netboy

Those are some nice browns. Way to go.

They are a mutant version of rainbow trout, not the true golden trout from the Sierra mountains in California. This was from an internet search... Golden Rainbow are a hybrid form of Rainbow Trout that were developed over several years of genetic manipulation by a fish hatchery in the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. In 1954 a single Rainbow Trout developed that was a hybrid and was half normal and half golden.

Went back to the same area I fished yesterday and caught this nice rainbow on a ruby midge. I also had a big brown chase a small rainbow I was landing. He looked to be in the 28-30" range and was close enough that I could have poked him with my rod. I tied on a mop fly hoping to trigger a strike but no luck with that. It was exciting to see him chase that rainbow.

We have had increased generation on the White river the last few days due to the big rains we had a couple of weeks ago. They were running about 4-5 units this morning so it limits the amount of wadeable water. I fished an area that has some protection from the flows this morning and had a good day. Caught lots of rainbows, 1 cutthroat, 1 golden rainbow and this nice brown. Caught the brown on an olive Mop fly and most of the rainbows on an egg/midge combo. Bull Shoals lake is currently around 2.5 feet over power pool so hopefully we will see lighter flows soon.

Coontail weeds hold lots of insect life. That is always a good place to fish a dry fly here on the White river.

That is a great sauger. I didn't know they got that big. Great catch.

A couple more...

I went to Bull Shoals C&R area this morning since it closes at midnight tonight until Feb 1 for the brown trout spawn. They were running a little less than 2 units so the wading opportunities were limited. Lots of boats but I was the only one wading. Fishing was good with lots of nice sized rainbows, 2 cutthroats and 3 brookies. Best fly was a size 16 Y2K with a ruby midge dropper. There were a few fish rising early and I caught a couple on a parachute Adams but that didn't last long. Here's a few of the better ones.

Dally's fly shop in Cotter has a small selection. The best selection is at the old Harp's store on Business 62 in Mt Home. They have a really nice sporting goods department.

I think we may see some minimum flow in the next few days. I hope they lower it gradually to avoid another kill from fish getting stranded in the side channels.

Bull Shoals lake is now only 1 foot over power pool so we are starting to see a reduction in flows. Water was running around 8k cfs this morning so I waded a shoal that has some protection from the current. There was a good hatch of small mayflies early and a size 18 parachute Adams worked until around 9 am. When that slowed down I waded downstream and saw a couple of redds with active rainbows. The fish on the redds aren't interested in feeding but there were fish holding just downstream waiting on the eggs so I switched to a Y2K. I caught some nice sized rainbows and 1 decent brown on the Y2K. It is fun fishing as you can see the fish holding below the redds and then sight cast to them. Here's a pic of one of the nicer rainbows.

Wow, those are some nice ones. Congrats to the wife.

I think they will reduce the flows later this week when it reaches 659. Also no rain in the foreseeable future.

They stocked all of them just below the dam so that is the best area. They seem to like dry flies and a size 18 parachute Adams has worked for me. Should be easy to get one when the water finally goes back down.

Brookies are usually pretty easy up by the dam. That is the only place they stock them. Also tiger trout. Just sayin...

Just curious, what bait do you use to catch suckers?

Search for Buford Spur Place on Google maps. There are about a dozen homes along the river and a small private and somewhat primitive boat ramp where the road ends. Unfortunately that area is pretty remote so probably nobody around to help.

It sounds like the private ramp for the subdivision on the Baxter county side just upstream from Crooked creek confluence.

Fishing has been good but the water is back up. It was 5 units this morning and went up to 7 late morning. Very limited walk-in wade fishing right now. I launched the boat at Wildcat this morning and ran to a shoal downstream that has wadeable water. There were some trout rising and I caught 4 or 5 on a crackleback. When that slowed down I changed to a Y2K with a ruby midge dropper and caught about 20 more including this nice rainbow and brown. Check out the red coloring on the brown's adipose fin.

Oh my, I thought you were talking about Mingo Falls in Cherokee, NC. Really pretty place and decent trout fishing.

I have noticed more small rainbows on the White also. Most are 4 to 5 inches long and are full finned with white tips and many have parr marks. That makes me think they are wild spawned trout.

The last week has been great fishing with lots of wading opportunities and some good dry fly fishing. It was nice while it lasted but SWPA flows are coming back up starting tomorrow but too bad. I waded at the dam yesterday and then Roundhouse Shoals today and both areas were good. Eggs/midges early and then dry flies and cacklebacks started around mid morning when the bugs started hatching. Just watch for the dragonflies to start picking up the hatching bugs and then put on a dry fly. Here's a couple of nice rainbows...

A couple more,,, first one is a small tiger.

We have had minimum flow on the White and Norfork since Tuesday. They are increasing the flows around noon so the water is down until about 5pm here at Cotter. I fished Norfork one day and then here at Cotter and Roundhouse a couple days and Bull Shoals dam yesterday and this morning. Fishing has been great with lots of nice size rainbows, a few cutthroats, browns, brookies, goldens and tigers. The last couple of days at the dam fish have been rising to small mayflies starting around 10 am and a size 18 parachute Sulphur has been working on top. Egg with a midge dropper has been good as well as a crackleback stripped just under the surface. I heard they are holding back water since there was lots of rain downstream from Laura so I don't know how long the minimum flows will last. Here's a couple of pics.

Just a couple more comments on the big drop in water levels. I fished at Bull Shoals dam yesterday and saw lots of buzzards feasting on dead trout in the depressions along the shoreline. Not to mention that the herons were too fat to fly much more than a couple feet off the water. Today I waded at Roundhouse Shoals on minimum flow and there were 4 boats pulled up on the shore and guys walking the shoreline. I talked to one of them and he said they were collecting sculpins that had been stranded by the big water drop. Apparently they sell them to the trout docks for bait. Seems like the COE could even out the water flows a bit better. Why go to absolute minimum flow in the morning to 6 or 7 units in the afternoon for a few hours?