White River

Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said rainbow trout are good but more difficult to catch because of an algae bloom.

Randy Oliver at www.randyoliverguide.com (901-832-1903) said rain has muddied the water, with two to four generators running most days.

Guide Davy Wotton said generation has been erratic, making it difficult to find fish and a consistent pattern. During high water, algae is flowing downstream, making it hard to keep your line and lure clean. There have been some periods of low water and some opportunities for wade fishing. Caddis are emerging during the day, offering good fishing on dry flies, soft hackles and wet flies. Scuds, sow bugs, midges, baetis and mayfly nymph imitations are working well. While fishing from a boat, drift a white tail, prism midge, hare’s ear nymph or prince nymph in low flows. For high flows, choose streamers, crayfish imitations and sculpins to search for a trophy brown trout.

Jim Brentlinger at Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge(870-499-5185) said trout were biting well on the White River before the rain. Now the river is very high and muddy from the Buffalo River to Reds Landing. Some smallmouth were beginning to bite in the Buffalo on dark green on pumpkinseed tubes fished on 1/8-oz. jigheads before the rain.

Buffalo River

Just Fishing Guides said the river level was at 18 feet and rising Wednesday morning at Arkansas Highway 14; the river was closed to floating.

Crooked Creek

Just Fishing Guides said the gauge at Kelly’s Slab was reading above 17 feet (high) and rising Wednesday morning.

Bull Shoals Lake

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 656.10 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 654 MSL).

Mike Worley’s Guide Service said walleye are spawning on main lake points and biting on stick baits late during the day and at night. Bass are moving into main lake creek coves and pockets, and biting on Carolina-rigged lizards and centipedes. Crappie are in shallow water and biting on grubs and Swim N Minnows. White bass are moving into creeks and coves and biting on anything that looks like a shad.

Bull Shoals Tailwater

Just Fishing Guides said the lake level was 654.1 feet and generation had been around the clock with 1-2 units (2,000 cfs and spikes to 18,000 cfs) during the week. Caddis patterns are the preferred flies now. Suggested patterns include Prince nymph, Zugbug, Hare ’n’ Copper (olive), BH Z-Wing caddis (olive), partridge and peacock soft hackle, graphic caddis and elk hair caddis, all in size 14.