Aside from Saturday, generation on the White River has been more than 10,000 cfs during essentially all of fishing hours this week – thus exemplifying the moniker the “Mighty White.”
The biggest peak this week was just over 21.5K cfs and flows have averaged in that 13-15K range most days. Though the White is no stranger to big water, it has been quite some time that we’ve seen such a prolonged big-water event.
The lake still rests 5 feet higher than the current power pool and with temps in the mid-90s, there seems few reasons to predict water will drop any time soon. Flows have dropped down to about 6,000 cfs overnight (as opposed to 15K), which may be the only reason to think flows are trending down.
Overall, fish are hugging the banks in this heavy flow. The sulfurs popped pretty thick for a couple of days this week. Browns are definitely keyed in on the emerging mayflies and are podded up in eddies consistently sipping these tiny yellow morsels.
Even on days when the bugs aren’t buzzing, browns continue to dine on any emerger they have tumble their way. Catching these fish has not been easy.
Loads of boat traffic mixed with a constant barrage of poorly presented fly lines overhead have made these browns uber-alert to anything less than the real thing. Even conventional fishermen haven’t been able to resist ripping shiny trebles through these highly-visible schools of browns in the hopes of tricking one or two.
The best way to get a brown to eat up top is to be one of the first flies through a school and to get a long, drag-free drift to an already skyward-looking fish. Quigley’s Film Critic, Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, and Hackle Stackers have been the best bugs for this. So far, most browns seem to refuse Parachute-style adult imitations.
For numbers, nymphing with big attractors in tandem with midges or sulfur nymphs has been the most productive. Slush Eggs, Mega Worms, and Jig BH Girdle Bugs are the attractors of choice. Lightning Bug Jigs, Dally’s Tailwater Jigs, Sexton’s Carotene Jigs, Rainbow Warrior Jigs, Ron’s Crustys, Copper Johns in copper, Egan’s Frenchies, and BH Pheasant Tails are good droppers.
The Norfork continues to be a wildcard of sorts these days. Though a rough pattern of minimum flow mornings giving way to 80 megs in the afternoon exists, said pattern has not been a reliable framework to work with.
Wednesday was a good example of this, as the day ended up resulting in minimum flow until 5 PM with a 2-hour bump of 80 megs. The minimum flow continues to fish really well – typical of the Princess of Tailwaters.
Mixing and matching various techniques also allows for a fun day on foot. Nymphing, dry fly fishing, swinging soft hackles, and stripping and/or swinging small streamers can all catch fish during a full day on the river.
Y2Ks, Sunday Specials, Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails, Knowles’ Ruby Midges, Zebra Midges, Wotton’s Super Midges, Crackle Backs, Anna K’s, Dally’s Tailwater Soft Hackle in yellow – all are productive. Woolly Buggers (olive, black, white), Whitlock’s NearNuff Sculpins, and smaller conehead Sparkle Minnows are fun to swing.
The big 80 megs usually takes a bit to clean up and the bite is spotty. Mega Worms, Wotton’s Prism Worms, San Juan Worms, Girdle Bugs, and Blobs remain the best lead flies. Dally’s Tailwater Jigs, Egan’s Frenchies, Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ears, BH Pheasant Tails, and Devil Jigs will do fine as droppers.
We remain really hot for next week. We may actually hit 100 at some point. As such, continue to expect and prepare for big water fishing. Stick to the report above to have a solid starting place. 15K plus can be intimidating for the uninitiated, so having a good jumping-off point can go a long way toward success.
Sulfurs should continue to build to a climax here soon. We know the browns have surely been enjoying them and it’s nice to see happy fish getting a good meal. Big water will also continue to offer terrestrial fishing opportunities, so keep that in mind as we head into a hot summer.
See you out there.
By Tadd Fore
The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal 
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