cmcclu

With kids and boat fishing personally I tend to prefer the Cotter area. Both are great rivers but just my person opinion Cotter area seems less stressful than being on the Fork with running water. In fact White flows have been great, reduced for downstream flooding but with the lake levels approaching capacity things can change quickly. Keep in touch with the water releases, plan on fishing out of a boat, and if need be change locations and should have a great trip. Maybe someone else can chime in on lodging suggestions. Good luck and give us a report on the trip.

I am out of the loop in that particular area but you might want to indicate your preferred fishing style i.e. fly fishing, spin fishing, etc.

20 foot fiberglass (not a drift boat). I appreciate the advice (trolling motor and drag chain) and look forward to on the water training. With all the water in the system looks like I will have plenty of opportunities for practice.

I have been trying to fish the Norfork and Little Red recently on high water and boat control just wears me down. I have been too afraid to kill the motor and am just kicking it in and out of gear to try and keep a somewhat aligned drift. Any tips that would make fishing any easier? I know I really need some one to go with me to take turns but aligning schedules is difficult.

AGFC newsletter article says the threadfin shad population in Greer's Ferry Lake is "virtually nonexistent" due to low water levels the past few years. They will be raising threadfin shad in the nursery pond next year and will discontinue stocking of black bass, hybrids, and walleye until the forage population recovers and then will stock those species in numbers that will be more tolerable for low water years (reduced numbers). Sounds like a significant development and one that I can not recall occurring before. In fact I didn't really think the lake had been that low. Does not sound so promising for the future of the hybrid and walleye fishing. I love fishing for both so I am hoping for a shad explosion and the resumption of the stocking efforts quickly.

Hello! As you know water levels will dictate methods but basically, try stripping wooly buggers or dead drifting an egg, sowbug, or zebra midge under an indicator and possibly add a split shot to keep near the bottom. I haven't kept up with the flow patterns lately but Id imagine with the colder weather there is a chance of some water running. Of course a boat would be necessary on any higher flow. Good luck!

An option with a pontoon boat that I have fond memories off is fishing at dusk and into the night around the area bridges. We use to catch crappie, white bass, and walleye fishing directly below floating lights with minnows. As a kid we would always look forward to those night fishing trips on the pontoon. Wading the upper tributaries of the lake would be tough. Your not to far away from the Mt. View area where you have trout fishing on the lower White River and Sylamore Creek area for smallmouth bass.

Minimum flow started as scheduled on Monday. At noon in JFK the minimum flow was noticable in terms of more stream bed inudated and slight current in otherwise calm pools. Overall it was still "low" water and generally would be approached in the same manner. I think it would be beneficial for the fishery if it was permanent but it sounds we will just have it temporarily. I have been waiting on warmer weather to try out a new rod and had a couple of hours on Monday to try it out. After assembly, rigging, etc. I walked down to the water and on the very first cast caught a rainbow. I probably could not do that again ever if I was trying but what a good way to break in a new rod!

Brad, I have been a customer there for years and they are always spot on. I have never used the guide service but would at least consider giving them a call or stopping in the shop to let them know your needs. The fishing methods of course will be dictaed by flow which recently has been up and down and then back up during the course of the day which could give you a variety of methods where a boat would be very helpful. The lake level is back down to normal pool level which would suggest that if the temps ever warm up then the generation will be considerably cut back. Good luck on your trip and let us know how you do!

What a brook! According to the AGFC site the record brook is 5.0 lbs. I am glad to still see that they are in there.

I remeber back in the 80's when lake Trout were placed in Greers Ferry (and also I believe Bull Shoals) and there were fisherman who specifically targeted those fish. There were catches of 5-10 pound fish that were made and there were even rumors of spawning that had occured for the Lake Trout. Supposedly there was a bad year of oxygen levels that caused a die off and stockings were halted. I would support additional stocking or would even support donating money for the fish to be reintroduced even if on a limited basis. I have heard in Texas where there are lakes facing a shortage of hybrids and stripers that local fisherman have raised money in conjuction and support with the Texas FIsh and Wildlife to purchase additional fish to enhance the numbers.

I am looking at repalcing fishing lights and have always used the old style floating light. Seems to be a lot of submersible LED lights available and was wondering if anyone would mind sharing an experience inorder todetermine which style to go with. I have young kids who love to go out at night and it is about that time (if not already) to give it a try. Thanks!

Not much to contribute other than enjoying a sunny afternoon after the clouds moved out. A few hours of fishing in the back of a main lake cove 12-18 fow simple minnow on a split shot resulted in several smallmoth, k's, and a white all released. Just simple fishing is sometimes a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Water was in the low 60's with a greenish tint and near normal water levels.

Bo, Can not say as far as Swinging Bridge but you might consider a nightly rental form one of the many cabins/houses that are available for nightly rental. You might get lucky and find one located on one of the shoal areas on the river that does not offer public access. The guys at the Ozark Angler would likely also be able to offer some options for you. Good luck!

Does anyone know where you could pick up some minnows in the vicinity of the Jordan area of the lake? Thanks!

Mark, Like Bret said the LRR is a much different stream than the White in that it is much narrower with no where near the gravel and much of the land is private (or treated as such). At low water it has many long deep pools full of moss beds separated by short rocky shoal sections. Typically the spring time levels will depend on rains and the lake level. As your trip approaches you can monitor the releases at GFD and that should give you an idea on what to expect and how to plan accordingly. Your canoe set up should be fine on lower water but I would not recommend it for high water unless you make it a one way float and take out downstream. Crowds will depend on the weather and water levels and having a boat will be a good tool to find some solitude. Besides the restricted zones there is also a slot limit in effect for the browns. There are several resorts and trout docks up and down the river that offer lodging, boat rentals, and bait and tackle that would be able to give you good last minute advice. Good luck and remember to let us know how you do.

I have an upcoming trip planned to take the kids out to fish and to escape the heat we will be going out and fishing at night. I have not fished this method in years and was looking for any recommendations that would help make a successful trip.............Thanks!

White River below Lock and Dam #1 at Batesville has skip jack, not sure if there present all year or not though. I can remember seeing other anglers fishing for them below the dam for bait.

100+ fish, Cody that is Great! I had a chance to fish this morning before the lightning moved in and caught a few fish. The depths you mentioned were right on the money. I have had my fly rod armed and ready to go after some top water action but I have not been in the right place at the right time yet. Thanks again for your reports!

Spent a couple of late afternoons fishing up untill dusk and the fishing was pretty slow, struck out with spoons but did catch a few black bass and a couple of nice crappie while trolling some deep divers. No sign of any surface activity where I was fishing and could not locate the whites or hybrids. Early mornings may be fishing better but think I will wait untill it cools down a little bit.

Ollie, The White River in this section is between 3 lock and dams numbered 1,2, and 3. I believe where you will be is between 2 and 3. Basically the dams create slow moving lake type water, however below each dam is typical river habitat for a bit downstream untill it slows down again from from the downstream dam. The flow is dictaed by releases at Bull Shoals and Norfork along with the many tribuatry streams and feeder creeks which can create very muddy conditions after a heavy rain fall. You will likely need a boat even in the event of very low water conditions and even then little or no wadable water. There is very good habitat directly below the dams that could be targeted if the water level is very low but is very hazardous and not fishable with very much flow at all. The lock and damms now have hydroelectric generators that produce power (but do not change water levels)that can be fished around. This section is below the end of the trout water but does have quite a few trout at certain times along with a few big ones along with walleye. Bass fishing is popular, crappie,sauger,and catfish are all caught at times, so you never really know what you might catch. Good luck!

I have been saying this exact thing if the AGFC would introduce lake trout on BS and/or Greers Ferry even in limited numbers it could create anglers a potential for another species of hopefully trophy size. I can remember some of the lake trout catches on Greers back in the late 80's-early 90's of some nice fish and really seemed unique. The AGFC themselves has stated that there may have be some natural reproduction of lake trout in Greers Ferry. I understand that low DO levels were the main limiting factor. I have emailed AGFC about this same thing but have not had a response. I also agree that Bull Shoals would be a tremendous striper fishery giving any consistent stocking effort.

Predictions of storm total of 2-4 inches of rain along with an isolated 8 inches in some storms are now being predicted along with flood watches issued for much of the state untill Saturday morning. Wow! I sure can not remember such a wet fall.

I have been hearing of reports of some nice walleye being caught here on the White River locally where I live, I have never fished specifically for them and was thinking of taking the boat out and giving it a go. With the water flows being high recently does anyone have any ideas or tactics to try, crankbaits, spoons, jigs, drifting live bait? Thanks

Well I think you guys are correct, after my first outting I was pretty disappointed. First of all I have never even been on a boat with a downrigger much less used one but after researching the topic I had visions of big fish coming to the boat out of the deep water. I lost a bunch of lures, kinked up the cable wire, and ruined the release clip all in about 2 hours. Of course a lot of that was probably due to operator error.