Ozark Fly Guides
About Our Services and Rivers
Ultimate Ozark Fishing Experience.
We provide expert guide service for individual fishermen and fisherwomen, as well as young anglers aged nine and older. Our services are tailored for both small and large groups, accommodating trips for two people, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, and beyond. With a maximum of two individuals per boat, we also welcome larger corporate groups, families, and various group arrangements. Rest assured, we prioritize safety and professionalism to ensure a memorable fishing experience for everyone.
The Little Red River in Heber Springs, Arkansas, is a cold, spring-fed tailwater flowing from Greers Ferry Dam through approximately 29 miles of prime trout habitat before joining the White River. Because cold water is released from deep in the reservoir, the river maintains a temperature regime that supports a thriving trout fishery. The trout species found there include rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout and cutthroat trout in various stretches. The river is considered “blue ribbon” trout water.
Downriver from Greers Ferry Dam, the Little Red winds through a scenic corridor of steep hardwood hillsides, moss-lined boulders, and gravel shoals, with cool, clear water threading among riffles and deeper pools. You’ll often glimpse white-tailed deer at the water’s edge, raccoons foraging along the banks, river otters playing in pockets, and a variety of waterfowl and songbirds—ducks, kingfishers, herons, and sometimes bald eagles or ospreys overhead. In quieter stretches, the forest canopy and understory of maples, oaks, and sycamores provide habitat for squirrels, pileated woodpeckers, and other woodland creatures, while hidden among gravel bars and submerged rocks live endemic darters and mussels unique to the Little Red system.
The Little Red
The White River in Arkansas, particularly the tailwater stretch below Bull Shoals Dam, is maintained by cold, clear discharges that create an ideal habitat for trout in what is considered one of the nation’s premier tailwater fisheries. Trout anglers in the White River commonly encounter rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, and brook trout—with brown trout capable of sustaining wild reproduction here and rainbow trout maintained largely by stocking.
Flowing through the rugged Ozark highlands, the scenery along the White River alternates between towering limestone bluffs, forested ridges, and lush riparian corridors where dogwood, redbud, oak, and sycamore thrive. In these scenic stretches, one might spot bald eagles soaring overhead, herons and kingfishers along the riffles, and deer or raccoons near quiet backwaters. Down in the lower reaches, within the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, you’ll also encounter a mosaic of oxbows, beaver ponds, waterfowl, and wetland species like catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, and crappie alongside the trout fishery.
The White River
The Norfork Tailwater is the roughly 4.8-mile stretch of the North Fork of the White River immediately below Norfork Dam, formed when cold, oxygen-rich water is released from deep in Norfork Lake. Because of the consistent cool temperatures and habitat provided, this section is famed as a high-quality trout fishery. Anglers here pursue rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, and brook trout (though some species are more abundant than others). In fact, the Norfork has produced many trophy brown trout—dozens over 10 lb.
As the Norfork flows downstream from the dam, its banks are lined with steep wooded hillsides—oak, hickory, and sycamore—interspersed with rock outcrops and ledges. You’ll find riffles, glides, and deep pools giving a varied underwater structure for trout habitat. Wildlife in and around the river is abundant: bald eagles and herons patrol overhead, songbirds flit through the treetops, and along the shore you may see white-tailed deer, raccoons, and the occasional fox. In wetter areas and shorelines, turtles (such as painted or box turtles) can be seen basking on logs or rocks. The area also supports a diversity of aquatic insects and smaller fish, which fuel the food web sustaining the trout—along with occasional sightings of wadeable species or migratory fish near the confluence with the White River.