Besides, a trout like that will have been in the wild long enough for its flesh to attain a firm texture and enticing orange color. Grilled with lemon and butter, it'll be delicious.

Because they occupy such remarkably different habitats, the trout living in Bull Shoals behaviors are different from those of their counterparts in the tailraces. Anglers accustomed to river-fishing techniques will find their methods completely unsuited to lake fishing.

Essentially, trout behave like any other predator fish. Their main forage is threadfin shad, so you'll often find trout lurking beneath big schools of baitfish. To find them, a good electronic graph is essential, said Anthony Rennick of Oakland, Ark. Rennick spends most of his time targeting walleye in Bull Shoals, but he always considers trout a welcome bonus.

"Generally speaking, they usually hover just below the thermocline," Rennick said. "In the summertime, the thermocline is usually about 50 feet deep, but sometimes it's even deeper, around 90 feet. If you find shad anywhere near the thermocline, it's a good bet that trout will be right under them."

Theoretically, rainbow trout occupy the predatory niche that stripers used to fill, but trout behave in a manner quite unlike that characteristic of stripers. For example, most striper anglers in the summer fish by trolling live shad under balloons. In the springtime, stripers will also hit topwater lures aggressively. You won't catch rainbows with either of those methods. When the water gets much warmer than 50 degrees, trout go deep and stay there.

On the other hand, once you determine the depth of the thermocline and find baitfish, lake rainbows are fairly easy to catch. You can also catch them on very basic tackle, which explains their popularity among casual anglers.

In the summer, some of the lake's most popular attractions are the trout charters that operate from marinas such as Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock. These trips take place on large party barges that carry as many as 18 fishermen. They leave at sunset and return when everyone catches a limit or gets tired.

Keith Katcher, a guide who operates out of Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock is a superb bass angler, but he enjoys the trout trips because of their laid-back atmosphere. "It's a fun time when Mom, Dad and the kids can go out and cook hotdogs," he said. "There's a grill on the boat, and we take a lot of soda pop. It's a great way for people to get to know each other."

Once a guide finds a promising spot, he lowers lights into the water and turns them on. That sets up a food chain that starts with swarms of insects circling over the lights, followed by swarms of baitfish that circle beneath the lights. Trout will soon follow. Anglers simply thread a couple of corn kernels and a red worm on a small Aberdeen hook and then wait for the fish to bite. On a good night that'll happen quickly, but sometimes you might have to wait a couple of hours.