Camping and Fishing the White River Advice

[AustinAngler]

Greetings from Austin Tx. Next month I will be traveling to yalls' gorgeous state and plan on tent camping at the Bull Shores/White River State Park for about 4 days, and will be kayaking the river. My plans are just for day trips from there and hope the Park can take care of picking me back up from downstream back to camp. I have never fished there before and wondering if this is a good time of year (week of Sept 12), and recommendations on lures and flies. I will be fly fishing and ultra lite spin casting. After this four days, I will work my way back down and either find a camp on Ouchita River above Lake Ouchita for 3 days or just do a walk-in tent camping at that State Park, and fish the lake and explore, along with driving to the River for a day float.

What are your thoughts about this itinery? As much as I would like to kayak down the river and stop and stay at some of those river camps, Im really not prepared to load everything in my yak. Id rather set up a great camp, eat well, and enjoy the nature and scenery.

Thanks for any advice and help, as I really am open on ideas. I just want to see beautiful rolling hills and great scenery, while enjoying some nice fishing.

Thanks in advance.

[Ham]

Normally, that would be a fantastic plan. Unfortunately, with Bull Shoals being super high, they are running a crap ton of water 24/7. This makes it tough to catch fish at least for me anyway. You won't have to do much paddling and you'll go between 4-6 miles per hour downstream.

[AustinAngler]

Wow, thats good (or bad) to know. So I guess that will be still going like that next month? Thats the last thing Im wanting to do. My perfect float would be minimal flow, and stop and fish at few places, while just enjoying the scenery. What are your thoughts about just camping somewhere on the Ouchita River above Lake Ouchita? Or any other rivers? I really don't want to deal with any fast current rapids, as I have a sit inside 'yak with depth finder,rod holders for four rods plus fly rod, ice chest, anchors, etc, so maybe I should hold off on the extra 200 miles to there and stick around Lake Ouchita area?

Thanks for the quick response.

[Ham]

I really like the Ouachita River above the lake, but I have ZERO clue what the water is down there right now.

I really think the high flow rates will continue for weeks at a minimum. I actually think it will be November before they get back to normal.

Give me < 2000 CFS and I will deliver a beat down. I went today and it was awful. I stunk.

[Danimal]

Check out the Dragover section on the Ouachita. You can hike your own shuttle. The river makes a huge bend that gives you about 5 miles of river to float, but it's only a 10 minute hike from put-in to take-out. Anything below Hwy 270 is floatable pretty much year around, though you might need to get out and let your kayak float through a spot or 2 if we don't get much rain in the next month. Please release any smallmouth you catch down there -- plenty of spotted bass, catfish, etc. if you're wanting to fry some up.

[AustinAngler]

Thanks for the info guys. It's good info and I will re evaluate my plans, but either way, I have a kitchen pass, so my kayak will be loaded in my truck with my camping gear, so I'm going somewhere in the Ozarks for a week. Guess the safe trip is to camp around Lake Ouchita a do day kayak trips around the Ouchita River. You mentioned the Dragover, and yeah I researched that and sounds great. what about the riverside camping there and Rocky Shoals? Yalls thoughts on camping there for a few days of chilling and enjoying your gorgeous scenery?

[AustinAngler]

And yes, for the record, all my catch will be catch and release.........except when I'm fishing in Austin during the White Bass run, along with fishing the coast catching Speckled Trout and Redfish. Those babies go in my ice chest,

[Danimal]

Thanks for the info guys. It's good info and I will re evaluate my plans, but either way, I have a kitchen pass, so my kayak will be loaded in my truck with my camping gear, so I'm going somewhere in the Ozarks for a week. Guess the safe trip is to camp around Lake Ouchita a do day kayak trips around the Ouchita River. You mentioned the Dragover, and yeah I researched that and sounds great. what about the riverside camping there and Rocky Shoals? Yalls thoughts on camping there for a few days of chilling and enjoying your gorgeous scenery?

All of the public (NFS) campgrounds on the river are now day use only because of the lawsuits resulting from the fatalities during the flood on the nearby Little Missouri river a few years back. But gravel bar camping on the river is perfectly legal (makes a lotta sense). There are a few private campgrounds in the area too. Ouachita Haven is the one I use mostly. They're nice folks. It's located about 4 miles down river from Rocky Shoals near Sims. They can provide shuttles for any of those sections near the lake

[Clay Goforth]

There are still some places to catch fish, even with the White River being high. With 7-8 units of water, the "Triangle" below Bull Shoals dam is a favorite spot of mine. It could be some work, but I imagine you could launch a kayak right at the triangle after carrying it down a bit of a trail. If you go to the Forrest Wood access and hike up toward the dam on that side of the river, the "Triangle" is the eddy water to the left of the dam (if facing it). The water should be fairly deep swirling water. You have to watch because the churn will push you back up toward the dam and into the restricted area if you are not careful. I'd throw 3/32oz or 1/8oz white jigs, and brown and orange jigs on 4lb test line. You might also catch the tail end of the "hopper" season for your fly rod. This is BIG BROWN TROUT territory. It is just a 5 minute drive from Bull Shoals state park.

Another thing to try would be to go float crooked creek for smallmouth, which ends at the white river and there is excellent trout fishing at the mouth in this much big water. You could put in at an access down from Yellville. There will be quite a bit of dragging with as hot as it has been but the smallmouth will be stacked in pools. I'd throw a 5" trick worm wacky style or THE NED and fish super slow. The fish, while stacked, will be weary. Pitch in around the big boulders in the pools. At the mouth of the river where it dumps into the White, I'd throw at 3/32oz black or brown and orange jig on the 4lb test line again. You should find trout a good ways up into Crooked Creek looking for some reprieve from the flow.

Remember, the good thing about big water on the White is that the big fish are more likely to eat what you are throwing.

[AustinAngler]

Thanks for the info Danimal and Clay. I did call Ouchita Haven, and you're right, Jan was exceptional nice and we chatted for quite a while, and her problem there is no rain, so its pretty brutal. Go figure, the two places I want to camp at has one with too much water, and the other with not enough. I did delay my trip until the middle of Oct. I hope that may make fishing/camping/yakking a bit better, but Bull Shoals/White River State Park told me they will fill up during that time with the Fall Foliage, and yes Ham, she did tell me that they will be releasing from the lake till probably first of Nov. Clay I did read about Crooked Creek, any camping on the river you would recommend as a good area for 3 0r 4 days?