4-7-07 Report

[RiverRunner]

I braved the cold on Saturday and headed to my honey hole below the confluence that is rarely wadeable. Despite the wind, I did pretty good, I landed around 35 with a lot of long-distance releases. Biggest fish was 16" rainbow, but most were 12"-13". These were the most beautiful fish I've caught out of this section of river, all brillantly colored and fat as pigs. River is in the best shape that I've seen it, with lots of vegetation and lots of food. A lot of bait fisherman have been complaining of tough fishing, but I think that the fish just have too much to eat right now, I hope that this can keep up. Caught fish on #10 olive crystal WB's and olive beadhead mohair leach. I can't wait to get back up there on a warmer day.

[Jeremy Hunt]

Hello River Runner

I have notice that the white river is having a bit of a white algae up at the dam. Looks different then what I'm use to seeing. I also notice alot of the bigger fish moved out from up at the dam. It's seems like it's getting worse up there. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have fished the white off and on for thirteen years and notice a difference this year. Don't get me wrong, I think the fishing still great if you know where to go. Just wondering your take on this?

jh

[RiverRunner]

We're getting a little bit of the white stuff (didymo) down river where I've been fishing, but its not nearly as bad as it is up near BS dam. I don't fish much up there, so I'm not a good judge of conditions up there. From what I've been hearing, fishing is better downriver (Rim, Buffalo, Ranchette) this year. I think the quality fish are still there, they've just moved to where the food is. The one thing that is helping fishing where I'm at (below Norfork) is the lack of heavy generation recently has allowed a lot of vegetation to take root in the river, and their are a lot of scuds & other aquatic insects in the river right now. Of course, they will probably crank up generation when it warms up and a lot of the moss will be gone.

I really think that the White is a cyclical river, it has its ups and downs as far as fishing goes. I think some areas are in a down cycle compared right now compared to an up-cycle that we had a few years back. The White is such a long tailwater that is possible to move around and find completely different situations as far as fishing is concerned. I plan to stay with the downriver fishing until higher generation makes it tough.

[Jeremy Hunt]

When I was up there for the Sowbug I skipped the first day and went fishing to Wildcat Shoals. We went downstream around the first bend below and saw a spot that was holding so many fish we didn't move for hours and caught fish after fish. What a great spot. I caught one really nice brown that was twenty inches or so.

My dad use to live at Rim so I learned that stretch really well, so when I'm down I like to go other places. I want to learn more about the area around buffalo city. I think that's what it's called. Right? Do you fish that area at all. I hear it's got great water that holds alot of fish. Do you know Gabe Cross? That's my buddy and I met him at Taney 13 yrs back when he was just starting in the sport. He told me about buffalo. Maybe we should fish it.

jh

[RiverRunner]

I don't know Gabe personally, but I have seen him around on the river and at the ramp. He has a good website with good info. Buffalo Shoals is one of the most beautiful shoals on the river. You have to boat up to it, but that's what makes it so good. Its long and has some real interesting rock formations on it. A lot of people have the idea that all of the best fishing on the White is at Rim or from BS dam to Cotter, but there is good fishing in more obscure areas all the way down to Sylamore if you can catch the water down (which can be tough in the summer).

For years, the only place I fished was between Norfork & Calico. It seems that a lot of fly fisherman ignore the White below the confluence, and thats a shame, because the fishing can be spectacular at times. I fished all day the other day in the C&R area at Monkey Island and never saw another person the entire time I was there (The most people I've ever seen here is 3) Steamboat and Red's Landing are also good areas to try as well. The White is a long river (101 miles) with a lot of neat stuff to check out. I hope to do some more exploring this summer

[JimmyT]

Jeremy,

I do know Gabe. He is helping me out with a two day trip weekend after next. Gabe is a good fisherman. He and I ran camera boats for the film shoot for Clint Wilkinson.

The algae you see is didymo and after the high water of the winter it has come back and spread even further down stream. I did get to take a look at the C&R area a couple of days ago. You are right in that there are not the size of fish (bows in particular) that there was but it's not due to didy but due to a fish kill last sept. Davy Wotton, Steve Dalley, and myself were up there last sept. Davy had a bunch of DEAD fish in his boat with more past the 100 yard mark he could not get at.

There are however a ton of fish up at the dam. A krap pile of them and they do bite on low water. The fishing has been tougher during generation and has been better down stream.

Did fish at the confluence Just last week for half day and did pretty good. I think I posted a report on that one. In fact will be fishing down there one or two days next week as I start a 5 day trip with a long time fisherman.

Good luck to Riverrunner and Jeremy.

Jimmy T.

[Patricks on the White]

I waded the BS dam early Easter morning; the first time I've had the opportunity to do so since the area re-opened on Feb.1. The didy is there in mass. Thick and soft, wavy white tips,very comfortable to walk on. Certainly not an expert on this subject, I think that this is the condition it takes on when first appearing. I live at the tip of Cane Island, about a mile and a half below the dam. The didy here has changed over the winter from soft and comfortable to a thin, tightly woven, "pool table top-like", slick as snot, covering. Again, not being a biologist, I would tend to think that it doesn't start from an organism brought in on the bottom of a boat or boot. The fact that "fresh didy" seems to start right at the foot of the dam suggests to me that its already in the water as it is released through the gates. Does it cover the bottom of BS lake, I've never heard anyone mention its presence. Maybe the lakes too deep and it can only thrive in shallower stretches,i.e., the river. Hopefully, the biological studies that are underway are taking this point into consideration.

Patricks

[taxidermist]

Not a lot of moss or rock snot in the lake.

Pretty much what you see is what you get in the lakes. The normal green moss, some coontail and and some weeds that have been planted.

Once you get below about 50 feet, give or take due to lake levels its silt. Nothing but butt deep silt. Somewhere I have a pic of me in the silt up to my neck.

I do a good bit of scuba diving doing technical stuff and have close to 1000 dives since 1974. So I tend to go deep looking for old structures etc.

Seldom do you see a fish below 30 feet in the summer months, however in the winter you may find fish in 100 feet of water.

Anywho back to the moss questions, when I first started finshing the White River again a few years back, I found the fluffy toilet paper of sorts. I was told by a guide that its from the lake. So I did some deep dives to find it.

Its in the water it just take the right conditions for it to grow. his in the fact its up near the dam. I think it could come from mid or even upper lake areas. I have dived in the Lead Hill Tucker Hollow areas and don't find it there.

So maybe the facts are this, IMHO with the run off from Branson area all the way to the dam, the conditions become right for rock snot directly at the dam when a bit more oxygen is churned out by the generation of power.

Water at the intake level is lower in Dissolved O2 than in the upper levels of the water column, growth could also be triggered by the release of water and mixing of pollutants from the White River chain of lakes.

Who knows for sure these are just what I have looked at and think is happening.

John

[Jeremy Hunt]

Thanx guys,

I believe rivers change and some years are better than others. I guess you take the good with the bad. I know this year at Taneycomo has been better than the previous years. The fish seem to fight better this year.

jh