From Arkansas Fish and Game Commission

White River

Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said two to three generators are running and the trout bite has been good.

Guide Davy Wotton said the fishing has been excellent, despite the heat and humidity. Brown trout have really been good early before the sun rises high. Top flies include hoppers in green, yellow, orange and tan, muddlers, Invictas, March browns, sow bugs and whitetail midges. Streamers are also a good bet early and late, before the fog levels set in, after which fishing is not so good. Water levels have been up and down, so it pays to fish zones with even flow, or at the flush of the rise. Some anglers have experienced slower than normal fishing, which may well be due to fishing the wrong location or zones that fish have moved out of due to low water and increased water temperatures. There have been some good opportunities for wading. Browns are certainly on the move upstream; if you locate one then stick around as the odds are there will be more fish in the area. Look for deep water zones, shoal and riffle water which provide comfort zones for the fish. Reports from spin and bait fisherman are up and down. Some are doing very well, while others have slow days, here again best options will be early and late during the day all be it fish will be found in deeper water zones and areas of well oxygenated water.

Jim Brentlinger at Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) had no report.

Buffalo River

Ken Richards at Just Fishing Guides said the river is very low from the headwaters to the Highway 14 bridge. Much dragging will be experienced. After the bridge, the water level is low but floatable. The river level is 2.64 feet and flowing at 139 cfs near Harriet and the Highway 14 bridge. The really hot weather has pushed the best times for fishing to early morning and late evening. Soft plastics such as four-inch Zoom lizards, baby brush hogs and tube baits in greens and brown shades are working best. Fly-fishing is good with top-water stuff in the evening and subsurface flies all other times. Crazy Dads, Clouser Minnows and muted colors of Sparkle Grubs are working best.

Crooked Creek

Ken Richards at Just Fishing Guides said the river level is 10.93 feet and the flow is 119 cfs. This is about 1.5 feet below the low-water bridge at Kelly’s Access. Smallmouth fishing continues to be very good on the creek. Crawdad patterns bounced on the bottom along with Clouser Minnows (both Deep Minnows and the Darter series) and KC’s Slider have been picking up some good fish.

Bull Shoals Lake

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 653.32 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 654 MSL).

Mike Worley’s Guide Service said the bite on Bull Shoals Lake continues to be very good. Walleye and spotted bass can be found on the main lake and secondary points in 32-45 feet of water. Walleyes, spotted bass and striped bass are being caught trolling crankbaits or crawler rigs. Bass are very active at first daylight and can be caught on surface or shallow-running crankbaits and 4-inch grubs. Jigging spoons are still catching a mixed bag of fish.

Bull Shoals Tailwater

Ken Richards at Just Fishing Guides says the lake level is at 653.32 feet with the conservation pool level of 654.0 feet. Generation has mostly been around the clock with some low water early in the day, especially on the weekends. Generation has been averaging 1 to 3 soft units with some wadeable water. Hopper patterns seem to be part of the setup while fishing. Try a hopper/dropper rig with a scud/sowbug or zebra midge as the dropper. The hopper will be your indicator if you get a strike on the subsurface nymph. Varying the size and color of your hopper pattern can improve your success. Suggested patterns: humpback scud, BH Simple Sow, zebra midge, Rainy’s Grand Hopper, Charlie Boy Hopper and Dave’s Hopper.