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Fishing Tip: Although many bass anglers think bass won’t touch soft-plastic worms once the water cools, a jig-and-pork combination isn’t the only slow-moving choice. Small finesse worms can bring quite a few bass to the boat when fishing over deep cover. Fish in 30 to 40 feet of water have been known to take a 4-inch worm in water temperatures as low as 40 degrees.

White River: Gaston's White River Resort said the river clarity is great and the oxygen levels are very good for the trout. There has been a little more generation lately. As many as four units are running for about four hours and one unit is running in the evening until midnight. This is a great generation pattern for both fly-fishing and boat fishing. It’s also excellent conditions to catch some large browns when the water is on the rise. Fly fishermen are doing well on soft hackles, Hank’s Ant Bee, and olive woolly buggers during the generation. Spin fishermen are doing well on Little Cleos, Rooster Tails, Super Dupers and yellow or white Power Bait.
McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation has slacked off some this week, with one or two generators usually coming online in the early morning but only running for a couple hours, then shutting off for the rest of the day, providing plenty of wade fishing on the upper river from late morning on through the rest of the day. 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. Early winter is a great time to fish a streamer (even in low water); try to trigger a strike from the aggressive brown trout by swinging a streamer like the Zoo Cougar or Platte River Spider through a pool.  Experiment with different retrieves until you start getting hits. Egg patterns are starting to hook several fish as more and more trout start their pre-spawn activities.
Wilderness Trail said fishing for trout on the White has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow and white. With generation, Buoyant Spoons, Rooster Tails and Blue Fox spinners are the baits of choice. Fly-fishermen did well on olive woolly buggers, olive scuds, zebra midges and unreal eggs in peach and white. Brown trout are being caught on nightcrawlers and Countdown Rapalas.
 
  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 wade fishing 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, and avoid wading through their spawning redds (clean, oval depressions in the
gravel).
 
Bull Shoals Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 646.73 feet MSL.
Wilderness Trail said the lake temperature is 56.8 degrees in the upper lake. Not much to report on crappie this week, except around the Lead Hill area where crappie minnows, crappie tubes, grubs and Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows are catching nice crappie in the brush along pockets or creeks and pole trees along bluff walls. Shad are starting to move to the backs of the creeks and coves. Largemouth bass are scattered all over the lake. Try spinnerbaits or crankbaits shallow and football jigs or Carolina rigs deep. You can catch a few small smallmouth around points on jigs or grubs, but the keeper smallies are hiding.  We should see smallies up foraging for crawdads on a fall bite, but we need some stable weather to bring them back in.  Keep checking the points and creeks with spider jigs and crankbaits. Kentucky bass are deep and holding off the channel swings and in the flooded forests throughout the lake. Some nice 3-pound plus Kentuckies were caught over the weekend with football jigs and spoons on the bottom in 42 to 45 feet of water, so maybe the Kentuckies are already in the winter mode. Walleye are up on points at night foraging on shad and crawdads but it has been very cold at night to venture out on the lake. During the day the walleye are hugging the bottom in 45 to 50 feet of water on flats and off main lake points. Spooning is about the only method working on these fish during the day. White-and-blue and silver colors are the best.  
 
Lake Norfork: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 541.8 feet MSL.
Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is low and clear. The surface temperature is 60 degrees and the lake has turned over. Crappie fishing is good on minnows. Bass are biting fair to good on crankbaits and jerkbaits like Rattlin’ Rogues.

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