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June 22, 2005
Fishing Tip: Instead of carrying bagged ice cubes or blocks of ice in your cooler, bring along frozen gallon jugs of water. They will keep your cooler just as cold but won’t flood it with water at the ice thaws. They will also provide cold drinking water as they thaw.
White River: Gaston's White River Resort said the river is clear and at normal pool. There were two generators running on Saturday. Trout fishing is excellent using Little Cleos in gold, Buoyant Spoons in gold-and-red and Power Eggs in yellow or white. In low water, try using nightcrawlers, worms, gray sow bugs or olive Wooly Buggers.
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Bull Shoals Tailwater: McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation has slacked off some this week, providing some low water wading opportunities. After all the recent high water, the trout are used to eating a lot. In the faster riffles and runs, drift a scud, sow bug, mayfly nymph or caddis pupa under a strike indicator and hold on. Caddis action is still hot on the White River, so be sure to have plenty of caddis pupa, as well as dries, in your fly box. The best flies have been: zebra-and-black or olive Rubber-leg Copper John (sizes 14 to 18), McLellan’s Woven V-Rib Sow bug (sizes 14 to 16), McLellan’s Hunchback Scud in tan, olive and gray (sizes 14 to 16) Graphic Caddis in tan and olive (sizes 14 to 18), Z-Wing Caddis (sizes 14 to 16), Caddis Larva (sizes 14 to 16), Elk Hair Caddis (sizes 14 to 18), E-Z Caddis (sizes 14 to 18), Red Fox Squirrel Nymph (sizes 12 to 16), Rag Sculpin (size 6), Articulated Zoo Cougar (size 4), Swimming Jimmy (size 4) White Zonker (size 6), Arkansas Conehead (size 6), San Juan Worms (size 10) and Micro Eggs (size 14).
North Fork River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation has been more sporadic lately on the Norfork, but there have been some good wading opportunities during the morning hours. With all the recent high water, the trout are fat and full of fight. Several fat brook trout have been seen just below Norfork Dam. During low water, concentrate your nymph fishing on the faster runs and riffles and tie on a size 16 Skip Nymph or Flashback Pheasant Tail. During high-water conditions, streamer fishing has also been excellent from a boat (especially on overcast days). The best flies have been: McLellan’s Hunchback Scud in tan, olive and gray (sizes 14 to 16), Flashback Scud in tan, olive and gray (sizes 12 to 16), McLellan’s Woven Sow Bug (sizes 14 to 16), Graphic Caddis in tan and olive (sizes 14 to 18), Skip Nymph (sizes 14 to 18), Flashback Pheasant Tail Nymph (sizes 16 to 20), Beadhead Hare’s Ear Nymph (sizes 14 to 18), Mercury Brassie (sizes 18 to 20), Rojo Midge (size 22), Mercury Blood Midge (sizes 20 to 22), Red Jujubee Midge (sizes 20 to 22), Johnny Flash (sizes 20 to 24), Mercury Black Beauty (sizes 20 to 22), Gray Mercury Midge (sizes 20 to 22), Black Wooly Sculpin (size 4), Articulated Zoo Cougar (size 4) and Swimming Jimmy (size 4).
Bull Shoals Lake: Wilderness Trail said the water temperature is 81.8 degrees and the lake clarity is around 15 feet. The lake level this week is 653.08 feet. The thermocline is stable at 36 feet. Crappie fishing has slowed some during the daylight hours this week, but the early evening and night crappie bite has picked up. Crappie cribs and watersheds are holding schools of crappie. The best baits are live crappie minnows on colored jigheads and Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows in pearl, smoke and Blue Thunder. Largemouth bass have been active early in the morning in the backs of the creeks and in the cuts and pockets. Try using buzzbaits or Zara Spooks. Football jigs and Carolina rigs are starting to pick up during the daylight hours on drop offs around chunk rock and secondary points. Smallmouths are moving off the pea rock banks and points, and possibly positioning themselves in rocky areas for shad and crawfish. There will be a full moon and a crawfish hatch this week. Jerkbaits, grubs and jigworms are working on the roaming smallmouths. Tube baits started to pick up around chunk rock banks over the weekend and some early morning top-water action has been seen. Kentucky bass remain with the shad, about 20 feet down, halfway back in the creeks, on cliff ends and in the middle of main lake pockets. A few Kentuckies have been taken on spoons fished under the shad in 30 feet of water. Mojo rigs are also starting to produce nice Kentuckies with centipedes or finesse worms. Walleye are still inside of 28 feet feeding on sunfish and shad. Ledge banks and chunk rock points are good places to look for feeding walleye in the mornings. Fish crawler harnesses or leeches behind bottom bouncers in the 20- to 26-foot range and pull them from 0.6 miles per hour to 0.9 miles per hour. Long liners are catching a few on Glass Shads and Reef Runners between 27- to 30-feet deep around points. Nighttime walleye are active and striking X-Raps and Suspending Rogues on points from 9 p.m. to midnight. Main lake points are producing the nicer walleye. The bite is very slow until 9 p.m., then the bass are moving up on the banks and feeding on crawfish. Jig ‘n’ pig combos, Texas-rigged worms, Brush Hogs and tube baits are all working well.
White River: Wilderness Trail said fishing for trout on the White River has been good this past week. The Berkley Power Egg bite has been good in yellow, white and pink. Fish are also biting well on Belgium red worms. With generation, Buoyant Spoons, Roostertails and Blue Fox spinners are the baits of choice. The fly fishermen did well on olive Woolly Buggers, tungsten beadhead midges, sow bugs and scuds. Brown trout are being caught on Suspending Rogues, Countdowns and nightcrawlers. Sugar Loaf Harbor said the lake is clear and low. Crappie are biting well from 20- to 25-feet deep on minnows and jigs near brush. Bass fishing is excellent from 13- to 20-feet deep using top-water lures and jigs near brush.
Lake Norfork: Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is clear and normal. Bream are biting well about 15-feet deep using red worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is fair about 20-feet deep using live minnows and jigs near brush piles. Bass fishing is fair to good using plastic worms, jigs and single spins at night. Stripers are biting fair trolling with live shad. Walleye are biting fair on crawler harnesses or trolling about 20-feet deep. Catfishing is good using jugs or trotlines.