Bill Butts

Yes, on the Shadow Rock/ Swan Creek side. The lake is stll low and only a trickle of flow coming out of the creek, so we waded straight out from the creek mouth into the main river channel and worked down about 100 yd or so. Once you see it, this should make sense. Having some flow thru Powersite is definitely a positive factor, I wouldn't waste my time if there is not. Good luck if you go!!

Wow, what an awesome late spring/summer-like day!!! Like Phil suggested, with water moving thru Powersite it would be a logical expectation to find Walleye and Whites abundant. After driving up from the Sowbug at Mt Home to Tecumseh expecting to find said Whites and Walleye this pm, we were SKUNKED. Well, it was 84 degress, bright sun and windy, which are not very good conditions for either of the above species. Water felt very cold at the bridge, guessing 50 or lower. To our surprise, when I checked the temp it read 58.5 on my digital. Couldn't believe it, so asked my buddy John to check it with his infrared therm, which read 58.4 three times. Decided the surface layer of the river must have been much warmer due to the very warm wind churning the top layer of the water column. We decided, instead of toughing it out there, to hump it (leaving waders on as we drove) to Forsyth. Went straight to the powerhouse side of Powersite. Water moving thru, though not super strong, looked very good with significant turbidity (murky). After about an hour, our total fish count was one White Bass. With about an hour of light remaining we hopped in the truck and ran down to the mouth of Swan Creek. Several nice male Whites, and then right at dark 3 super nice Walleye two of which were 24"+ females (released). Nice bonus in the final moments of the day. Water temp was 51.6. Suggest that any day in the next 6 weeks with water release at Powersite would be worthwhile to fish, but don't stay in one place too long. Best times I've found are dark, cloudy, rainy days, or at least the sunless few hours at the beginning and end of each day. Always lots of excitement early in the spring run, but remember it is still early. Be patient and don't burn your vacation and personal days off work until it gets more consistently predictable. Blessings and good luck! Bill

OMG, that sounds serious!!! Like Phil, fellow fishermen are anxious to know what happened. Oh, and who cleaned all those fish?

Mitch, Thanks very much for posting your report. Nice happy angler photo, too. Nothing like a good warm rain the kick a White Bass run into action. Thanks again! Bill

I'll make the run up the river with you anytime between now and the 1st of May. These rains should help us all enjoy some great spring fishing!!

When I started fishing it in the springtime, I was very intrigued to find out of state license plates in the lot at the launch at Hwy 10. Over the years, we've talked with a lot of people there and it is surprising the distances some of them drive to get there. And, it's not folks just driving from the larger cities, but some who drive from areas that have some great White Bass fishing that develops a few weeks later.

A buddy of mine fished the Little Sac also, on Friday 8th. River was very low, very clear and very cold in the 40's. He didn't have as much as a tap, which was a little surprising. Probably should have hunted down river from Taylor Bridge instead of above. The warm rain could change all that very quickly. The time is coming. Soon and very soon!!!

BW, Thanks very much for posting such a well detailed report. I hope that everyone interested in that fishery appreciates your info, especially since you know it very well. That fishery almost always turns on (White Bass) earlier than most in our region. Do you happen to know what the water temp is in the river? Also, as a suggestion, when Crappie are in that type of water you described, an 1/80th or 1/64th oz. jig suspended under a foam float fished with a fly rod is absolutely money. The float allows the dead slow presentation you described, and the little jig will subtley entice the Crappie especially if there is a some chop on the water. Thanks again, we must all do our part to contribute to this board, whether our trips are successful or uneventful. Bill

Most of the fisheries folks I've discussed it with, consider a wild fish one that is naturally reproduced in the fishery. I doubt if there is much disagreement as to what a native species is, one that is (quoting Brian) "placed by the hand of God into the river." Our native Smallmouth Bass, I believe, is the greatest of our native fish, and not everyone realizes that White Bass are also native. So, just for fun, here are another couple of interesting "twists": How would you classify wild Striped Bass in Oklahoma that are captured (males and females) from the Arkansas River, releived of their eggs and sperm, then hatched artificially in a hatchery? "Artficially propogated Wild Stripers"? Almost sounds like an oxymoron, sort of like Jumbo Shrimp. The contributing parent fish are all wild self-sustaining Stripers, and are returned to the river a few weeks after their duty is complete at the hatchery. The offspring are not stocked into the AR River system, but other fisheries, so the existing AR River strain is very consistent. Or, how would you classify the offspring from the same Stripers in the AR River crossed (hybridized) with White Bass to produce the original and most common strain of Hybrid Striped Bass? "Artificially propogated Wild Hybrid Stripers"? Their original given name was Palmetto Bass, in SC. Again, wild female Striper eggs are taken, but this time crossed with (wild) male White Bass sperm. Well, I'm not saying I believe either should be considered truly wild, despite the fact that the fisheries folks go to great efforts to reproduce very high quality Stripers and Hybrid Stripers utilizing wild brood stock in their hatchery. Pretty cool!

I haven't heard a single report from either Big or Little Sac, yet. Yes, it should be getting close. You would certainly find some Walleye up in the river doing their thing. Probably some male Whites, too, scouting things out for the upcoming spawn. Good luck if you go, and please post a report with water temp. Thanks!

Years ago, I believe during the Spence Turner (MDC Coldwater Biologist) era, they determined the Brown Trout eggs died on a specifc day after fertilization in the NFOW. Seems like they determined it was either a water temp or DO (dissolved oxygen) issue. I don't recall the details but assume they would have had to create the scenario artificially by capturing males and females at the right time and utilize a Whitlock-Vibert Box to place the fertiilized eggs in the streambed, and then able to briefly remove to observe each day. Not sure if they ever experimented with different strains of Browns. Would certainly be awesome if those ole Browns could consistently reproduce in that great fishery. How about it, Brian???

Really good looking fishy water! Had no knowledge of that National Forest in IL. Seems like anywhere south of Chicagoland is So IL.

Very nice water, what part of So IL is that? Looks very much like So MO and No AR.

Tsmith, Panther Creek is a little known "crick" that is a small tributary of the James, downstream from where you crossed the James on A. If you drive south on B highway from Northview, about half way to Rogersville you will cross the James and then immediately another stream, that is Panther Creek. It joins the James just a short distance west of the bridges on B. It would be a good little wet wade creek with light tackle like a fly rod or very ultralight spin. The upper Niangua River would be an excellent fishery to invest time learning, floatable water is north of Marshfield but I'm not sure at what access you would be sure to have good water. Too many years since I fished it. The MO Dept of Conservation (MDC) does have a number of accesses on that river. I suggest that you invest $20 in a DeLorme Gazeteer Topo map book of MO, and also acquire the MDC Atlas (cost?) book of maps. The combination of the two will be valuable resources for your fishing explorations for many years of enjoyment. From your home in the Marshfield area, other fisheries that would be worthy of exploration are the Osage Fork of the Gasconade (NE of your town), the upper Gasconade River (a little further east), which stretches from Hartville northward, crosses I-44 between Lebanon and Waynesville, eventually joining the the MO River after many more miles. Another one you don't hear alot about is the upper Pomme De Terre River which has some nice water from Fair Grove to where it flows into PDT Lake north of Bolivar. The first mile above the lake also gets a nice White Bass spawning run in the spring. There are a number of good sized farm pond/lake fisheries in that area, too, all private of course. Make friends and network! Hope this is helpful, good luck in your pursuits! Bill

I've heard there are good numbers of young Walleye (probably males) staged in the river channel. Haven't heard a single report of Stripers up that far yet. The lake is still very low, so the river channel will probably look different than you might expect. I'd suggest focusing farther down the river channel to find deeper water. If you do go, or hear any reports, please post them. Good Luck!

The mating ritual of Striped, Hybrid Striped and White Bass is pretty much identical. But, there is a huge difference after the eggs are fertilized in mid stream. White Bass eggs sink to the bottom, hopefully on a nice clean gravel bottom, where their eggs stick to the gravel for a few days before hatching. Striped Bass eggs sink to the bottom intially, but then slowly rise from the gravel as the egg slightly increases in size from a gas-like content that develops inside the egg. As the eggs rise in the water column, they need to drift in neutral buoyancy of well oxygenated flowing water for 48-72 hours in order to hatch. This is the main factor why very few inland Striper fisheries have successfully reproducing, self-sustaining fisheries. Think about how many miles of free flowing river those eggs would need. Another interesting difference is the eggs of Striped Bass are a beautiful green color, unlike the yellowish color of White Bass eggs.

Wayne, Yes, I'm familiar with some of the aspects of the Texoma fishery, but not alot about the history of it. Did you ever meet Paul Mauck who was the main Striper fisheries biologist for OK on Texoma? He was with the ODWC for something like 30 years, though he would have certainly worked closely with the TX fisheries folks. You might be interested to know, too, that Paul's nephew, Matt Mauck now has his old position since Paul is retired. Matt interned with Brent Gordon in OK, who has responsibility for the Striper fishery in the AR River. Then, he moved to Springfield to work for the MDC for a few short years before moving back to OK and Stripers. Have you ever heard of or met George Glazener who lives in north TX and was the creator of the Spinster fly for Stripers on Texoma? Really neat guy, still going strong at about 90 yr old. The awesome thing about the Texoma fishery is that the Red River above the lake is ideal spawning ground for Striped Bass, so they have one of the handful of naturally reproducing Striper fisheries in the US. Unfortunately, they have tremendous numbers of Stripers but have apparently declined in average size. That would not be a factor in the Bull Shoals fishery, if they approve the stocking program. BB

That article was dated August 2011, and probably written as much as a few months prior to that publication date. There has been quite a lot of discussion about the future of a Striper fishery in Bull Shoals (BS) Lake since that time. First let's address the historical aspects: It is a fact that the AR Fish & Game (AGFC) unitentionally stocked about 17,000 Striped Bass fingerlings (I think that was the size, and I believe the year was 1998 but not positive) that was the result of a communication error, thinking they were Walleye. Oops! Over the years, Stripers have been caught in many different locations of the lake from Powersite to Bull Shoals Dams. There are very few fishermen who intentionally target the Stripers, but those who do and are very persistent are occasionally rewarded, as we periodically hear in the news. Stripers are difficult to locate or pattern consistently since they are very nomadic (remember their gentic roots are in saltwater) and can and will move great distances if they choose to. What is difficult to understand or explain conclusively is where did the Stripers come from that today are the 20-45# range? Are they part of the original mistakened stocking? Maybe. I doubt it seriously. I don't know if the state fisheries guys from MO or AR really care about that, I have not directly asked them. There are multiple possibilities: maybe they are part of the original stocking, maybe some of the original stock has been successfully spawning despite the fishery lacking anywhere close to the required river length, maybe AR or MO has been secretly planting very small numbers of Stripers over the years to help control the Gizzard Shad population, or just maybe small numbers of Stripers (and Hybrid Stripers) have made their way thru Beaver, Table Rock and Powersite Dams during high water and flow years and ended up in BS Lake. Which do you think sounds most likely? For a long time, I thought it was logical that small numbers could have been stocked for Shad control, which is a fairly common fisheries management practice in multiple states. However, the best Striper fisherman I know of on that fishery, who intentionally targets them and releases most of the ones he catches, claims that the source of those smaller Stripers is Beaver Lake during the high water years. That is his opinion. It would be interesting to know the ages of the fish that are not in that original year class group. The only way to verify age is to extract the otolith (ear bone) and count the rings (similar to aging a tree). So, what about the future of Stripers in Bull Shoals? Several years ago, I contacted (can't recall who at the moment) the AGFC to see what changes they planned to make in their Striped Bass Management Plan which was dated 2002 and I believe it was a 5 year plan. I had heard that the fisheries guys in the field requested a regular stocking strategy to build an intentional Striper fishery. My notes indicate they requested 22,000 Stripers to stock each time, which I believe was to be every two years. That request was squashed at the administrative level, and has never been pushed to approval. Off the record, I was told that one of the primary opponents to the Striper fishery was Forrest Wood, the founder of Ranger Boats. In conversations in recent years with AGFC folks involved in the Striper program they have highly encouraged me and other fishermen to speak their feelings about the Striper and Hybrid Striper fisheries in the state. They say their department gets a lot of public criticism about the potential harmful affects on their beloved LM Bass fisheries, even though MANY research studies in a number of states have found quite the opposite in most cases. But that discussion is for another day. So, when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) publicly introduced the concept of establishing and funding a Striper stocking program in BS Lake a couple of years ago, I was pleasantly surprised. Interestingly, they are proposing the stocking of 22,000 Stripers every other year, which is identical to the AR proposal. The MDC and AGFC have communicated closely on this, given the MO and AR public a very long period of time to submit comments, held public info forums in Gainesville and Forsyth MO (not sure about public forums in AR), allowed more public input and probably double checking all their scientific data, and now they appear to be coming closer to making a final decision. The latest I've heard is that there may be some discussion and/or a decision made at the MDC Commission regular meeting in March. I'm following this, and since the Commission met today they will have set a date and location for the March meeting. If the Striped Bass Proposal is on their agenda for March, I plan to attend and request to address the Commission as a suppoter of the plan. I'll post any follow up information that I think would be of interest to the Ozark Angler community. (Sorry this was so long, but hope that it has been informative for those who are interested in the prospective future of the Striped Bass fishing in Bull Shoals Lake)

What and where was the article you read recently? I'd like to read it before responding to your questions about the Bull Shoals fishery. There are a lot of misconceptions about the fishery, and its future. Let me know what you read and I'll get back with you. If it was online, a link would be helpful and others could read it, too. Thanks!

Hey Wayne, Do you have a boat (if so, with jet?), canoe, yak or other watercraft? I would have some additional suggestions, depending on what equipment you have. BB

You're referring to the river channel between Twin Bridges and Hwy 10 but not up in the flowing river current, right BW? Definitely a zillion of them in that stretch. Mostly one and two yr old Whites, but lots of fun on light tackle with small baits fished deep and not fast. Earliest I've personally recorded a good day fishing for Whites up above Hwy 10 is February 22, a few years ago. That fishery does seem to develop earlier than most in the late-winter/early-spring, and is usually low and clear during that time. Unfortunately, after the beginnning of April there are quite a few years where it seems to stay quite high and muddy. Hope we get some more rain throughout the area in the coming days!!!!

What part of the Ouachita River system did you find the Yellows? I've heard of them being caught in AR in that river. Were you way down below Lake Catherine ? In Louisiana? I'm only familiar with the 3 lakes in AR, beginning with Ouachita, not even sure where the river eventually coverges. Does it join up with the Red River down in southern LA? I need to study my fisheries geography again.

Ham, I've spent a lot of time on both forks, the NFOW and Bryant Creek, and once the water temps are about the same I don't really see that they have a preference. On average, there is just more water flowing thru the NFOW so I'm sure there are more fish overall that ascend that side. Early in the spring, the NFOW is a little warmer due to the spring fed water upriver so there is a little tendency to the NFOW side. I see and hear about more Hybrids being caught on the NFOW side, but I believe that is because they like deeper current and will stay in it for longer periods than White Bass which prefer to hang near the edge of current. I'm referring to water that is 3-4' deep or deeper, and Hybrids will come up to a surface or shallow running bait to hammer it. A word of caution, last spring in Bryant Creek just above the first big bluff line the stream received a huge deposit of sand from bank to bank for some distance (formerly one of our favorite long gravel runs to wade and fish). Unless there was a significant flow above normal levels, you wouldn't have been able to get thru there with your boat without a jet. With Norfork Lake being extremely low, if we would get some really big and strong flushing rains it would push a lot of that sand downriver to reopen the congestion. Hope this helps.

Here is one of the few Yellow Bass photos I have..... It is from a buddy in Indiana. You might be interested to know a little more about these beautiful fish. The Yellow Bass is the smallest common freshwater member of the Temperate Bass family(which also include Striped, Hybrid Striped and White Bass, and White Perch), and originated in the Upper Mississippi River system. Like White Bass, they are truly "riverene" fish. They are most commonly known to average in the 5-10" range, and because they can be nearly over prolific some fisheries that contain them do not have creel limits on harvest. The largest recorded catches of Yellow Bass are in the 2 to 3# range, but that is extremely rare. Few ever exceed 1#. They have taken up residency in many different fisheries, including some that are far south of their original range, like the Red River system (OK/TX border below Lake Texoma) and some other tributaries of the MS River. Of all the freshwater Temperate Basses, I think they are the most strikingly beautiful. Interesting to learn from the commnents above that the spawning run of Yellows is after the Whites, and that their eating quality is preferred by some over White Bass.

Ham, if you live in the Mt Home area, I would suggest you learn the NFOW fishery on the MO side of the border. Excellent runs and beautiful water up there, all 3 species, too. Give it a shot, if you haven't already.