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Anyone been fishing for whites below the dam? Any reports? I have a box full of clousers ready to do battle!

My bro put in at Sidewalk and ran way up the War Eagle past the island last night. Said the water was chocolate milk once he got past the first bend up the river from the ramp. Fly fishing for whites and throwing clousers and sculpin helmets. Caught a few small males. The dirty water makes it tough with flies... We are hoping that it clears out by Saturday...hopefully no more major rain events this week. Anyone else been up the rivers lately? Anyone been fishing for whites below the dam on the tailwater? Trying to decide my plan for the weekend....

F and F you are the man! Love your reports and really appreciate the detail and information you share.

Nice Thread Tx... We have only lived here for 4 years and I am just now starting to really get into smallie fishing in NWA. Have not touched a lot of the water you mentioned yet. I have fished Kings twice...once in the summer from Rockhouse to Trigger Gap...we only caught 1 fish all day but it was prime floating season and there were just too many floaters out. I think that stretch would be pretty good if you floated it in April/May before it gets over-run. Lots of nice runs in there... Last June I floated and fished from the Hwy 62 bridge to Grandview (private access that you can call ahead and park on for a small fee) and we did very well...I think we floated it in late June and it would have been a bit better in late may/early June. We floated on a Friday and did not see another person on the water (we were the first ones there right at sun-up). I think the deal with the Kings is the lower section is better...but you have to watch and float on weekdays or early season before all the people get out there. What I am looking for is someplace within 30 min of Bentonville...I have fished a bit on Big Sugar up in BV and caught a couple of Blacks but no smallies...I want to explore that some more this summer. Also heard the War Eagle can be very good and have that on my list to explore this summer...I have fished below the Mill some for whites and caught a few very nice large mouth but nothing bronze yet.... Not to hijack the thread but...What fly patterns do you like to use? I am primarily a flyfisherman as well and I am loading up my box right now....tying some fish skulls, some clousers, and working on some new sculpin patterns with the new sculpin helmets.

That is one sweet picture!! love it.

Won't claim to be a pro but I love chasing smallies with my fly rod. I generally agree that deeper is better for larger fish but at the same time top water is too fun not to throw. So, I carry two spools with me for my 6wt. An intermediate line and a floating line. I usually start with a floating line and a pop'er early in the day. Then I switch to my intermediate line and throw clousers and crazy crawls. Honestly, I think you only need 3 or 4 types of flies. This year I am playing around with these sculpin helmets too (http://flymenfishingcompany.org/products/fish-skull%E2%84%A2-products/sculpin-helmet/). I agree with Ron though: for fly fishing deep is relative. I try to find places where I can get a decent size fly onto the bottom with my intermediate line so that is generally smallerish size creeks and the upper end of rivers. But...there are still some decent fish in those areas. Also agree with Ron that fly fishing for smallies is about an overall experience in nature- not just size/numbers of fish. (Not that spin fisherman don't appreciate these things) There is just something awesome about being on a remote and quiet stream, throwing a fly you tied for a fish you love that is awesome no matter what happens.

So straight away I will say that I am not much of a cat fisherman so take this with a major grain of salt....BUT if I was going to try for cats in the area you are talking about I would probably head down to the river below the dam (below the trout area where it opens up some). Try Spider Creek or Houseman (Check regs on your bait set up) Also, since you are there you might want to try for some walleye in the next few days....just sayin' Also: go to WalMart and see if they have a Fishing Hot Spots Map of Beaver available. I love mine and use it all the time. It will have some areas marked for Cats and other fish that might be accessible for you- at the very least it has some general topography so you can find access points that are near flats or whatever you are looking for. I would think on the lake Lost Bridge South (AKA Fishtrap) might be a decent place to start?

Sure, the rod holders will get your rods snatched if you go under a low overhang with them. But I floated down the lower part of the Kings and only had to worry about that maybe 2x during the entire day. Now, Indian Creek or a smaller stream might be a different story. I won't claim to have fished on a lot of different Yaks or be able to justify the price point vs. other boats...but I know the Coosa was designed to be so stable that you can stand on it to fish- even fly cast. If you like being above the water then this is a great feature. If you don't want to stand the adjustable chair gives you just a little more elevation and it makes a big difference in my comfort fishing while actually sitting in the boat. It just has a very well thought out design...

+1 for the Jackson Coosa! That thing was made for fishing. VERY stable- so stable that you can actually stand on top of it and fish in flat water. This is a huge plus if you are used to being higher in the water. The 2 position seat is also a huge plus. Great storage and very good design.

No just a regular jon- 1648 with a 40 hp. The water is high enough that you could almost get a bass boat up that far right now...

Thats cool...I went to PC last night. Threw the A rig for the first time. No love. No love on anything last night actually. Did you fish today?

Ran way up the War Eagle (past the island about a mile) today. We were the only boat up that far. Was a cold ride at 6.45 this morning! After throwing a mix of clousers/fish skulls/sculpin helmets looking for some early whites or walleye with little luck we decided to start throwing into stumps and brush piles for crappie. Caught quite a few and if we had more time could have stayed all day. Also bumped into a few nice blacks/kentuckys along the way. We ended catching 6 decent crappie and probably 6 or 8 bass. Not bad for February on a fly rod! Was a fun and beautiful morning. Water was stained slightly but I wouldn't call it muddy. We were working pretty bright colors. Cool deal: while we were running up the river a bald eagle flew out of the tree and flew right above us for 1/4 of a mile and then landed in a tree. I have never been that close to an eagle before. Really cool deal...saw a TON of ducks.

Thank man...I am going to chase some stripers in PC Friday afternoon and Sat afternoon...sat AM we are going to run all the way up the war eagle by the mill. I have heard of a guy catching some walleyes at Richland creek...if the walleye are that far up the White then maybe there are some up the war eagle as well. Will let you know if we get into anything...the fly rods are locked and loaded.

Just read that. I am hoping that since they were out there on the 17th (right after the rain) that the water has cleared up...and also hoping that this warm week of sunny weather has warmed it up some. No one is as optimistic as a fisherman!

Trying to decide where to go on Saturday AM. Looks like it is going to be pretty sunny. Anyone been up the War Eagle arm or either of the rivers yet? Any reports from that area? Probably going to hit PC Sat PM.

TC! Yep...still rockin that rig for smallies here on a regular basis!! Dude Look me up when you are in town. If you need anything while you are here let me know. June is a great time to fish here for sure. Hope you are well...

Darn you brother! At least wait until white bass season is over to sell "our" boat! 100 fish days are right around the corner!

I am biased since I am from CO but the set up at grand lake is awesome. Rent your machine right in town and off you go...trails are fairly well marked and provide great views and a lot of different terrain. It is awesome and grand lake is a cool little mountain town that isn't over run by 1,000 of tourists. Can not reccommend it enough!

Which reminds me: any advice for a tailwater rookie? I have fished above Parker Bend...but never below. I am thinking of putting in at Bertrand or Housman and working down towards Holiday? Is that a good plan? I have a 16 ft Jon with a 40hp tiller- any problems running down that part of the tailwater right now?

Make sure you all save some for me for NEXT weekend! Looking for my first Walleye on the fly this spring!

Ok F and F...you got me all jacked up. Getting the fly rods loaded up today to try for stripers. Heading to Prarie Creek this afternoon/evening. Might even throw a gun in the boat. Will update you on the results! Any advice? Would love to learn more about your big water duck set up...what do you do differently? BTW: Thanks for your reports lately. I kinda left OA because the Beaver Lake Forum was so slow. But you have this thing fired back up...

Anyone been out lately? I am thinking of doing a little night fishing this weekend. Trying to decide if I want to go to the upper part of the lake or closer to the dam? I usually don't fish the lake much in the middle of summer but I am going to give it a shot this week....any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Bum! I will give it a shot one day in the next week or so. Going to Indian creek on Sat. Am.

Thanks for the advice Redfish. Really appreciate it. I am gonna go scout it out a bit in the next day or two.

Wondering if anyone could help me with a question on the Little Sugar. I live/work in Bville. I am trying to find a few places CLOSE in to get my fly rod some action before work in the mornings. Can any one tell me the best access points for some wade fishing on Little Sugar- ideally close to Bville- like in Bella Vista area? Any help would be great- I would hate to get shot before work just because I am fishing in the wrong spot! Thanks for any pointers...