Rising River Guides - Cotter, Arkansas

Hayden .wilson

From Start to finish this was by far my favorite guided trip of my life. Mathew at Rising River was so easy to communicate and plan with. Everything was beyond smooth. I drove 12 hours from south/central Texas with the goal of catching my first brown trout. Along with me was my dad, he was a beginner who was looking for his first catch on a fly rod. When I got into town I stayed at the midge. This is a lodging option with Rising River. The midge was very clean, well kept, and really nice. The next morning we went out and met our guide Logan. Logan was very polite and made us feel right at home. He broke down some lessons for my dad and gave me his best advice on casting and where to put it for the perfect bites. From the first drift of the day to the last we were catching fish. Left & right. During that time I landed my first brown trout, caught my personal best rainbow trout, and even had multiple double Ups with my dad. I couldn’t recommend Rising River’s Midge, guide service, and Logan any more!!!

Morgan S

The last time I’d been fly fishing was with my grandfather over 20 years ago. We would go in the summers.
This was my first time fly fishing with a guide and now I don’t think I could ever do it any other way. Just spent two of the best days of my entire 36 years with Al on Matt’s team.
Caught more fish than I’d ever imagined I would but more importantly made memories that will last a lifetime.
This will be the first of many trips to come and rest assured they will all involve Rising River Guides. Cannot recommend these dudes enough.

Terry Wilkerson

My son and I just returned from fishing in Arkansas on the White and the Norfolk rivers with Rising River guide services. We planned the trip on the spur of the moment and Matt quickly made arrangements for us to fish. We had two great guides, Oscar Chapman and Paul Brown, that are truly “men of the river” and they both showed us where the fish were and quickly got us on them. We caught around 50 trout each of the first two days and on the 3rd day, we stopped counting at noon. (Not a fish story). I would highly recommend Rising River to anyone that loves to fish, see a scenic river, and of course, catch a lot of fish. Thanks to Matt, Oscar, and Paul for a great time and we are already thinking about coming back in the spring for another run.

elizabeth quinn

A friend and I fished with Rising River guides for the first time this week and had a blast! Matt was always quick to get back to me or let me know when he would get back to me if he was on the water with another client. He got us set up with a great guide, Ike, for an awesome day on the White and the Norfork. I have some experience but my friend is totally new to fly fishing and our guide was able to put us both on fish and offer instruction tailored to our skill levels. We enjoyed it so much on Monday we texted Matt asking for a last minute booking the next day for an evening half day float and he was able to work some scheduling magic and set us up with Paul for the next evening on the White. Both guides knew the rivers well and were incredibly accommodating. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and we will be back for sure!

Adam Hixson

We went on 2 half day fly fishing trips on the White River with Rising River Guides and had the best experience. All guides were very professional, and put us on the trout! All of the anglers in our group were rookie fly fishermen and the guides were patient, fantastic teachers. After a couple of drifts of practice, we were yanking fish in right and left. I can't recommend this group highly enough! We WILL be back!!

Jason Cook

Rising River Guides is a phenomenal guide service. Matt , Bryant, and Jeremy are all great guides, with a wealth of knowledge. They are very professional and patient and use high-end gear. We always have great time and catch a lot of fish. I highly recommend these guys!

Micah Sommer

Where do I even begin? From my first email to Matt I was pretty confident that we were going to be well taken care of. My husband and I fished the White last year and couldn't wait to come back. We had a great guide last year, but did want to try a different guiding service to get a more varied experience on the river. Matt was responsive, prompt, and gave us so many options. Although, at the time he didn't know the the river was going to be a low levels, his guides made up for it. We brought a group of 4 people and he definitely delivered.

We had three different guides for three days and two boats. My husband and I fished with Bryant all three days and it was so refreshing to have him help us catch fish. He was patient, calm, fun, and refreshing to say the least. He provided education when asked and was able to articulate, clear instructions when the excitement was next level. He is truly a gem of a human!

The guides have had a difficult season as the water levels at the damn are inconsistent and often very low in the mornings, which make catching big browns a little bit difficult. They took us down past the Norfolk to an area we hadn't been too and caught so many rainbows and really provided an amazing experience. The last day water levels came up in the afternoon and my husband and I both landed some beautiful brown trout that had been pushed to to the shore.

My father and his fishing buddy also came with us. They really only wanted to catch large fish, which they explained was difficult because of the water levels. They provided my dad and his friend with a varied experience and my dad luckily caught a nice brown while he was there.

Our other guides were Al and David, both amazing humans with so much experience. My husband and I are thinking of coming back in September to fish, we will definetly be contacting Matt to set us up with Bryant if possible.We are also thinking of making the move to arkansas, as we fell in love with the White and surrounding area. its a peaceful, friendly place that I dream of when I'm not there. Don't hesitate, contact Rising River Guides for your fishing trip.

Kim Clark

River less crowded today for some reason.
Also caught alot of fish today.
Loved Paul. Paul and my wife Cissy carried on in the back of the boat because I was in front today. He was a pleasure to be with. Would recommend Paul and you to others looking for a great fishing trip!
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Hunter gave us alot of lessons and pointers on fly fishing. Had a great day with him yesterday.