COTTER — The quest for big brown trout in the White River below Bull Shoals Dam last weekend definitely defined the meaning of the term “living large.” Brown trout that are as long as an angler’s arms and legs are simultaneously the most impressive yet most mysterious of trout in these tailwaters, where they are often seen but seldom caught. As a result, catching one of the giants remains an elusive dream for even the most avid of anglers, myself included. Drew Daniel of Centerton claimed to have an inside track on

making the dream possible. He had met and fished with guide Donald Cranor, whom he considered to be the best trophy trout specialist on the White River. Not only that, Daniel had found Cranor amenable to a bigfish hunt last weekend. “Donald has been featured on the Fishing Hawg Country television show, and he has a photo album filled with pictures of men, women and kids holding big browns,” Daniel said during the drive to the river Friday evening.

Although still in his 30 s, Cranor had been guiding on the river for more than 20 years since starting as a summer part-timer at the age of 15. During the past four years of full-time guiding, the Cotter native has helped his clients catch browns in excess of 20 inches at an average clip of one or two a day but up to as many as eight or nine on the best days. Many of the larger fish stretched from 24 inches to more than 30 inches and weighed from 6 pounds to more than 14 pounds.

Before the quest for trophy fish, however, would come an introduction to some of the finest lodging and dining to be found along the White River between Bull Shoals and Cotter.

“Donald said he has arranged for us to stay at a new place that we are really going to like, but I’ve also reserved us a table for a fine dinner at The Bowling Alley,” Daniel said.

Being somewhat familiar with the eating establishments between the towns of Bull Shoals and Cotter, I thought Daniel was joking about fine dining at a place he said really was a bowling alley.

LUXURY LODGING AND FINE DINING

Arriving in Cotter, we met our young, energetic and friendly guide and followed his pickup along rural and wooded roads winding above the river to reach the brightly lighted portal of the new White River Inn, located atop a 300-foot bluff directly overlooking the river’s famed White Hole.

I was immediately agog. Constructed of large cedar logs in the style of a mountain ski lodge, the sprawling 6, 500-square-foot structure would have fit right in at playgrounds of the rich and famous like Aspen and Telluride.

Cranor said the construction of the lodge was the result of a fishing trip several years ago when he guided a client named Moose Watson of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Watson was so impressed with the White River and surrounding area that he stated his intention to sell all he owned back home and move to the Cotter area to fulfill a dream of building the ultimate fishing lodge. To Cranor’s surprise, Watson delivered.

Designed to define “rustic luxury,” the interior of the lodge delivers in every respect, from the tile and wood floors to the massive beams under the lofty ceilings. Every room is largescale in the two wings stretching out from a central living room measuring roughly 36 feet by 45 feet. The guest wing, for example, features a 24-by-36 den with amenities like a home theater and custom-made fly-tying bench surrounded by three large guest suites, each with its own balcony overlooking the river and the Ozarks beyond.

As outdoorsmen, Daniel and I were especially impressed with the many trophy mounts of African and North American game animals, game birds, game fish and other mementos collected during Watson’s worldwide travels as a hunter and angler.

A veritable “moose” of a man and a quintessential host, Watson has many stories to share about the construction of the lodge and the collection of his many trophies.

The lodge and its amenities would be worth a full-feature story, but we were just starting to live large.

Leaving for dinner as a group of fast friends, we ended up in Bull Shoals at The 178 Club, which combines a bowling alley in back with an upscale restaurant up front.

The dining room was packed and the menu promises the finest in steaks and seafood. Our meal — from appetizers to soup, salad and steaks — rated right up there with the better fur-and-feather restaurants I have sampled in Northwest Arkansas.

Of course, bread and water would have been adequate fare considering the accommodations awaiting us for the night, not to mention the wellstocked refrigerator and pantry for our snacking pleasure.

TROPHY-FISHING PRIMER

After a hearty breakfast in the lodge, we piled into Cranor’s pickup and drove back through Cotter, crossed the recently renovated Rainbow Bridge and wound our way to the launch ramp at the White Hole access. Along the way, Cranor spoke forthrightly about our prospects for catching a big brown. A full moon could have encouraged the browns to feed overnight. A day that promised sunny skies would not be as auspicious as an overcast day. The main adversity, however, would be low-water conditions. When Cranor talks about high water for trophy fishing, he means four or more turbines generating from the Bull Shoals Dam, and he hasn’t seen high water for weeks. “When they have been generating at the dam, it has been with only one or two generators and only for short periods,” he said.

In the shadows of the 300-foot bluff overlooking the White Hole, we encountered the biting chill of temperatures in the 20 s and a total calm that turned the water’s surface into a mirror.

After launching his spick-and-span fiberglass drift boat, Cranor slowly motored only about 200 yards before anchoring at a hole near some large boulders at the base of the bluff. Directly overhead we could see the White River Inn.

The first thing Cranor did was wash his hands.

“When you’re after a smarter-thanaverage bear, you want every advantage, so I don’t want any scent on my hands from eating breakfast or gassing up the boat or anything else,” he explained.

Thereafter, the talkative and informative guide began providing a primer of the live-bait game for catching big browns.

Rigging our fishing lines with teardrop-shape bottom sinkers below 3 feet of leader tipped with small wire hooks, Cranor said that he exclusively uses fluorocarbon line.

“It sure makes a difference because the fish can’t see it,” he said. “It tends to be a bit brittle, so I get more break-offs, but I get a lot more hook-ups, too.”

Large minnows were to be the bait of the day. These were native to the White River and caught the night before in a minnow trap.

“When I’m trophy fishing, I’ll use minnows from December to April, sculpins from April to the middle of June and then crawfish from the middle of June to October,” Cranor said.

All the baits are captured from the river, but when using crawfish, Cranor seeks only soft-shell crawfish that he finds hidden in beds of coontail moss.

After handing us our spinning rigs, Cranor instructed us to cast the minnows near the rocks and hold our rods with some slack in the line.

“Rainbows will usually peck, peck, peck at the baits, but a big brown will usually give you a bump and run ; if you feel that, let the line straighten out before setting the hook,” he advised.

Like hunting deer, trophy fishing is mostly a waiting game. Cranor’s pattern was to spend at least an hour at each of the six spots we dropped anchor as we fished downstream through the White Hole, the next set of shoals and the next long pool.

Blessed with excellent water vision, Cranor endeavored to point out the presence of large browns in excess of 20 inches at each location.

The waiting wasn’t totally boring, though. Rainbow trout and small browns regularly came calling. Since Daniel is also a fishing guide, he and Cranor kept up a lively conversation about the nature of the fishing business.

When Cranor started guiding full time four years ago, he relied mostly on word-of-mouth to build his business but has recently been getting more clients from his Web site, including many from Northwest Arkansas. “Last year I picked up 54 new customers from a lot of hits on my Web site, and when I see that 479 area code, I know that usually is going to be a booking.” Not all the people are interested in trophy fishing. “I tell my new people that we can trophy fish with live bait or we can go and have a lot of action catching one rainbow after another,” he said. “A lot of them don’t believe me until I show them how much fun they can have if they get tired of trophy fishing.”

GETTING IN THE ACTION

Our best trophy-fishing action came at midmorning at a hole in the middle of a shoal where the current was fairly strong. Given the extended period of low-water conditions, Cranor said the browns were tending to hold in areas with current. “It’s partly because of the better aeration of the water and partly because they still have the spawning urge to move upstream,” Cranor said. The action started with catching some nice-size rainbows and cutthroats ranging from 14-16 inches and a few small browns of similar size.

Then, Daniel got a bump and run and set the hook on a big brown that peeled line from his reel.

But something weird happened. Before picking up the minnow, the big trout had apparently just eaten a 9-inch baitfish known locally as a “horny toad.” When the brown sucked down the minnow, the hook buried in the baitfish.

During a mighty tussle, the baitfish and minnow were pulled from the brown’s mouth, allowing the trophy to escape while giving us something to marvel.

A few minutes later, Cranor got a bump and run and this time brought a 22-inch female brown to the boat for the best catch of the day.

“This wasn’t the one that had eaten the horny toad ; that fish was bigger,” Cranor observed.

A couple hours later, when it became obvious that the brown bite was over, the guide took us into a long, shallow channel of gravel and bedrock where rainbows and small browns were gathered in great numbers and where we put aside the live bait for the sheer enjoyment of catching one fish after another.

Perhaps because Cranor was enjoying the rare chance to fish himself — or perhaps because he saw clouds beginning to spread across the blue sky — he suggested we stay over to fish the next morning.

No arm-twisting was necessary.

In cloudy, breezy conditions the next morning, the best action came right at the start in a pool at the head of a shoal.

Along with some small fish, we caught a fat 17-inch rainbow, a 17-inch brown and a fine 18-inch rainbow.

Then, a hard-charging brown hit hard and fast, taking line on several runs before finally being netted.

“A nice male,” Cranor said.

From its hook-shaped jaws to the tip of its tail, the thick-bodied brown stretched nearly 23 inches. Cranor had hoped for a larger fish, but it was good enough for a learning experience.

A few minutes later, the showiest fish of the morning picked up my minnow. It was a stout and acrobatic 18-inch brown that jumped no less than six times.

Our final act was being the first visitors to sign the guest book before departing the White River Inn.

My comment said something about “living large.” Donald Cranor can be reached at (866 ) 789-6271.  The White River Inn can be reached at (870 ) 430-2233.

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