Report 7969: Youth hears vocalizations and is trailed while fishing on White River

When I was about 13 years old I went trout fishing with my mother and aunt on the White river in Arkansas.  We were staying at a motel in BullShoals.  One morning we drove to a remote area of the river to fish via an unkown dirt road.  We stopped to fish a bend of the river.  On the opposite side of the river(west), was a tall stone bluff with a slight over crop from erosion.  On the east side was flatter land with 12 to 20 foot thin scrub trees about 20 to 30 feet from the water, as the river was low.  While my mother and aunt where fishing off the bank, I decided to try my luck further up river, about 300 yards away and just out of sight with my mother.  While I was fishing along the bank I began to hear rustling sounds in the trees and shrubs behind me.  I looked in the direction of the noise and could see the tops of the these thin trees moving as if something were walking through them and pushing them to the side, but due to the thickness of the vegetation I could not see what was actually moving the trees.  I stood and observed this activity for 2 or 3 minutes.  I began hearing grunting type sounds that were very deep and substantial sounding.  These sounds were similar but different than grunt sounds a bull would make.  The movement of the trees began to appear as if something were shaking the trees at this point instead of moving through them.  It appeared that whatever was making the noises was only about 10 feet inside the brush yet I could not see what it was.  Feeling nervous, I decided I should return to my mothers side and began walking back towards my mother.  As I did, whatever was in the brush moved with me step for step.  As I walked the movement in the trees seemed more forceful with the sounds of large branches breaking as it moved.  When I got within sight of my mother (about 50 yards), all activity stopped.  I informed my mother there was something in the brush following me, but she shrugged it off.  Within a few minutes we decided to leave as we werent catching any fish.