txspecks04

I think a minimum flow regulation would be great, but I am not sure that will ever pass. I wonder if they could do some excavation work on the river bed to create more elevation change and get some flow that way; it would be a serious project. What sort of habitat improvements would you propose?

I am pretty green at this, but hopefully my ignorance won't shine too bright here Is it just me or does this fishery seem to really lag behind other similar trout fisheries (i.e. bull shoals, norfork, greers ferry, and taney) as far as quality and quantity of fish? Any ideas on why this is? Is there not enough forage for the fish to survive, thrive, and grow? I don't know if this has any effect or not, but one thing that drives me crazy is how little movement there is in the water when there is no generation; I only know of a few places where I can get a decent drift on a fly under these conditions. Is the management of this tailwater significantly different than the others on the white river system? I have heard some arguments for lack of enforcement and poaching issues, but I tend to think there is just as much, if not more, poaching at any of the other tailwaters. Is it worth while to discuss any of this with AGFC? I imagine I would be joining an ongoing discussion. Again, I have a lot to learn here so I am just trying to pick the brains of some more experienced and knowledgeable fishers.

Well, hit the Parker Bottoms Access last night from about 11:30-1:30. Went hero or zero with the flies I was throwing and wound up on the zero end of the equation. Didn't find any interest at all. Did see a Pygmy Rattlesnake out there, pretty cool.

Thanks for the input! I'll try and get a post-trip report up sometime Saturday.

Does anyone ever night fish out on this tailwater? I have never done so myself, but I am planning a trip out this Friday night and am looking for some pointers. I will be fly fishing and I understand from some reading of the Taneycomo threads that throwing large streamers is the way to go at night up there. I assume it will be the same here. Any ideas on what size/color/type flies I should be thinking about? Thanks in advance for any help!

Anyone familiar with the Apache Trout or the Gila Trout in Arizona and New Mexico? I am certainly no expert, but my understanding is that they are native species.

Has anyone floated the Beaver Tailwaters recently? I am looking for a float that will take around half a day. My primary concern is just hanging out and having a good time with friends and family, fishing is secondary for this trip. I imagine the water is about as low as it gets out there since Table Rock should be down quite a bit. I guess my main concern is that the water is so cold on this tailwater; would probably like to float somewhere that we could jump and have a swim every now and then. Any thoughts on this? Also, where would you all put in and take out? I was thinking maybe to do the dam site on down to Parker.

Thanks for the heads up guys. My father-in-law is wanting to do a day float for his birthday this Saturday, so we are trying to find a good spot near northwest Arkansas; also considering Beaver Tailwater and the Illinois River. No rain this spring has really dropped water levels. Ollie I also usually check the cfs levels; that is a very useful tool particularly on rivers that one is familiar with and spends a lot of time on. Unfortunately, I am not familiar enough with the Elk to have a good idea of what "normal" flow rates are for the river. Checking the flow rate before this trip will help me to start building that sort of familiarity though

I am looking for some advice on a good float for this coming Sat 6/30. I will be hitting the water with my wife and her parents for a leisure day float and hopefully a little fishing I know from experience that summertime Saturdays on the Elk can be quite wild with heavy drinking, parties, etc. We would really like to avoid that if at all possible. What are your suggestions? We don't mind seeing some people, we would just like to avoid the wild crowd... If we hit the Elk early enough, would we be able to avoid the party crowd or would we be better off hitting the Big or Little Sugar? Is there even enough water to float these tributaries? Thanks for your help!

I usually have a rough time out there as well; like you said, I know the fish are in there but it can be really tough to get them to take. The other thing that drives me nuts out there is midging on such a slow drift; maybe I just don't know the right places to go, but there are only maybe half a dozen places I can think of out there where I can get a good steady drift through a run (wade fishing, low water) and these seem to be pretty far between one another. I need to get better at fishing streamers for trout out there. What were you getting your fish on? I have typically had the best luck on copper johns and brassies out there.

Fished around the snow access most of the day on Saturday 5/12. Started out with a popper fly and pulled a really nice largemouth (or spotted, sometimes I can't tell the difference) right near the access; it only went about 15-16", but it was a very healthy specimen that would have weighed in at an easy 2 lbs (released to fight another day). After that, tons of action from goggle eye on the popper, but no more bass for quite a while so I made a switch to a subsurface "darter" fly. Started finding some smallies on this fly, but still not really the numbers or size that I expected; I think I ended up with 5 or 6 in 2-3 hours and nothing over 14", but all beautiful fish. A beautiful section of the creek and some great fish, hope to make it back out there again some day; thanks for the heads up gm.

Got out and fished around the Ackerman access all day on Friday 5/11. Great day of fishing. Didn't catch anything of really great size (a few rainbows at 16" or so was probably best), but did well in the numbers department. Also, almost pulled the grand slam; caught a brown, two cutts, and plenty of bows but I just couldn't find a brookie to finish it out before the water came up and it was time to head out. All in all, a great day of fishing on one of my favorite rivers in the state.

Thanks for the input guys. I have heard of Kelly's Slab several times on here, but never quite seen where it is located (the best I have seen is that it is west of Yellville); how would one get there from the Bull Shoals State Park? Hwy101 is definitely a good option for me as it is close to the convergence with the White and is within 30 min of where I will be staying. Where is the Snow access located?

In your opinion, what are the best accesses to crooked creek for wade fishing? Headed out that way later this week and hoping to get in some good smallmouth fishing on the fly.

I am hoping to be on the Norfork mid-to-end of this week and just wanted to check in and see if anyone has been out there since I haven't seen any reports in a while. Looks like there have been some significant periods of low water over there so I am definitely looking forward to it.

Going camping with a couple of buddies middle to end of this week. We are planning to base camp and then make treks out to several of the rivers (White, Norfork, Crooked Creek, and maybe the Spring River) in the area to fish each day. We will be wade fishing exclusively and we will be on the fly for the majority of the trip. Do you guys have any favorite accesses for the White River with wade fishing in mind? I have only been over that way one time, and I went over to Rim Shoals for a few hours; great spot, but I am always looking for new places. Thanks!

Thanks for the info guys, I'll be looking into those for sure.

I am in the market for a couple of PFD's; one for me and one for my wife as we are planning to spend as much time as possible on the water in our kayaks this summer. My main criteria are as follows: Safety Range of motion Cost Breathability/staying cool As with anything else, I am sure there are many different opinions out there...so let's hear 'em! Thanks tx

Looking to pick up one of these kayaks, but the closest dealer I can find for Malibu Kayaks is in Broken Arrow, OK. Anyone know of a dealer in the Northwest AR area?

I'll second that. Mike is a great resource, I usually give him a shout before I head out looking for whites.

Not sure if they are coming up below the dam yet, but they are on the move on the other side of the lake; certainly not peak yet, but the small males are starting to show up. White River at Twin Bridges near Fayetteville...once the water falls out a little bit more from the rain last weekend they should really be in there thick.

Glad to get all of the input here guys. bferg, no worries on hi-jacking the thread. Typical flies that I like to use would include clouser minnows, crayfish patterns, poppers, etc. Pretty run of the mill bass flies, but they are run of the mill because they work. I have found with bass it is often not so much what you are throwing to the fish as it is how you are presenting your offer. Also, you said you are fishing Big (or Little?) sugar up in Bentonville? Where do you access that creek? I would like to check it out sometime. Spring River, I do plan to hit the Spring sometime this summer (likely early to mid May), but it is quite a drive for me (I am located in Siloam Springs, AR) and I am really looking for some places a bit closer by that I can hit more regularly for half day trips and such. Thanks for the heads up on location there, we will definitely need to try and avoid the floaters out there if we can. LittleRed, similar to the Spring River, the Eleven Point is definitely on my list of places to hit someday, but it could be sometime off in the future still yet. I appreciate the input and advice though as I did not know that this was a good smallmouth stream...I had it on my list for trout. Thanks for pointing that out Wayne. Primarily, I wade fish; I do have a fishing kayak that I use on occasion, but most of the guys that I fish with do not have one so it doesn't really get out all that much these days. Fishing is usually more fun when you have a good friend along to share the experience with; however, if any area can only be accessed with a watercraft, looks like I will be riding solo for the day

Thanks for the heads up TrophyFishR, I'll have to check that out sometime. I agree F&F. I know there is a ton of water around here and I don't think I am making good use of all of it. Where do you access Spavinaw? I have fished out there a little bit, but I was under the impression that this creek is primarily on private property. I didn't find too many smallmouth in there, mainly trout (and, yes, some quite large trout); maybe I fished a different section than you have? Feel free to shoot me a PM if either of you guys are ever interested in hitting the water (I see that both of you are relatively close to me here in NWA).

Thanks for the input guys! Ron, I too have heard some pretty epic stories about Crooked Creek. Fished it once several years ago and caught a lot of fish; it was a great day and though nothing of real size came to hand, I am sure they are out there. TrophyFishR, have you fished Frog Bayou much? That is the only one that I have never even heard of before; looks like it is just a bit north of Fort Smith on 540. Snakes don't scare me all too much, just have to be a little more cautious in snaky areas. War Eagle is one that I need to be using, as I don't think it is all too far from me; do you know of good access points on War Eagle? I have never actually fished out there before...

So, I know you said canoe, but have you ever seen the freedom hawk kayaks? Saw one in a fly shop in Nashville...have never seen them in action, but the idea seems pretty genius to me. Obviously the outriggers wouldn't be the best in water with much current, but in slower water these would probably be the most stable one man paddle craft out there. I have actually been considering getting one for myself, but I'd like to demo or rent one before buying... http://www.freedomhawkkayaks.com/