OK, these are boat pics but that's what it takes to drift the river and get those trout!!

My local Merc dealer had a truckload of these scheduled to arrive late last week, there was one left unsold. I was able to get it and the dealer was able to call the factory, War Eagle in Arkansas, and have a couple options added prior to shipping. They arrived yesterday I think it was. One boat had priority ahead of mine and it is being readied today and mine will be finished tomorrow.

The White River flows into Bull Shoals Lake which was formed by the Bull Shoals dam, Army Corps of Engineers in the 50s; part of Bull Shoals is in Missouri and part in Arkansas..the White River then flows out of the lake and because of the cold temperatures is prime trout water. Several miles downstream the White River is joined by the North Fork river which flows out of Lake Norfork...again same story. The trout waters then extend downstream for about fifty miles until the water gets too warm for trout...then bass and other underwater critters take over. When the dams are generating there can be as many as nine generators at each running at the same time and the river runs high and swift. When less generators, or none at all, are running...the river is shallow and very docile. Drift fishing is the rule.....you let your boat turn sideways to the current and drift your bait or lure with the current; the trout love it and they hold downstream from boulders and other obstructions then suck in the bait at the appropriate time. Once you've drifted far enough, you motor back upstream and do it all over again.

The preferred boat is aluminum and is known as a "River Boat or Trout Boat"....common name is Jon Boat. They have flat bottoms and are anywhere from 15' to 22' in length depending on how many fishermen. The boats used by the river guides are usally the longer ones to accomodate 2 or 3 paying fishermen. They normally have raised seats like a bass boat; you can spin cast, bait cast or fly fish while drifting the river. A flat-bottom boat is much safer in that if you do hit a gravel shoal going sideways they just hang up or slide over; a V hull would likely tip over from the impact.

I got a 15hp Mercury outboard with electric start and the ability to raise raise itself partially out of the water with a downward shove on the tiller....good when approaching a shallow shoal. Also had the factory install a trolling motor mount box and power up front on the bow. It has a raised seat in the bow and the rear seat slides on a rail across the entire width of the stern area....very good for driving from the middle, left side or right side.

Anyway I got a War Eagle (official boat of Ducks Unlimited although I doubt I'll ever hunt ducks from mine) which is manufactured in Monticello, AR from welded aluminum.

Here are a few pics after the boat was unloaded from the truck, several trailers were delivered also and the Merc outboard is inside the shop. Hopefully I'll have it for a try out tomorrow afternoon.







/>

Come on out there, show us what ya got


TG