Trout Fishing Report-White River-Arkansas
From Arkansas Game and Fish CommissionFebruary 27, 2008 Edition
White River:
John Berry of Berry Brothers Guides said the shad kill is on and it’s time to tie on some large white flies and get out there. Large brown trout will be in the tailwater of the dam ready to eat the dead shad coming through the dam. Mountain River Fly Shop said there has been a lot of water lately, and some shad are finally starting to come through the dam. White streamers fished deep did pretty well Wednesday, but there was a lot of dirty water. This is a great time to bring out the river boat and have a shot at some very good fish. During lower water flows, San Juans and red head woolly buggers have been working well. But the big buzz is still on Davy Wotten super midges, particularly the white tail/red, and the black/silver. The same colors have been working in other midges with good reports on zebras and ruby midges. Sportsman’s White River Resort said the water conditions are normal with heavy generation. Trout fishing is very good on jigs, Rapalas and heavy spinnerbaits. Fly fishing is slow. Angler’s White River Resort reported the water is very high, but fishing is picking back up. Trout can be found in creeks that run into the river. They are being caught on worms and Power Bait. 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 653.89 feet MSL.
Lake Norfork:
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 551.86 feet MSL. Cranfield Junction Bait and Tackle (870-492-5141) had no report. 101 Grocery and Bait said the surface water temperature varies from 40 to 38 degrees. The weather has been cold and rainy and fishing has been on and off. Walleye fishing has been fair on a jig-and-minnow or stick bait in 10-20 feet of water. Crappie fishing has been slow. Striper fishing has been fair on live bait. Find the baitfish, and you will find the stripers. Largemouth bass have been slow. Catfish has been slow. White bass have been fair on jigging spoons fished around 40 feet deep.
Norfork Tailwater:
Gene’s Trout Dock (870-499-5381) said water conditions are normal with heavy generation. Trout are biting well on Rapalas and worms. 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.