Fishing Report

[Jeff House]

Fished Norfork tailwaters on the 14th,15th and 16th. Only fished for a few hours each morning as my main reason for being there was spearfishing the lake. Water came on early on Friday so I only got a couple hours in but the fishing was good on #20 dk olive scuds. Nothing big but fish on almost every drift. Saturday and Sunday I fished until around 10:00 with no generation and the fishing was great. I fish Taney a lot but I sure enjoy the larger variety of trout in Arkansas waters (although I didn't catch a brookie all weekend). Caught a real nice 21" cutt on Sunday about 9:30, this was the biggest fish of my week fishing both Taney and Norfork for a few days. All weekend the small scuds in either a dark olive/ice dubbing or a gray/ice dubbing worked great for me. Was wondering for my next trip to Norfork if there is anywhere that produces good wading when they crank up the generators or if it's a boat or nothing at all?

[snagged in outlet 3]

Good wading? No. You can fish the edge up around the dam where the kiddy creek comes in with the crowds but that is about it. The rest of the river fills up with no place to go. Don't get me wrong, sometimes there are real nice fish around the parking lot at the dam. But not alot of area to fish.

Snagged.

[Danoinark]

Jeff you might consider the Spring River, its about an 1 1/2 hr drive East from Mountain Home. Go early or late to avoid the canoe traffic.

Also try for some smallies in CrookeD Creek...but this time of year its typically very low.

Dano

[John Berry]

That depends on the level of generation. At low levels, say 1000 CFS it gets even better. The problem is that they can crank it up to 7000 CFS without warning. I consider it unsafe to wade with any generation because the water level can change guickly. If you choose to fish under these conditions do so with a clear plan for escape and keep your eyes and ears open. You might even consider a PFD. I was walking out when the water came up last week and I fell in. I had studded boots, a wading staff, and almost thirty years of experience on this river. Be careful the Norfork can be a cruel mistress.