The White--A 4-Season River
Fall. Fall conditions start in mid-September and can last through early December. Frost may hit a little in late October, but midday air temperatures range from 50 to 70 degrees F, and the hill- and riverside colors can be magnificent. The water begins to chill from the dams downstream (50-55 degrees), triggering the spawning urges of first the rainbows, then brook and brown trout. The bigger fish begin to sneak out of their deep ledge-hole sanctuaries and move upstream into schools to pair up and spawn.
Water levels are usually the most stable at this time, due to the lake levels being low after summer hydroelectric generation and lack of rainfall. However, water directly below the dams can be almost void of oxygen until late fall, so the better fishing is often several miles downstream where there are hatches of microcaddis, midges, and early Blue-winged Olives. Fish will rise nicely throughout fall to floating terrestrials, especially sizes 12 and 10, such as Dave’s Hoppers and Crickets. Scuds, sowbugs, nymphs, streamers, Woolly Buggers, San Juan Worms, and egg flies are all good late-fall flies.
By mid-fall, most tourist fishing has dwindled and hunting season has lured many of the retirees and locals off the water. The trout docks close by late November. On weekends, however, the shoals, especially those in catch-and-release sections and on good spawning shoals, are so congested that you may have to take a number and get in line to fish.
Formerly, fly fishers crowded almost shoulder to shoulder onto the spawning shoals directly below Bull Shoals Dam in the mile-long catch-and-release area. In one fall/winter period, the excessive catching, handling, and releasing of the magnificent 20- to 38-inch, wild brown trout spawners resulted in a nearly 50 percent mortality from fungus and stress. This one-mile section of the major brown and rainbow spawning sites is now closed to all fishing from November 1 to January 31, so there is a brighter future for these big, precious wild fish.
Winter. This season runs from mid-December through about the first week of March and is often mild and sunny. Nighttime freezing temperatures often rise into the 40s and 50s by afternoon. The Ozark Mountains buffer much of the winter winds and the tailwaters’ temperatures seldom drop below 45-52 degrees. In the winter, the warmest water will be in sections directly below the dams or where springs, which flow at 52 degrees all year, enter the river.
There’s a serenity and special beauty in the hills and river at this time. The rocky bluffs and beauty of the terrain are much more visible, as is the wildlife. Mink, beaver, raccoons, and deer frequent the river and its banks and the sounds of ducks, geese, eagles, gulls, and herons replace human noise. This is a perfect time for snowbound fly fishers to come to the Ozarks.
You can catch fish during low-water periods all winter on midges, Blue-winged Olives, sowbugs, scuds, Woolly Buggers, sculpins, and egg patterns. When the winters are cold enough, tons of thermally-shocked threadfin shad often pass through the generators during January and February. When this happens, large numbers of trout are drawn miles upriver to this massive shad chum line, congregating heavily in the first miles below each dam. This in turn creates some fast and furious fly fishing from boats using dead-drifted shad imitations and white flesh flies.
I love the quiet winter, because there are times, especially during the week or when the weather is dark, cold, and damp that good shoals aren’t occupied by an angler. That’s my favorite time to pick a vacant run or pool and peacefully midge-fish to big, relaxed risers with a 1- or 2-weight outfit.
Patterns for the White
No stream I’ve fished has a richer water supply than the White, but due to the height and speed fluctuations of the water, the White’s aquatic plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate life must be very hardy and adaptable.
Aquatic insects, especially the larger species, don’t maintain significant enough populations in the White to trigger much trout feeding. But smaller (#14-24) mayflies, midges, and caddis do fairly well. The river’s crustacea (scuds, sowbugs, and crayfish), as well as snails, worms, and leeches, are extremely abundant, and trout grow large on the hordes of vertebrates such as small stocker trout, sculpin, darters, chubs, dace, shiners, threadfin shad, and suckers.
The White’s tailwaters are primarily nymph and streamer water, but the river also provides excellent dry-fly action. My best subsurface flies are the Red Fox Squirrel Nymph (#6-18), Dave’s Scud and Sow Bug (#14-20), tan/olive soft hackles (#16-20), Pheasant-tails and Hare’s-ears (#14-30), NearNuff Sculpin and NearNuff Crayfish (#4-10), Matuka Sculpin (#8-5/0), and the Sheep Minnow, a threadfin shad pattern (#4-8).
The surface flies I depend on are Sulphur Emergers and Duns (#12-20), Parachute Adams (#14-20), Elk-hair and Poly-wing Caddis (#12-22), midges (#18-22), Blue-winged Olives (#20-24), Dave’s Hoppers and Dave’s Cricket (#8-12), and Carpenter Ants (#14-16).
Tackle for the White
In any 8- to 12-hour period, these tailwaters may vary in depth from 1 to 10 feet and the current speed from 1 to 2 miles per hour up to 6 or 8 miles per hour! To effectively fly fish all the sides of this tailwater system, I suggest three tackle outfits.
Outfit 1. For low water using smaller surface and subsurface flies (#12-24), a 1- to 4-weight, medium-action, 8- or 9-foot rod; weight-forward floating line with 10 to 12-foot leader; and 4X to 7X tippet is recommended.
This is an especially important outfit for success in the catch-and-release sections, as fish there become extremely small-fly and light-tippet selective.
Outfit 2. For minimum to medium flow levels using big dry flies or small streamers and nymphs, eggs, or worms fished with shot and indicators, use a 5- or 6-weight, medium-fast, 9-foot rod; weight-forward floating line with 9- to 12-foot leaders; and 2X-4X tippet.
For fishing Woolly Buggers and medium-size streamers I recommend a weight-forward sinking-tip with a 6-foot leader and 1X-3X tippet; for fishing on or near bottom with sculpin, crayfish, and shad imitations, a weight-forward uniform-sink line with 4-foot leader and 1X-3X tippet is best.
Outfit 3. For high flow levels, fishing from a boat using medium to large streamers #8 to 3/0, an 8- or 9-weight, medium-fast action, 9-foot rod is helpful. I recommend three different lines and leaders weight-forward bass bug taper with 9-foot leader and OX-2X tippet for casting toward the banks; weight-
forward, 10-foot sinking-tip IV with 6-foot leader and OX-2X tippet for casting along deep banks; and weight-forward uniform-sink V with 4-foot leader and 0X-2X tippet for fishing in the deep main channel.
If you are absolutely limited to one outfit, bring a 5- or 6-weight, 9-foot rod with a weight-forward floating line. Understand, however, that because the river has so many different faces, your success will be limited in all situations.
Dave and Emily Whitlock live near Mountain Home, Arkansas, where they conduct the Whitlock Fly Fishing School (www.davewhitlock.com). Dave is an author, wildlife artist, world-renowned fly designer, and conservationist. Emily is a fly-fishing instructor, photographer, and active conservationist.
Guides and Outfitters
Bull Shoals and Norfork Dam Tailwaters
• Don Adams Guide Service, Bull Shoals, AR, (870) 445-8491
• Blue Ribbon Flies, Mountain Home, AR, (870) 425-0447
• Rim Shoals Trout Dock and Resort, Gassville, AR, (870) 435-6144,
• Riverbelle Bed & Breakfast, Flippin, AR, (870) 453-8735
• Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
• Dave & Emily Whitlock Fly Fishing School, (888) 962-4576,
Beaver Dam Tailwater
• Ripple Outfitters, Fayetteville, AR, (501) 444-8084
Table Rock Dam Tailwater
• River Run Outfitters, Branson, MO, (417) 332-0460
Greers Ferry Dam
Tailwater-Little Red River
• Cutthroat Fly Fisher, Little Rock, AR, (501) 227-5298
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