sfiser

I live just upstream from war eagle boat dock. Frozen as far as the eye can see in both directions.

Oh I’ve got a long way to go. I just turned 39. Found a deal on that 5 acres I couldn’t pass up, even sweeter it’s on my favorite piece of water. Eventually I’ll relocate from NW Arkansas but it will be a while.

I own the property just upstream in that clump of tree's on the right hand side. That is my favorite stretch of water on the entire river and one of these day's I'll be able to look out my backdoor and see it everyday

Not a mask fan but I have gotten used to wearing it. I don't know if it helps or not but its just kind of the respectful thing to do. If it doesn't help anything, wearing a mask isn't that big of a deal. If it does help, then I am doing my part to help.

permits are not currently required due to covid. I tried to buy one back in September when mine ran out and the COE officer said they arent checking or requiring them right now due to COVID. He said probably mid 2021 they would get back to requiring them but that was just a guess.

A co worker and I are going to take his 7 year old son to Dry Run creek. I fished it as a kid back 20 years ago and had so much fun, I remember being disappointed when I had a birthday and was too old to fish the creek. My question is, his son hasn't fished much before. If we need to do some casting instruction with him (while we are both holding the rod) is that permitted? I would NEVER hold a rod with bait in the water and the kid not also holding the pole. Just curious what level of teaching is allowed as I hear they are ok with on water teaching and instruction but the kid needs to be doing the fishing/hooking/fighting of the fish which we plan to do. We just may need to help him flop his cast back upstream at the start while he gets the hang of it while he holds the rod also. Luckily the creek is small and doesn't require much casting skill. I just dont want to get a ticket because I am touching the rod and helping the kid but doing none of the actual fishing/catching. Anyone have any experiences with that? I cant imagine them getting on to you for helping teach a kid but I am sure some parents think "teaching" means they fish and hand the rod to the kid when they hook one, that will not be what we are doing.

You also have to think of the bottom composition in a lot of these lakes. If you don’t have some sort of dirt bottom, no grass will grow. Bottom of beaver is very rocky and has ledges/bluffs, not ideal grass habitat. Beaver is a quality lake, it’s just stingy and hard to crack.

yes, those shad will spend the summer out deep in the main lake, or on bluff ends, or deep docks. When the water temp starts dropping they work their way back into the backs of the creeks. Once it gets real cold they will migrate back out toward the channel bends in the creeks or back onto the main lake. Also have alot of bass that start keying in on those crawdads when the water cools, thus why wiggle warts are such a popular crank bait in the fall through spring.

water hasn't cooled enough to get a big wave of fish moving yet. Most are still suspended out over deeper water. I would be tossing a PBJ football jig out off of long points (or a ned rig) and searching with my graph and drop shot. Keep a topwater on at all times though, never know what will come to the surface this time of year. We really need to get a week of lows in the low 40's to get those shad moving toward the backs of the creeks and the bass following them.

I know the victims daughter well. Not sure which boat was at fault but a tough situation for all involved. Just a reminder to keep your head on a swivel out there and be safe!

its doable but there are alot of spots you would have to be careful in that bigger boat... even on our current large flows due to having a bigger boat with a prop motor. you are probably going to need 3-4 feet of water to keep the motor from hitting the bottom when you drift. Even with the river high, there are lots of places that dont have that depth especially if you get off to the sides of the river. Those bigger boats also toss a huge wake as you run up river and its dangerous to the folks in the john boats. There is a reason you don't see those type of boats out there much at all. That jet is a better option and will allow you to move around the river with ease and you wont have any issues right now. If you have to use the bigger boat, I would take it down and put in around the town of norfork. The river is wider there and easier to run with less obsticales for you to avoid. Also the current is a little slower even when they are running big water so you dont have to be as concerned on your drifts since you have more time to react if you are drifting and see a log or rock.

most people who and most locals who refer to the "white river" are talking about the water below bull shoals dam. Yes, technically beaver tailwaters is part of the white river but it is not the fishery that the river below bull shoals dam is or even the stretch below table rock. There has not been any record trout come from below beaver dam, all have come from below bull shoals, below norfork dam, or below greers ferry dam (where a long standing world record brown trout was caught). The 8 mile stretch of trout water below beaver dam does not have the habitat to support many large fish, it is mostly a put and take fishery with a few larger browns here and there. There is not enough current in the river (with on generation) to support a lot of natural reproduction for the brown trout. Compare that to the river below bull shoals with ample current and habitat and you have a world class fishery with a lot of naturally reproducing brown trout and water flow that supports rapid growth rates. not saying the stretch below beaver is not a good river, you just cant accurately compare it to the white river that flows from below bull shoals lake. As far as tailwaters on the white river chain, beaver is probably the worst fishery of them all and I don't think its close. Again, this isn't saying beaver tailwaters isn't a good fishery, the others are just that good. People come from all over the country to fish the white below bull shoals and the norfork river below norfork dam. They are absolutely 2 of the best trout rivers in the US. Taneycomo below Table Rock dam is also an incredible fishery as is the Little red river below Greers ferry dam. The white below beaver just lacks the current flow when there is no generation and habitat to make it a fishery of their caliber, still a great place to go catch some rainbows and go fish for a day. There is usually ample wade fishing there when beaver lake is at its normal pool level, which is great for fishing but really is a detriment to the tailwater because they will leave the water off for several days at a time or even a week. hopefully this didn't just confuse you more.

depends on how far you want to drive. There is the elk river, indian creek, and sugar creek just to the north in Missouri. War eagle creek is just west of the rogers area over torward Huntsville and it has smallmouth/largemouth bass. Buffalo river around Ponca can be floated (depending on the time of year) or waded for smallmouth. Osage and Spring creek out toward XNA and cave springs can be waded for smallmouth (just make sure you dont trespass on peoples property). Illinois river out past tonitown near siloam springs also can be fished for smallmount/largemouth. A wealth of small creek angling in the NW Arkansas area, just depends on how far you want to drive. Any local creek that has flow all year and enough water to cover a fishes back, will have bass and perch in it.

Mountain home is by far the best area for fishing in our state as far as trout and bull shoals/Norfolk for bass and stripers. Trout fishing on the white cannot compare to beaver tail waters. The white is a world class fishery, beaver tailwaters cannot hold a candle to it (although it’s close and has decent fishing). You can also Spey cast and fish the white, not very possible at beaver tailwater. The northwest arkansas area is nicer than mountain home and has more to do but as far as fishing, it has nw Arkansas beat. Both good areas and both have pro’s and con’s.

i take a small 2 gallon gas can with me as an emergency or backup. I believe my tank is a 6 gallon. I can run from wildcat to white hole and fish down past rim and run back up to wildcat on that 8 gallons of gas with a little left to spare. much easier for me to handle that extra 2 gallon can then try to get a bigger tank or stuff another tank in that small space.

you might call Wolfe Boatworks and see if they will work on trailers. they do good work on boats and have a good reputation. also bella vista marine in Rogers has done work for me and is very good, surely one of those 2 spots will do trailer work

hoppers have been hit or miss for a few weeks now. Last week we had a nice day on them monday and they just didnt work on tuesday. hopefully that bite is starting to get a little more consistent. We did have some really nice fish eat foam bugs on monday though!

I was out on Sunday AM and saw very little topwater fish. I ended up doing well from 5:30-9AM fishing a small grub on a 1/4 ounce jig head to fish suspended well off flat gravel points and also fish suspended over trees on bluff ends. I start fan casting with that grub, letting it sink for a 5 or 10 count and slow reeling it back. If i get no takes after a while I will move in and look at my graph and fish a jigging spoon or dropshot over the tree tops. Most of the time early in the morning, they will eat that grub or swimbait. I have noticed as that water has started to drop, there are alot more suspended fish out deep. A few weeks ago that was not the case. I think those fish have started to move off the bank and go into thier typical summer pattern of suspend and follow the shad. Pull up an a steep point and start tossing a grub or swimbait, dont be afraid to be well off the bank and sitting in 60-80 feet of water. If you arent getting bites just keep moving, eventually you will hit a school and get some fish.

if it gets over 918, you can run a john boat almost to the dam if you know where to go. if it gets over 920 its almost impossible to wade and thats with no generation and you can boat anywhere. Its such a short tailwater that table rock just backs up into it and makes it part of the lake. at 922, you can run a bass boat up to the dam but once you get above the no bait zone you still need to be a bit careful.

this is a good recommendation but call low gap and make sure they are allowing folks in the dining area (they were doing takeout on certain nights but not everyday). There is a decent amount of driving to get over to Jasper and Ponca as well so just be mindful of that. Buffalo river area is top notch for scenery. another option is Dry Run Creek at the nofork national fish hatchery, if you have any kids under 16 they can fish in the best trout river in the world there. Also in norfork there are a couple good places to eat, Hiedi's Ugly cakes is one of them. Lots of things to do around bull shoals dam as well, there is the Jim Gaston visitor center (which is very nice), flea markets, parks, bull shoals lake, all kinds of stuff. Could go down to cotter spring and swim, it gets a bit redneck but the people watching is good. Lots of the trout docks rent canoes so you could float the white, just be mindful of the water level so thats another cheap option.

I fished in the clifty area Sunday and caught multiple pre spawn fish on mixed gravel points. I am sure there are fish in all 3 phases of the spawn right now but there are still alot of fish coming in that haven’t spawned.

these cold nights have just not allowed those fish to go in there and spawn. We looked around in 1 pocket Saturday morning and the water temp was 54 and I immediately abandoned that plan and went deeper and found some fish off points.

Wolfe has a good fiberglass guy, I would recommend them.

Here is a great link from the corps. When lakes are falling it shows the forecast empty date (for beaver is march 20). when they are on the rise that turns into the forecasted crest date. http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/reports/remote/lakfcst.htm

the corps forecasted schedule online says they are trying to get it back to normal pool by 3/20. Its said that for the last few weeks so I was wondering when the water dump was coming and I guess they decided to start over the weekend.