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November 2, 2005

Fishing Tip: Many of the lakes in Arkansas are running very low right now. It’s time to do some scouting. Take a day or two to look for brush piles revealed by the low water. A GPS unit is a great way to keep tabs on these fish-holding structures, but you can also line up objects high on the banks in three different directions and write down your next year’s honey hole.

White River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation slacked off some this week with the cooler temperatures. One or two generators usually are coming online in the early morning, but only running for a couple hours, and then shutting off for the rest of the day, providing plenty of wading on the upper river. Wade-fishing the upper river has been very productive with tan and olive McLellan’s Hunchback Scuds and Woven Sow Bugs. Fishing high water out of a boat has also been very productive using large scuds, eggs, and San Juan worms. Roundhouse and Rim Shoals have been fishing very well lately with some small caddis hatches still coming off, so be sure to have plenty of size 16-18 Elk Hair Caddis (the Pearl and Elk has been working well) as well as E-Z Caddis. Soft hackles are also working well, swinging them through the riffles and the heads of pools. Fall is a great time to trigger a strike from an aggressive brown by swinging a streamer like the Zoo Cougar or Platte River Spider through a pool. Egg patterns are starting to hook several fish as more and more trout start their pre-spawn activities.  Some of our favorite egg patterns are the Flashtail Mini Egg, the Unreal Egg, and the Micro Egg.  For the health of the fishery, remember to leave actively spawning fish alone. The best flies have been:  zebra and black/olive rubber-leg copper john (14-18), McLellan’s woven V-rib sow bug (14-16), McLellan’s hunchback scud tan, olive and gray (12-16), elk hair caddis (14-18), E-Z Caddis (14-18), San Juan Worms, flashtail Mini Egg (14-16), Unreal Egg and Micro Egg.

 Wilderness Trail said fishing for trout on the White River has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow-and-white and Sunrise. Buoyant Spoons, Panther Martins, and Blue Fox spinners are the bait of choice lately. Fly-fishermen did well on olive woolly buggers, olive scud, zebra midges and San Juan worms.  The Brown trout are being caught on nightcrawlers and Rapala Countdowns and Rogues.  

  North Fork River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation on the Norfork has been very sporadic lately, but it has slacked off some with the cooler temperatures, sometimes not even coming online during the daylight hours. The wading has been very good lately, and fishing high water from a boat has been productive as well.  Scuds, sow bugs, midges, and eggs in low water, and eggs, San Juan worms, and big streamers like the articulated zoo cougar in high water have been producing plenty of hook-ups. Egg patterns are starting to hook several fish as more and more trout start their pre-spawn activities.  Some of our favorite egg patterns are the flashtail mini egg, the unreal egg, and the micro egg.  For the health of the fishery, remember to leave actively spawning fish alone. Best flies have been: McLellan’s hunchback scud tan, olive and gray (14-16), flashback scud tan, olive and gray (12-16), McLellan’s woven sow bug (14-16), flashtail mini egg (14-16) and micro egg.

Bull Shoals Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 646.36 feet MSL.

Wilderness Trail said fog and temperatures in the mid-30’s in the morning, warming to the lower 60’s throughout the day has been the norm this week. Water temperature dropped to 65.4 degrees. The lake has started to turn over and the process should be completed early this week. The Lead Hill area and above turned last week and the good fall bite should start up in the next week or so. As for the rest of the lake, we will have to wait out the time needed to stabilize the lake before we see the fall bite come into play. Crappie are back on the brush piles and are holding close to the bottom. The best baits are still crappie minnows with a slip bobber or Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows. The bite will remain slow for at least another week, so jump around from brush pile to brush pile and catch one here and there.  Largemouth bass are slow. A few small bass can be caught in the backs of the creeks on the banks but the keeper largemouth aren’t there. Key in on secondary points halfway back into the creeks for the keeper largemouth. Spider jigs, Carolina rigs with lizards or Baby Brush Hogs or slow-rolled spinnerbaits will trigger a few bites. Smallmouth bass have gone deep and are staging in 36 to 40 feet of water off elongated points or points with deep drop offs on one side. Spider jigs or football jigs seem to be the best baits. You need to play with color and trailer combinations, as they seem to change almost every day.  Kentucky bass are also deep, traveling with their food source (shad).  Spoons and drop-shot rigs are the key techniques under the shad. The best depth was 38 to 43 feet.  Walleye are scattered this week with some bass anglers catching walleye in 12 to 20 feet of water on spinnerbaits and walleye anglers catching fish in deep water. Dragging a bottom bouncer and crawler harness in 30 feet of water, spooning in 40 to 55 feet of water, and trolling with lead core in 36 to 42 feet of water are all catching walleye.

Sugar Loaf Harbor said crappie are biting fair on live minnows. Bass are still coming up for top-water lures in the shallows early in the morning. Walleye fishing is good on drifted nightcrawlers and vertically jigged spoons.

Lake Norfork: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 541.65 feet MSL.

Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is low. Not many anglers are coming through lately. The lake seems to be ready to turn over, so most of the species are scattered and slow. Crappie fishing is picking up on minnows. Stripers are starting to pick up at night.

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