Fishing Tip: A
sharp hook’s worst
enemy is oxidation. Wet
hooks dull quickly when
they’re packed away in a
closed space. Save the
silica packets shipped
with electronics and keep
them in your tackle box.
The silica will
absorb the water and keep
all your hooks and lures
in prime condition.
White
River: Gaston's White
River
Resort said high water and
shad are coming through the
gates. Many
excellent size browns are
being caught on shad-imitating
lures and
flies. Most browns are being
caught on no. 9
and 7 Countdown Rapalas,
1/8-ounce white jigs, silver
Rattlin’ Rogues
and Spoons. Water generation
has been
running around the clock, with
6 to 7 units running full
time. Power
Eggs in Yellow and White with
Glo-worms are
still catching plenty of
rainbows. Gold Cleo spoons and
buoyant spoons
will catch rainbows too.
Fly-fishing on the
high water is best with red
San Juan worms, white woolly
buggers, white
shad flies and egg patterns in
yellow,
peach and red.
Wilderness Trail
(870-445-2703) said fishing
the White River has been
good on Berkley Power Eggs in
yellow and
white along with white marabou
jigs with or without a chrome
dome head.
As long as the shad are coming
through
this pattern will hold. With
generation Buoyant Spoons,
White Rooster
Tails and White Krocodiles are
the baits of
choice. Fly-anglers have done
well with little generation on
olive or
white woolly buggers, San Juan
worms in
bright colors, white doll
flies (jigs) and “unreal” eggs
in peach or
white Brown trout are being
caught on
Countdowns, Rogues and
nightcrawlers.
Bull Shoals Lake: As
of Tuesday, the U.S. Army
Corps of
Engineers reports the lake’s
elevation at 655.29 feet
MSL.
Wilderness Trail
(870-445-2703) said lake
temperature took a dip and is
now 41 degrees in the main
lake, 40
degrees in Theodosia and 34
degrees above Lead Hill. That
is shad kill
temperature. It started about
Wednesday
and Sunday the shad were
floating. Crappie remained
suspended out away
from the brush piles around 35
feet
deep and they have all the
shad they need to feed on.
Best baits at
this time are Bobby Garland
Swimming
Minnows and crappie tubes. You
want to fish something that
will get
their attention and a live
crappie minnow
among the dying shad is not
the ticket right now.
Largemouth bass have not
changed from last week, but
with the warm up
and the shad kill, we could
see a jerk
bait bite or Senko or Fluke
bite start up. Fish main lake
and creek arm
points that have drop offs or
look for
largemouth on brush piles or
blow downs in the back of
pockets and
creeks. Smallmouth bass and
Kentuckies
are feeding like crazy on shad
out away from the banks over
open water.
This pattern makes it very
tough to
pinpoint where they might be,
so look for the birds and you
will find
the feeding bass. Cast spoons,
Chrome Dome
jigs, Roadrunners or grubs.
Anything that looks like shad
in the areas
the birds are working. Walleye
are moving
in and out of the creeks and
have been found in very
shallow water this
week. It is a here today and
gone
tomorrow scenario. Check the
flats first out in front of
the creeks,
and then move toward the
backs. Spoons and
Max Gap jigs are your best
bet. Also try ¼-oz.
Roadrunners
tipped with a shiner if other
baits don’t produce
Lake Norfork: As of
Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers
reports the lake’s elevation
at 553.15 feet MSL.
Cranfield Junction Bait and
Tackle (870-492-5141) said the
water is
clear and at normal levels.
Crappie are biting
well on minnows and jigs. Bass
are biting well on suspending
jerkbaits
and crankbaits with a long
pause.
Norfork Tailwater:
Gene’s Trout Dock
(870-499-5381) said the
water has a green ting and two
generators have
been running nonstop. Fishing
is good on nightcrawlers,
brown marabou
jigs and brown beadhead flies
such as
pheasant tails.