Arkansas trout fishing?

The music minister in our church, Bro. Jeff loves to trout fish. I am thinking about bringing him to Arkansas and giving him a trout fishing trip to show him my appreciation for his dedication to our church, Unity Baptist Church in Cotton Valley, LA., which is about 12 miles from the Arkansas line, at Springhill.

I am a crappie fisherman and know nothing about trout fishing or where to go. Since I would like to surprise Bro. Jeff, I don't want to ask him where to go. I also don't have a ton of money to spend so this is going to have to be a do-it-yourself trip. In other words, no guides. LOL. I do have a travel trailer to stay in so accomodations aren't a problem.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. I would like to keep the trip time under 4-5 hours if possible. Thank yall, in advance, for your help. I already have an out-of-state license. Will I need anything else to be legal for trout fishing? Is boat necessary? I have my crappie boat if one will help. If we come I promise to leave the crappie alone. LOL.

Pastor...Just up the road from where I live is Mammoth Springs, Ar. it has good trout fishing from the bank, no need for a boat.
Also just down from there is a trout hatchery where they release trout every Thursday into the Spring River. You can catch your limit most times.
He would have to have a trout stamp also. All the fishing can be done from the bank of the Spring River, or with wader's, but you can also float it with a canoe or kyak.
I'm not sure about the milaga, but seems four hours should cover it
If I can be father help let me know......crappie cowboy

Just this side of mammoth springs is a spot called cold springs,it has a boat ramp for your crappie boat.Go up river to swallow water and float back down or get out of the boat and wade around.Down below the hatchery is a good spot for bank fishing and wadeing or fish in front of the dam.
Arkansas stocks catching size trout and thousands are stocked weekly,go to arkansas game and fish web site to see more on trout stockings.

Ok Turtlebait now you know were to go let me tell you what to use. Go to Walmart and get a bait called trout magnet. its a small jig make sure you get pink and chartruce body. They also have a small cork that you fish above the jig. Now tie a 4' piece of 4lb flourcarbon line on. Put a crappie nibble on the hook. cast up stream and let it float down. You might need to put on a bbweight if the water is fast or deep. Keep it near the bottom. Another lure is a little cleo, its a blade lure also from walmart. cast up stream and retreive. Any part of the Spring river down to Hardy is great fishing. I fish spring river oaks. Good luck!
BillyE

Talk to Jeff Smith, Owner of the Trout Magnet, He will put you on trout on the Little Red. I have been with him many times and never caught less than 100. His website is Trout Magnet Fishing Lure and Online Store | Troutmagnet.com . He is a christian man that would love to take him if he has a spot available. I promise you will not be disappointed. Good luck where ever you go! God Bless.

Hello, do a google search on the "white River" you will get tons of information on trout fishing...I go about 2 times a year and camp below the damn at bull shoals state park..you can catch a lot of fish just in that area alone. Do a google search for bullshoals state park...I think you will like the website.
Terry

I like useing Jolly Green G. whole K. corn too..

I think trout will eat anything,from liver to cut up suckers..

A brown wolly bugger,,,,the feed they feed them is brown in color.

I know people love to eat trout but to me its a trash fish thats fun to catch.

Thanks, guys, for all of the information. I will need a little time to process all of it, but it sounds great. I really appreciate it.

Oh yea, by the way, is there a particular time of year when the trout fishing is batter than at other times?

Just about any place on the white rive around Mountian Home has good places to fish. I fish at the public pavilion at Eureka Springs and catch plenty of fish with yellow Power eggs. A little more money (65$) I rent a boat on the Little Red at Swinging Bridge near Heber Springs a few times a year. Power eggs work great there too!

Lots of options for you, Pastor. In the natural state we have three trout tailwaters and one trout stream, Little Missouri, Little Red, White, and Spring. At a mere 2 1/2 hours from Cotton Valley the Little Mo is your closest potential destination. I don't really know aything about that one except it's probably conducive to wade/bank fishing and Albert Pike is probably your best bet for fifth wheel camping. And, if you get tired of the little pink fish there's Lake Greeson, an outstanding crappie lake from what I understand, nearby. There's a trout guide there named Jerry Guerin who would be happy to provide you with beta even if you don't book him. The next closest to you is the Little Red. That will cost you 4 - 4 1/2 hours of drive time. There are numerous lodging opportunities there with the best fifth wheel camping being at JFK park or Wagon Circle RV park. JFK is much nicer but tends to fill up quickly. Your crappie boat would come in handy on the Little Red provided there's water. Lately it's been really low, which is good for those of us who like to don waders and fly fish, but bad for those of us who like to run boats up and down the channels (I like doing both, so I'm happy either wayThumbs Up). Little Red has good wade/bank and boat fishing.There's also Greers Ferry lake there, which is a dandy. You may be familiar with it. Approximately equi-distant from Cotton Valley are the White and the Spring. The White is a gorgeous river and is my personal favorite of the four, but it can be daunting without some local knowledge just because there's so much awesome water. Your crappie boat would work there as well given decent flow conditions. If you decide to go there I can provide you with more detail in terms of where to launch, what to use, etc. Others can too. The Spring is a beautiful little river that's cold year round and full of fat sassy trout, walleye, etc. The fishing is great, but depending on when and where you go you may or may not bear witness to all sorts of shenanigans that couldn't be easily described from the pulpit.:eek::o Most of the riverbank is privately owned, but there are numerous opportunities for fifth wheel camping and wade/bank fishing. Waders will be necessary for wade fishing unless it's summer. That's all I've got for now. Hope it helps.