sfiser

Bill, how long did you have to let that jerkbait soak between twitches?

After that big rain last night, anything from up river from Monte Ne is going to be chocolate milk. Lake is up a almost a foot since 2 days ago and still rising.

The UA tournament is next weekend. I want to say the entry is $80 and I know the first place prize is $1,000 gift card to hook line and sinker tackle shop in Rogers. You can do some serious damage there with $1,000. Aaron runs a really nice tackle shop

drove over the 412 bridge and it was like chocolate milk, I assume thats what hickory looks like too. Went out of Prarie creek on Sunday and its a nice greenish color and once you hit rocky branch it turns to its normal clear self

When Beaver Dam is not generating there is NO current right now. Table Rock is backed up into the tailwater now so it is essentially part of table rock lake. If you guys do a canoe trip and they are not running water, you will be just fine but you will be paddling the whole way since there is no current. When they do run some water the current can get pretty swift, its still manageable but theres alot of water moving down that river

Bill, thanks again for the great day yesterday. Ripped some lips and picked up alot of good tips from you. Probably would have to rank it in my "top 5 favorite fishing days ever". We will be doing it again soon. Thanks again, Scott

If you do it on a weekend you should be ok. Beaver will not start releasing heavy flows for a few more weeks and they are notorious for not running a drop of water on most weekends. Call the powerhouse at 1-417-336-5083 for updated conditions. Even if they start 1 generator the canoeing is still safe and there are no shoals, you will just move downstream a little faster but it is nothing that I would deem "unsafe". Now when they start 2 units that is a different story, I wouldnt go out in that and I doubt any of the outfitters will put people on the water if they know there are going to be 2 units online at some point during the day. You can also go to SWPA.gov and click on "generation schedules" and it will let you see the predicted generation for the week. These are not always 100% correct so dont rely on them 100%.

Fished from Clifty to the Dam on Saturday. bferg is spot on with the water temp. it was between 51 and 54 all day on the main lake. Caught smallies, spots, and largemouths off main lake pea gravel points. Most were fat and full of eggs. Ended the day w/ 23 fish and 8 keepers. Getting some really nice spots this year, I think that high water from last year really helped them. Most fish were on the smoke grub and 1/4 ounce jighead, rest came on a chartruese shad deep diving pointer jerkbait.

thats awful. That is a good tackle store. There are several other good stores in the area though. For bass tackle, Hook Line and Sinker is great. Aaron Jollif that runs it is a super nice guy. Also, I went to Rogers Outdoor Sports and they have a good tackle selection too. For fly fishing, Southtown Sporting goods is ok, no shop has as good a selection as Sportsmans Warehouse had, except for Mcllelans in Fayetteville.

Blue Springs is down that way but that wasn't the ramp I was speaking of.There is a newer ramp off 62 where the old highway bridge used to run across the lake.. Blue springs is looking pretty run down these days and there's tons of downed trees from the ice storm on the road to Blue Springs

There are several good places to put in. Just out hwy 62 east of springdale there is a new AGFC ramp and parking lot (I dont remember the name of it). This will give you access to the upper river area, which is the where the water warms first this time of year although it can be muddy after rains. Hickory Creek near lowell is a major put in. This is downlake from where War Eagle river comes into Beaver Lake (if you are crappie fishing I would put in here and head upstream (right) for crappie right now). This access can get very busy on weekends and if you launch at the marina it costs a couple bucks. Just outside Rogers there is Prarie Creek, this is the most popular put in and the HWY 12 bridge put in. These are in midlake and you can run either direction from there. Up near the dam there is Lost Bridge and Indian Creek and 2 more ramps within sight of the dam. If you are going for Crappie this weekend, put in at Hickory Creek or the ramp of HWY 62, those areas are where the majority of the better crappie fishing is right now. I hear from a friend who went yesterday that the river has a little bit of stain to it and the water temp was 47 yesterday afternoon.

There will be Stripers all over the lake at that time. Not all of them run up the river, lots run up the creek arms (Van Hollow, Rambo, Clifty). One advantage of the Rocky Branch area is that your fishing area will be less affected by rains. If we get a big rain right before you come, the river will be a dirty brown color that can turn off those fish. Rocky Branch stays clear all the time (except for last spring). Bass fishing should be on fire with stickbaits and wiggle warts on wind blown banks. The campgrounds will be open, just some of them may not have the facilities going yet. I know Prarie Creek allows people to camp but they do not have bathrooms or electricity running in the winter. I would think by March most should be up and running

Bill, thanks for the report. What are you seeing as far as water temps go. Have they started to jump up a little bit with the warmer weather?

FLW will have made their cut down to 12 boats by the weekend... But the fish will have seen a lot of baits by then. Down here on Beaver it is a circus when those guys come to town, at least you guys have a little bit more water up there to try and get away from them... The tourneys are fun to watch on TV but not so fun when they come fish your lake

Was up there bass fishing on saturday. Lot of boats in the back, I assume fishing for whites. Unlike most of the lake, indian was crystal clear

Went up to see the flood gates today and I was amazed. The water had come down about 10 feet or so after they readjusted and lowered the floodgates a little yesterday. The gravel parking lot below the dam is no more. It was scattered down the road to the boat ramp. The fence that was near the front of that parking lot is also gone. The bluff on the far side of the river directly below the dam is really washed out. Most of the trees along the shoreline are gone or leaning over and some of the boat ramp is missing. It was kinda sad, it is not going to look right for a long time. No telling what the riverbed looks like after this. The tailwater got up to 945 ft above sea level. Normal low water conditions are 916 ft.

What is the clarity of the water there at the dam?? By those pictures it looks pretty stained. How stained does it have to be for you to not be able to swim that grub???

Bill, I feel for you on losing that big one. Are you in the "green" water or in the muddiest stuff you can find?? Thanks for such a detailed report.

Just called the automated line for Beaver Dam. Tailwater level was 934ft, recently it has been 927 with 2 units running. Does anyone know if they opened a few gates this evening?? I figured with the lake being only inches from top of flood pool and with 2-3 inches of rain today, it is only a matter of time until the open if they haven't already.

Bridge is open. They were cleaning out the mill, hoping to open it up by the weekend. I remember fishing there with you a few times. I don't stream fish much anymore. I spend most of my free time on the lake. I'm going to go check out the dam this evening and see if they still have the flood gates open.

Hey harrison. Yeah its pretty bad. They have the flood gates open at beaver and table rock. Beaver has come up over flood pool. I was out at war eagle a few hours ago. It has come down a lot, the mill has no water in it now. Water is still high but probably 12 feet under the bridge now.

I have to drive over that way to work in huntsville tomorrow. I will check it out and let you know what's going on. I saw that the lake level was over 1,130. I can't remember it getting that high, usually they open the gates once it passes 1,128. I hope Bull Shoals can hold all the water from beaver and the rock for a little bit. Heard from a friend that they have water in their river house at Buffalo City. They probably have to wait for that to calm down before they can open up Bull Shoals.

It is a good area to fish. I live in faayetteville and go over there often. I only go on cold or nasty days because the fishing pressure is insane on nice days. Its only an 8 mile river so everyone gets crammed in together. But to answer your question, yes there are lots or rainbow trout and some nice browns. The trophy area has LOTS of fish in it. The fish here do run smaller than the average fish over at bullshoals. If you hit it right, fishing can be great.