Trout fishing was virtually unknown in Arkansas until U.S. Army   Corps of Engineers dams at Norfork, Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry and Beaver were   built and created ideal habitat downstream. Since the beginning, National Fish   Hatcheries at Norfork, Greers Ferry and Mammoth Spring have supplied stocking   trout for one of the state's most successful fishing industries. The combined   in-state hatcheries produce over two million trout for Arkansas waters each   year.

Arkansas boasts over 150 miles of trout-filled streams for   fishermen. The White provides over 90 miles of habitat downstream from Bull   Shoals, the Little Red offers 30 miles below Greers Ferry Dam and the Spring   River adds another 20 miles, south of Mammoth Spring. Trout are also found in   several lakes, including Bull Shoals, Ouachita, Hamilton, Catherine.

Not   only does Arkansas provide lots of trout-fishing destinations and species, its   waters provide some big ones, too. On May 9, 1992, the late Howard Collins of Heber Springs went on an impromptu fishing trip with a neighbor and   returned with a 40-pound, four-ounce brown from the Little Red River. It still   stands as a world record.