Over the past week, we have had some very heavy winds and some warmer then colder temperatures. The lakes in the White River system have fallen slightly and all are currently at or below power pool. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam remained steady at three tenths of a foot below power pool of 654.00 feet. This is forty one and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, TableRockLake fell one tenth of a foot to rest one tenth of a foot below power pool or sixteen and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. BeaverLake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at two tenths of a foot below power pool or nine and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White was for low levels of generation around the clock with a couple of high level spikes during the day. There was no generation last weekend. This created some spectacular wading. NorforkLake has risen one tenth of a foot to rest at power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty eight feet below the top of flood pool. There has been limited generation on the Norfork with several windows of no generation and there was no generation last weekend. This has created some excellent wading. With the current lake levels, I would predict wadable water in the near future on both rivers.
Remember that there is a new size limit on Brown trout. All browns less than twenty four inches must be released immediately no matter where they are caught on the White and NorforkRivers. Only one brown trout may be kept in the daily limit of five trout.
Next week we have our major fly tying event of the year in Mountain HomeArkansas, The Sowbug Roundup. Anglers from all over the United States and some from Europe will be traveling here to demonstrate their favorite patterns. More anglers will be coming in to observe them. All of these people will want to go fishing while they are here. I will be presenting a couple of seminars and my wife, Lori, will also present a couple. I will be tying my brothers signature pattern, Dans turkey tail emerger. Stop by and let me tie one for you.
This years shad kill is basically over. The upper river from the Bull Shoals Dam Catch and Release area down stream to CainIsland 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. When you are fishing in this area, please be careful and do not drag chains or walk 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.
Wild cat Shoals has been fishing particularly well. Woolly buggers (in olive) and fifty sixers have been go to flies and partridge and orange soft hackles have also been productive. The best fishing has been on lower water, when wading was excellent.
It is that time of year, when we begin having our major insect hatches. The first is our rhyancophilia caddis. They have an insect green body and are a righteous size fourteen at the beginning of the hatch. As it goes on, they will get progressively smaller, down to size sixteen and then eighteen. For this hatch I carry green elk hair caddis in those sizes. The best fishing can be before the hatch starts when the caddis larvae get more active. The best nymph for this is the pulsating caddis in size fourteen. When they rise to the surface and begin emerging, switch to the green butt soft hackle. When the trout begin keying in on the adults, switch to the elk hair caddis. I have observed these insects on both the White and NorforkRivers in the last week, but not in abundance.
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 fifty five degrees we can expect the smallmouth action to improve.
With the hot action centered on the upper White River, the fishing pressure has been much lighter on the Norfork of late. That coupled with lower flows and reliable wadable water has created some greatly improved fishing. 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 QuarryPark below Norfork dam. There have been some spectacular midge hatches on sunny days. The best fly for this hatch has been Dans turkey tail emerger is size eighteen through twenty two.
Dry Run Creek has fished particularly well during the past week. We had some nice warm days that were perfect for youngsters. There has been surprisingly light traffic of late but I would expect more young anglers with spring break coming up. Hot flies during the past week have been sowbugs. Use at least 4X tippet and fluorocarbon would be desirable due to its abrasion resistance. Do not forget to take a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.
John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.
