The White River

White River

The White River in northern Arkansas is the premier fishery in all of Arkansas. The White River is a 722-mile (1,162 km) river that flows through the Arkansas and Missouri. Originating in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, flowing northwards through southern Missouri before turning back into north central Arkansas, flowing southeast to its mouth at the Mississippi River. 

Despite being much shorter than the Arkansas River, it carries nearly as much water—normally more than 20,000 cubic feet per second, and occasionally more than 100,000 cubic feet per second during periods of flooding.

Construction of the dams began in the 1940’s. The water flowing from the base of the dams were too cold to support the native smallmouth bass and sunfish population, so trout were introduced to restore the fishery. The White River has also been surveyed and is revered as one of the top 20 rivers in the entire country. 

The river can be broken up by three distinct tailwaters, Beaver Lake, Table Rock Lake and Bull Shoals Lake.