The old saying is true “Time flies when you’re having a good time”. Its correct not matter where you are and no matter how fair the fishing is. As long as you’re with buddies fishing and enjoying being on the water, it’s a good time. Jerry Arnold, Mike Sexton and I have certainly been relishing being on the White River here in Arkansas.
Today, our last day, was a stunner as far as weather goes. We put in just below the Bull Shoals Dam. The sky was the rich blue color you only find during fall and it was as cool as it was when I left Idaho. It seemed like this fall day was just what the fish were waiting for.
I took the oars first this morning while Jerry nymphed from the bow and Mike streamered from the back. There was a fantastic hole to fish right by the ramp. It seems there’s always a nice hole by the ramp. I maneuvered us through the back eddy meticulously back-rowing and feathering the oars in order to help get Jerry’s nymphs deep. There were two other boats putting in so I knew we’d be pushed out of the fishy looking location soon.
It wasn’t three minutes into our fishing that Jerry’s indicator dove. And when he connected there was that brown trout weight again. Jerry had a beauty!
Mike barely got his first cast out before having to reel in and give Jerry a hand. The White River is big so for me there was no letting go of the oars. After getting tugged around for a few minutes Jerry raised his fish to the surface and Mike slid the net under. “Off to a good start!”, I shouted.
There’s another old saying that I personally use and may have invented, “Never catch a nice fish at the boat ramp”. After we released the hefty brown trout I was worried we might be jinxed for the rest of the day. But thirty minutes later, as the sun finally began to warm us up, Jerry landed this colorful rainbow. And there were a ton more of these caught amongst the three of us throughout the day.
Every once in awhile you have more than just fishing highlights on a day of fishing. Today provided one. About half way through our float there’s a tiny airstrip and it was in full use. There were about five planes that must have been practicing for an upcoming airshow. It was noisy but entertaining nonetheless.
We pulled off the White River around 6 PM. I didn’t notice the name of the place but I know we passed our house at the halfway point. We landed heaps of rainbow trout today but funny thing, the boat ramp brown trout was the one and only brown. Perhaps it was too sunny today.
It was a fantastic three days on the White River down here in Cotter, Arkansas. This is no doubt a place everyone should experience once. Sure, the Rocky Mountain West will always be the popular draw but don’t be afraid to mix things up. Fishing new water is always a healthy fishing experience.
When we returned to our house it was business as usual. Mike and Jerry fired up the grill while I turned on the playoff baseball and fetched us beers when needed. A very special thanks goes to Jerry. Jerry brought both Mike and I to Arkansas and as he always does, took care of everything. We look forward to many more trips with Jerry – and next in line will be Jerry and I back to Mexico in November!
I’ll head back to Idaho in the morning. My biz is getting busy again so I’ll be working a lot. I have no specific fishing plans but hopefully I can hit Kubswin Lake and perhaps tackle a few lake trout from Jenny. No matter what I get into it will be fun to catch a few more fall season fish!
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