There’s incredible trout fishing to be found in many states across the Southeast. Hydroelectric dams below some deep, highland reservoirs in states like Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky result in cold-water discharges that can sustain trout populations year-around. Most of these streams are regularly stocked with rainbow trout, but in some of them, brown trout populations are self-sustaining. Some of these streams are renowned for producing trophy fish, too (a former IGFA world-record brown trout was caught on the Little Red River in Arkansas back in 1992).
I’ve enjoyed the trout fishing opportunities on many of these places for the past 50-plus years. Last year, while fishing with my friend Ed McCoy and guide David Taylor on the White River in Arkansas, we were barely five minutes into the day when McCoy set the hook. Seconds later an enraged brown trout exploded from the cold water like a geyser. McCoy found himself attached to a foot-and-a-half of fury, glistening in the sun and looking more like a jewelry box than a fish. It was hooked securely in the corner of its with a tiny Trout Magnet jig.
Since he is in the business of helping create Trout Magnet lures, it is no surprise that guide Taylor's specialty is fishing Trout Magnets. How he fishes them — and taught us to fish them — is his "Magic Bullet." Using 8-foot spinning rods, we were casting the tiny, 1/32-ounce Trout Magnet jigs suspended on 2-pound test fluorocarbon leaders beneath floats as we drifted downstream. If you're familiar with "float & fly" fishing, this was it. The 2-pound test gets you more bites, but you can’t just crank a 20-inch trout to the boat. Trust me, you will get all the fun out of these fights.
