(Updated 11-19-2014) Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said there haven't been many anglers on the water this week, but the river is full of fish ...more and the hot winter bite should be upon us.
(Updated 11-5-2014) Berry Brothers Guide Service (870-453-2424) said there was moderate generation in the afternoon and lower generation in the morning with abundant wadable water. All of the lakes in the system are well below seasonal power pool. With temperatures moderating, we should receive more wadable water. The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is closed until Jan. 31, 2015, to accommodate the brown trout spawn. The state park area is catch-and-release fishing only for the same period. Night fishing is prohibited in this area during this period. The hot spot was the section from Rim Shoals downstream to Ranchette. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers, Y2Ks, prince nymphs, zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead), pheasant tails, ruby midges, root beer midges, pink and cerise San Juan worms, and sowbugs. Double-fly nymph rigs have been very effective (try a flashback beadhead pheasant tail nymph with a ruby midge or red fan tail midge suspended below it). It is still hopper time. Try a Dave’s hoppers and the western pink lady. The higher flows that we have been getting on some afternoons have been conducive to fishing large streamers as well.
(Updated 10-29-2014) Newland's Resort below Bull Shoals said water conditions are trending toward low flows in the mornings, and higher flows in the late afternoons. Popular baits have been shad, shrimp, pink artificial worms, Original Rapala Floating Minnows and Little Cleo spoons. Visit the Projected water flow page and live web cam at Newland's web site.
Fishing report courtesy of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission