Our resident guide Forrest Smith recently returned from guiding duties in Chile to fish the White during a brief layover before shipping west to guide in Montana. Here is Forrest's latest report...
After several months guiding in Chile, I was eager to give my rowing arms a break from the torrential gradients of the rivers down south, and pitch something thats a little more sublte than a #6 Fat Albert or a half ounce wooly bugger. The White has been no less than very cooperative and receptive to my homecoming. May provided some great dry action with the tail end of the caddis hatch and the sulphurs. Look for sulphurs on into the first and second week of June. Fish have been very receptive to various suphur comparaduns and cripples. Pheasant tail soft hachles also work well for the emergers. If fish aren't looking up, a bead head pheasant tail will do the trick. Don't be afraid to throw some larger terrestrial patterns this early. I had four trips last week, and hopper fishing was great in the afternoons. Various other bugs are on the move, or will peak in the next few weeks. Sowbugs and various zebra midges have been working very well at the dam. Streamer action has also been great for those of you who don't want to stare at a strike indicator all day long. the emergent of crawdads on the first few warm days this month really got large browns looking for a bigger meal. various crawfish patterns worked well, but nothing beat the rootbeer colored bugger has worked well, and the tan variety will work well when they go into molt in the near future. Many of the browns have been moving on them in fast shallow water and the dirt banks.
Although Spring is officially here, we're still experiencing occasional bouts of cold weather, rain, and wind which is greatly affecting the fishing. The recent rains caused elevated lake levels of which is slowly being released due to flooding down river.
The Bull Shoals power house began April with between 6-8 generators running throughout the day. Thankfully we experienced a slight break in the rain and the heavy generation relieved the lake of almost a foot. In an effort to avoid trashy water, we've focused our guide trips on the White at the upper end. The dam has been fishing somewhat unpredictable as of recent. There have been days of great fishing in the deeper channels and others were more successful finding slack water along the banks. As of this report, the dam is now running between 2-4 units during the day around the clock although the lake is approximately 7 feet above power pool. The stretch between Partee Shoals and Tucker Shoals is fishing especially well. We're burning streamers heavily on this section of river and I can tell you there are monster browns lurking. We've landed some pigs as of late but we've also missed a few that will make your heart race. The Norfork is fishing average at best as of late, regardless of generation. Recent guide trips here by our resident guides and others have reported difficult conditions. The habitat on the Norfork is in dire need of improvement if fish are expected to hold and not move down into the White. The fact that Norfork has provided the only wadable option as of late has not helped the sitiuation any. If you plan to fish Norfork in the near future prepare to bring an assortment of very small flies. Keep flies in a smaller ranges such as a size #18 and perhaps as small as a #24. Black midges, dark trout crack, BH Hare's ear, micro SJ worms, and BH Brassies are producing.
During the course of the next few weeks we should expect some higher generation patterns to purge the additional water above power pool. If you are contemplating a trip here in the near future, please don't hesitate to call us at the shop for updates. 870-425-0447
RECORDED:58 °FISHING: Great
Although we're officially in Spring, we're still seeing bouts of cold weather and which which is greatly affecting the fishing. The recent rains caused slightly elevated lake levels of which is being released quickly via heavy generation. Currently both lakes are slightly below power pool and we are seeing a decline in the generation schedule.
The Bull Shoals power house began April with between 6-8 generators running throughout the day. Thankfully we experienced a slight break in the rain and the heavy generation relieved the lake of almost a foot. In an effort to avoid trashy water, we've focused our guide trips on the White at the upper end. The dam has been fishing very unpredictable as of recent. There have been days of great fishing in the deeper channels and others were more successful finding slack water along the banks. As of this report, the dam is now running between 4-6 units around the clock.
The Norfork not fishing well as of late, regardless of generation. Recent guide trips here by our resident guides and others have reported very difficult conditions. The habitat on the Norfork is in dire need of improvement if fish are expected to hold and not move down into the White. The fact that Norfork has provided the only wadable option as of late has not helped the sitiuation any. If you plan to fish Norfork in the near future prepare to bring an assortment of very small flies. Certainly nothing larger than an #18 and perhaps as small as a #24. Black midges, dark trout crack, BH Hare's ear, and BH Brassies should produce.
During the course of the next few weeks we should expect some lower generation patterns assuming no major rain event occurs between now and then.
RECORDED:50 °FISHING: Excellent
The Bull Shoals generation schedule was quite light during the last few weeks of January but during this first week of February we've experienced approximately 6-8 units of generation followed by lesser generation in the afternoons and evenings. At least for the time being that is not a bad thing. Reports of shad coming through the dam have been verified allthough at a minimum. We fished the dam on 2/5 with great results. The gulls were stirring and diving directly below the dam at a consistent pace. We witnessed a handful of floating shad within 200 yards of the dam but since the numbers of shad coming through appear to be low, they are usually gobbled up quickly. The exciting part was not only dead drifting shad patterns such as the Arkansas bead head and white zonkers, but removing the split shot and indicator while allowing the shad imitations to float on the surface making for some great top water action. In a short time we landed many fish in the 16"-20" range, mostly rainbows, and a few browns in the 18" range. For those that do not fully understand the intensity of the shad kill strike, I suggest you high tail it here and get it while its hot. We've found that during zero generation the browns have really dispersed and moved all about the river and specifically concentrated from the State Park down. Don't get me wrong, big browns can be found directly below the dam but the pressure for this angler makes it somewhat uninviting. When consistent low water returns, we're back to the typical assortment of scuds, midges, sowbugs, etc. By the way, stop by the shop and check out the many new additions to the fly bins. All new and locally tied patterns only found here. Stop in and see before you head out. The pressure on Norfork is significant as of late due to zero generation which is why we've focused our efforts on the upper White. As the generation schedule on the White balances out, the pressure will be alleviated. Speaking of new flies in the bins, now's a great time to swing some cracklebacks on the fork. We've added an assortment of colors to choose from. Other than that, a hot fly is a black zebra midge with gold attributes in size #18.
RECORDED:55 °FISHING: Excellent January 21st 2009Bull Shoals State Park - White Hole
After a week of planning, based on warmer weather and low water, we finally received a day of both. Jeremy and I arrived at the Bull Shoals State park boat ramp shortly before 10 to discover a very low White River and not a soul around. We expected a faster current based on predicted generation but this was certainly not the case. No complaints here. This was the lowest I’ve seen this stretch of river in a long time. With no fog, little wind, and an emerging sun, we quietly drifted to the opposite bank of the river to fish the bank structure. In a matter of minutes the hook ups began. These fish were obviously feeding and not shy about it all. In fact, we witnessed many bows in the immediate area leave the safety of their protected structure to compete with others chasing the fly. After netting multiple average size bows, we continued our drift down river. As we approached the faster, skinny water near the state park shoal, our casts were focused on the darker runs immediately above the riffles. Seconds later Jeremy hooks a very nice brown which performed a few aerobatics before making an initial run. Less than an hour into our day and we’ve landed a 20”+ brown. At this point I figured the odds of landing another big brown were excellent.During our drift further down river we witnessed and sometimes spooked multiple big browns. We cautiously approached Bruce Creek and to our amazement we witnessed another big brown holding in very similar water of which the first brown was landed; scanning the flats just above some fast riffles. He spooked quickly and for a short period of time we lost sight of him. Moments later I spied his profile further down the flats and extended a long cast to him. The initial strike was intense followed by a few aggressive runs but we ultimately netted him, took a few photos, and watched him swim away after a quick revival.Most anglers are well aware that the flooding of 2008 severely negated wading opportunities on the White and Norfork rivers for the better part of ten months. During that time these unmolested fish have grown tremendously on a multitude of food sources. In addition, the new 2009 regulations have created a new 24” minimum on harvesting browns. These circumstances along with better lake conditions and high DO levels should make 2009 one of the best years ever. February 1st marks the opening of the catch and release area below Bull Shoals Dam which is just another great reason to make Mountain Home, AR your next trophy trout destination. -BRFS resident guide, Larry Babin
Wow, what a day we had! Not just the weather but a few extra added bonuses. John, who again is a new local guide kind of in the same position as me, the new kids on the block. He’s a great guy and likes to get out and spend time on the water whether he’s working or not. He has a true passion for the sport and that is why we enjoy fishing together. He reminds me of me, soaking it all in. Of course I have quite a few more years of fly fishing under my belt, but he grew up here so we are both learning from each other. I’m learning more about the river and he’s learning different ways to catch trout on the fly.
We put in at the state park boat ramp at 11am and drifted roughly ten miles to Wildcat Shoals. Saw a lot of fish and a few big ones ranging anywhere from 25-30 inches. The goal was to follow the fall “drop” out. They were scheduled to turn the water off at 12pm so we hung around up top until then. This was the first time I really got to see the water off floating this stretch. And I actually took low water pictures for this stretch. If you go to the upper white link you can read the general layout of the river. These pictures will go in that area sometime today. It doesn’t make since to get high water photos because they will not show you much about the river, if you know what I mean. We all want to see the river from a wading perspective. The other two pages explaining the middle, and lower zones, those pictures will come in time.
So John decided to do exactly what I was doing, and a lot of that was to learn one presentation and really get it down. I wont say what it is, and I usually talk about everything I do, but this is top secret. It continually produces nice quality browns and the last couple of times I’ve been out we’ve been hooking 20-24 inch browns. Last week I fished with John on the Norfork and hooked a brown that was 23 inches. I didn’t write about it because I was a little bummed out when I lost the fish. When I went to take him out of the net to get a picture I dropped him in the water , I looked down and he was already gone. I think that happens to the best of us.
But today was a different day. We hooked a really nice brown about two hours of fishing. I’m a big believer in casting downstream, and I mean way downstream. I’ve talked about this in the past but I’ll say it again. One thing that helps my confidence on hooking bigger fish is to sneak up on the them. Drifting in a drift boat allows you to have a big advantage because your quite. Another thing working on your side is being able to sight see for fish you’re trying to hook instead of blind casting and relying on your indicator to go down. Standing on the bow of the boat and looking down into the water helps you to see farther away. I truly believe because we are making extremely long cast, gives us more time to keep the fly in the water and that makes for a longer drift (as you sneak up on them). Casting on the side of the boat catches fish, but the big ones already moved downstream (if your fishing in low water). I think if you see 10 fish, half are still feeding and the other half are either weary of something or already left the building. So would you rather have all the fish still feeding as your drifting a fly through or half from fishing from the side of the boat. I promise you this, you’ll catch bigger fish doing it this way.
We each caught one nice trout within a few hundred yards of each other. The only way we accomplish this was whoever caught the first big fish lets the other person fish while they row the boat. We also hooked a few nice rainbows with good looking color. I’m not seeing a lot of big rainbows like I did this summer, they’re probably more up towards the dam, but lot’s of big browns throughout the river. We fish the narrows, but ran out of daylight so we rowed to Wildcat in the dark. So I guess you could say it was a good day. The bonus was seeing a bald eagle take off from the tree in flight. With a gorgeous day, two nice browns and a bald eagle to top it all off, you couldn’t have picked a better day to be on the river.
Overall Report
We’re seeing more low water here lately, but a guaranteed would probably be the Norfork. However I think the White River is producing most the big fish, but the numbers are at the fork. I’ve heard a lot of reports of baby brookies being caught by the handfuls at the Norfork. They must of stocked it recently. Yesterday they ran 7 units at the White and today it’s back down to 1-2 units.
Flies of choice
The standards, midges in black or red either emerging (soft hackle) or on the bottom (zebra midges, miracle midges, ju jubee midge, wd40 and crystal midges) are all working well.
Attractor patterns are all san juan worms in bright colors or egg patterns in pink, yellow or anything pastel.
Streamers are also kicking butt olive wooly buggers, 56er’s, yellow, yellow olive, white, black bunny leeches with coneheads in gold (deer hair heads), half in half bucktail/marabou, streamers and some new patterns from Idylwilde called conehead JJ special and Tequeely.
Note: The seagulls are around, but no signs of shad yet. Be ready because it can happen in the next few months.
RECORDED:36 °FISHING: Excellent
Bull Shoals lake remains just under 654ft. which is the top of power pool and continues to fall with 1-4 generators working day and night. Most of our guided trips are concentrated between Wildcat and Rim Shoals during the past few weeks with fantastic results. Fish are still taking the high water assortments of attractor patterns including SJ worms, the Vladi worm, Fox Statler's Oligochaete worms, BH hare's ears, flesh colored eggs, and larger midges through fast riffles. The DO levels have greatly improved over the course of the last few weeks and it shows as these fish are fighting incredibly hard and appear quite healthy. Beginning February 1, the C&R area immediately below the dam will open once again. Please be cautious when wading this area as some of the spawning activity may still be taking place.
Although the Norfork is running considerably less water these days, the fishing has certainly been inconsistent. We've floated the fork multiple times over the past few weeks resulting in some stellar fishing one day and challenging fishing the next. This is partially due to increased pressure over the holidays but I do expect things to return to a consistent nature in the next two weeks. Choice flies for the Norfork are generally smaller than one might use on the White. I'm particularly fond of cracklebacks, WD-40s, Griffith's gnats, and Chuck's Emerger in sizes ranging from #18-#22. Aside from that, streamers are always a blast whether it be a 56'er, olive super bugger, or sculpin imitation. Accessibility on this river is always a challenge so always be cautious of your footing and surroundings since water conditions could change in a flash.
RECORDED:44 °FISHING: Great
The Bull ShoalsDam is now decreasing generation velocity since the lake level has finally reached power pool. Generation release is back in the hands of SWPA and electrical demand will now dictate the CFS. Regardless, wadable water is right around the corner and we're certainly excited about that. These fish have been relatively unmolested for the better part of the year while fattening themselves on a diverse assortment of scuds, sowbugs, and numerous other aquatic delicacies. This is only the beginning of this low water transition so stay tuned for more information including fishing reports later this month. Norfork continues to run two units around the clock while the lake level sits just above power pool. The next few days should be enough to get the lake down to power pool level and like BSD, the electrical demand will take over. The DO levels have steadily improved over the past ten days although the fishing was sometimes inconsistent. We focused the majority of our guide trips here recently and the weather was a significant factor in the level of success for that day. Fishing was slower on days with impending cold fronts and overcast skies as opposed to the more comfortable days in the fifties with sunny skies. Some fish show undoubtable signs of stress by either warmer water temperatures or low DO levels. Earlier in the week, a client landed a 16" rainbow of which was 40% covered with a bloody, blistery type patch along one side. A sure sign of stress. Some fish put up very little fight while others fought vigorously. As the lakes continues to improve, so do the tailwaters.
RECORDED:70 °FISHING: Great
Both Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes are still high and generation has picked back up to a consistent level now that the Ike rains have passed. BSD is running between 6 to 8 units around the clock. Although the DO levels are undesirable, fishing below the dam is producing awesome fish. Due to these low DO levels, there will be no fish stocked on the upper White and all of Norfork until conditions improve. When temperatures reach and remain in the 40s, the lakes will begin to turn which should remedy the low oxygen content released in the tail waters. For the past two weeks Norfork offered zero generation for up to half a day for wading anglers but that has since ceased. Generation is suspended between the hours of midnight through 6am making for excellent night streamer fishing for the devoted anglers. The water clarity is stained due in part to the organic matter at the bottom of the lake which continues to decompose. As mentioned on the White as the lake will turn in the near future which should remedy the water clarity issue. Now that we're back to high water fishing the flies of choice continues to be an assortment of zebra midges in a variation of bead and wire colors size 14, attractor patterns such as SJ worms or eggs, large scuds, woven and xelon sowbugs, and of course... streamers. (See fly of the month for instructions on how to tie a GREAT streamer)
RECORDED:90 °FISHING: Great
Bull Shoals Dam continues to generate eight units around the clock. Fishing directly below the dam down through the state park and Cane Island continues to produce large, vibrant, and well fed fish as seen above in the photo of a 23" rainbow. Early morning is the best time to get out there while there is still fog cover and the temperature is cool. The deeper channels require 15' leaders and heavy split shot (excercise caution when casting) while the banks are fishing well with shorter leaders fishing nymphs. The same techniques are working well down river at Wildcat, Cotter, Roundhouse, and Rim Shoals. Suggested fly patterns remain the same for high water... SJ worms in pink or red and bright egg patterns in deeper channels and size 14+ midges in slower moving water along the banks. Preferably larger tungsten heads to sink the fly quickly. After being spoiled the last two weeks with no generation at Norfork between 6am and 2pm, the fun is over. Beginning Monday, July 21st, the generation schedule now begins at 6am and continues throughout the day making wading impossible. It was inevitable. Both lake levels remain high and only a week ago we received up to 4" of rain which only delays the process of relieving dam pressure. I admit putting in at the dam and dragging the boat across a few shoals was not a pleasure, but reaching Long Hole and the C&R area was worth the hard work. Many slams, healthy browns, and long drifts. Oh well. The fish will be all the better as a result.
