netboy

Brings back memories. I learned to fly fish at Bennett with my Dad back in the late 50's and early 60's.

Looks like they are only releasing around 850cfs over the top and around 4-5k through the generators, so it shouldn't pose a problem.

Don't mind the walleyes and whites, but we don't need any trout eating stripers. From what I have heard, they have done quite a job on the trout in NFOW above the lake.

Saw this notice earlier today. The lake is currently at 568.27 and power pool is 553.75. Facebook

Looks good. Tell us more.

We got another 3" last night, so that makes 10" since Sunday. White river is high and muddy at Cotter.

Crooked Creek now running at 20,800 at Kelley crossing in Yellville. USGS Current Conditions for USGS 07055607 Crooked Creek at Kelly Crossing at Yellville, AR

I don't know of any guides over there since Brian Sloss moved away. You might give these guys a call and see it they can help. Hufstedlers

We have had over 7" since yesterday and it is still coming down. The White River is now the Brown River. Here is a pic off our deck...

The Bull Shoals Dam C&R will close tomorrow night until February 1 for the brown trout spawn season. With that said, I have been fishing up there the last week or so. Fishing has been good with some nice rainbows, but only a few small browns and cutthroats. Best flies have been scuds and egg patterns early and then when the sun comes out, cracklebacks. Here is one of the better ones this morning.

Size 16 scud hook tied with Australian Possum fur dubbing, which ends up being a tan/brownish color.

I went out of the house at 7am to pack up the truck for a morning's fishing and ran into this guy. He was pretty belligerent and backed off a few feet and then we had a stare down going on. He stomped his hoofs a few times and I took a few pictures and continued to pack the truck. He just stood there for about 5 minutes and we stared at each other. He was still there when I drove off. Went to the dam and fishing was about the same. Scuds, midges and cracklebacks worked. Lots of people fishing today but it was still pretty good. Here are a couple of pics... My buddy and a nice rainbow on a scud.

Went to the state park access this morning and fishing was pretty good. It seems the shad kill is beginning to decline. The fish seemed to be getting back to normal feeding patterns. The last few weeks the trout have been feeding heavily on the shad kill when they turn on the generators in the afternoons. I caught a couple nice fish last week that puked up shad when I netted them. Best flies today were midges, scuds and a crackleback. Ended the morning with a dozen nice size rainbows and a couple cutties. Here is a one of the better ones....

Always fun to sight fish. Nice ones.

Wade fishing has been a bit slow at the dam recently as there has been a shad kill in the late afternoons when they turn on the generators. The fish have been eating well during the shad kill and not responding to the small stuff in the mornings. I have been fishing downstream around the Narrows and Cotter but noticed very small water releases yesterday, so I made a trip to the dam this morning. Fishing was better with scuds, eggs and cracklebacks. Ended the morning with a dozen nice sized rainbows, one brown and one cutthroat. Here is the best one of the morning....

Call the Game Wardens when you see that stuff going on. In Arkansas they will give you a pretty good cash reward based on the fines collected..... Missouri number is 800-392-1111. With that said. they may come and may not. I have called 3 times in Arkansas and they have responded twice. If you don't call, then don't complain. Operation Game Thief | Missouri Department of Conservation (mo.gov)

^^^^That is possible, but the rainbow carcasses were not around the boat ramp where people usually clean their fish. Also, they were all in the 20" range, which are rarely found outside of the C&R area.

I went to the BS dam access this morning and fishing was pretty good. The best flies were a Y2k early and then when the fog burned off, a crackleback worked great. Caught a dozen nice rainbows and missed a few more. When I was wading out, I ran across this guy that was dead on the bottom of the river. What a shame. Last weekend (Labor Day) I saw the remnants of 3 nice rainbows that were filleted and dumped back into the river in the "catch and release area". It is deplorable what some of these people do. Dead brown from this morning...

Made a trip to Ackerman access this morning for a change of pace. Minimum flow was scheduled until 2pm and the fishing was pretty good. I did notice the water was a bit off colored, but it didn't slow the bite. Best flies were a Y2K and then later in the morning a crackleback worked well. Ended the morning with a couple dozen rainbows and 1 average size brown. Here is the best one of the morning...

This is what they look like when they hit the ribbonfish.

Those ribbonfish used to make great trolling baits for kingfish off the Texas coast. The bigger, the better. We rigged them with a 2-hook rig and slow trolled. Many times, the kings would come up under them and clear the water by 10 feet on the strike. It was pretty exciting.

I agree, just watch out for the many scammers out there trying to make a buck on the "Green New Deal".

Be very careful who you pick to do the installation. Had a friend that chose what turned out to be a scammer. Paid the guy and it was not installed to code. Had to get another contractor to come in and correct. Ended up costing twice the price of the scammer's original estimate.

Wow, I miss the South Texas waterhole hunts and the fantastic whitewing hunts in the grain fields in northern Mexico. Had to wear gloves to not get your hands burned.

When I look at the design of a circle hook, I wonder how a fish would ever get hooked, but they do.