Dry Run Creek

I have been fishing in a lot of really good places where I really enjoy fishing. And then there are those certain places where I have been that I just absolutely love, whether because of the extraordinary fishing or scenery or both.

And then there is Arkansas' Dry Run Creek.

This is a stream that I have only been to a couple of times, and both times I have been amazed by the amount of fish in it and the unbelievable size and beauty of many of the the fish. Dry Run Creek is a very small stream in Arkansas that flows into the Norfork River. A couple of the things that make it so good are that along with the natural flow of the stream it is fed by the outflow of The Norfork National Fish Hatchery, and the water that comes from the hatchery is very fertile. It also stays cold because it comes from the depths of Norfork Lake. It is also a special-regulations stream. It is all catch-and-release, with barbless, single-hooked artificial baits and it is only for people under 16 or disabled anglers.
The result of such good management is that you can look into the stream in many places and just see hundreds of trout, including huge brown trout, rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout. In each of times I have been to Dry Run Creek, I have caught two or three trout that have weighed around 4 pounds, and the first time I went there I caught about an 8-pound rainbow trout (which you can see in my profile picture).

Now I will tell you that all of that about Dry Run Creek was just a long intro to tell you that I fished there on Wednesday, and it was amazing. As I said before, you could look in certain holes and see hundreds of fish. I caught 31 fish, including two that were about 4 pounds, most on either a Rebel Teeny Wee Crawfish or a Rebel Tracdown Minnow (modified for a single barbless hook).

One very interesting thing that I experienced was having a very big brown trout jump off. I don't know just how big it was, but dad and I both think it was over 6 pounds and maybe 10 pounds. Of course, that almost seemed like a vanilla experience compared to earlier in day when, while I was reeling in about a 10-inch trout, I realized it was swimming more frantically than others that I had caught, and then suddenly I saw a HUGE brown trout tailing it trying to eat it!!!!

I don't know if Dry Run Creek is my favorite place to fish but it is by far the most amazing just pure fishing I have ever experienced.

-Nathaniel