in about 10 minutes but it drives browns nuts if they are biting at all.
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elite-taxidermy said:
I have never cought a trout. Where is the best place to catch trout and what is the best time of year to catch big trout? What bait to use? I fly fish in my pond, what are some good flys to use?
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For bait, worms or whole kernal corn on a single hook with a sinker is all you need. For lures, #3 and #5 Countdowns by Rapala are a good bet. Little Cleo's, Boyants, and Crockadiles are good spoons to throw. Roostertails and Mepps are good spinners to use. A good spinning rod with 6lb test is all you need.

I fished the White around Shipps Ferry yesterday and caught about 20 trout. Mostly rainbows but also three browns and one cut throat. Caught everything on a #5 Countdown. The river is still high and a bit murky but the fish were cooperative. Surprisingly, it wasn't overly busy on the river. Only two trailers at the ramp.

You can catch trout all year long. Spring and Summer might be the most comfortable but you usually have a lot of boats to put up with. Fall and Winter is nicer because the fish aren't as spooked by the boats running over them all the time.

Cheers & lots of luck.....
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muddhen said:
upper white, norfork, little red, which ever is closest.

november, close to the dams.

cut bait, rouges,countdowns, big minnows.

sorry, but i wouldn't know, i'm not a whip fisher
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Did you say your not a Whipped fisherman.............:head:...you are as whipped as I am..........:fit::fit:
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G
Beaver tail waters is probably closest too you, but Table Rock is so high it is backed up nearly to the dam. So, fly fishing has been very slow lately. During the winter a bead head olive Wolly Bugger is a great option. It there is a little wind, try it under an indicator, and just let it float down stream, the trout cant stand it. Also the Y2K bug and scuds usually work pretty well. Unless Table Rock starts falling quickly, I would recomend going to the Little Red River.
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M
norfork is not generating around the clock, water is good and when there not running it is very wadeable, also you can catch 4 species of trout there.
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fisherman505 said:
I fished the White around Shipps Ferry yesterday and caught about 20 trout. Mostly rainbows but also three browns and one cut throat. Caught everything on a #5 Countdown. The river is still high and a bit murky but the fish were cooperative. Surprisingly, it wasn't overly busy on the river. Only two trailers at the ramp.
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Yea they were all down stream from Norfork to red's landing......:head:..bumper to bumper down here.......:smack:
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Tackle Suggestions for the; White River, Buffalo River, and Norfork River

Trout; brand favorites; Little Cleo, Blue Fox, Mepps XD, Rapala. Most all spinners and spoons are 1/4 oz. unless very low water, then 1/8, 1/16 oz. Colors; Cleos, nickel-copper-gold. Blue Fox- wildeye or plain, silver or gold. Mepps XD (dressed or not) gold, black, black body gold blade, gold body- brown trout or rainbow blade. Rapala CD 3,5,7 in silver/black, gold/black rainbow and brown trout and fat raps.

Flies: Wooleys size 6-12 all common colors (olive is the go-to color). Emergers, soft hackles, sowbugs & scuds sizes 10-18. I also fish an assortment of micro-jigs under a larger indicator from the boat. Pink, olive, brown & gray marabou (1/64 & 1/32): also san juan jigs in pink, red, natural & orange. That's the trout menu. Pretty simple!

Smallmouth bassMenu includes; soft plastics- 4" zoom lizards, centipedes, finesse worms all in natural colors (watermelon, watermelon red, green pumpkin, pumpkin). Texas rig in deep holes w/ tight structure. Carolina rig in current and fish on the swing. Slip sinkers in 1/8 and 3/16 oz.- 1/0 and 2/0 light wire hooks. In-line spinners work well in the shoals and faster current. Mad Man or Yum crawfish tubes w/ 1/8 oz. jig heads are a must (natural colors). Mizmo tube jigs (like Gitzits), 1/8 oz. Jig heads (natural colors). Flukes, tiny torpedos & pop r's are good choices on the surface.

Bass Flies: Wooley buggers, Bass Bullies, Clouser Minnows, Crawfish patterns (natural colors, big, ugly & hairy!) Poppers, hoppers and divers.

All rods, for both rivers & either species of fish, are medium action 5 1/2 or 6 ft graphite and spooled with lo-vis green Stren 6 lb line. You can use lighter actions for the trout, but wouldn't for the bass (you could chance losing a nice fish to a wimpy rod). use 4 to 6 weight fly rods with matching weight forward line. It is a good idea to have an extra spool with mid-range sink tip line. Bass fly fishers will be well served to have a full sink line.
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UCNE said:
Yea they were all down stream from Norfork to red's landing......:head:..bumper to bumper down here.......:smack:
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well, not all, there were more than a few between cotter and buffalo city as well.
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D33RHUNT3R
Well I'll give you the easy and simple .. I took 7 people all had never caught a fish much less a nice rainbow brownie or cutthroat.. I have caught up to #5
Browns and Rainbows this way,The Wife Caught a Nice Cutthroat this weekend

Medium stiff pole around 6'-6 1/2'-- 6# line with a 1/2oz wieght on a swivel and a #6 hook on about a 16" leader NOW heres the SECRET -- ((YELLOW)) POWERBALLS... You can get them at any WALMART..
They are little yellow spoungey/rubber balls use 3 on the hook... cast into the river where the fast water and slow water meet ... this is where the natural food will fall... such as BELOW a lil island...:thumb: The 2 adult friend I took .. he caught about 12 she caught 2 the 5 kids caught about a dozen between them.. Everyone caught their 1st fish with in 10 min... We were below Bull Shoals Dam... :up:

We Caught them from the Boat and from the Bank.. It all about WHERE you cast your Bait ... YELLOW Powerbait has always worked GREAT... I learned that from dusk to surise is best...I learned from a lil old guy sitting on the bank in the dark and fog 1 morning and concidering the Stringer full of nice Trout he had I gave it a try... 15 yrs later I still fish them the same way... I have tryed many other ways, NONE have been as reliable ...
:cool:
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muddhen said:
well, not all, there were more than a few between cotter and buffalo city as well.
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We needed a traffic cop here........:fit:...I did something stupid .....:banghead:...I couldn't hear any one on the river so I went down and put in, in the fog and guess what it wasn't 5 min. till motors were running all around me and I couldn't see anyone............:smack:
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D33RHUNT3R
It was pretty busy But I do my best fishing after dark and 99.5% of the fisherpersons :biggrin: all head to camp as the fishing gets good..:whistle:
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M
fished a half day, they caught about 40, two browns and a cutthroat, one nice rainbow. goin again thurs. fri. and sat. if the rain lets us.
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D33RHUNT3R said:
It was pretty busy But I do my best fishing after dark and 99.5% of the fisherpersons :biggrin: all head to camp as the fishing gets good..:whistle:
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There was a guy by the name of Tony Somethingorother who used to come down from St. Louis and fish the White and Norfork at night all the time. He would use ultra-light equipment with Rattling Rogues and all he wanted was big brown trout. He set all kinds of line-class records in this area and even wrote a book on his exploits. Since browns are mostly nocturnal, the big ones would come out from under their logs and cover and feed on other trout at night. Seems to me one of his line-class records was something like a 15-pound brown on 2lb test line. Anyway, he caught big browns like that just about every night he went out.

I certainly don't recommend trying that these days with all the generators they have running but it might be a challenge once the generation gets back to normal. I guess you'd have to do it on a full-moon night so you could see what's going on around you. And you would have to have lights on the boat or you'd end up in jail.

Don't know how many of you remember the kid from Little Rock who caught the 39-pound brown on the Norfork on a marshmellow in the middle of the night.

Cheers.....
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D33RHUNT3R
fisherman505 said:
There was a guy by the name of Tony Somethingorother who used to come down from St. Louis and fish the White and Norfork at night all the time. He would use ultra-light equipment with Rattling Rogues and all he wanted was big brown trout. He set all kinds of line-class records in this area and even wrote a book on his exploits. Since browns are mostly nocturnal, the big ones would come out from under their logs and cover and feed on other trout at night. Seems to me one of his line-class records was something like a 15-pound brown on 2lb test line. Anyway, he caught big browns like that just about every night he went out.

I certainly don't recommend trying that these days with all the generators they have running but it might be a challenge once the generation gets back to normal. I guess you'd have to do it on a full-moon night so you could see what's going on around you. And you would have to have lights on the boat or you'd end up in jail.

Don't know how many of you remember the kid from Little Rock who caught the 39-pound brown on the Norfork on a marshmellow in the middle of the night.

Cheers.....
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I have used a boat and I have waded and fished from the bank at night and I always fair much much bettern for browns and rainbow ....I would only recommend wading or boating with no generation...fall-spring and at night is the BEST
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S
Don't forget shad in the spring! Excellent bait for action and big fish!!!!!!
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E
I wish it wasnt going to rain all week. I would be fishing this weekend. I do want to catch a few good trout for the wall in my shop. I dont eat fish so Ill throw the rest back. But I would like to catch them. Keep me posted on the water. :thumb:
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