Fishing at Bull Shoals White River State Park

On Saturday, Eddy was up early and on his way to Pruitt Landing on the Buffalo National River. He got some great pictures but he didn’t linger. The water levels were low and the people population was high, so instead of fishing there, he came back to camp. That afternoon, we headed to Bull Shoals White River State Park about an hour north of Harrison, Arkansas.

The GPS took us on a winding road that zigged and zagged through farmland. It seemed like we backtracked several times, but we finally spotted the huge dam that they call Bull Shoals. It is just outside the town of Mountain Home, not far from the Missouri state line.

White River is said to be one of the top trout rivers in the United States. The water level is governed by the Bull Shoals Dam and it fluctuates throughout the day. The fresh water keeps the water cool. Add that to the trout fisheries that regularly release into the river and you have a fisherman’s dream.

The river is clear, cool, and beautiful. Eddy quickly caught a good-sized rainbow trout and a cutthroat trout with his flyfishing gear. Flyfishing is an art, and I always enjoy watching him practice it. He tells me he can’t dance, but he does ballet with that flypole. After a while, though, the sun was too hot, so I meandered and took pictures while he continued to fish.

I watched a heron fly back and forth as if the fisherman were disturbing his territory or maybe he was looking for a stray fish. A woodpecker was busy working in a tree beside the river, and the purple martins swarmed like butterflies as they swooped to catch the midges and flies at the edge of the water. Once in a while, if I watched carefully, I could see a trout swim by. The water was that clear.

The park was full of RVs, tents, and people, but the noise level was no higher than a family’s backyard – not a loud family, either. Families played. Adults and children fished. People boated and floated in the river. Boys and girls bicycled. Pets were noticeable, but they were all on leashes or close to their campsite.  People who were fishing on that 4^th of July weekend either caught and released as many fish as they wanted to or they left with their limit of fish.

Eddy practiced catch and release, so there were no fish to clean for us. Yay! We headed back to Shady Oaks around the time the grills were firing up for supper, tired and ready for our own meal.

Today’s Encouragement:The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined (Psalm 50:1 – 2).

God’s voice speaks to us through all of creation, and as Hebrews 1 tells us, in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. Hear Him.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, ² Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (Hebrews 1:1, 2);