The upper North Fork of the White — the 'North Fork' to Missourians — is the state's premier wild-trout river and a very different thing from the Norfork tailwater far below the lake. Up here, above Norfork Lake, the river is spring-fed (Rainbow Spring and a chain of others keep it cold and constant) and holds a self-sustaining population of wild McCloud-strain rainbows in a Blue Ribbon management area, alongside browns. It's a gorgeous float-and-wade river of clear pools, gravel and bluffs, technical enough to be interesting and wild enough to matter — the closest thing the Ozarks has to a freestone-spring wild-trout stream of real quality. Fish it with the respect a wild fishery deserves: scuds, midges and soft hackles, small dries when they're up, fine tippet and careful handling. Distinct from the Norfork tailwater in every way that counts.
- Limestone