White River
Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424)
said rainbow trout are good but more difficult to catch because of an
algae bloom.
Randy Oliver at
www.randyoliverguide.com (901-832-1903) said rain has muddied the water, with two to four generators running most days.
Guide Davy Wotton
said generation has been erratic, making it difficult to find fish and a
consistent pattern. During high water, algae is flowing downstream,
making it hard to keep your line and lure clean. There have been some
periods of low water and some opportunities for wade fishing. Caddis are
emerging during the day, offering good fishing on dry flies, soft
hackles and wet flies. Scuds, sow bugs, midges, baetis and mayfly nymph
imitations are working well. While fishing from a boat, drift a white
tail, prism midge, hare’s ear nymph or prince nymph in low flows. For
high flows, choose streamers, crayfish imitations and sculpins to search
for a trophy brown trout.
Jim Brentlinger at
Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge(870-499-5185)
said trout were biting well on the White River before the rain. Now the
river is very high and muddy from the Buffalo River to Reds Landing.
Some smallmouth were beginning to bite in the Buffalo on dark green on
pumpkinseed tubes fished on 1/8-oz. jigheads before the rain.
Buffalo River
Just Fishing Guides said the river level was at
18 feet and rising Wednesday morning at Arkansas Highway 14; the river
was closed to floating.
Crooked Creek
Just Fishing Guides said the gauge at Kelly’s Slab was reading above 17 feet (high) and rising Wednesday morning.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of
Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation
at 656.10 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 654 MSL).
Mike Worley’s Guide Service said
walleye are spawning on main lake points and biting on stick baits late
during the day and at night. Bass are moving into main lake creek coves
and pockets, and biting on Carolina-rigged lizards and centipedes.
Crappie are in shallow water and biting on grubs and Swim N Minnows.
White bass are moving into creeks and coves and biting on anything that
looks like a shad.
Bull Shoals Tailwater
Just Fishing Guides
said the lake level was 654.1 feet and generation had been around the
clock with 1-2 units (2,000 cfs and spikes to 18,000 cfs) during the
week. Caddis patterns are the preferred flies now. Suggested patterns
include Prince nymph, Zugbug, Hare ’n’ Copper (olive), BH Z-Wing caddis
(olive), partridge and peacock soft hackle, graphic caddis and elk hair
caddis, all in size 14.
Lake Norfork
As of
Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation
at 551.94 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool: Sept.-April – 552 MSL,
April-Sept. – 554 MSL).
Blackburn Resort said
the water level has stopped rising. Surface temperature is in the
mid-40s. People are catching some nice stripers on grubs halfway back in
the creeks. Crappie are also halfway back in the creeks around deep
brush. Several fish have been caught on small spoons in the brush piles.
101 Grocery and Bait
Tim Partin says fishing has been great this March. Bass, crappie,
walleye, stripers, monster bluegills and white bass are all doing great.
STR Outfitters
Tom Reynolds says rain has triggered stripers to begin biting. The
stripers are in deep water – 50-80 feet – but are in the 30-foot range,
so stay in deep water but fish shallow during the day. Early daylight
and evenings the stripers are moving to shore, feeding on crawdads. A
25, 18, 16 and two 12s were caught on shiners and shad recently.
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort Lou
Gabric says the Norfork Lake “night bite” is in full swing from what I
experienced this evening. I ended up landing two stripers, four hybrids
and a handful of largemouth and spotted bass. I could hear fish breaking
the surface all around me. The fish started to bite around 8 p.m. and
it didn’t stop until I had to quit about 10:30. I noticed it was already
10:30 p.m., which is later than I normally fish. The surface water
temperature was in the upper 50s. I was throwing a bone/orange Rogue. On
another note, the whites have started their run and are being found
back in the creeks.
Guide Steve Olomon said
the striper bite has been hit and miss but the bite should get good any
day, and the night bite will only get better in the weeks ahead. There
are a few stripers and hybrids chasing baitfish to the surface in the
morning. I had my wife out yesterday and she caught four bass that
weighed a little over 16 pounds. They were caught on a single swim bait.
She also lost a good striper on a swim bait. We also caught a few
smallies (one was 4½ pounds) on the swim bait and Bass Assassins. We
found a pocket that had hybrids in it and they were caught on the same
baits. Earlier in the week, a client caught a 5½-pound largemouth and a
4-pound smallie on a Bass Assassin. Remember that when you fish at night
for stripers, if you use a stick bait, reel it slowly. Look in the back
of the creeks for some activity.
Randy Oliver at
www.randyoliverguide.com (901-832-1903) had no report.
Norfork Tailwater
Randy Oliver at
www.randyoliverguide.com
(901-832-1903) ) said shad have been coming through the dam and the
fishing has been hot. When the river is running, use black and silver
Countdown Rapalas in size 7, and black and silver Shad Raps in size 5.
Dead shad and redworms are working during low water, fished about 12
inches off the bottom.
Just Fishing Guides
said the lake level was 552 feet and generation had been continuous
with flows to 3,000 cfs and peaks to 6,000 cfs. Over the weekend, it was
continuous at 3,000 cfs. Midges and caddis are what the trout are
keying on predominately now. Look for midging trout late morning and
switch to caddis patterns sometime in the early afternoon. Suggested
patterns include zebra midge (black, gray and rusty brown), parachute
Adams, sow bug (gray and tan), scud (olive, gray and tan), prince nymph,
zugbug, BH Z-wing caddis (olive), hare ’n’ copper (olive), partridge
and peacock soft hackle, graphic caddis (olive) and olive elk hair
caddis.
It is written by former City of Cotter Mayor Mo Mosely and his wife Teresa and they do a great job every month.
