Arkansas Fishing Reports 02/14/2013

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Report by: BERRY BROTHERS GUIDE SERVICE Fly Fishing For Trout ABIGAIL’S BROWN Article
During the past week, we have had a few minor rain events, warmer temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose three tenths of a foot to rest at six and three tenths feet below power pool of 654.00 feet. This is forty seven and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose two and five tenths feet to rest at seven and three tenths feet below power pool and twenty three and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake remained rose three tenths of a foot to rest at nine and nine tenths feet below power pool or nineteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we have had light generation with some wadable water. Norfork Lake rose one and two tenths of a foot to rest at ten and three tenths feet below power pool of 553.75 feet or thirty six and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we have had wadable water most days. All of the lakes in the White River system are well below flood pool, the rains we have received have had little effect on lake levels and we should receive more wadable water.

On the White, we have had more wadable water. The most productive water has been the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. It has been very crowded. The best time to fish is early morning or late in the afternoon. The hot flies were zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead), pheasant tails, copper Johns, pink and cerise San Juan worms, gold ribbed hare’s ears and olive scuds. Egg patterns have accounted for many trout. Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective. Try a small bead headed nymph (zebra midge, copper John or pheasant tail) suspended eighteen inches below a brightly colored San Juan worm (hot fluorescent pink or cerise). The trout have also been active on soft hackles like my green butt or the partridge and orange and Dan’s turkey tail emerger.

With the milder weather we begin to think about a shad kill being less likely. At this time, there are low lake levels, light generation patterns but much warmer temperatures on the White and Norfork Rivers. The colder temperatures, lower lake levels and generation patterns are not conducive to a shad kill. The recent rain is not enough to produce the higher generation levels for a good shad kill.

Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River are a bit more navigable after the recent rains. With our colder weather, the water temperature has dropped and the smallmouth are much less active. Carefully check the water level before entering Crooked Creek or the Buffalo River. There are no dams on these streams. They both have large drainages and are prone to flooding during and following any rain event. The water can rise very quickly.

There has been wadable water on the Norfork most days. The action has slowed somewhat and it has been a bit less crowded with more wadable water on the White. The most productive flies have been small midge patterns like zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead) and Dan’s turkey tail emerger or soft hackles like my green butt or the partridge and orange. Some local dry fly enthusiasts have had great success by keying in on small caddis hatches that are best imitated with a size 16 elk hair caddis. There has also been a sparse hatch of very small mayflies (try a size 22 parachute Adams). Olive woolly buggers have also accounted for a lot of trout. The fishing is much better in the morning and tapers off in the afternoon.

Dry Run Creek has fished well. The hot flies have been sowbugs and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise). Small orange or peach eggs have been very effective. Large numbers of brown trout have moved up into the creek to spawn. Carefully handle and release all trout. Dry Run Creek is much less crowded and now is a great time to fish there. Handle all fish carefully and release them as quickly as possible. While you are there take a few minutes to tour the adjacent Norfork National Fish Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.

The water level on the Spring River is a bit higher and stained from the recent rains. This is a great place to wade fish when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and the few boaters still around should not prove to be a problem. The hot spot is the Dam Three Access. Be sure to wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot flies have been olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash, cerise and hot pink San Juan worms and Y2Ks.

Remember that the White and Norfork Rivers and Dry Run Creek are infected with didymo, an invasive alga. Be sure and thoroughly clean and dry your waders (especially the felt soles on wading boots) before using them in any other water. Many manufacturers are now making rubber soled wading boots that are easier to clean and are not as likely to harbor didymo.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.

Greer's Ferry
Updated: 2/13/2013
Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 461.03
Temperature:42-51
Outflow: 2601 Level: 1.67 feet high

The water level at greers ferry is at 462.31 and falling from general release it is 1.28 feet above normal pool of 461.03 and murky and clearing.

The bass fishing is getting better on the Arkansas claw,football heads out deep and spinner baits and crank baits for the shallow fish as well as c-rigs jerk baits and jig head worms for the in between fish.

The crappie are starting to bite better with the clearing of the water, try jigs and minnows 15-25 feet deep.

The hybrids and whites are doing better as well with the clearing water around staging points through out the lake try spoons in-line spinners and swim baits 25-62 feet of water.

The water is low and crystal clear. There is lots of wadeable water from the Dam to about HWY 62 bridge. With the hot summer the Grasshopper patterns are doing well. Orange or pink scuds and sowbugs size from about 14 to 18s.

The spinner fishermen are having very good results with Micro Jigs floated under a casting bubble.

BASS They are being caught from the surface to 35 feet deep. The thermocline is in the 25 to 32foot range. I know this is early but the water temp has been warmer then normal. The patterns below are in no order. Cloudy-windy days the fish seem to be shallower. Bright sunny non windy days the fish seem to be deeper. If you are having trouble catching fish try getting your bait a little deeper.Night fishing for bass has been very good. They seem to be coming up a little shallower after the sun goes down. The reports I have been getting are you can catch them in 0 to 20 feet of water on just about any night pattern there is or you like to throw. Spinner baits, jig-n-trailer, grubs, tube jigs, hula grubs, plastic worms, ect.

Walleye The walleye fishing patterns are like late June or early July patterns. We are still seeing a lot of walleye being caught but they are deeper then normal for this time of year. The best pattern I have seen is the bottom bouncing pattern. For those of you that don't know what a bottom bouncer is- I will try to paint you a visual picture. A bottom bouncer is a "L" shaped piece of wire with a lead weight on the long end. you tie it on your line at corner of the "L". Then you tie a 2-5 foot piece of line on the end of the short wire and put a night crawler on the end of the line. A lot of guys will use a lindy rig for the 2-5 foot piece of line. A lindy rig is nothing but a piece of line with spinners, beads, flashy things on it to attract the fish. You can make your own up also. Anyway, the bottom bouncer ticks the bottom while trolling and the noise will attract the fish. We had a couple of great walleye stringers come in today. see picture page. Spilt shoting a night crawler is also producing some good walleye.

White Bass I haven't seen much white bass lately. I would think using minnows under the lights at night would work. Trolling a deep diving bait on the gravel banks should catch some fish. Let me know if you catch any

Crappie small jigs and minnows around the brush piles in 15 to 30 feet of water.

Catfish The catfish are up and shallow. Guide Jackie Due and John Bayer had a massive stringer this week using crawfish in 5-15 feet of water.

Hello! Sorry about not keeping up this report there are a couple of reasons. 1. The fishing doesn't change much until the water temperature cools off in September. So there is not much to report. 2. We had a devastating tornado hit us on Wednesday August 1st. We have lost two of our biggest docks with 136 stalls completely gone. Done 12 got flipped over on top of Dock 11 like a pancake. We have over $1,000,000 in damage right now as an estimate. So, please forgive me if I dot keep this up for awhile. Thank you for your cooperation.

BASS Updated June 4th - They are being caught from the surface to 35 feet deep. The thermocline is in the 25 to 32foot range. I know this is early but the water temp has been warmer then normal. The patterns below are in no order. Cloudy-windy days the fish seem to be shallower. Bright sunny non windy days the fish seem to be deeper. If you are having trouble catching fish try getting your bait a little deeper.

Catfish The catfish are up and shallow. Guide Jackie Due and John Bayer had a massive stringer this week using crawfish in 5-15 feet of water. See Picture page

NOTHING EVER CHANGES ON THE RIVER EXCEPT THE WATER LEVEL!!! THE FISHING IS ALWAYS GREAT!! This question gets asked a lot. "When is the best time to fish the river? " The answer is anytime. The water comes out of the bottom of the lake therefore it is always very cold. It doesn't have the temperature cycle of a normal body of water. It doesn't matter if its 100 degrees out or 10 degrees out. The water temperature stays the same within a few degrees, Therefore, the fishing is always the same and always good. Arkansas stocks the White River with rainbow trout year around so the fishing is good year around. The water level doesn't matter either, you just have to change how you fish. If the water is high then you usually drift and float fish, if its low then you anchor and still fish. Naturally, fly fishing is better when the river is low. SO, COME FISHING WHENEVER YOU CAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of Monday 11 Feb, the lake level is approx 2 inches above normal conservation pool and falling. There is decreased current in Little River w/ the release of discharge at the dam. The Largemouth Bass are feeding best at midday through mid-afternoon. Little River's oxbows over the past week have improved water clarity since last week. Surface water temps crept upward again over the past week.

Surface temps as of Monday 11 Feb are ranging 48ºF early to 53ºF range, depending on rain, wind, incoming fresh water, location, and time of day.

Lake level as of Monday 11 Feb is currently is 259.33 mfsl, and falling, which is approx 2 inches above normal conservation pool. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. Discharge rate as of Monday was a total discharge of 1,832CFS. The tailwater level as of Monday was up, at 227.05 mfsl.

Clarity and visibility much improved over the past week. As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 10-12 inches. Little River's visibility ranges 8-10 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity are somewhat better away from current of Little River, albeit, with light stain, ranging approx 5-7 feet depth of visibility depending on location. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds or thunderstorms.

To volunteer for one of the cleanup dates or ramp and USACE park information, contact Tony Porter at the Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office. To receive project updates, daily lake level information updates, gate release flows, tailwater information, park and campground information, or volunteer, call the US Army Corps of Engrs toll-free information line at 888-697-9830.

Largemouth Bass: The bass activity level over past couple weeks continues to be a mixed bag with the wildly fluctuating daytime temperatures. Over the past week, best bite and most activity level increases of the entire day, certainly remains from mid day through mid-afternoon, say 11am to 3pm when surface temps are at a record setting point for this time of year.

Rat-L-Traps, War Eagle Spinnerbaits, and Real Deal Custom Tackle jigs continue to be the go-to lures over this past week, working during majority of the warmest period of the day. Cotton Cordell, Kastmaster, or Johnson Splinter spoons vertical jigging slowly on primary and secondary points with stumps, brush piles, and cover along Little River, will work to get numbers of juvenile size, schooled-up Kentucky & Largemouth bass in the boat. Largemouths & Spotted Bass were locating again this past week, in Little River itself, into mid afternoon. Points are still producing best in Little River, while rapid drop offs of flats with stumps and standing timber, are providing the best locations in the oxbows, albeit, random activity with the wild daytime temperature fluctuations recently. Numbers of Largemouths have been observed busting shad on topwater over the past few days.

Slow moving magnum size tubes in black/blue tail, pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail, or smoke/black/red flake continue randomly working on Cypress trees, knees, and stumps in 8-12 feet depths in the oxbows. Rat-L-Traps, Bomber and XCalibur crankbaits continue producing (randomly) in drop off areas of 5-7' flats into 12-16' drop zones with stumps present in addition to ledges and stumps along Little River itself. Chatter baits in white shad, or black/blue are taking a few bass in the oxbows around vegetation lines or dead lily pad stems.

The most productive colors of Rat-L-Traps over the past several weeks have been the Red Chrome, the Toledo Gold, and Transparent. Spring Bream colored Rat--L-Traps have also been landing some shallow cruising male bass on flats. Best colors of Bomber and XCalibur crankbaits last week are the Black Pearl, the Foxy Shad, and the Dance's Crawfish. The best color for War Eagle Spinnerbaits over the past week with improved water clarity in the oxbows are Spot Remover, Aurora, or Sexy Shad. Best color for the Real Deal Custom Tackle jigs are Baby Gator, Texas Craw, or Voodoo. Swimming the jig with a black or green pumpkin pork chunk or plastic craw trailer has been working best in dead lily pad stems on 3-5' depth flats with 9-15' depth drops nearby or swimming slowly on warm days between cypress trees and knees in 8-10 foot depths. Nice sized 2-3 pound Largemouths holding on the base of cypress tree roots and knees, will react to the swim jig with a great slam of a reaction bite over the past couple weeks.

White Bass: were found along with the Kentucky Bass (Spots) between Highway 71 bridge and the cuts upriver and on points using jerk baits, and Rooster tails in white and red

Crappie: remain scattered with these wild temperature swings of 50º in just a few days and the Crappie are somewhat hard to pin point as to a consistent location. Just as last week, one day they are vertical stacking in 10-14' of water over and around planted brush, the next day they are on Cypress knees and tree roots. Minnows and jigs were beginning to take some of the vertical stacking Crappie over the past two weeks. It's almost a hide-and-seek method of finding them day to day here lately. Try to target planted brush piles in 10-15 feet depths, (best locations have been located out of the current along Little River) or swimming jigs in chartreuse & white or Blakemore roadrunners around Cypress trees and knees.

Cats: activity levels remain good with current in Little River. Best bets over the past few weeks have been on Charlie or cut shad, homemade doughbaits, and rotting chicken livers. Trot lines in 11-15' depths along Little River, and yo-yo's hung from cypress limbs over 8-12' depths in the oxbows have been working best for Channel Cats and Blues.

Surface temps as of Monday 11 Feb currently ranging 48ºF early to 53ºF later in the afternoon hours, depending on rain, wind, incoming fresh water, location, and time of day.

Lake level as of Monday 11 Feb, is currently is 259.33 mfsl and falling, which is approx 2 inches above normal conservation pool elevation. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. Discharge rate as of Monday was 1832 CFS. The tailwater level as of Monday was up, at 227.05 mfsl.

Clarity and visibility stained but drastically improved over the past week. As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity & visibility ranges approx 10-12 inches. Little River's visibility ranges 8-10 inches depending on location and current. The oxbow's clarity are much better, albeit, with light stain, ranging approx 5-7 feet depth of visibility depending on location. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds or thunderstorms.

The USACE upgrade project and maintenance work including installation of a new bypass valve at the River Run East recreational area below the spillway is almost complete. USACE expects to have completion reached and park open soon. Other USACE parks around Millwood Lake project are operating normally with a few specific campsites being worked on and some minor dead tree & debris removal. There maybe some temporary interruption of service in a few of these areas, all being short-term, and should not impact recreation of and around most park facilities. As soon as we receive updated information on the project, we will pass it along to you.

To volunteer for one of the clean-up dates, to receive ramp or campground and park project updates, daily lake level information and project release flow updates, or tailwater information, call Tony Porter at the US Army Corps of Engrs toll-free information line at 888-697-9830.

Wear your Life Jacket and kill switch!! If you are suddenly or unexpectedly thrown from your boat, it could be your only chance of survival. Use caution navigating Little River in low light conditions, SLOW DOWN, and pass friendly to other boaters! As always, careful watch for any random floaters and debris in Little River's current, and wearing your PFD and kill switch is a requirement!

Visit with us on our website and on Facebook, for the most current Millwood Lake fishing report, updated weekly. See some great catch and release photos, sponsor links, tons of great information and resources on the lake available to you, along with excellent related direct links to Arkansas' State Parks, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Black Bass Program, The US Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas.com and tons more great fishing stuff....

Blue gill fishing on Norfork Lake has been good using crickets and red worms fishing along the bluffs in deep water.

Crappie fishing has been fair using minnows fishing in the deep water around brush. Bass fishing has been fair. As the water cools fishing will continue to pick up

The stripers are in their typical winter pattern and I am finding the fish in the typical winter locations. This fish that I landed was a very strong fish, it did not run a long way, but took a dive down, then did not want to budge from its deep water depth. It was a real tug a war, but I won. Places to look for stripers are part way back in creeks such as Float Creek, in the deep river channel in the Henderson, Bidwell, 101 and 6A areas. They should be in the Canfield area, but I have not checked this area out yet. I fished for stripers for a couple of hours then I decided to switch to bass. My first location was a deep water bluff line close to a point on the main lake. The spotted bass bite was non-stop. I was vertical jigging with a small 1/4 ounce spoon in 28 - 40 feet of water. I ended up culling a few fish as they kept getting bigger. The spots all ranged from 13 - 15 inches. I caught a few largemouth bass while striper fishing. They were suspended at 30 - 40 feet in 85 feet of water. I also caught 2 in the same location that I was catching all the spotted bass, but the best location that I found was near brush in 30 - 40 feet of water. The Norfork Lake water level is currently at 540.63 and rising slowly. The lake has remain stable for the last couple of days with no power generation. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat stained. The surface water temperature was 49 degrees.

The stripers have schooled along the channels and edges of flats in the main lake. Henderson, Bidwell & the 101 Area are the best places to find fish. The best bite is mid-morning then late afternoon, varies your live baits from 35 to 50’ and just keep moving slowly with your baits, shiners & shad are both working. Set your lines about the shad balls, the fish will come up to eat your bait.

The water temp is in the mid 70's and the lake level is 544.6. The lake is down almost 7-1/2 ft. There are fish suspended down 40ft. The bite for the stripers has been on and off. Bass are hitting jigs and grubs in 10-20ft. We need some cooler weather to drop the water temp and then the bite will get better.

Beaver	Beaver Tail water	Bull Shoals	Greer's Ferry	Kings River
Little Red River	Millwood	Norfork	Norfork Tail water	White River