Fishing the White River in the Spring
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| March | 62° / 39° |
| April | 72° / 49° |
| May | 78° / 57° |
The spring is a great time for fishing on the White River. You have mild to warm air temperatures, which makes it pleasant to be on the water all day. Water releases are usually moderate to high in the late spring through early summer, so you have a lot of water to fish here. Drifting is much easier with the higher water levels.
Fishing the White River in the Summer
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| June | 87° / 66° |
| July | 91° / 69° |
| August | 90° / 68° |
Air temperatures are hot during the summer, however, water temperatures are cool here year round, so it isn’t hard to grab some cool water to splash yourself and cool off while out on the water. With water levels staying somewhat high through most of the summer, you have lots of water to drift and cover water here.
The bite is good through the summer, however, it does get hot and for some anglers, the early morning bite is the preferred time to be on the water. The high sun does make the fishing tougher for brown trout and sometimes the rainbow trout as well, but with so many rainbows in the water, some anglers do fish for them with success all day long. If you are hoping to catch a bigger brown trout, low light conditions are best during the summer.
Fishing the White River in the Fall
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| September | 84° / 60° |
| October | 73° / 49° |
| November | 61° / 40° |
In the fall, air temperatures get very nice again and stay comfortable all the way through November with the exception of the occasional cold front that will make you wish you chose to go farther south for your fishing trip. Even if you do time it wrong and hit a bad cold front in November, the fishing is still very good.
Trout will spawn in the fall, usually from late October through early winter. The bite usually stays good all fall without the need to target the redds for spawning trout. From the middle to the end of the spawn though, egg patterns start to work a lot better for rainbow trout and brown trout.
Fishing the White River in the Winter (Ice Fishing)
| Month | Avg. Air Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| December | 51° / 32° |
| January | 49° / 28° |
| February | 53° / 32° |
The winter provides some very good fishing, however, most anglers do not choose to plan a trip during this time of year. Water temperatures are cool year round, so the sudden winter air won’t shut down the fishing. On warmer days, it can be quite comfortable here through the winter. On colder days, it is really up to the angler. If you can handle the colder weather, you should be able to catch plenty of trout.
You will find some trout spawning through the winter, but there are plenty of trout to catch that won’t be on the redds too.
Shad Kills
If there is a shad kill on the lake, the fishing can be flat out awesome, especially for bigger brown trout. Shad kills don’t always happen, but when they typically do, it is usually the mid to end of winter with extended cold snaps. The colder weather stuns or kills the shad and they will then get sucked through the Bull Shoals Dam and sent downstream into the White River. The intensity and the length of the shad kill depend on the severity and length of the cold fronts. Some years, it is minimal at best while in the best years, you may have trout gorging on shad for a good month or more. The fishing is a lot better during the shad kills. The trout get very aggressive and they aren’t nearly as skittish as they are throughout the rest of the year.
Featured Business
The Fisherman’s Lodge
Our two-story lodge includes a 50 to 75 seat conference center, entertainment decks with BBQ equipment, guest rooms with private full baths, and a great room with kitchen. The Lodge is “base camp” for our guided White River trout fishing trips.
