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'Best' city found in Natural State
 | | BEST GAME AND FISH COMMISSION PHOTO Outdoor Life magazine found Mountain Home offered the best life among the 200 cities it studied. |
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Outdoor Life magazine ranks the top towns for hunters and anglers to live in its April 2008 issue, on newsstands this week.
The magazine used extensive data to score 200 towns on available sporting opportunities and quality of life. Mountain Home, Ark., population 12,215, took top honors on the magazine's "Best Places to Live" list.
This was the second time this year Mountain Home had been honored for its outdoor opportunities. Field and Stream magazine featured the town prominently in its February issue as the second best fishing town in America.
Field and Stream staff identified what they believe to be the 20 best fishing towns in America. Towns were judged on the availability of year-round fishing opportunities, cost of living, fishing culture and outdoor related economy, quality of life and diversions other than fishing.
Outdoor Life noted several of the same activities in its article. "There are a lot of outdoorsmen looking to put down roots in an area with more campsites then condos," says Todd Smith, editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life. "We went straight to facts when putting this list together to make sure we got the best options. With hard data backing our rankings I know sportsmen aren't going to be disappointed."
Mountain Home, scored the top spot on the list. Mountain Home is the eastern most town to break into the top 10, with a high percentage of Rocky Mountain locations dominating the list.
Mountain Home's score was elevated by its close proximity to world-class warm and cold water fishing in the White River and Bull Shoals Lake and turkey, deer and bear hunting in the nearby Ozark National Forest. According to Outdoor Life, Mountain Home was also bolstered by a low cost of living, excellent schools and hospitals, and a vibrant retail economy.
According to Outdoor Life, the leading appeals for Mountain Home were world-class fishing for trophy largemouth and striped bass, walleye, slab crappies and whopper trout in the White River and nearby Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes. Turkey, squirrels and whitetailseven timber ducks and black bear-occupy the Ozark National Forest.
Henry Seay, owner of Rim Shoals Resort, was interviewed for the story and said the first time he fished northern Arkansas's White River he knew he'd buy a house nearby.
That was seven years ago. Seay still fishes the White River twice a week and adorns the walls of his business with evidence of his success, including mounts of brown trout pushing 30 inches.
The article stated that trout fishing in north-central Arkansas rivals any Rocky Mountain destination. "The White, Little Red and North Fork rivers boast hundreds of trout per mile thanks to the coldwater habitat below the region's bottom-release dams.
"Mineral content in the water fuels growth rates. The North Fork River gave up a 38 1/2- pound brown trout two decades ago and the constellation of fly shops in the area are decorated with photos of 5- to 8-pound trout," the article said. "Warmwater anglers have a playground west of town on Bull Shoals Lake, where walleye, bream, bass and crappie are caught in flooded timber and off rocky points. Norfork Lake's striped and hybrid bass reach 30 pounds of scrappy, reel-screaming action," it stated.
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