Two bald eagles looking for trout and a kayaker fishing in a Santa hat heralded winter at the White River below Beaver Dam.
It was technically still autumn on Dec. 11 when Russ Tonkinson of Rogers buckled his life jacket for a 7-mile canoe trip from the dam to Houseman Access. The temperature felt more like May. By afternoon, shorts and sandals were comfortable while drifting along and casting for trout. It isn't every canoe trip that sunscreen gets tossed in with the fishing gear. Tonkinson squeezed out a healthy glob from the tube on this 70-degree Friday.
Fish for trout
Fishing regulations for the Beaver tailwater. Check complete regulations at www.agfc.com or in the Game and Fish regulations booklet.
• Daily limit is five trout.
• Trout between 13 and 16 inches long must be immediately released. One trout exceeding 16 inches may be kept. Trout shorter than 13 inches may be kept, to the daily limit of five.
• Bait fishing is allowed only with a single-point hook. No treble hooks.
— Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
NWA Democrat-Gazette/FLIP PUTTHOFF Bluffs along the White River make for a scenic float trip downstream from Beaver Dam. The river’s tallest bluff rises 200 feet in a wall of cedar trees and rock.
The canoe drifted along next to the kayaking Santa during the first mile. Mr. Claus and his buddy each caught a couple of rainbow trout. Morning sun lit a yellowish bluff that cradles one side of the river, upstream from Parker Bottoms shore-fishing access. Beyond that, the river's tallest bluff rises 200 feet in a wall of cedar trees and rock.
Santa's luck wasn't in the canoe. It was well into the trip before Tonkinson boated the first trout, a spunky 12-inch rainbow. The fish bit a brown woolly bugger that's normally cast with a fly rod. Tonkinson managed to toss the woolly bugger with his spin-cast rod by crimping a BB-sized split shot on the line above the fly.
What this trip lacked in fishing action was made up for in scenery and comfort. No wind meant the White River reflected all the beauty of this 7-mile section. Fishing in short sleeves in December makes for a memorable trip.
This piece of the White River is a fine destination for a canoe or kayak trip, whether a paddler fishes or not.
There is always enough water, even in summer. When electric power is generated at Beaver Dam, the current picks up and gives paddlers a gentle push downstream.
The river had little current on this particular float with zero power generation all day. A paddle was dipped now and then while the occupants basked in the sun and fished.
Tonkinson's woolly bugger and a small black jig fooled a modest number of trout. Six were caught by the time the canoe reached Houseman Access.
Good thing we planned this trip for mid-December. On Dec. 28, the river became a raging torrent when the flood gates at Beaver Dam were opened more than 9 feet after two days of heavy rain.
What happens to the trout in all that current and flooding?
"They hunker down and hang on," said Christy Graham, trout biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Trout hole up behind boulders, in eddies and elsewhere in the river where the current isn't so severe. They fare quite well, she said.
"We've seen trout that we've tagged show up in the same places even after three or four flood events," Graham said. Anglers shouldn't be discouraged from fishing because of the recent high water. The trout are there, she said.
Catching them is another matter. Anglers can expect the two hydroelectric generators at the dam to be running to get the Beaver Lake level down. Drifting in a boat is the most effective way to fish. Savvy anglers cast bait or lures in the seams where eddies and the current meet.
Trout aren't native to the White River. They're stocked by Game and Fish. Fewer trout are stocked during winter, Graham said.
About 3,000 rainbow trout go into the river once a month in winter. More fish are stocked during summer when more people fish. Still, trout fishing is popular all year below Beaver Dam and the state's other trout waters, she said.
Fishermen who don't want to deal with the current below Beaver Dam have quieter options. Game and Fish stocks trout at Lake Bentonville and Lake Springdale during fall and winter. Anglers can relax in lawn chairs and fish from shore.
They may get lucky with the fish and the weather, catching trout and soaking up rays on a warm winter day.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 01/05/2016