Fishing Arkansas
Fishing in Arkansas
In March of 2010, our family decided to spend Spring break in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The plan was to visit Crater of Diamonds State Park, dig up a few diamonds, then retire to our little red cabin on the tailwaters of lake Greeson, just below Narrows dam. Needless to say, we didn’t get rich digging for diamonds, but the fishing experience I enjoyed with my daughter was priceless and one that she nor I will ever forget.
Arrival
Upon arrival at the little red cabin, we noticed the water level in the stream seemed very low. There was a lot of brush and debris in the water as well. I thought to myself, “this doesn’t look that good.” We settled in, debated about whether or not we wanted to fish the stream and ultimately decided to go hunt for diamonds the next day.
Fishing Location
Little Red Cabin that we stayed in. Fished just to the South of this location in March of 2010.
Narrows Dam Lake Greeson
Crater of Diamonds State Park
The Next Day
The next day, we took our time getting around, ate brunch at the local restaurant and headed out to hunt for diamonds. We spent some time digging, found several interesting rocks, but no diamonds. On the way back to the cabin, I stopped and bought a fishing license and a trout permit. After dropping the rest of the family off at the cabin, my daughter and I decided to make a visit to a small bait shop we had passed up the road. This turned out to be a very wise decision.
The Bait Shop
We stopped in at the small bait shop and upon entering found an older gentleman behind the counter. I told him where I was from, that I had never fished for trout before and didn’t own a fly rod. He sort of chuckled and said “You don’t need a fly rod to catch trout.” He walked over to a wall in his bait shop and proceeded to show my daughter and I how to rig up our spin cast combos to catch trout. He also showed us on his map where to go fish. The spot he pointed out was on a small bend in the river and it held deeper water than what we had seen the previous day. As a bonus, the spot was just a short walk from the cabin where we were staying.
Fishing Lake Greeson Tailwaters
Stringer Full of Trout
The Stream
Upon returning from the bait shop, it started to sprinkle. The temperature was in the mid 60s and wet, but this was not going to deture us from catching trout. We put on the rubber boots we bought for diamond digging and pulled out some 99 cent rain ponchos we had stored in the truck glovebox.
After arriving at the stream and rigging up our lines, my daughter cast her line out first. Within a few seconds, she had her first bite and before I could even make a cast, she had caught a nice rainbow trout. I removed the trout, made sure she still had bait and off she went. Again, within a minute or two, she caught another trout. This literally went on until it was too dark to fish. She caught trout after trout. I had to make her stop a couple of times, just so I could throw my line out to catch a few.
We released most of what we caught, but kept a few on the stringer for a nice photo opportunity.
The Experience
Although we didn’t find any diamonds in Murfreesboro, the short trip was one that I will never forget. Not only do I now know exactly where and when to catch trout in Arkansas, I created fishing memories with my daughter that will no doubt last a lifetime. Fishing Arkansas is a great idea for a quick Spring break vacation.
Other Fishing Articles
- Fishing Pikes Peak
Our experience fishing Pike's Peak. - Gar Fishing
This is our method of catching long nose gar. - About Spinnerbaits
Information on spinnerbaits