Trout Fishing Report-White River-Arkansas
From Arkansas Game and Fish CommissionMarch 18, 2009 Edition
White River: John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said the generation pattern on the White was for low levels of generation around the clock with a couple of high level spikes during the day. This year’s shad kill is basically over, but trout are still hitting shad patterns. 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). Use plenty of lead to get the fly down and a big strike indicator to float it all. There have been reliable reports of excellent fishing on shad patterns from Bull Shoals down to Rim Shoals. The upper river from the Bull Shoals Dam catch-and-release area downstream to Cain Island has been a real hot spot. The lower flows were perfect for drift fishing and, with the trout still keying in on shad patterns, the bite was on. Other effective patterns were zebra midges and San Juan worms. The big story has been the spectacular streamer fishing. Several anglers have been drifting in the upper river from Bull Shoals down to Cotter. They were banging the bank with huge streamers (sculpin and baitfish patterns 5-7 inches long). They were using 8-weight fly rods with 300-grain sink tip lines. This technique resulted in several trophy browns.
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.
Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said the water is clear and at normal levels with three generators running. Trout are excellent on wax worms and Power Bait. A 9-lb. brown trout was landed on a crappie jig last weekend.
White River (From Buffalo Shoals to Norfork) – Jim Brentlinger at Linger's Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said fishing has been excellent lately. Two to three generators have been running and everyone’s been catching fish from a boat. White River Zig Jigs in ginger, olive, white or black will do the job. About two thirds of our fish are coming on the jigs. One third is coming on Black/Gold/White No. 7 or 9 Countdown Rapalas.
Crooked Creek: John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide Service said Crooked Creek is still not fishing well. The water is low and clear but still a bit cold for the smallmouth to be active. As the weather warms and the water temperature reaches 55 degrees, we can expect the smallmouth action to improve.
Bull Shoals Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 652.90 feet MSL.
Lake Norfork: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 551.98 feet MSL.
101 Grocery and Bait said the last week was beautiful at Norfork, with air temperature in the 70s and water temperature ranging from 46-52 degrees. Crappie fishing has been good on minnows and jigs. White bass fishing is good. Walleye are fair, with most being caught on stick baits, such as Storm Thundersticks, at night. Bass fishing has been good and the largemouth and Kentucky bass can be found just about anywhere as they start their prespawn feed. Catfishing is slow. Striper fishing is slow. For those who want to use live bait, remember that it is illegal to bring live bait fish from another body of water to Norfork.
Norfork Tailwater: John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said there has been limited generation on the Norfork with several windows of no generation that has created some excellent wading. With the hot action centered on the upper White River, the fishing pressure has been much lighter on the Norfork tailwater. Coupled with lower flows and reliable wadable water, this has created some greatly improved fishing. Anglers have reported success with white jigs and white woolly buggers. The better fishing has been on the lower river below the Ackerman Access. The fish seem to be running a bit larger there. Another hot spot has been Quarry Park below Norfork dam. There have been some spectacular midge hatches on sunny days. The best fly for this hatch has been Dan’s turkey tail emerger (size 18-22).
Jim Brentlinger at Linger's Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said fishing is very slow and spotty. The generation is up and down very quickly and very often. It seems to confuse most of the fish and slow down the bite.