Earlier this year, Arkansas set strict regulations around trout fishing, dropping the take home limit on rainbows from 5 to 2, and mandatory releasing of browns and cutthroats.

A lot of folks may be asking, “Where’d all the trout go?”

To answer that, we first need to understand where trout came from in the first place.

So we had Christy Graham, trout program coordinator for Arkansas Game and Fish, in the studio this week to walk through the history of trout in the Ozarks and what’s happening to them.

This week:

How trout found their way into the Ozarks
What it takes to keep world-class trout fishing running
Ever hunted bull frogs with an atlatl….?

How Trout Made Their Way Into The Ozarks

Historic Photo of Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery

Trout aren't native to the Ozarks.

They got here the same way many new residents did by in the late 1800s.

By train.

The first rainbow trout arrived in Arkansas in the 1890s transported by rail to Mammoth Spring on the Spring River in the far north of the state. Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery is one of the oldest hatcheries in the country.

Then came the dams

Starting in the 1930s and '40s, the Army Corps of Engineers built a series of large dams on the White River system: Norfork, Bull Shoals, Table Rock, and Beaver. Primarily for flood control and hydropower.

Before that, the White River and its tributaries were warm-water systems, perfect for smallmouth bass, sunfish, native species. The dams totally changed that.

Cold water from the bottom of those reservoirs (around 50 to 55°F) pours into the tailwater below, creating perfect habitat for trout.

For the native warm water species those rivers were known for, it was the end. So the US Fish & Wildlife Service built hatcheries below Norfork and Greers Ferry to stock trout as the replacement.

The '90s boom

People figured out trout fishing fast after the dams went in.

But Christy says their survey data shows the big jump really hitting in the '90s, and she ties it to the 1992 world record brown trout caught on the White River by Rip Collins.

Game & Fish

That put Arkansas trout fishing on the map.

The White and Norfork Tailwater have since produced multiple world records. The record's now in New Zealand, but the fishery that built those fish still produces. Your average brown on the White today runs 18 inches, but fish pushing 30-plus aren't rare.

In Arkansas alone, anglers spend around $230 million a year on trout fishing. And that’s just on trips and gear, before you count jobs, taxes, and everything else downstream. AGFC is currently studying this, and Christy expects that number to look a lot bigger when the full picture gets added up.

A lot hinges on the hatcheries

The trout fishery is almost entirely dependent on stocking.

Rainbow trout can't naturally reproduce in these tailwaters in any meaningful numbers. The water fluctuations are too extreme. The White can swing 25,000 CFS in a single day.

Brown trout on the Little Red River are the exception. Introduced in the late '70s and early '80s via egg boxes by Arkansas Fly Fishers and the late Dave Whitlock, they've been self-sustaining ever since. AGFC hasn't stocked browns there in decades. But the Little Red is its own world.

But by in large, trout in the Ozarks are hatchery dependent.

What happened to the hatcheries?

In a normal year, about 1.5 million trout are stocked into Arkansas rivers. This year it's around 800,000.

A historic Spring River flood wiped out 50% of the state hatchery.
Norfork National Fish Hatchery, which supplies 40% of all trout stocked in Arkansas, went from 3.5 million fish to 30,000 in a matter of weeks.
Regulations that started as emergency are now permanent: 2 fish per day limit (was 5), 14-inch maximum length limit, and no browns, cutthroats, brookies, or tigers can be kept at all.

What does that mean for the future of trout fishing in the Ozarks?

Christy's back next week to walk us through the plan.

Til then, check out part 1 of our conversation with Christy.

Here are the timestamps if you want to jump to specific parts of the episode.

0:00 – Trout Aren't Native to the Ozarks
4:15 – History of Trout in the Ozarks: Rail Cars, Dams & Mitigation
6:25 – What Happened to the Smallmouth?
12:35 – Why Were the Dams Built?
17:00 – When Did Trout Fishing Really Take Off?
22:50 – More Fish vs. Bigger Fish?
24:30 – How Important Is Trout Fishing to Arkansas?
31:00 – Natural Reproduction vs. Stocking
38:00 – Who Runs What?

🎧 If you like platforms other than YouTube, find The Ozark Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and the rest.

Hither & Yonder

A few headlines from the around the Ozarks that caught our eye this week. If you need talking points for the front porch this weekend, here’s some ammo.

Check out this story from Springfield about a couple of Ozarks craftsmen keeping American-made work alive making locally sourced, custom baits.
Missouri deer hunters have July 1–31 to apply online for a chance at more than 140 managed deer hunts across the state this fall.
A little overdue, but here’s an update on the clean up at Spring River Hatchery following the floods earlier this year.
AGFC's weekly fishing report is out. Trout are biting on the White and Little Red despite the reduced regulations, with streamer fishing picking up on the Little Red as generation flows increase.
Bullfrog hunting season opened this week in Missouri (it’s been open in Arkansas since Jun 1). Missouri lists atlatls as approved methods… if anyone gets that on video, please send that in.