OKFlyFisher44

The rivers r very close to each other. It will be a little further drive for u since u r staying at Gastons but it's worth it if they r generating on the White. Heck it's worth it anyway, go over there 1 afternoon or morning if u r able. U also have a better shot at catching a cutthroat or a brookie over on the Norfork. Take the headlamp, just don't use it unless u absolutely have to. If it has the red or green lens, use it. Throw big stuff. The browns should be starting to move around for the prespawn run.

Phil, I might be up at Taney on the 22-23...I'm needing a night fishing fix.

Right now, zebra midges r really good on the white. Keep a variety of colors for different water levels/temps. Everything u fish on the Lower Illinois will work down there. Definitely have a variety of soft hackles to swing in the riffle water around the shoals. Do the same thing with buggers too. Later afternoon and evening, throw some hoppers or ants for a change of pace. The terrestrial bite might be hit or miss but it's fun when it's on. There is tons of wadeable water when they aren't generating and even at 1 unit, u can still find water around Wildcat and Rim Shoals. Don't forget about the Norfork tailwater just down the road. It might be an option if they r generating on the White. Only 2 access points but great fishing over there!

Totally forgot about u Larry! I apologize. I have used Larry as well, he gets my recommendation as well!

Bill Thorne via Dallys Ozark Fly Fisher services that area as well as Ryan with Copper Johns Resort. I have used both, great guys. Rates r reasonable. I think Ryan is a bit cheaper.

@hoglaw...that is one of my favorite songs ever!

Justin...u guys up north r kinda like the quiet weird kids that sit in the back. It would just be un-comfortable if we mingled. But then again, u have a really cool place to stay and fish soooo...you're in! No but seriously...I think some winter streamer fishing will be in order for all of us...

Tucker...whenever U guys get some dates lined out, let me know. We r down for some fishing. We need to fish together or get some campfire BS sessions in for sure! Also, total brainfart on the title of the video till it was too late. Lol, I kept asking myself why it sounded so "familiar" when it popped into my head. I am planning on changing up the title of our videos in the future.

Haha. Thanks fellas! Totally appreciate the kind words!! Brian...you were right. Totally cool...

I have wade fished it a few times under generation and its definitely do-able, depending on where you are. I have seen the whole river under 1 unit from my drift boat and there are tons of places to get out and wade fish if you have a boat/kayak. As far as wade access, its hit and miss. Up by the dam, if you stay around the islands, you can find some water to fish. Same thing with Watts, walk downstream to the island on river left and there is some water there to wade fish. The gravel pit area is too deep and fast to fish safely I would say. There is a ton of water around and below Marvals that you could wade fish but you will have to do some hiking. On the higher water, use lots of weight to get your bugs down. I would toss worms or eggs as a lead fly and then drop a midge or mayfly bug off it. The river is pretty sweet under 1 unit but the fishing is kinda sketchy which puzzles me. I would think after the flows stablize, the fish would settle in and start feeding again especially with the cold oxygenated water and all the food being washed into the river. Hard to say, every tailwater is different.

We took along a GoPro camera on our last 2 trips to the White/Norfork Rivers to do some filming. I spent last weekend editing all the footage to throw together a video of our trips. Please check it out and let me know what you think! Its no Brian Wise production but we dig it : ) I apologize for the lower video quality, I was using the trial version of the editing software so it wouldnt let me create videos in full HD. Take a look... http://youtu.be/8snuINiXNXk

A few pictures...

The crew and I made 2 trips to the White/Norfork rivers this past month to chase some trout with the foam bug! We got to spend quite a bit of time on both tailwaters over both weekends. Good times.... Trip #1, 7/7 - 7/8 This trip was kind of a last minute, throw it together, and wing it kinda trip. Gotta love them! We had to change our plans 2 different times thanks to the weather and generation. We ended up on the Norfork on Sunday to run a morning float and an afternoon float in hopes of getting on a hopper bite. The morning float was pretty good for the foam. We had a bunch of eats and put some fish in the boat. No BIG fish to the boat minus an 18" brown and an 20" rainbow. Both were real chubby footballs, healthy as could be! Everything else was stocker rainbows and a decent little cutthroat for a bonus fish! We completed our float in the morning and then hit up the local dining establishment (Norfork Cafe, pretty good FYI) for some hot food and cold A/C. We hit the river again in the early afternoon and it was HOT! The bite was really slow for us on this float. My buddy Cole did a TOAD brown blow up on his hopper, it was an awesome take. Easily over 20", no doubt! The weather totally changed on us shortly after that and some thunderstorms moved in that basically blew us off the river. It was pretty wild for a bit. We finally made it to the take out and headed for home! Trip #2, 7/14 - 7/15 Our 2nd trip was a little more prepared and typical for 1 of our weekend expeditions. The generation schedule did kinda screw us so we had to chance the falling water and float the Rim to Buffalo City secton of the White on Saturday. We had foggy conditions and then cloudy/rainy weather the rest of the float so the hopper bite was a bust for us. We finally started chuckin' the bobber and put some fish in the boat. All stocker rainbows but at least the float wasnt a bust. Afterwards, we loaded up to hit the Norfork for an afternoon float to end the day. Once again, we started with the foam bugs but wasn't getting any love. With the overcast skies we switched to streamers and had an awesome streamer bite for the remainder of the float. Put some quality browns in the boat with tan being the hot color. Not a bad way to end the day. The next day, we floated our favorite section of the White, Wildcat to Cotter in hopes of a good hopper bite. We were met with really low floats and skittish fish. It was a pretty slow bite till we got about a mile from Cotter where we bit the bullet and dug out the bobber rigs again. Mayfly stuff and midges produced some stocker rainbows once again to save the float for us. Seen some really nice fish in the low clear water but never got a shot at any of them. For a more detailed report, check out our blog at Chasing The Dream! http://okietroutbum....ber-or-two.html We also brought along a GoPro for both trips and got some pretty good footage. We had a few head in rear-end moments with the camera and missed getting footage of some of our fish but were able to get some fish on film. This is my 1st shot at creating a video so please give me some feed back! http://youtu.be/8snuINiXNXk

Right on Phil!! I should have a report to post tonight or tomorrow for our last 2 weekends over on the White/Norfork. Hoppers, streamers, and even chucked a bobber a bit, all produced quality fish. I am working on a GoPro video to go with it as well.... Will post soon!

Yes sir, the Clacka will be in tow for the expedition.

Nice Jim! That will be awesome. The crew and I r leaving for Montana on Aug 10 to spend a week up there. Can't wait!

I hear that Justin. Soon as it rains, I will be there. I have missed a lot of fishing because of low water.

Totally awesome Jim! It is foam nasty time! We have been chasing the foam bite on the White and Norfork in Arkansas the past couple of weekends with mixed results, sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's not! I miss the NFOW...

Summer time is kinda tough down there with the water temps getting a little out of control. Common issue with our tailwaters. Get on the water early and fish till the sun starts to get high. In the summer, I have good luck swinging/stripping soft hackles too. Don't forget about the ol' spaghetti and meatballs too, tailwater rainbows love worms and eggs year-round, just keep changing colors. Obviously, midge patterns are always good...when the water is low, try red or copper as midges turn colors as the water quality diminishes.

Brown ones : ) Lol, we caught ours on copper johns dropped off a dirt snake. I tie my CJs a little different than ur generic CJ but i dont think it really woulda mattered. I thought the worms would be the meal ticket with the high water but I was wrong...dead wrong!

Despite the heat, DonnyB and I loaded up the drift boat yesterday afternoon to do our first float on the Lower Illinois since they were only going to be generating 1 unit (1800-2000 cfs). We got on the water about 4:15 to float from the Dam to Gore Landing. Shoulda seen the looks we got in the parking lot as we were launching my Clacka, pure comedy. I must say, this river is freaking SWEET at 1 unit of generation. Great flows for floating and fishing. Plenty of fishable water everywhere depending on if you wanna fish from the boat or get out and wade. I had no expectations coming into this float and I was pleasantly surprised at how the river looked. It looked very similiar to the Norfork in Arkansas under similiar generation as far as the size of the river channel and how the river "looks". If it wasnt for all the nasty moss on the river bottom in the upper section, it would be rather clear. Once you get to the Gravel Pit area, it starts to really clear up from there all the way downstream to Gore Landing. As far as the fishing goes, it was pretty slow which is what I expected. We were able to put a handful of trout in the boat as well as a baby striper and a largemouth at the end of the float. We did the whole 6-7 mile float in about 4 hours which is a little faster than I normally would fish a tailwater. We usually will float good sections numerous times as well as get out to wade fish the islands. We only got out to wade fish below Watts. We also were kinda playing around with throwing hopper/dropper against the banks for the 1st half of the float which I think kinda hurt our chances but its always fun to chuck the foam nasty bug. We switched to dual nymph rigs under a bobber and then started to put a few fish in the boat. I also think if we woulda tried throwing streamers on sinking lines, we coulda stuck a few fish as well. All in all, it was a cool float and we learned a few things about the river so we will totally be floating the river again.

Glad to see that some of you guys are having some luck on the striper bite! We havent really had much of a chance to get out and chase them this year sadly like in years past. We have hit the Arkansas River once and half-heartedly fished for them last night on the LIR at the tail end of our float.

I am with the other members. I float that river fairly often and its a non stop party train. 95% of the floaters r all super friendly but they r there to have a " good time" which means drinking cold beer and being "rowdy". Not exactly the place for a youth group IMO. Go during the week and u will have the place mostly to yourself.

Sold!!