Brookies And Cutthroat

[ozark trout fisher]

If I came down there this spring, what would my chance be to catch some brookies, cutthroat, or both, if I was fishing in the catch and release area just below the dam or down in White River state park? Are they just kind of a chance catch, or is there a legitimate shot of catching a couple? Also, are there any specific ways to target the cutthroat and/or brook trout in the White that's different from how you'd go about catching rainbows? If I go, I'll be fly fishing and releasing anything I may catch.

Thanks for any help!

[Ham]

Offical disclaimer, I'm much more of a rank amature at trout fishing than a pro. Hopefully, one of the pros will chime in behind me.

The Cutts I have caught have been scattered up and down the length of the river. I have not been able to pattern them in any other way EXCEPT nearly every dry fly fish I have caught has been a cutt. I think about 3 of of 4 of my dry fly fish have been Cutthroat trout. BUT, you can't just force the dry fly bite. I would put my over all Cutt percentage to be less than 5% of the trout I have caught.

Every Brookie I have caught here has been within one mile of BSL dam or Norfork dam. No exceptions. Most have been small, but beautiful. No fly or technique specific trends just lagniappe mixed in with the bows and browns.

Take a look at your Arkansas Fishing Handbook from the AGFC. In the past, they have listed the number of trout stocked broken down by species. If nothing else, it is a numbers game. The breakdown is Bows (by the ton), then Browns, Cutts, and last and very least Brookies. IN 2009, AGFC stocked almost 1.2 million trout in the White River and about 100,000 in Norfork.

The fact that Cutts and Brookies are so physically small when stocked doesn't help their survival rates any. I think they are usually stocked at < 8 inches. I have a friend that refers to Brookies as expensive Brown trout food and I have personally seen a small group of just stocked Brookies getting run by a fairly small Brown (~16 inches).

I think I read that Rainbows are usually > 10 inches when stocked which seems to jive with my on water experience.

We all want to catch "a slam". Good Luck in your quest.

[ozark trout fisher]

Offical disclaimer, I'm much more of a rank amature at trout fishing than a pro. Hopefully, one of the pros will chime in behind me.

The Cutts I have caught have been scattered up and down the length of the river. I have not been able to pattern them in any other way EXCEPT nearly every dry fly fish I have caught has been a cutt. I think about 3 of of 4 of my dry fly fish have been Cutthroat trout. BUT, you can't just force the dry fly bite. I would put my over all Cutt percentage to be less than 5% of the trout I have caught.

Every Brookie I have caught here has been within one mile of BSL dam or Norfork dam. No exceptions. Most have been small, but beautiful. No fly or technique specific trends just lagniappe mixed in with the bows and browns.

Take a look at your Arkansas Fishing Handbook from the AGFC. In the past, they have listed the number of trout stocked broken down by species. If nothing else, it is a numbers game. The breakdown is Bows (by the ton), then Browns, Cutts, and last and very least Brookies. IN 2009, AGFC stocked almost 1.2 million trout in the White River and about 100,000 in Norfork.

The fact that Cutts and Brookies are so physically small when stocked doesn't help their survival rates any. I think they are usually stocked at < 8 inches. I have a friend that refers to Brookies as expensive Brown trout food and I have personally seen a small group of just stocked Brookies getting run by a fairly small Brown (~16 inches).

I think I read that Rainbows are usually > 10 inches when stocked which seems to jive with my on water experience.

We all want to catch "a slam". Good Luck in your quest.

Thanks for the help... I think the whole grand slam idea sounds like a good challenge.

[John Berry]

I have always done better with Cutts and Brookies on the Norfork. The Brookies ane usually up by the dam and the Cutts are spread through the river.

[Ham]

I did a little more looking. AGFC had scheduled to drop a little under 1.2 million rainbows, around 195,000 Cutts, 105,000 Browns, and 15,000 Brookies. ONLY 15,000 brookies.

I was surprized that they dump almost twice as many Cutts as Browns. I catch a lot more Browns than Cutts. Which makes me wonder if the Browns have a higher survival rate AND how much natural reproduciton of Brown occurs.

The Brook trout is the hardest part of the slam to come by for sure.

[John Berry]

Ham,

Don't forget that the Browns spawn successfully on the White and Norfork. The brown stocking is just to supplement what occurs naturally.

[joeD]

Not flyfishing, but this cutthroat was caught a month ago at Wildcat Shoals on a white x-rap.

[ozark trout fisher]

Not flyfishing, but this cutthroat was caught a month ago at Wildcat Shoals on a white x-rap.

Great looking fish.

[fiveweight]

John Berry is right on about the Norfork. It's where to go if you want a grand slam. Seems to me the cuts are sporadic and never a sure thing but the brookies are either non existent or everywhere, probably tied directly to stocking schedules. Most you find are just stockers but I once got into three or four 14-16" brookies around McClelland's which just made my trip. Nothing is more colorful than a spawning phase male Norfork brookie, not even the most colorful brown you'd find. The last couple times I ran into bunches of brookies have been within a mile of the dam, but I've seen them stacked up in the C&R area as well. Sometimes you can float the entire river and never see one. On the white, I have caught very few of either.

[Ibeenfishing]

On mine and my family's first trip to the White River last summer we caught 1 cut,a handful of browns,and plenty of eatin size rainbows.