White River Fishing Report: October Re-Cap

Rain Runoff
Rain Runoff

Wet.  That would be the description I’d give for october.  Lots of rain this past month roughly 11 inches in our area which has also caused some flooding downstream.  This past friday afternoon as well as saturday morning the C.O.E. shut Bull Shoals dam off to help alleviate the flooding conditions down stream.  Generation is back to the way it was with 2 to 3 units of water or 25oo to 6,000 cfs which is great water to fish.  Since the fish are already wet the weather didn’t affect the catching in october.  Rainbows began spawning at the upper end of the river in oct with the occasional brown redd spotted as well.  San Juan Worms, Various egg patterns as well as midges on a long leader 12 ft with the appropriate shot worked wonders.  Out of the Catch and release area a two fly rig with an egg and SJ Worm produced well over gravel.  I’ve also began using the anvil egg which is a tungsten bead (fl orange, red or pink) tied like an unreal egg.  It seems to work on both higher flows as well as lower flows in deeper water.  Another new fly with no name as yet as well as the dash-2 soft hackles have continued to produce good fish.  No really bad days of no catching but did have an afternoon or two where it slowed down somewhat.

Forecast:  eventually we’re going to see some big flows which usually means some big fish will be caught on a fly rod.  The current lake level is at 675.64 which leaves just under 20 feet from the top of the flood pool on Bull Shoals Dam.  Eggs as well as midges should continue to be good choices for the rest of the month.  With higher flows of 7 or 8 units I’ll be using some shad type patterns as well.  We will be watching the surface temps of the lakes for the magic number of 42 degrees which is what it needs to be at for a shad kill to happen.  Don’t forget to sign up for the Shad Kill Alert by sending an e-mail to shadkillalert@flyfisharkansas.com   Book your spring trips early and get in the best dates for february and march by calling 870-404-8906 now.  If you are considering a group, buddy, friend or couples trip I can arrange the guides for you with one phone call.  I only work with the most competent, experienceed, and professional guides on the rivers.  We all have a decade of experience or more on these rivers and know them well.  Big water is what we are looking for in the early spring and it looks as though we will more than likely get it whicdh is good for a shad kill.

Thanks and good fishing

Jim Traylor

870-404-8906

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