Ozark Trout Tales: Fishing Guide for the White River System

OZARK TROUT TALES A Fishing Guide for the White River System by Steve A. Wright, $24.95 softcover, 200 pages Publication date: December 1994 A COMPLETE GUIDEBOOK FOR RECORD-BREAKING OZARK TROUT RIVERS

Less than 50 years ago, the White, North Fork and Little Red rivers didnt contain a trout. But when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built five dams in the White River Basin, 168 miles of trout water were created. The extensive list of record-breaking catches from these Ozark tailwaters now includes two world record brown trout.

Ozark Trout Tales provides a comprehensive look at the White River System tailwaters through the eyes of those who fish it most. It is a how-to trout fishing guidebook for the present, with an eye on the past and a look toward the future.

Author Steve Wright spent a year traveling the Ozarks, fishing with the most experienced trout anglers, compiling their stories and detailing their methods. The result is a 200-page book that includes over 150 photographs, illustrations and maps. It covers every aspect of trout fishing - from live bait to dry flies.

My goal was to make this book something all anglers can learn from, no matter what their level of experience or method of choice, Wright said. I think Ive done that. These Ozark streams are unique, and theyve spawned some special fishing techniques.

No other book has examined the entire White River System in Arkansas and Missouri. It includes eight miles of trout water on the White River below Beaver Dam, 22 miles of the White River below Table Rock Dam, 101 miles of the White River below Bull Shoals Dam, five miles of the North Fork River below Norfork Dam and 32 miles of the Little Red River below Greers Ferry Dam. The book devotes a chapter to each tailwater.

But Ozark Trout Tales isnt just a how-to book. Its a book about the people of the Ozarks, too. As its title suggests, the book contains their stories.

Included are many big fish stories, such as how Michael Huey Manley caught a 38-pound, 9-ounce world record brown trout from the North Fork River, how Carl Jones caught a 20-pound, 12-ounce brown trout on 2-pound-test line from the White River, and how Howard Rip Collins landed a 40-pound, 4-ounce world record brown trout from the Little Red River.

There are plenty of other tales, too.

- Did you know that Jerry McKinnis, Forrest Wood and Lloyd Presley worked as White River trout fishing guides before making their marks on ESPN, the bass boat industry and Bransons country music scene, respectively?

- Did you know that the worlds largest wholesaler of fly tying materials is in Mountain Home, Arkansas?

- Did you know that commercial float fishing started in the Ozarks and the johnboat was invented here?

All this, plus addresses and phone numbers for planning a visit, are included in Ozark Trout Tales.