Last week we have had several rain events and the lakes in the White River system have risen and are above power pool. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose two feet to rest at two and five tenths of a foot above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is thirty eight and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose one foot to rest at two and eight tenths of a foot above power pool or thirteen and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot above power pool or eight and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White was for a significant amount of generation with a couple of brief periods of no generation and one fourteen hour period of no generation.Norfork Lake has risen one and six tenths of a foot to rest at one and eight tenths of a foot above power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty six and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Generation on the Norfork has been very limited which has created some excellent wading.
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 Norfork Rivers. Only one brown trout may be kept in the daily limit of five trout.
The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam was red hot this past week. There were numerous quality fish, both rainbows and browns, caught. The absolute best fishing was on the higher water. The most productive flies were San Juan worms in hot fluorescent pink and red and egg patterns in orange and peach. Other flies that were amazingly effective were shad patterns. Though the shad kill was over months ago, an occasional shad is drawn through the generators and the trout keyed in on them during periods of fairly heavy generation.
On moderate generation several anglers reported substantial success on midge patterns. The most effective were zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver beads and in red with silver wire and silver beads. The best sizes were sixteens and fourteens.
We got one afternoon of low water and the fishing was spectacular. There was a good caddis hatch. The trout keyed in on the emergers rather than the adults and the action was non stop. The green butt soft hackle was particularly effective before and during the hatch.
Wildcat Shoals has been another hotspot. Anglers have reported great success when fishing moderate flows. The hot fly has been an egg pattern in orange.
Rim Shoals has fished much better this past week. On higher flows, the hot flies have been San Juan worms in hot fluorescent pink and Y2Ks. During the recent period of low generation, the action was hot and heavy. During the caddis hatch, the action was non-stop on caddis emergers. There were several anglers that reported success fishing elkhair caddis. The most effective size was fourteen and the best color was green. There were also several trout taken on fluttering caddis nymphs and red San Juan worms.
Fishing on Crooked Creek has improved as water temperatures climbed to fifty eight degrees. However, our recent rain events have muddied up the creek and it will take several days to clear.
The fishing on the Norfork has been slow. It has been wadable on most days and the pressure has been extremely heavy. It has not fished well on high water recently. If you must fish higher water, the hot fly has been a hot pink or cerise San Juan worm. On lower water, the hot flies have been sowbugs, black zebra midges and olive woolly buggers. There have been some good midge hatches in the afternoons on lower water. The hot midge fly has been Dans turkey tail emerger. Long 6X tippets are the key to success. There have also been caddis hatches in the afternoons but they have been sporadic. Here again the most effective fly for this hatch has been the caddis emerger. Some anglers have had limited success with partridge and orange soft hackles, particularly smaller ones (size eighteen).
Dry Run Creek has fished well during the past week. The hot fly has been the sowbug. San Juan worms and woolly buggers have accounted for some nice fish. There is little room to cast so be sure and work as short a line as possible. The fish are huge, so you should use stout tippets (4X) to improve your chances of landing one. Carry a big net with a long handle. Most trout are lost at the net. Please handle the fish carefully and release them as soon as possible. Remember that, if you are a disabled adult fishing here, you are limited to fishing from the wheelchair accessible ramp. It is very difficult to land fish here. I would recommend having a companion down on the creek to aid in releasing fish.
Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.
