November Hiking/fishing

[jah]

Does anyone know of a way my wife and I can backcountry camp in Northern Arkansas that would allow us to fly fish for trout? Do any of the streams on the Ozark Trail contain populations of trout? Or is the White River our only option? Ideally we want to leave the car somewhere, hike into the woods, set up camp and fly fish. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Jim

[Danoinark]

Most, if not all of the land along the White outside of the public (AGFC) accesses are private, unless I am missing one. There may be some camping hiking opportunities near Sylamore but I really don't think there are.

Dano

[ozark trout fisher]

Does anyone know of a way my wife and I can backcountry camp in Northern Arkansas that would allow us to fly fish for trout? Do any of the streams on the Ozark Trail contain populations of trout? Or is the White River our only option? Ideally we want to leave the car somewhere, hike into the woods, set up camp and fly fish. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Jim

The only real option for wilderness hiking/ trout fishing in the Ozarks is the Eleven Point River in Missouri. You could do it on the Buffalo also, but that's a smallmouth stream.

[Yakfly]

May want to look at the North Fork of the White in Missouri. They have a separate forum on this board.

Also, may consider Buffalo City, at the confluence of the White and Buffalo rivers. There's a BIG island there called Smith Island that you could camp on, and there is good fishing all around the island. Only access to the island is by boat, but you easily get a shuttle over from local outfitters.

Also, (kinda letting out a little secret here) - if you want to go Dec - Feb, you can camp on the lower Buffalo river, say a mile or two up from the White river confluence. In the winter time when the Buffalo water cools, trout migrate big time up into the Buffalo, I've caught them as much as 4 miles up from the white. There are some great riverside campsites on the Buffalo about 2-3 miles up. Again, access will be by boat only, but local outfitters will be more than willing to run you up and drop off for a nominal fee.