Fishing and camping suggestions?

[moondawg]

I'm in a group of guys that go camping and fishing in Arkansas in November, We are wade fishing for trout, with the majority of them fly fishing, and a few of us are spin fishing. We usually camp at one of two places: Bull Shoals State Park (fishing the White River), or JFK Park near Heber Springs (fishing the Little Red River). The campsites are along the river, where we can just walk down to the river, walk into the water wearing waders, and start casting.


These two rivers are dam generated. If they only generate one unit periodically, it's not so bad. Anything more, it makes it tough for wade fishing, due to higher water.. It's good for boat fishing, but not wade fishing, which is what we do.

The past few times, both places have been generating. We went to the Little Red River last year...we didn't do much fishing at all, because they generated almost around the clock. We found out that White River generated a total of 3 hours the entire weekend...we should have gone there, but we figured they would be generating a lot. We got burned the year before last with them generating a lot at the White River...only to find they didn't generate much at the Red River--where we were NOT fishing! Almost seems like they generate once we show up for camp!

So...anyone have any ideas on where else to camp/fish in Arkansas? Preferably close to the water, and where we can wade fish for trout? Any campgrounds with electricity and bath houses? Or anywhere else within 3 or 4 hrs from Memphis?

 

[RUGER]

Lindsey's trout dock in Calico Rock.
Your wading will still be generation dependent though.

woodyard will know lots more than me.

 

[woodyard]

The only river that would fit your requirements every time would be the Spring River from Mammoth Spring to Hardy. It is constant flow from Mammoth Spring where it originates. It would be wade able in many areas and there was at least one campground, "Many Islands Campground" or something like that. May be more now. Trout, smallies, walleye and other fish are in it. Lots of canoes and kayakers in summer. But it will not compare to the White.

I would suggest you check out http://www.swpa.gov site and go to the generation schedules. They have a weekly listing showing what they have done in the last few days, the projections for the current day, and maybe the next day's projections. They have all of the dams in Arkansas and some in MO listed.

I follow these when I am planning trips and see what the trend is for a week or two in advance of the trip. most of the time it will be close to what they do when I am over there, it would let you plan wading times and other locations on the river. Calico Rock gets what comes out of the dam about 18 -20 hours latter.

One area is the Rim Shoals area where you can pay to have access to good wading areas. I don't know about camping there though. A lot of the resorts would have better wading access than the State Park, Gastons has a mile or more of shallow shoreline.

The Norfork would probably have more wading opportunities most of the time in most years.I don't think there is a cmpground though. May be one by the dam.

There are a few camping areas along the White but still would be dependent upon the amount of generation for wading. Lindsey's in Calico Rock has camping areas with one bath/ shower, PJ'S Resort at Reds Landing has camping facilities, there is a campground at Sylamore on Sylamore Creek which is several miles south of Calico. Cotter has camping in two or three campgrounds.

This year has been wet with a lot of water being released and it will probably continue into winter. Average years would usually mean some generation most days with wading opportunities most days.

There is a book I would reccomend to anyone that wants to fish for trout in AR. It is "Ozark Trout Tails" by Steve Wright. It gives very good details about the White, Norfork, and Little Red Rivers. Lots of stories about a lot of the guides and characters on the river, flies, techniques and just lots of info about access and the river.r

There are a few other sites you should check out. Google Newlands Resort and look of the web cam,White Hole resort has a web cam now. HIs Place Resort has a web cam.Norfork Resort has a web cam.It is pretty neat to look and see the current water and conditions and people fishing.there is another one from the US Water data that shows water flows for the different rivers and streams over there.http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=07060500, http://www.newlands.com/index.php?id=213, http://ozarkvideos.com/whiteholecam/mobile.php

You never know what the conditions will be and what you will get. Sometimes you are damned if you don't have a boat and others you are damned if you do have a boat and can't get anywhere much because of the low water.

 

[Crosshairy]

I replied to your thread in the other forum, but clearly this man ^^ knows his stuff.

You should buy my mother-in-law's 14-foot jon boat in the classified ads and bring it along with you to use as a backup plan on those rivers

 

[moondawg]

Woodyard, I mentioned the Spring River to the guys. The general consensus is: it's not conducive for flyfishing. The guys in the group are mostly flyfishermen, and maybe two of us (me included) are spin fishermen. We've been to the Spring River several times, but never in November. I don't have a problem with it, myself. The only problem with the Spring is that if it rains a lot, the river will flood. We were told to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice one year. We packed up and went to a hotel.

The guys I camp with are mostly flyfishermen, and prefer to camp at campsites with electricity and bathhouses. That way we can have big bonfires...I think one of the guys might be a pyromaniac.

One of the reasons we camp at Bull Shoals State park is the access to more areas, like Rim Shoals, Wildcat Shoals, etc. We also have Crooked Creek (if the river is up), and of course, Norfork Dam. I love the Norfork Dam, I have always done well there! It's about 30 minutes or so from camp, which is fine with me. I have never done well at the White River until about 2 yrs ago. Maybe it was luck, who knows.

I have fished at Crooked Creek, which is about 30-45 minutes from Bull Shoals. My brother and I found it on a map, or in a book, I don't remember which. The first time we went, we both did pretty good, and had the river to ourselves. We were the only ones there. Can't believe we didn't hear any banjo music out there! But the next few times I went, I didn't catch anything at all...looked like the river was very low.

We've been going to the White/Red Rivers for the past several years, and my dad checks the generation schedule ahead of time. He's checking it now to determine a pattern, but that can and will change by November. I'll pass this info on to him and the guys, just in case they might have overlooked anything. I was just curious as whether anyone knew of anywhere else to fish in the general area.

I am not that familar with Sylamore, although I've heard them talk about it. Just depends on the campsite (remember: electricity and bathhouses). I will certainly look into the Sylamore myself out of curiosity.

You are right...it is a crapshoot at times. Danged if you go expecting to wade, the river will be high. And if you're expecting a boat, the water might be low. Many times, you won't know the conditions until you actually get there. At least, that's been our kind of luck.