Fishing
Tip: As water temperatures begin
to rise, fish will start to move
up
shallow to feed. The best place to
find them is on vegetation and
rock
outcroppings on the north side of
a lake or stream. The north side
of a
lake will receive more sunlight,
and the water will usually be a
few
degrees warmer than the rest of
the lake. The warmer water
attracts
plankton, which attracts baitfish.
Game fish such as bass, crappie
and
walleye will all follow the
baitfish up to these warmer areas.
White
River: Gaston's
White River
Resort said
generation was pretty low last
week with one or two units running
for a
couple of hours in the morning,
but they were off by 9
a.m. The
water usually came on around 6
a.m., so the early morning
fishermen
could catch the rising water and
fish it with white or yellow
PowerBait
with live wax
worms. Nightcrawlers worked
well for larger
fish. Fly fishermen had the
best luck with sow bugs, woolly
buggers in all colors, tan scuds,
beadhead red fox squirrel nymphs,
and
the Y2K bug. Many large
browns were caught and released
last
week. This is the season
that all fishermen wait for all
year
long. Don’t miss February and
March if you’re looking for a
wall-hanger brown on the White
River.
McLellan’s
Fly Shop
said there
has been very little generation
below Bull Shoals Dam lately,
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.
The
catch-and-release
area below Bull Shoals Dam opens
back up for fishing on February
first,
providing some great fishing for
large trout that have been
unmolested
for the last three months!
North
Fork River: McLellan’s
Fly Shop
said
generation on the Norfork has been
a little sporadic lately, but when
they turn on the generators, they
haven’t stayed on for very
long. Wade-fishing has been
very good lately, and fishing high
water from a boat has been
productive as well. Try 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 for the best
action.
Norfork
Trout Dock
said
the water is at normal level and
clear. Rainbow trout are biting
well
on PowerBait, Corn, Little Cleos
and Original Rapala floating
minnows.
Brown trout are a little harder to
coax into striking, but a few have
been taken on the Rapala floating
minnows.
Bull
Shoals Lake: As of
Wednesday, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
reports the lake’s elevation at
645.45
feet MSL.
Sugar Loaf
Harbor said
the lake is low. Crappie anglers
are doing well on minnows fished
around 7 to 15 feet deep around
planted brush piles. Some anglers
have
found the crappie right off the
bluffs in 35 feet of water and are
catching them with heavy jigs. All
other species are slow.
Lake
Norfork: As of
Wednesday, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 538.98
feet MSL.
Cranfield
Junction Quik
Stop said the lake is up about a
half a foot, but still very low.
Water
clarity is as much as 12 feet in
some places. Crappie fishing is
fair
on swimming minnows, crappie
minnows and jigs fished around
stumps and
brush piles. With the warm
weather, the crappie may be
anywhere from 2
to 20 feet deep. Stripers are
biting fairly well on whole live
shiners
and spoons fished in major creek
mouths. All other species are
slow.