Where To Fish The White On March 1St?

[raise the motor]

I will be down the first of next month for some trout fishing on the White River. It will be my first chance to use my Supreme 2000 river boat.

I would like some suggestions on where to fish. We will be drift fishing areas where we catch fish (down and back). I want to be careful navigating any shoals until I learn to handle the boat better. I don't mind fishing and releasing in a C&R area, as long as that is not a problem if we keep fish we catch elsewhere.

We will be fishing jigs and bouncing some power bait. We will take a few trout home. I will be trying out circle hooks for power bait to minimize fish damage for released fish.

I have been considering the Buffalo area or perhaps Rim Shoals above the C&R.

Any suggestions?

Joe

[Ham]

It's so difficult to say without knowing the water level that day.

White Hole is a good area. I don't fish it a lot, but there are plenty of fish there. That ramp just ends up being really awkward to get to from my house so I use the other ramps more often.

I love Rim Shoals. There is a long pool immediately above the Catch and Release area that always holds a good fish and it would be legal to do the powerbait thing. The area below the C&R part of Rim Shoals is very good as well. Make sure you are aware of the boundries to the C&R areas.

The ramp at Cotter can be a pain, but with up and down from town can be very good depending on water level and mostly easy to run.

[Ozark Sweetwater]

Ham has a good suggestion with White Hole. It has a good ramp to pull in and out at and you could run up to Stetson's and fish that run along with 3 Chutes.(if the water level is good) as well as running down stream towards Wildcat. It really does depend on flows.

[raise the motor]

Thanks for the suggestions Ham and Trigg. The White Hole area sounds interesting.

I thought that Rim Shoal or the Buffalo area may have less fishing pressure, and less embarassing if my boat navigation is awkward.

I have never drifted on a flat bottom river boat and understand they turn and drift differently than a boat with a keel. I do not have a drag chain and may find it difficult to maintain straight drifts.

Another consideration would be the amount of wood and structure in the river that would cause us to hang up on a power ball drift or on working a jig. Not knowing the river, areas that are mostly garvel would be better than areas with lots of possible snag ups.

Thanks,

Joe

[Ham]

Joe,

Make a drag chain. You will not drift straight w/o it. Did we talk about drag chains via PM?

The area above Rim Shoals is mostly smaller rock and gravel IF you stay on the inside part of the turn. The bluff side has excellent rock and wood that will eat your drift rigs.

Lately, most of the time they are running less than 12 K which I think is great. I guess I would ask for 7500 CFS IF I got to pick the water flow.

[raise the motor]

Yes Ham, your PM gave me the info I need to make and attach a chain. I will get one ready.

With clear water, I assume I can watch for structure while scouting a section (at least shallow sections). I have a depth finder that may provide some useful information on structure.

I assume the wood and rocks on the bluff side above Rim Shoals holds lots of fish. We may try it with jigs to see if we can cover it without too many snags.

It will be fun learning the river. Thanks,

Joe

[Ham]

There are 101 miles of it to learn. I promise it's a lot of fun.

Just take it easy the first few trips and get the feel of the boat. Watch where you're running and watch for trouble coming as you float downstream. Have your motoring running a long time before you NEED it.

The water is usually very clear and you can see a lot of the structure you need to see.