Beauty is in the eyes of the rod holder when a rainbow trout dances at the end of a fishing line.
That dance has been a conga line this fall and winter with anglers catching trout after hard-fighting trout on the region's small lakes.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission stocks several urban lakes with rainbow trout for winter fishing as part of the Family and Community Fishing Program.The Bella Vista Property Owners Association stocks Lake Brittany with trout.
A visit to three of the lakes on a sunny Saturday in December proved the catching is good. The smiles on anglers' faces and heavy stringers of trout were strong evidence at Lake Atalanta in Rogers, Lake Springdale and Lake Brittany in Bella Vista.
Other stocked lakes include Murphy Park in Springdale, Lake Bentonville, Van Buren Municipal Pond, Carol Ann Cross Pond and Wells Lake, both in Fort Smith.
First stop, Lake Atalanta.
Bill Caplinger was proud to show a couple of the rainbow trout he'd caught while fishing with his family. Fishing is good enough that it's worth the 45-minute drive from his home in Sulphur Springs to Lake Atalanta. The 30-acre lake is about one-half mile east of downtown Rogers on east Walnut Street.
"It's our favorite lake to fish," he said. "It's a nice lake, a good family lake."
Two trout finned in his submerged fish basket tethered to the bank.Caplinger was happy to share what he's learned about catching trout from the city lake.
"I've found that this whole west side of the lake is the best trout fishing side," he said.
That's where he sat in a folding chair, close to where a spring branch pours cold, clear water into Lake Atalanta.
Berkley Power Bait, a paste that is balled on to a fish hook, is his favorite for catching his daily limit of five trout.
"A lot of people think you can just catch 'em here during winter, but I've caught them in the summer," he testified.
There is enough deep, cool water at the lake that some trout survive through the summer. Trout thrive in water that is cooler than 70 degrees. That's why Game and Fish only stocks them in the winter.
Next stop, Lake Springdale.
If one family of anglers was fishing for Christmas dinner on Dec. 22, they'd have no trouble serving aunts, uncles, cousins and half the neighborhood. The four fishermen were each nearing their limits, inching toward a collective catch of 20 rainbow trout.
Moji Abolhassani of Fayetteville hoisted another 12-inch beauty from Lake Springdale and swung it toward a net in the hands of Pasha Maleknia of Bentonville.
This is the fifth winter Abolhassani has fished the lake. Fishing has been good as gold this winter, he said.
There's plenty of room to fish from the floating dock that spans the center of the oval-shaped lake. It's about the size of a big pond.
"This year the fishing's been much better off the west side of the dock," he said. "But really, it's good all over."
Abolhassani carries a jar or two of Berkley Gulp trout bait that's similar to Power Bait.
Maleknia said he and his friends catch their limits most every trip to Lake Springdale. He fishes for trout at Lake Bentonville, but said he does better at Lake Springdale.
When it's time for a trout feast, Abolhassani grills his fish and seasons them with salt, pepper and turmeric.
On the road again, this time to Lake Brittany in Bella Vista.
Arriving in midafternoon, the fishing crowd had thinned out. Jack Kennedy of Bella Vista relaxed in a camp chair on the small public dock with some of his family. Two youngsters fished for trout from shore.
Kennedy doesn't fish much at Lake Brittany, but brought the kids on this Saturday because he knew trout swam in the lake.
He, too testified to the catching effectiveness of paste baits like Power Bait and Gulp. Salmon eggs work well. Little Cleo spoons are a favorite lure at Lake Brittany, he said.
The Bella Vista Property Owners Association purchases trout from a hatchery and stocks them at Lake Brittany. Fishing is open to the hundreds of POA members and their guests.
A dance with a rainbow trout on any waterway keeps the wintertime blues at bay.
End with a rainbow
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission stocks rainbow trout each winter at urban lakes around the state. Lakes are stocked once a month from mid-November through February.
Daily limit is five trout of any size. A fishing license and trout permit are required for anglers 16 and older.
Stocking information for each lake is available from Game and Fish at 866-540-3474.
— Source: Staff report
Flip Putthoff can be reached at fputthoff@nwadg.com
Sports on 01/01/2019