Went to Twin Bridges Wednesday. The whites are there. They are deep, and most were caught crawling the fly along the bottom. Crawdad patterns were working well. The strikes are subtle, but they can be caught.

Matt

Thanks for the report, Matt! Sounds like a good day. We've also had a couple reports of some bigger hybrids finally showing up. When that happens, the fish count might go down, but the average fish size goes way up!

Fished Richland Creek on Thursday and did very well. Afternoon saw the best action. Caught several over two pounds, and they had definitely let their eggs go (in other words, they should have been three pounders!) But other fishers said they had landed lots of fatties up the White that had yet to spawn, so looks like there should be plenty of fish in the near future.

The shoals at Richland look fantastic and should start holding some hybrids any day now. War Eagle is in fine shape, with probably the best clarity we've had yet this season and lots of fish. The recent rain didn't muck up the water, so go fishing soon-- this only comes around once a year!

--Todd

The white bass fishing has resumed! The water is still stained from the last big rain, but we managed to catch several nice whites last night. With more rain in the forecast, it would be a good idea to head to Twin Bridges sooner rather than later!

The bigger females are starting to show up higher in the rivers now.



Not sure how many we caught, but my arm sure is sore. We had lots of doubles, and even a simultaneous double hook-up!

--Todd

While the flood waters are still receding, and the river arms of Beaver Lake are still off-colored, the white bass fishing has resumed! Dave and I fished until after dark last night and managed to boat around thirty white bass! Chartreuse was definitely the best color, and with all of the high water, a sink-tip line was essential to hooking up.

The river levels are still six or seven feet higher than the river levels before the flood, but they should continue to drop out as Beaver Lake is drawn down.

Before the cold front on Saturday (3/15) the white bass fishing was really starting to pick up! So unless we get a lot of rain Monday and the high, muddy water that goes with it, the white bass fishing should be really good next week!

Thanks to the earlier time change, Bill is rigging up in his button-down shirt and slacks after work!


Bill and Dave with one of many doubles hooked up that evening!

White Bass Season 2008 has officially begun! Bill, Dave and I boated 50-60 small males Tuesday night at Twin Bridges! Nothing much over a pound, but the fish were fat and hard-fighting! Bright flies like chartreuse Clousers and Fire Tiger Jiggies worked best in the off-colored water.



So sneak out of work early, call in sick, do whatever you have to do to get on the river, because the white bass run has begun!

Michael

My dad and I fished Taneycomo Saturday (0 units running) from 9am to 4pm with Charles Blashki and John Brandebura from Ft. Smith, and numbers-wise, I can't remember a better day...ever. The fish bit almost non-stop ALL day long despite blue-bird conditions and a steady 15-20 mph wind with occasional 40 mph gusts that produced white caps and were strong enough to uproot a 10-lb. bell anchor. There was a 3-hr. stretch when virtually every cast produced a fish...and at least one occasion when all four of us and a couple next to us had simultaneously bent rods.

We caught most of the fish on soft hackles. As for the size of the fish, John landed one "as long as [his] net", but 90% of the fish caught were stocker-size rainbows. Nonetheless, it was one of those legendary, "once every 3-4 years" kind of days on the water!

David Schieffler

Thanks for the report, David, and congrats on an awesome day at Taneycomo!

John recently returned from Ascension Bay where he caught this Grand Slam on the last day of his trip—talk about a walk-off homer! He also caught two more permit and a lot more bonefish during his week of spectacular fishing!





Thanks for the pics, John, and congrats on your Grand Slam!