What a weird time to be a fishing guide... I'm thankful for the customers that i've had the opportunity to guide all over the country that are keeping me somewhat busy during these uncertain times. with that being said, i have had a ton of cancellations from now, until i leave to go back up to Alaska on June 17th. So when your ready to get out of the house, give me call, come fishing!! (P.S.. i have hand sanitizer and toilet paper on the boat at all times.)
Spring has sprung... Mowing the grass, turkeys are gobbling, caddis are hatching on the White River! With lower water flows we have seen some sporadic hatches over the past week. It feels like it has rained almost every other day, and with that comes rising lake levels. Forecasts for Bull Shoals Dam generation schedule is somewhat inconsistent with periods of both low and high water throughout a given day for the week to come. This upcoming week will prove just how dynamic of a fishery the White River is!
During the rising, and higher water periods look for fish to be feeding on sculpin and smaller baitfish patterns. These can either be fished striped/ swung on a sinking line, or dead drifted under an indicator. When fishing an indicator rig, you can also tie on a second fly about 2' behind the first and fish two flies in conjunction with one and other. for that second fly try bigger caddis nymphs and midges or worm patterns, i like wire worms in red myself.
As that water starts to drop, keep your eyes on the surface, if you start seeing bugs dancing atop the water you just might have a bang up day! The bugs that you are looking at are most likely either caddis or midges. During this hatch period, you can catch fish with dries, but your bigger fish will most likely eat the nymph right now.
Things are confusing right now during this world wide pandemic and fishing is about the only thing keeping me sane... but whats new! If you are willing to travel right now there is some good fishing to be had. I think we are all looking forward to the days when things get back to normal, but as long as the state of Arkansas does not shut down our guiding operations you can bet that we will be on the water!
Tim
