With Crooked Creek and the Buffalo pumping and dumping, most of us have been bouncing back and forth from the newly opened dam section and the Norfork.
Some shad action sporadically occurred early in the week and gave us a little taste of what winter fishing is all about.
Unfortunately it was relatively short lived. Hopefully some colder mornings will come along and give us another bout.
As of now, it appears as though we are looking at highs in the 50’s for the week, so I’m not exactly betting the house on it. However, as long as the rain stays away for a bit, the lower portion of the river should be back to decent clarity in a few days and with that I look to see people dispersing along the river again.
The main draw on the White lately has been the newly opened dam section and for good reason. Some seriously nice fish have been snaked in from that stretch this week.
With that being said, the new is starting to wear off and the fish are not quite as gullible as they were earlier in the week. That is not to say good things are not going to happen, just the regularity of it has diminished a bit.
With all that being said, egg patterns are the way of the west, specifically up river. Sticking with peach and orange colors seems to be the way to go and it’s important that they get close to the bottom.
Tag teaming these up with sunday specials, crossfit midges, lightning bug jigs, Tailwater jigs and ruby midges should do the deed.
If you catch a bump of water or a cloudy day, throwing streamers can be productive. CJ’s Sluggo’s, Tiny Dancers, Bangtails, smaller Deceivers and the like, have been producing. When the water is lower mini dungeons, game changers, and swimming Jimmy’s are solid options.
The Norfork has been fishing well and producing some serious quality, the only drawback is the sporadic water schedule. It’s something that you just jump on when you have a chance.
Egg patterns are definitely key for the time being, occasionally a mega worm or blob will come in ahead. Teaming them up with sunday specials, ruby midges, and lightning bug jigs seems to keep you going.
In bigger water conditions, mop flies, meat whistles, and slump busters are some good options that help mix it up. Streamers are often overlooked on the Fork, but can be very effective. Sparkle minnows, olive circus peanuts, and olive Conrad’s Sculpins would be my top choices.
The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal 
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