From WhiteRiver.net:

February and March mark a special time for trout fishing on the White River. Those of you who have been here before are probably aware of the shad kill we have each spring. If you have not fished the White during the shad kill you are missing one of the most exciting events in all of trout fishing!

This is when 8 to 10 pound trout are frequently caught. You'll also catch plenty in the 1 to 4 pound range, and a few in the 15 to 18 pound range are caught each year. You'll catch trout until you just plain too tired to catch any more…

…Sometime after the first of the year, usually by Mid-February, the shad begin to be sucked through the generators at Bull Shoals Dam and are swept down the White River for miles and miles. The White is a tailwater fishery with its origin at Bull Shoals Lake dam. Bull Shoals Lake is loaded with millions of shad. As the lake cools each winter the shad are stunned or killed by cold water. The current pulls them down the lake, through the power generators, into the White River. The amount of the shad kill varies, mostly based on how cold the weather gets. The colder the water, the bigger the kill. The longer the weather stays cold, the longer the kill lasts.

Read the full post here.