helix74

I am considering a trip down to the Beaver Tailwaters in late October. I have fished the Norfork and White over near Mountain Home, Ar before, but never been to this area. Any tips? I know we always face the possibility/probability of running water, so how does that work? How many generators can be running and still wade fish? Any information would be helpful. Looking to stay at Spider Creek Resort, but am open to other options if better access to good water. Thanks, Matt

Thanks for the info. We had a great trip and caught some fish! The water was running Thursday and we were unable to fish, but had great luck Fri, Sat and Sunday (morning only) with no generators on. Fished primarily at the Handicap access and caught smaller fish than in previous years, but it was still fun (there were some good sized fish mixed in as well, just the overall average seemed smaller than usual). We walked up almost all the way to McClellans, but stopped just shy of it. We did go over to Wildcat Shoals on the White for a few hours on Saturday and had good luck there too. Did well with a zebra midge and also were able to use a Crackleback for some top feeders. Overall, another great trip that makes me want to come back as often as possible!

Several friends and I are heading down tomorrow (Thursday, May 3) to fish until Sunday. Just wondering if there was any news (good or bad) on how things are this week? Thanks

John Berry, did you fish at McClellans on Sunday morning this past weekend (May 7)? I looked at your profile which led me to your website and from the pictures there you look very much like a guy I talked to Sunday morning at McClellans that told me about this mess with the developer up on the hill. You were just coming down the hill from the "parking lot" and I was standing there by the uprooted tree tying on. We didn't talk long, and I told you I was new to the area and you briefly told me about the problem as you headed down towards the catch and release only section of the river. Anyway, just wanted to see if you were the person I spoke to that morning because the pics sure do look like the guy and he had a cigar in hand. You were with 1 other guy that morning (if it was you).

Well, for my first trip to the Norfork, I was most impressed. We had great luck this past weekend! The guys I was with have fished there for years and said this was their best trip yet. They did not run the generators very much this weekend, so that really made a huge difference. We fished the handicap access area (just down stream) Saturday afternoon in the rain and caught a ton of fish. One was a 20 inch brown (sorry, pics have not been developed yet). During the weekend, we fished McCellans (sp?), the riffles at the HA, the dam and the convergance where the Norfork meets the White and had excellent luck everywhere except the dam, which I am told is usually fairly good. I am fairly new to fly fishing, but I think I caught close to 70 fish and we only fished Sat afternoon for 4 hours, Sunday morning and evening and Monday morning until 10:00 when we had to leave. To me, that was a successful trip! Anyway, I am trying to find a time to schedule another trip down. We used mostly mini jigs, but had good luck with others too. I can say that if I was not hooked on fly fishing before this weekend, I sure am now!

I am going to be fishing the Norfork for the first time the weekend of May 5. Any suggestions on what flies work well that time of year there? Any suggestions about anything that might help make my trip more successful? Thanks...