Trout Fishing Report-White River-Arkansas
From Arkansas Game and Fish CommissionFebruary 25, 2009 Edition
White River: John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said generation has been high and constant, causing zero wadable water on the upper white. The major action in the area has been on the upper White from a boat. The shad kill occurs when there are low temperatures are coupled with high levels of generation. Watch for gulls feeding in the dam discharge to signal that the shad are coming through. The most effective flies have been white marabou jigs and white beadhead woolly buggers. For fishing this area during high levels of generation, I generally use long 4X tippets (a 12-foot leader tippet combination). Use plenty of lead to get the fly down and a big strike indicator to float it all. When you are fishing in this area, please be careful and do not drag chains through the redds. Disturbing them could destroy the wild brown trout eggs recently deposited there. We do not want to eliminate the next generation of wild brown trout. In addition, dragging chains in high water is dangerous. If the chain grabs the bottom, it could easily swamp the boat. The catch-and-release section at Rim Shoals has been spotty. One day it fishes well and the next day it is not as productive. This is the area that has wadable water available as long as they are generating below seventeen thousand cubic feet per second. To access these spots contact Gary Flipin at Rim Shoals Trout Dock to ferry you to wadable water with his water taxi.
Mountain River Fly Shop said the shad kill was very good on the White last week, but with a warming trend for the next week, we can expect the shad action to slow. Stay tuned as cooler temperatures, plus higher flows will have the shad back. The low-water fishing has been very good on the upper White. We have heard good things from Cotter upstream to the dam. Black and silver Zebra Midges have been reliable and we scored some nice fish on Davy’s Whitetail Black Silver 14 wading in one unit of water. Sowbugs continue to be very successful, with patterns from Davy Wotton and Clint Wilkinson plus the McLellan's Woven V-Rib Sowbug.
Sportsman’s White River Report (870-453-2424) said the water is clear and high, with five generators running. Trout fishing is good on jigs and frozen shad.
White River (Below Cartney Access): Jim Brentlinger at Linger's Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said the generators at Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes have been running almost around the clock. Bull Shoals is running all eight generators and Norfork running their two. The fishing has been relatively steady from Norfork down to Calico Rock and you see some left over dead shad that have come from Bull Shoals. There are not enough shad in the water to get the trout to go on a feeding frenzy but you will have good luck using white jigs and gold spinners. In this heavy water, tie on a magnum Rattling Rogue in blue/silver/orange. This will usually bring the big fish of the day, just be patient and keep casting.
Crooked Creek: John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service said fishing is dead slow.
Bull Shoals Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 657.13 feet MSL.
Lake Norfork: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 554.93 feet MSL.
101 Grocery and Bait said the water temperature is around 40 degrees.
We would like to thank everyone for their phone calls and emails these past weeks. We got a little over 11/2 inches of ice here and we were lucky – we were without electric for only one week. There was a lot of tree damage around the area. Every thing is beginning to get back to normal. Fishing has been slow. Last week’s rain muddied the water the last few days. It should begin to clear up in a few days and the fishing will pick up.
Norfork Tailwater: John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said there has been heavy generation on the Norfork with no safe wading possible. Dry Run Creek has received a bit more pressure lately. The warmer temperatures on some days have tempted a few young anglers and they were rewarded with some great trout. The dominant food source is sowbugs. San Juan worms in worm brown and olive woolly buggers have also accounted for some nice fish. Be sure and pinch down those barbs. It is the law. I always carry a big net as most trophy trout are lost at the net. Don’t forget the camera. The fish of a lifetime deserves a great photograph.
Jim Brentlinger at Linger's Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said with two generators running, Berkley Power Bait has been producing steadily. The best lures in the catch-and-release area are 1/8-oz. White River Zig Jigs and Black/Gold no. 7 and no.9 Rapalas with single, barbless hooks. You will miss several with only the one hook but stay with it and it will pay off