Border Lakes permit

[Chief Grey Bear]

In having a discussion with an older gentleman, we were discussing the $10 Border Lake permit which lets you fish all waters of Table Rock, Bull Shoals, and North Fork, regardless if you are licensed in AR or MO. 

The conversation continued that he believes that is covers all tributaries and he is allowed to go into those tribs as far as he wants. I stated that I don't think you can go outside normal lake pool level. 

In trying to research it, I'm coming up empty. I'm not finding any definitions to it. 

Anybody here know or know where to look??

[fishinwrench]

Pretty sure that's the way it works on the Mississippi River.    As far as you can get by boat, regardless of what state you're in.    

[Bigfishes1]

I’m not sure that you can fish Norfork on the white river border pass, I’m thinking you gotta have a regular AR fishing license ??

 

 

[Bigfishes1]

 

 

[dan hufferd]

I wish they would make that thing cover Beaver, I understand why it doesn't. I seems like it should.   

[Devan S.]

I took it to mean the same thing.....I.E. on Kings river you could only run up to normal pool. I believe @Bill Babler  confirmed that there were guides, guiding on the kings much farther up stream than normal pool with clients on the border lakes permit. However its doesn't seem explicitly set forth in the rules and seems to be somewhat of a grey area. 

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Speaking with an Illinois conservation agent at the lets go fishing show, he directly stated that the Mississippi River reciprocation applies only to the river itself.  Not the tributaries.   

[bfishn]

"Impounded waters" in Bull Shoals, Table Rock & Norfork, as stated in the screen grab posted by Bigfishes1 above. Upper Table Rock (WR) reciprocal fishing specifically ends at Houseman access. Other tribs are less clearly defined, but have commonly been accepted as being at or below conservation pool elevations.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thanks fellas! That's what I was thinking too. I had read that same screen on the web page but I guess I read right over the impounded water part. 

[Al Agnew]

"Impounded" means not flowing.  So whatever level the lake is, you could only fish as far as the first riffle, seems to me.  Might be a gray area in enforcement, but no way you could fish well up into the river sections of rivers like the Kings or James on the permit.  There might be a stretch of a couple miles above the slack water of the lake that an agent would let you slide, but they could also ticket you as soon as you got up into noticeable current.  So either don't fish in the rivers above the lakes or pay for the state permit.