COTTER -- Craig Yowell ruined me on trout fishing.
For as long as I have fished for trout, I was satisfied catching a lot of small rainbows and browns, with an occasional big fish just to say I could. I caught a 20-plus inch brown on the Little Red River in 2007 while fishing with Pat Kimble of Hot Springs, and a big hook-jawed male on the White River fishing with guide Frank Saksa. I also caught a 20-plus inch brown on the White River fishing from the bank at the Buffalo City Access a few years ago. I remember those fish because I've caught so few of them.
I doubled my career number Monday while fishing on the White River with Bill Eldridge of Benton and Yowell, a freelance fishing guide who specializes in trophy-size trout. The outing was courtesy of Eldridge's father Bill Eldridge Sr. of Little Rock.
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Against impossible odds, the senior Eldridge -- a veteran of the Korean War -- survived a catastrophic complication with colon cancer about a year ago. I've seldom met anybody so grateful to be alive, and he lives every day as if it were his last. That means frequent visits to the White River, where he has become addicted to catching big trout.
Actually, ours was a chance meeting. Eldridge Jr., his son Matthew Eldridge of Dallas and I intended to spend Monday float fishing for smallmouth bass on the Buffalo River, then spend Tuesday on Crooked Creek. Weekend rains obliterated those plans, swelling both streams to flood stage with cold water the color of chocolate milk. When we checked into our cabin at White Buffalo Resort, the White River looked like the Clarendon edition. From the resort office, we could see water boiling out the mouth of the Buffalo.
That's when we learned that Eldridge Sr. was in Cotter for a Monday trout outing. He joined us for grilled filet mignons and arranged for a second guide and boat through Debbie Gamble, proprietor of Cotter Trout Dock.
Yowell made his intentions clear when we met. His goal was to catch big fish with sculpins, a small bottom-dwelling fish that is native to Arkansas streams. Yowell catches them before each trip.
"You can't bring bait onto the White River from anywhere else, so we catch our own," Yowell said. "We also use minnows and river shiners that we catch with nets and minnow traps."
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Above the mouth of Crooked Creek, the White was much cleaner. The water was slightly stained and ambled along peacefully at minimum flow current. We entered the river at Cotter and anchored about 8 miles below Wildcat Shoals. I watched Yowell arrange the sculpin rig, which was surprisingly easy.
"Cast a little off to the side and let the current straighten your line," Yowell said. "If there's a big brown in here, he'll find it."
Setting the hook is a tricky technique. A trout mouths a sculpin, sometimes for a long while. The rod tip dances alluringly, but setting the hook will result in empty dreams. Only when the rod doubles over do you answer the challenge.
"We had some Ranger pros out here not too long ago, and you could tell they were Ranger pros," Yowell said. "They yanked their rods like they were fishing for bass."
It's more like a saltwater rod set. Reel in the slack and gently sweep the rod to the side while reeling quickly. The fish will hook itself.
Yowell, who has been guiding since he was in high school, knows where some of the biggest trout on the river live, and he knows them by name. One particular specimen, whose name we omit out of respect to Yowell, had befuddled Yowell and a guide buddy for quite some time. They thought they had him one day, but he slipped the hook and disappeared for several months.
"One day I caught this 18-inch rainbow that had its back practically ripped off," Yowell said. "Only a really big trout will do that to another big trout. I called my buddy and said, 'I found him!' "
The two set up on opposite sides of the big trout's hole, and on that day he just happened to be in the mood for a sculpin dinner.
"He weighed 36 pounds, 7 ounces," Yowell said. "He's still here, and we're going to try to catch him again today."
The first fish of the day bit my sculpin, and there was no uncertainty. The rod plunged immediately, and I landed a 17-inch brown. My next two required a lot of patience and finesse. They mouthed and nibbled for the longest time before committing, but they were worth the trouble. They were 21 and 22 inches, respectively.
"There's a big one in here somewhere," Yowell said.
To find it, Yowell lifted anchor and crept downstream about 20 yards at a time. The bite went cold until noon, when we broke for a shore lunch with Eldridge Sr., Matthew Eldridge and their guide Doug Knight at the Rim Shoals Access. They fried up a big mess of bacon, hush puppies, French fries, and pork and beans. We finished with the best banana pudding I've ever had, which is Debbie Gamble's secret recipe. The same goes for her hush puppies.
For the afternoon hunt we set up in the big trout's lair, and it looked like the kind of place where I would expect to find a big fish. Eldridge and I caught a succession of small browns and rainbows that got progressively bigger. Eldridge finished his day with a 21-inch brown.
My last fish was finicky, but I finally got him, a 21-inch rainbow. The White & North Fork Rivers Outfitters Association issued me a commemorative certificate and pin for releasing the fish.
After a day like that, I don't think I will ever be satisfied catching stocker-size fish again.
Sports on 05/24/2020