Last Fall I had the pleasure of meeting outdoor writer and photographer and Ottawa, Ontario native, Tim Allard. He recently published this article about his Arkansas fishing experience.
By
Tim Allard*
This was my first visit to Arkansas and I must confess I wish I had more than two days to ply its waters. When visiting, the question isn’t what species to fish, but what opportunities you’re prepared to pass-up because the state’s loaded with lots of first class fishing. Here are a sampling of choices.
Those interested in taming a leviathan should focus on the striper bass that are stocked in several of the state’s systems. “Norfork is one of the best, if not the best striper fishery in the mid-south. Not only do we have the numbers we have the size. Twenty to 30-pounders are common and some push 40-pounds or better. The best time for me is April through June and then September through November, but we can almost always get on some somewhere. Tactics range from live bait, spoons, and pulling umbrella rigs,” said Wake.
The state has an excellent walleye fishery, and holds the current world-record, a 22-pound, 11-ounce beast caught in Greers Ferry Lake in 1982. During my fish with Wake I asked him about fishing ‘eyes on Bull Shoals and Norfork since he’s been at it for over 30 years. “I have fished a lot of lakes across the country mostly during walleye tournaments and I believe that Bull Shoals is second to none either on numbers or size,” he said. Norfork is particularly good too, with mid February until late April to be the best fishing months. Jigging bait, pulling bottom bouncers with nightcrawlers, and trolling lead core with lures are three of his favorite techniques.
Arkansas will provide bass fanatics with their fill of largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass adventures on Bull Shoals Lake, Lake Ouachita, Lake Norfork, among other awesome waterbodies. Beyond wetting a line, a worthwhile activity is scheduling a stop in the city of Flippin to visit the headquarters of angling juggernaut, Ranger Boats. See www.rangerboats.com for information about their free tours of the plant.
Opportunities overflow in Arkansas to land big bragging-sized black and white crappie. During 
my autumn visit many guests did well on Norfork working deep, standing timber for papermouths. Using a Marcum VS625SD Underwater Camera to scout areas and pinpoint the wood areas that held fish was a hot tactic. Small hair jigs, like Northland’s Bug-A-Boo, and small plastic grubs, tubes and creatures were all good bets.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to sample the state’s incredible trout fishing, but I had the pleasure of staying and dining at the iconic Gaston’s White River Resort. This allowed me to rub shoulders with keen trout anglers. Their stories of consistent brown and rainbow catches from the White River had me salivating. Next time, next time…
I’d be remise to leave out some words on Mr. Whiskers. If visiting be sure to spend some evenings chasing the state’s bruiser-sized blue, flathead and channel catfish. They’re plentiful, they pull hard, and the smaller ones are scrumptious in a fish fry.
Photo Captions
The author with a striper caught with Leslie Wake of Twin Lakes Guide Service.
Leslie Wake of Twin Lakes Guide Service slides his trusty Frabill under another striper.
Dena Woerner of Arkansas Tourism with a crappie from Lake Norfork.
An early autumn morning behind Gaston’s White River Resort.
