RiverRunner

I was thinking that the flood might wash some more smallmouth into the river below the Buffalo and around some of the creek mouths. I fish around Norfork quite a bit and there is a decent smallmouth population in certain areas. I caught a beautiful 3 lbs smallmouth near Job's Island a couple of years back on a 1/16 oz. jig. It may sound trivial compared to the losses people are having to endure, but I am very concerned about the fishery below Norfork after this flood. Also, I heard that the hatchery at Mammoth had a major fish kill due to the flood. This is not looking good for the river this year.

That is a good question, I am really curious how both Beaver and the White below the confluence will fare after all this. I remember after a flood a few years ago, I found several dead trout in the woods near Calico Rock. Great avatar, I'll be your huckleberry!

This is Jenkins Trout Dock at Calico, this dock has been here for many years and I believe it withstood the 1982 flood. The Jenkins have had a dock in Calico since 1958, so they've seen some floods before. I would bet they get it replaced and get back in business pretty quick. I've got some friends who own Lindsey Trout Dock about 3 miles upriver, I am very curious if they made it. I sure hope that they did, I have a lot of good memories of that dock.

The situation on the White River below Buffalo City sounds very bad. I have heard that both the Shied and Calico bridges have been closed and that people are being evacuated out of the river valley all the way to Batesville and beyond. This thing may eclipse 1982 when all is said and done. I imagine there will be major damage to houses just downstream from Norfork. I also heard that Jenkins Boat Dock at Calico is gone. I imagine it will be tough on the docks at Norfork as well.

There've been lots rumours floating around about this deal. The story I heard was that $40,000 was missing and he may be in Mexico. Who knows what the truth really is. I guess that's why they called the search off without finding him.

Welcome aboard, I live just down the road in Searcy. This high water has fishing pretty much shut down for me at the moment on the LR. On my way home from work today, I crossed the river here at Searcy and noticed that the current is very slow, I guess it is backing up from the White River. I hate to say it, but I think we're in for a long spring of high water here. At least the fish will get less pressure for a while.

Will McFly foam work when tying this pattern, or will I need to use the traditional egg yarn?

It didn't start snowing here in Searcy until about 8:00 am. Its still not sticking, but we did get out of school. It looks like the heavy snow was about 50-70 miles to the northwest. I guess I'll catch up on my tying today.

What all do you catch between the dams? I've heard that there are walleye, sauger, and smallmouth in there, but I've never tried it. Is it worth the trip? I've always thought the river looked good below the dam at the VFW, but there are always people fishing down there.

I spent some of the best days of my youth on DRC, with several fish of a lifetime brought to hand. I would keep it simple there, 14-16 sowbugs and scuds, #10-12 WB's, San Juan Worms, and egg patterns. A soft hackle would also be effective as well. The one thing that I always noticed was the abundance of sowbugs in the creek, that should be a good indication of what to fish. Make sure to use at least 5X tippet, there are some real pigs in there. Also, just accept the fact that you will lose some flies in the trees and bushes, you just can't help it there.

I can't figure this one out, the previous law stated that the limit was 25 HP, but did not specify if it was at the powerhead or the prop or jet pump. So I guess this will raise the limit. I do know that I've seen plenty of people breaking the law by running much larger motors than 25 HP. I saw one guy in 06 up there that was running a 125 Merc jet, he had taken the "1" decal off the motor in an attempt to make people think it was a 25. I was checked by a game warden up there and he told me that they are writing tickets for people with oversized motors. I am imagine he can write plenty, because I would say that 90% of boats on the river are running motors that are rated 50 HP and up. If it wasn't for that law (which I'm sure plenty of people hate) that river would be a circus of jet boats. I have to give kudos to the AGFC, they are doing a great job of developing that fishery. I think it is the best smallmouth fishery in AR, hands down.

Ozarks, Have you ever caught any bass in the river down that way? All of my St. Francis River fishing has been from the 412 bridge south.

I would say that the WB is my go to fly on the White and the Norfork. I usually fish a #10 (heavily weighted with lead) with a gold beadhead. The most productive color for me lately has been olive pearl. I've fished it just about any way you can, dead drifted under an indicator, stripped in slowly, and on a sink tip. I would say, that a majority of the fish I've caught on WB's have been on the swing, but I've caught them just about any way you can fish it. For some reason (maybe the relative lack of baitfish), the WB has never produced as well for me on the Little Red. When I have caught them on it there, it is usually a black #10. Don't give up on it yet, maybe spend a day on the water with nothing but WB's and see how you do.

That is a very interesting article, thanks for posting that. Its surprising how long of a river the St. Francis is. I grew up fishing the St. Francis, but it is an entirely different kind of river where I fished it, in NE Arkansas in the sunken lands. It used to be one of the best largemouth and Kentucky fisheries in Arkansas, but it has declined in recent years. It was always neat to me that I crossed the same river on my way to St. Louis, hundreds of miles from home, and it was remarkable to me how different the upper river was from the cypress swamp that is the St. Francis in Arkansas. Two different kinds of beauty I guess.

I fished in JFK park this weekend on both days. It was tough on me both days. I got to fish on Saturday from about 4:00 to dark (dark enough that the lights on the dam were coming on) I only managed two little rainbows that I caught stripping an olive woolly right at dark. It was dead calm and the water was very low and gin clear. There were lots of little grey midges coming off, but I couldn't buy a strike on a midge. I fished everything from 16's -20's. I went back after lunch today in an attempt to redeem myself. I only managed two again, but one was an 18" male rainbow caught in the C&R area. Lots of midges coming off, but fish would not touch a midge for me. The two I caught came on a soft hackle. I may hook up the boat next weekend and fish the lower end and see if the catching is a little better down there. I'm kinda stumped right now on why the park is fishing so poorly for me.

This is dangerous weather to be out in a boat in, one wrong move and a tragedy like this can occur. I've always been afraid of something like that happening at the ramp, but this is the first time I've actually heard of it happening. When I was big-time tournament fishing, on very cold mornings, I always made sure I was the first one down the ramp and in the water. A terrible tragedy, to say the least.

It's unfortunate that people have this idea that smallmouth are like trout, that is easily replaced by stocking, which they are not. I tend to think of smallmouth like some fly fisherman do wild trout in high mountain streams. They are the most sporting native fish we have and we need to do everything possible to protect them. We have good regulations here in AR and in MO, we just need to make sure that their enforced. I do think that it would be a good start to ban gigging and spearfishing in any stream with special smallmouth regulations.

I guess I would say my home waters are the Little Red River, since it runs through Searcy and I can be on world class trout waters in 20 minutes. But I do fish the White River almost as much as I do the Red, at one time the White was my home river. I also fish the Eleven Point River in Randolph Co. AR quite a bit for smallmouth. Brownieman: What's happened to the smallmouth fishing on the current? Is it gigging, tournaments, or something else. We had a very good year last year for smallmouth on the Eleven Point, I'd hate to see anything happen to it. Cotterboy, good to see another jig fan on here, I'm a fan of the zig jig myself, its amazing that more people don't fish jigs on the White, IMO, they will outproduce any bait or lure that you can use.

I headed up to JFK park today to take advantage of the low water and get out of the house despite the cold and wind. After spending some time talking to Mike Davis (maddog48 on the boards), I got in the river. Fishing was slow for me, the wind made it tough and my reel and guides were freezing up. I ended up catching only three, but one of them was a nice 17" rainbow. The big fish came on a soft hackle, the other two on a midge. I guess that's three more than I would have caught at home. If the weather improves, I may try to go again tommorow.

Judging from the pictures, it looks like you guys were in Chastains Eddy, just downriver from Reds Landing. That is a good area, I've caught a lot of good fish in there over the years. That stretch of river is awesome when its dead low like that.

I've never been below Ramsey, but there are some jet boat guys around here that venture down there. The problem with going below Ramsey is lack of any take out (or at least any that I know about). I believe that there is a private ramp at Paradise Estates, about 8-10 miles below Ramsey, but that is a gated community and you need to know someone to get access there. Besides that, the next take out point would be Riverside Park in Searcy, which I figure is a good 30 miles below Ramsey, also there is a low water dam above Riverside that you would have to portage around. As far as fishing in that stretch, most people around here consider it kind of dead zone, too warm for trout at times and too cold for bass most of the time. The AGFC has been stocking smallmouth and walleye in the stretch between Searcy and Ramseys from what I here, so maybe something will come of it in a few years. I'm off to JFK in the morning, hopefully a report to follow.

I like to put my canoe in at Cow Shoals and float down to swinging bridge. There are some good shoals (Jons Pocket and Ritchey Shoals) in this stretch that don't get as much pressure. Also, the Lobo to Dripping Springs or Dripping to Ramseys floats are also pretty good. I wouldn't go near Cow Shoals in spawning season, too many crazy people. I'm actually glad that the spawn is over, the crowds are much thinner this time of year.

You don't have to shuffle for the fish to come up to your feet. In the area that I frequently wade, JFK Park on the Little Red River, I can stand completely still and fish will swim up and stay about 1 foot downstream of my boots, waiting for anything that I might kick up so that they can have an easy meal. Of course, shuffling is illegal in Arkansas (its not in MO). But lots of things are "illegal" in Arkansas, but I doubt you would see any tickets written for it. I can't figure out why anyone would want to catch fish like that.

I echo the statements from above, that boat is too big for the upper White. The only place I've seen bass boats on the river is at Guion (the end of the trout waters). The only times that the upper White would be safe for a boat that size is when they are running round the clock big time generation. Even then, they can shut it off at any time and the river becomes a creek again. Its a much better idea to rent a 20' fiberglass jon boat that's designed for the White River than to risk destroying your investment.

I really needed to get out of the house. Besides, as long as I was standing in the 47 degree water, I didn't get too cold. Under no circumstances would I have gone out in my boat today.