Trout Fishing Report-White River-Arkansas
From Arkansas Game and Fish CommissionApril 9, 2008 Edition
White River:
John Berry of Berry Brothers Guides said two major rain events have caused the reservoirs on the White River system continue to rise. Beaver Lake rose five tenths of a foot to settle at nine and two tenths feet above pool or four tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. At the time of this writing, the flood gates are open at Beaver. There have been precious few wading opportunities on the White River, but boating conditions have been excellent. The upper White River is fishing particularly well. We have had low level generation (one to two generators). During this period, the upper river from the Bull Shoals Dam Catch-and-Release area to White Hole fished well. The productive flies were black zebra midges, olive scuds and San Juan worms. Another hot spot was Rim Shoals particularly the Jenkins creek area. The water was still lightly stained from the recent flooding but it did not affect the fishing. The hot flies were San Juan worms in bright colors (hot pink, fire orange, cerise and red). The water along the island and below it fished well with Y2Ks and olive woolly buggers. Sportsman’s White River Resort said the water is in excellent shape. Trout fishing has been very good on Rogue lures, Power Bait, Rapalas, silver Little Cleos, blue or black Rooster Tails and white jigs. Mountain River Fly Shop said the white seriously has been fishing extremely well for the last 10 days. Generation levels all week have been under two full units, though the recording is saying 2, which allows some wading access. The runoff sediment is clearing and the fishing reports we have had have been amazing. Davy Wotton has been reporting 65 fish at Bull on his sow bugs on Wednesday and some great fishing at Rim Shoals earlier in the week. There have been a bunch of wade fishermen at the dam whacking fish on midges, woolly buggers and big sculpin patterns all week. The high water levels are coming sometime in April. Get in your fishing while you can.
Bull Shoals Lake:
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 687.82 feet MSL.
Lake Norfork:
As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 579.72 feet MSL. Cranfield Junction Bait and Tackle (870-492-5141) said the water is stained and almost to flood pool. Catfish are fair on stink bait, nightcrawlers and shad. Stripers are biting well on flukes, live bait and Rogue lures. 101 Grocery and Bait said fishing is excellent. Stripers are biting well on large shiners fished 4 feet off the bottom. The water is stained from the rains and there is of course some debris in the water. Our friends at Hand Cove Resort said the water on their end is clearing up and fishing is also good on their end for stripers and catfish. Hand Cove Resort had several guests that caught their limit of stripers and one was over 25 lbs. The water temperature is around 60 degrees and stained. Bass fishing is good using floating worms or spinnerbaits. Try fishing close to the shore, most are shallow. Crappie fishing has been fair from 10-25 feet deep using a minnow on a small leadhead jig. Catfish have been good on live bait. White Bass fishing has been good using inline spinners and small jigs with a grub. Walleye fishing has been fair.
Norfork Tailwater:
Gene’s Trout Dock (870-499-5381) said the water is clear with little generation. Trout fishing is excellent on worms, frozen shad, and Rogue lures. John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service said Norfork Lake has risen three and eight tenths feet to rest at twenty five and three tenths of a foot above power pool of 552.00 feet or two and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Norfork Lake is nearing capacity and the Corps of Engineers will begin drawing it down first, running at max capacity of around 7,000 cubic feet per second until it is at power pool. There is a possibility that they will open the flood gates and run even more water. On the Norfork River, they have been running a couple of generators and it has been fishing well. High water tactics have been the secret to success here. Be sure and use long leaders, plenty of lead and large strike indicators. Brightly colored San Juan worms along the weed beds have produced some nice fish. The hot colors have been red, hot pink, pale pink, and cerise. Other effective flies have been Y2Ks, black zebra midges, and egg patterns. Dry Run Creek is still producing trophy trout at a prodigious rate. It must have been spring break this week because there were a lot of kids fishing there this week particularly on the nice warm days. There were a few kids there on the wet cold days and they were rewarded with some true trophy trout. The hot flies have been sowbugs, San Juan worms (worm brown and red were the hot colors), olive woolly buggers, egg patterns and Y2Ks. Be sure and carry a big net and do not forget the camera. The fish in this creek are huge. The trout of a lifetime lives here and is waiting to have his picture taken.