Trout Fishing Report-White River-Arkansas
From Arkansas Game and Fish CommissionFebruary 20, 2008 Edition
White River:
Mountain River Fly Shop said after a relatively low water winter, we are now starting to see some consistency in flows. Over the weekend there was some water running but not enough to stop you from wading. Cold weather and icy conditions made things tricky; please be careful on the ramps in icy conditions. Midges were doing OK on the White, black and silver the best combination, like a Tungsten Zebra, or a Black and Silver Super Midge or WhiteTail was hard to beat. As the recent ice storm moved through, bright colors seemed to make a difference. Y2Ks and other egg patterns were the trick. With similar conditions expected to prevail this weekend, pack some in your boxes. It would also be worth carrying some white buggers and olive buggers for when it gets cold. Fish them slow and stay warm. Sportsman’s White River Resort said the water is clear and low with heavy generation. Trout fishing is very good on white jigs, Rapalas and minnows. Fly-fisherman are having the most luck on woolly buggers. McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation has been sporadic. However, fishing high water out of a boat has been very productive using large scuds, eggs and San Juan Worms. This is also a great time to fish large streamers for aggressive brown trout. Fishing from a boat using sinking lines, cast to fishy-looking structure as you drift downstream and use an erratic retrieve to swim your fly across the current. You won’t get as many hook-ups this way, but streamer fishing usually produces the biggest fish of the day.
Bull Shoals Lake:
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 653.98 feet MSL.
Lake Norfork:
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 551.18 feet MSL. 101 Grocery and Bait said the surface water temperature varies from 40 to 38 degrees. Striper fishing is good on live bait and stick baits worked over 20 to 80 feet of water. Walleye are staging in the creeks. Live bait and jigging spoons are working well in 10 feet of water. Crappie are biting well in 50 feet of water on tight lined minnows with a split shot at least 2 feet above the hook. Bass are fair on jigs and deep-diving crankbaits in 20 to 45 feet of water. White bass have been fair on jigging spoons 30 to 40 feet deep. Catfishing is good in the deep coves were you see baitfish.
Norfork Tailwater:
Gene’s Trout Dock (870-499-5381) said the water is clear and low with generation in the mornings. Trout are biting well on Power Bait, nightcrawlers and corn. Mountain River Fly Shop said the cold weather and rising lake level prompted more generation on the river, which means wait for the periods of no water or jump in a boat. Boat fishing streamers or dead drifting can be very productive. Try a spaghetti-and-meatballs (an egg pattern in front of a San Juan worm) rig outside the trophy zones or perhaps a Pink Lady or larger midge pattern. Remember to allow plenty of length between your indicator and fly to get that fly down. Streamer patterns can be very effective. Big streamers were attracting attention from some very good fish, including a couple of 20-inch browns. Try some zoo cougars, zonkers, big woolly buggers or even some of the larger Hansen’s stay hungry streamers in white. Sinking lines, like a type 2 are recommended. In low water fish scuds and sow bugs and midges. John Berry of Berry Brothers Guides said the Norfork tailwater fished a bit better last week. There have been few anglers here because of the inclement weather. Some really nice fish were caught on brown zebra midges with copper wire and a copper bead. The bigger fish were caught during falling water. The river in general does not fish as well when there has been no generation for over twenty four hours. Anglers have also done well with Dan’s turkey tail emerger when the fish were keying in on the midge emergers in the film. There were a few kids at Dry Run Creek last week and predictably they did well. While sow bugs are the dominant food source, try fishing a Y2K or big San Juan worm. They generate a lot of strikes and the larger hook helps to land some of these big fish. The majority of big fish are lost at the net. Take your time and do not rush the process. McLellan’s Fly Shop said during the last week, water releases have been fairly consistent – two units running in the morning and shutting off by mid-morning, then turning on again in the evening. This is providing some excellent high-water fishing during the early morning hours as well as some productive wade-fishing after the water drops out. When fishing high water, remember to use larger strike indicators, flies and split shot as well as longer leaders and heavier tippet. If you have never fly-fished high water on our tailwaters, be sure to stop by the shop. We will be happy to show you how we rig up for the heavier flows.