Despite some recent heavy rain events, the lake level at Bull Shoals has fallen approximately one and four tenths feet to rest at two feet above pool of 654.00 feet. Up stream TableRockLake remains steady at one and eight tenths feet above pool and BeaverLake remains steady at one half foot above pool. The Norfork has fallen one and six tenths feet to rest at one and nine tenths feet above pool of 552.00 feet. Bull Shoals has been generating around the clock with a few exceptions. The pattern has been to run low levels of water most of the day and the spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon. There has been some wadable water on the very low levels of generation and precious few periods of no generation. Boating, in general has been excellent. They have been generating on the Norfork at almost the maximum around the clock. There have been virtually no wading opportunities and the boating has been challenging. As the lakes continue to fall, there may be some wading opportunities in the immediate future. Fishing on the White has been excellent. The Catch and Release section has been quite productive as has the entire upper river. The secret here is to adapt quickly to changing water levels. Up this close to the dam, water fluctuations are more significant than lower down. As the water rises or falls, you need to change the depths of the strike indicators, change flies and fish different areas of the same section of water. At low water, the fish are located pretty much in the main channels. The most productive flies will be small midges like the zebra midge in size twenty or smaller. As the water rises, you should generally concentrate on the water nearer the banks and fish flies a few sizes larger. Constantly adjust your strike indicator so that your fly ticks the bottom as you drift down stream. When the water gets really high, it is time to fish big San Juan worms and large egg patterns in bright colors. Make sure that you put on plenty of weight to get the fly down. Many times so much weight is required that you will be required to use more than one strike indicator to keep it all afloat. Further down stream, the Wildcat Shoals area has been fishing well. This is a wide fairly shallow area that can be waded at lower levels of generation. You should be constantly on the lookout for changing conditions and wade carefully. The most productive flies in this area have been soft hackles, in particular, the partridge and orange. Rim Shoals has been fishing extremely well especially from a boat. The fluctuations here are minimized and the more consistent flows have created some excellent conditions. During the past week, we had some fairly stained water after the heavy rain. In situations like this, a brightly colored fly can be the ticket. Flies with copper in them show well in conditions like this. The hot fly has been the copper john in size sixteen. It has a lot of copper on it and it sinks like a rock. Work the faster deeper water and make sure that the fly is ticking the bottom. The heavy generation has been hitting here during the night. The round the clock generation on the Norfork has all but eliminated wading on this river for the last few days. The generation has been heavy and fishing at this level of water can be quite challenging. The most productive flies are large San Juan worms in bright colors. The top producers have been bright red, hot pink and fire orange. The trout can be quite selective at times. I know of one local guide that carries five shades of pink. Figuring out what will work is a matter of trial and error. Big eggs will also produce. Make sure that you use long tippets and lots of lead. Concentrate on fishing the banks, weed beds, sunken islands and the points of islands. Look for any type of seam that will give trout a chance to escape the heavy current. Dry Run Creek was affected by the recent rains and was a bit high and stained for a couple of days. It is back to normal and fishing well. Be sure and take some sow bugs and San Juan worms. Stick to high sticking deep fast runs for the best chance to land a trophy.
Remember to practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.
