The Fish

Thanks to the efforts of Arkansas’ Game and Fish and the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, upwards of 2 million trout are released into our tail waters annually, providing plenty of opportunities for fly anglers of all levels. Although Rainbows are the most common trout, the Brooks, Browns and Cutthroats can be found throughout our tail water habitat, with the Brooks preferring the dam areas. The sneaky world class Brown Trout that Arkansas is famous for are a “homegrown” testament to the fertile habitat that can be found on the White and Norfork rivers, as well as to the resilience of the species with perhaps as much as 70% of the Brown Trout (aka Arkansas Butter) population being of wild “spawned in the river” fish. The newest strain of wild fish in our rivers are the Bonneville Cutthroat. Our local Trout Unlimited chapter has planted up to 50,00 eggs yearly for a 5 year span. These fish will be our next wild “spawned in the river” fish.