Fishin’ Big Water

Big water continues on the White River in Arkansas with some heavy generation of 8 full units or as high as 25,000 CFS.  24,900 plus CFS is going to be the normal flow till about the middle of April according the the C.O.E. (Corps of Engineers).  The lake level is dropping slowly and as of 8:00 AM this morning is at 659.24 and in the past 24 house has dropped 3/4 of a foot which is pretty fast.  Table Rock dam above Bull Shoals Dam is just about at normal pool and the Beaver Lake is is at 5 feet above normal pool elevation with little generation.  The corps seems to be evacuating water rapidly at this time.  Since the last Shad Kill the shad bite has slowed and is now just about non existent.  Caddis continue to emerge and hatch even on this bigger water but no one seems to be able to get them on the top on big water like we could last year.  Fishing seems to be confined to the upper end of the river due to some mossy algae that is getting picked up off the bottom and making the water trashy.  Most of the fishing is done from partee shoals and up until this algae runs it’s course and leaves.  The Transparent Caddis Emerger in tandem with a San Juan Worm or a sow bug in brown or gray are producing pretty well on long Flurocarbon leaders in 4X of 10 to 12 feet with two BB split shot to get them down.  If you are planning on fishing the White River a boat at this time is the way to go and the place to rent one if you need to is at the Bull Shoals White River State Park just below the dam.  The equipment there is in good shape and there are many new motors.  Give Ed and the crew over there a shout or drop by and they can outfit you.

Rob seen above came with his buddy Wes from Tulsa and fished this past Friday and Saturday when shad patterns were still working pretty well in the mornings.  In the afternoons the San Juan Worm along with the caddis emerger were the ticket with some good brown trout caught along with some fat well stuffed bows.

Wes seen here to the right holding a super brown trout he caught the first day.  His buddy Rob had a birthday the next day and the luck was with Rob for sure the second day as he landed 5 brown trout.  We did manage to miss out on all the rain Texas got last night so look for our lakes around here to drop rapidly unless we get more rain.

If you are thinking “Trout” give Fly Fish Arkansas a call at 870-404-8906 and book your trout fishing adventure today.  We supply everything you need except your fishing license, trout stamp and rain gear.  We can even supply waders and boots depending on your boot size.  No charge to you.  We also supply rods & reels, lunch for the day, flies, leader tippet and all the terminal tackle needed for the day as well as drinks.  Bring your sun screen with you and lets go catching.

Book your fishing adventure today and call 870-404-8906

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.