White/Norfolk tailwater trip in January - wading

[schrederman]

A question for those that know this area... Will we be able to wade fish in this area in January? If so, what's the access like? I'm 67 and not a spring chicken but I get around OK. We're not likely to ever hire a guide or use a boat but we're tired of the crowds and poor management in some of the other places we've been. Any first-hand information would be appreciated...

Jack

 

[kevind62]

I've fished it a couple times just passing through. Although it's beautiful, I don't care to drive through AR. Not fond of driving in circles forever to go 3 miles. Having said that, not sure how it would be in Jan. I was there in the early spring. Fishing is ok. Caught lots of small rainbows (6" - 10") in the riffles and pockets behind big boulders. Caught some bigger fish (12"-16") closer to the dam. It a nice wide river that didn't seem to have a lot of pressure at the times I was there. Never been in summer so can't say how hard it's hit during the warmer months. It's easy access. There's a nice little fly shop on the main highway there. Can't remember the name of it but the folks were nice and helpful. River wades pretty easy. Fish can be hard to locate, but once you do, concentrate on the same type of water and you should do fine.

 

[jbcissell]

No way to know about January. Both rivers could be running at minimum flow or wide open depending on the amount of rain we've had. If it keeps raining like it has so far this fall my guess is you'll need a boat.

Btw, those two rivers are a couple of the best tailwaters in the country.

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

 

[ggriffi]

Never been there myself but thinking about next year. Found this site it may help you get a start


Ozark Fly Flinger - The Complete Arkansas White River Fly-fishing Website

 

[deceiverbob]

One thing to look for is a shad kill. Really cold weather will kill shad in the reservoirs above the tailwaters which are then drawn through the dam into the rivers. When this happens dead drifting a large white streamer can result in some large trout. Unfortunately I never got to experience that event. The last time I was there, the hot fly was a midge pupa fished just below the surface.

 

[schrederman]

Thanks for the replies... We're looking forward to being there and exploring. We've been to Beaver's Bend in OK several times but flooding in '15 really took it's toll on that site, so we're looking for something better.

 

[Meadowlark]

Check the flows before you go...and watch for sudden rising water on a release.

Its good wading with plenty of access in the parts I've fished around the White/Norfork confluence

 

[jonbo]

Go here to check the generation schedule:
Southwestern Power Administration

-The White is "BSD", the Norfork, NFD, I think.

-The schedule's good for just a few days ahead, but you need to look at the DATE for the schedule that opens when you click on the weekday. Sometimes they showing what they did last week. You have to make sure.
-If you look at it now, BSD is showing a lot of "35". I believe that's what they call "Minimum Flow". In any case, that's what you need in order to wade say, Rim Shoals, Wildcat Shoals, or the State Park. All these are really nice places to fish at minimum flow. When I was there last November, I was about the only one out at Wildcat and Rim Shoals. It was slightly scary for me for me, actually. I never do completely trust the posted generation schedule, and at Rim, especially, you're kind of isolated down there. Other than that, it's great fishing those places.

-I don't know about the Norfork numbers, what they mean as regards to minimum flow. I didn't fish the Norfork last November. It was quite cloudy and stained. The lake was turning over or something, so I didn't try to figure those numbers out.

-Shrederman: You're giving up on the LMF?! What the heck, man? What the heck!?

 

[al_a]

You do have other choices within a hour or two drive, if there is too much water to wade the lower North Fork. There is the upper North Fork in Missouri above the lake, which should be wadeable, and is a natural river with wild, naturally reproducing rainbows. It was badly damaged by the extreme flooding a couple years ago, but can still fish well. The upper end of Taneycomo Lake in Missouri is also wadeable water if they aren't running a lot of water out of Table Rock Dam. Spring River in Arkansas isn't too far away to the east, another natural river, though the trout are stocked and not wild.

 

[brownbass]

Regarding the North Fork of the White River in Missouri, Public access is limited on that river. Most float it in a canoe or drift boat or hire a guide with a boat or access. Go to Forums - OzarkAnglers.Com Forum and scroll down to you hit the tailwaters or rivers your interested in fishing. Ask questions, the people on there are friendly and will be glad to help out with information, maybe even offer to meet up and guide you.

Bill

 

[jbcissell]

One thing to look for is a shad kill. Really cold weather will kill shad in the reservoirs above the tailwaters which are then drawn through the dam into the rivers. When this happens dead drifting a large white streamer can result in some large trout. Unfortunately I never got to experience that event. The last time I was there, the hot fly was a midge pupa fished just below the surface.

Just to be clear... The shad kill he is talking about has to be fished from a boat. It happens during generation.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[jbcissell]

Go here to check the generation schedule:
Southwestern Power Administration

-The White is "BSD", the Norfork, NFD, I think.

-The schedule's good for just a few days ahead, but you need to look at the DATE for the schedule that opens when you click on the weekday. Sometimes they showing what they did last week. You have to make sure.
-If you look at it now, BSD is showing a lot of "35". I believe that's what they call "Minimum Flow". In any case, that's what you need in order to wade say, Rim Shoals, Wildcat Shoals, or the State Park. All these are really nice places to fish at minimum flow. When I was there last November, I was about the only one out at Wildcat and Rim Shoals. It was slightly scary for me for me, actually. I never do completely trust the posted generation schedule, and at Rim, especially, you're kind of isolated down there. Other than that, it's great fishing those places.

-I don't know about the Norfork numbers, what they mean as regards to minimum flow. I didn't fish the Norfork last November. It was quite cloudy and stained. The lake was turning over or something, so I didn't try to figure those numbers out.

-Shrederman: You're giving up on the LMF?! What the heck, man? What the heck!?

The schedule is posted by 5 pm for the next day. On Friday they post the entire weekend by 5pm. At the bottom of the schedule it lists each dam, how many generators and total plant capacity in Mw. Those are the numbers you're looking at in the schedule. BSD (bullshoals dam) is the White and NFD (Norfork Dam) is the Norfork tailwater. There are 8 units (generators) on the White and 2 on the Norfork.

**Some people talk in terms of CFS per unit. I use both but for the sake of this post we'll use Mw**

BSD total capacity is 391Mw so 391/8=48.875 Mw per generator. 35 Mw on the White is NOT minimum flow. 7 Mw on the White is minimum flow. 35Mw is 2/3 of 1 unit which is awesome for floating. You should be able to wade Rim Shoals at that but I don't know about Wild Cat and the other access points. My guess is yes but more limited. If I remember correctly you can wade Rim up to 3 units but the fly shop there will have to shuttle you across to the island.

NFD total capacity is 92/2=46 Mw per generator. 0 Mw on the Norfork is minimum flow. Very rarely do you see anything on the Norfork other than minimum flow, 1 full unit, or 2 full units. It is not wadable on 1 unit or 2. I was on the Norfork 2 weekends ago and they were running 2Mw. I have no clue why they were doing that and it's the first time I've fished it at that output. At 2Mw it's perfect in my opinion because it gives us about 4 inches of water so I don't have to beat my drift boat up so bad getting down it and I can still wade everywhere I want to. I doubt we'll see that again. When they start generating it takes 45 minutes for the water to get to the handicap access. Once it gets there, get out fast. In 15 minutes it's over your head. Once they turn off the generators, it takes about an hour for you to be able to fish at the dam. Can't remember exact time for the handicap access. Fish the dam for about an hour then go to the handicap and it'll probably be good to fish.

The Norfork is pretty easy because it's only 5 miles. You're either wading or you're not. The White is a little more difficult because they vary the generation much more and the river is much longer. For instance Rim Shoals is 24 miles down river. At one unit it'll take about 12 hours for the water to get there. At 8 units it'll take about 4 hours to get there.

I'll probably be up there some in January. Send me a private message and I'll give you my number so you can call and I can help in anyway. If you do decide you want a guide, my buddy Matt Milner who has Rising River Guides is awesome and will make sure you have a great time.

Josh





Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[jonbo]

Great info, Josh, thanks for posting it! Makes me glad what I posted was somewhat wrong so you could make such a detailed correction, LOL! I'm book marking it if you don't mind for next time I'm able to go to the White.

 

[MBWCC]

Use the generation schedule to build a plan, but always remember the schedule is subject to sudden, significant change.

While fishing use the Powerhouse status phone line (870 431 5311) on a regular basis to confirm the actual activity. Do so frequently.
While fishing also always pay very close attention to the water flow & depth, and the water drag on your feet. The first clue that generators have come online will be an increased tug on your shoes.

You can wade upriver on the Norfork from the handicap access area (near confluence), however, the shoreline is all private property. In order to legally exit the river you must wade back downstream to the access area. As mentioned in a previous post, once the generators are put on line you have at best 30-45 minutes to reach the handicap area and exit the river. The river may rise ~12' at the handicap access within ~45 minutes of the dam going from 0 generators (minimum flow) to 2 generators on line (full flow).

It isn't pretty -- when you feel the water tug increase or when you call the powerhouse and learn the generators are on line get out immediately. One day I noticed the water tug, called the powerhouse to confirm what I felt, and then immediately started rapidly wading back downstream. As I passed one gentleman I told him the generators were on line. He nodded "Yeah, yeah" and kept on fishing. When I reached the access area the water was up 1+ foot and rising fast. Fifteen minutes later while breaking down my gear I heard there was a fisherman trapped in a tree. I walked through the parking lot back to the river and found the water up 12' since I left it.

 

[jbcissell]

Great info, Josh, thanks for posting it! Makes me glad what I posted was somewhat wrong so you could make such a detailed correction, LOL! I'm book marking it if you don't mind for next time I'm able to go to the White.

It can be very confusing but once you figure it out it's pretty simple.


Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk