Therefore, think 20-pound line, a reel with good drag capabilities and a rod with some authority in the butt section. You'll still get broken off, but maybe not quite as often.

SO MANY LURES, SO LITTLE TIME
Lure selection and fishing technique in these lakes is pretty much a matter of dealer's choice. Spinnerbaits or buzzbaits in white, black and chartreuse are hard to beat, but they're by no means the only effective fish-catchers in refuge waters.

Plastic worms and lizards are deadly when fished around cypress trees and treetops. Crankbaits are almost as effective as spinnerbaits, especially floating-diving models that run two to four feet deep. Flipping jigs or small plastics is effective, but since an angler using this technique needs to be standing, sometimes it's not very practical for fishing out of a small, tippy johnboat.

Surface lures of many kinds also have their place in refuge lake bass fishing. Not only are they very effective, especially early and late in the day, but there's just something about laying an old traditional topwater lure -- a Lucky 13, a Jitterbug or a Devil's Horse -- up against a cypress trunk and watching a green-sided blackwater largemouth attack it.

The White River NWR office at St. Charles contains a well-maintained and well-staffed interpretive center, and refuge maps and permits are available here. Maps are also available through online sources such as DeLorme and MapTech. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Arkansas Outdoor Atlas -- available through the agency's Web site (www.agfc.com) -- shows the refuge lands, lakes and roads.

Wherever you get it, do get a map of the refuge. You're going to need it to find your way to many of the lakes. But after you've sampled the bass fishing in a few of them, you won't have any trouble remembering how to get back there.