Wilkinson Outdoor Adventures

Terrestrial action that was spotty in May has become much more consistent in June – and promises to be in full swing by the middle of the month.  Action has been good with rainbows below Bull Shoals dam and with warmer water temperatures in the lower river, many browns have moved upstream, resulting in concentrations of quality browns in some locations.   There have been opportunities both for wading and for fishing from the boat when the generators are on.  Wha...

The spring caddis hatches that bring some of our best fishing of the year have begun!  On warm days recently, there have been fishable hatches from below Rim Shoals up to Cotter.  This is unprecedented this early in the year – we can thank the early spring.  And it’s only going to get better…quickly…the 10-day forecast calls for most days in the 70’s.  This will warm the water enough to really get things rocking and rolling!  ...

Winter streamer fishing has been very good in recent weeks, but the big story is the first major shad kill in quite some time!   There have been shad coming through both Norfork and Bull Shoals Dams sporadically over the past couple weeks, but the first major kills happened just recently.  On the Norfork, thousands of shad came through the turbines a couple days ago, with sinking patterns taking most of the fish but some fish showed interest in floating shad imitations as...

Winter streamer fishing has been very good in recent weeks, but the big story is the first major shad kill in quite some time!   There have been shad coming through both Norfork and Bull Shoals Dams sporadically over the past couple weeks, but the first major kills happened just recently.  On the Norfork, thousands of shad came through the turbines a couple days ago, with sinking patterns taking most of the fish but some fish showed interest in floating shad imitations as...

I've been reluctant to write reports recently for several reasons due mostly to increased competition in the guide business from-out-of-staters and weekend warriors etc. I've never been reluctant to help anyone out with information but I've learned the hard way that too much information can come back to bite you. But enough of that. Certain areas of the river have been producing lots of big browns on hoppers, yes hoppers in heavy generation! The bite varies from day to day, some days 5 or 6 an...

Fall is upon us and the weather is gorgeous. The fishing ain't too shabby either! We're still getting a few big bows on the surface and the browns are starting to move. Areas holding them will vary from one day to the next but they're eating good when you find them. Water levels have been very favorable for many different techniques, both wading or drifting, we've caught quality fish on streamers, dries and nymph rigs on both the White and the Norfork. I doubt the surface bite will last much l...

Fall is upon us and the weather is gorgeous. The fishing ain't too shabby either! We're still getting a few big bows on the surface and the browns are starting to move. Areas holding them will vary from one day to the next but they're eating good when you find them. Water levels have been very favorable for many different techniques, both wading or drifting, we've caught quality fish on streamers, dries and nymph rigs on both the White and the Norfork. I doubt the surface bite will last much l...

The weather has taken a turn toward magnificent and it feels great to be on the river. The terrestrial bite has slowed a bit at BSD but we're still raising some good fish and landing a few, 6 bows between 17 and 21 inches were the prizes of the week and the 21 incher was so FAT it weighed in at 4 pounds. There are lots of big bows still hanging around in that area and I've been fortunate enough to catch a few on the surface. Further downstream, the surface bite is easy, even amateurs are clean...

The weather has taken a turn toward magnificent and it feels great to be on the river. The terrestrial bite has slowed a bit at BSD but we're still raising some good fish and landing a few, 6 bows between 17 and 21 inches were the prizes of the week and the 21 incher was so FAT it weighed in at 4 pounds. There are lots of big bows still hanging around in that area and I've been fortunate enough to catch a few on the surface. Further downstream, the surface bite is easy, even amateurs are clean...

As if the streamer fishing wasn't enough, Rob had a stellar day at Bull Shoals Dam the next day. We started around 8 am fishing 1 generator and fishing nothing but big dries(hoppers, chernobyl ants and some giant foam beetles). We had several fish blow up on different flies but the water kept rising and I was losing confidence in the surface action, and itching to go back to the Norfork with streamers. Before making the move Rob tied on a huge foam bodied diver that he uses for smallies and be...

As if the streamer fishing wasn't enough, Rob had a stellar day at Bull Shoals Dam the next day. We started around 8 am fishing 1 generator and fishing nothing but big dries(hoppers, chernobyl ants and some giant foam beetles). We had several fish blow up on different flies but the water kept rising and I was losing confidence in the surface action, and itching to go back to the Norfork with streamers. Before making the move Rob tied on a huge foam bodied diver that he uses for smallies and be...

The weather is hot but the fishing is on FIRE! Low water in the mornings has offered non stop action on rainbows from 12-16 inches on the White River with the occasional good brown and the Norfork is just incredible. Low water in the mornings is producing alot of nice rainbows, browns and cutts from 14-20+ inches. I fished the Norfork yesterday with Rob from Birmingham and decided to throw streamers when the water came up in the afternoon and it was a blast. In about four hours of fishing he l...

The weather is hot but the fishing is on FIRE! Low water in the mornings has offered non stop action on rainbows from 12-16 inches on the White River with the occasional good brown and the Norfork is just incredible. Low water in the mornings is producing alot of nice rainbows, browns and cutts from 14-20+ inches. I fished the Norfork yesterday with Rob from Birmingham and decided to throw streamers when the water came up in the afternoon and it was a blast. In about four hours of fishing he l...

Low water is here and the fishing is on fire. We're now seeing wadeable water most all day on the White providing for extremely high numbers of some really nice bows and some good browns and cutts. The temperatures have also been quite pleasant compared to the 100 degree heat we were experiencing a week ago. The lakes are only a couple of feet above pool so the current trend in generation should continue for a while. Now is a great time to get in on this action and enjoy having a bent rod all...

I have fished the Norfork for the last three days with very mixed results.   Friday was a great day. My two clients landed about 40 fish between them, including four browns ranging 19-20 inches, several bows 14-18 inches, a few decent cutts and plenty of smaller fish action.   Saturday was painfully slow. We lost four fish in the 16-20 inch range but only landed a dozen or so 12-14 inch bows. The boat traffic had the fish really put down. I did a half day today and the bit...

Fishing has been a bit spotty over the last week but other than a couple of slow days we're seeing quality fish on almost every outing.   The Norfork is still producing alot of quality browns, bows and cutts, especially during the week when fishing pressure is low and Bull Shoals Dam is holding the largest rainbows I've seen in several years, a bunch of 16-20 inchers with the occasional fish over 20. The algae flow has also decreased significantly and the lower stretches are produc...

Fishing has been a bit spotty over the last week but other than a couple of slow days we're seeing quality fish on almost every outing. The Norfork is still producing alot of quality browns, bows and cutts, especially during the week when fishing pressure is low and Bull Shoals Dam is holding the largest rainbows I've seen in several years, a bunch of 16-20 inchers with the occasional fish over 20. The algae flow has also decreased significantly and the lower stretches are producing very high...

Periods of low water have offered some explosive action on the White. The fish are really keying in on the caddis hatches and Sunday Specials have hooked many nice bows and browns recently. My two clients today probably caught a hundred fish between them all on one fly pattern, CSS's, with the largest being a nice 22 inch male brown. That was the only good brown we caught today but there were lots of nice 14-15 inch bows in the mix and most of them are fat and fighting hard. The periods of...

Periods of low water have offered some explosive action on the White. The fish are really keying in on the caddis hatches and Sunday Specials have hooked many nice bows and browns recently. My two clients today probably caught a hundred fish between them all on one fly pattern, CSS's, with the largest being a nice 22 inch male brown. That was the only good brown we caught today but there were lots of nice 14-15 inch bows in the mix and most of them are fat and fighting hard. The periods of...

I had some of Terre Haute Indiana's finest Hoosiers aboard last week. Julius,Gordon,Bob,and Jim. We fished Norfork for 2 days and finished up at the White on the last day.   Norfork was not generating when we started the first day, a lot of fish were caught that morning on Midges and Sunday Specials. When we finished lunch, the water had come up and they were generating 2 units. We fished from the ramp down to the bottom of long hole very well, and were rewarded when Jim hooked a n...

I had some of Terre Haute Indiana's finest Hoosiers aboard last week. Julius,Gordon,Bob,and Jim. We fished Norfork for 2 days and finished up at the White on the last day.   Norfork was not generating when we started the first day, a lot of fish were caught that morning on Midges and Sunday Specials. When we finished lunch, the water had come up and they were generating 2 units. We fished from the ramp down to the bottom of long hole very well, and were rewarded when Jim hooked a n...

The shad kill just never really happened.   Although I had a few good days drifting shad patterns and catching some nice fish, those days were few and far between. Fishing has been slow for the most part over the past couple of months with the exception of some low water periods which offered non stop action and some nice 18-22 inch fish.   The Norfork has really rebounded this year and is holding some big browns and bows as well as some of the biggest cutts I've seen sinc...

The shad kill just never really happened. Although I had a few good days drifting shad patterns and catching some nice fish, those days were few and far between. Fishing has been slow for the most part over the past couple of months with the exception of some low water periods which offered non stop action and some nice 18-22 inch fish.   The Norfork has really rebounded this year and is holding some big browns and bows as well as some of the biggest cutts I've seen since well befo...

The shad kill just never really happened. Although I had a few good days drifting shad patterns and catching some nice fish, those days were few and far between. Fishing has been slow for the most part over the past couple of months with the exception of some low water periods which offered non stop action and some nice 18-22 inch fish. The Norfork has really rebounded this year and is holding some big browns and bows as well as some of the biggest cutts I've seen since well before the floo...

January 15, 2010 The new year is starting out with some great fishing! We're finally getting relief from the bitter cold that has kept most of us indoors for the last couple of weeks and the high water is still providing consistent action and a host of nice browns. The last couple of days have been quite pleasurable on the river offering comfortable weather and excellent fishing. Pink san juan worms are still producing the most action and the fishing is freakishly consistent. The last...

December 16, 2009   Another great day today with the browns! My two clients from Atlanta today landed 14 browns which included three 17 inchers, an 18 incher and a few 15-16 inch fish. They also hauled in about thirty or more rainbows of which a half dozen were in the 15-16 inch range. Feeding patterns remain the same. The fish are still stacked up on the grass beds eating worms and if you know the lanes to position the boat you can really catch alot of nice fish right now. And with...

December 6, 2009 HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! Due to major computer program problems, I've been unable to write reports for quite some time. However, I think the problem has been solved and I'm back up and running. I will report on what's happening now but there is one incident from the past that is certainly worth mentioning. The Fall season was very consistent for numbers of fish but there wasn't alot in the way of sight fishing because of the consistent 2-3 generators that ran 24-7 for mo...

December 6, 2009 HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! Due to major computer program problems, I've been unable to write reports for quite some time. However, I think the problem has been solved and I'm back up and running. I will report on what's happening now but there is one incident from the past that is certainly worth mentioning. The Fall season was very consistent for numbers of fish but there wasn't alot in the way of sight fishing because of the consistent 2-3 generators that ran 24-7 for mo...

April 22, 2009 The weather has finally taken a turn for the best and fishing has been much better. I fished at Bull Shoals Dam today with a couple from Louisiana and they hammered a bunch of nice bows. Nothing huge and no brownies but a bunch of 16-18 inch rainbows gobbled up the standard red san juan worms. Multiple doubles and beautiful weather(warm and light wind) made for a really fun day. Their arms were sore by 3:00 pm and we didn't even start until 10:00 am. The forecast looks good for...

April 22, 2009 The weather has finally taken a turn for the best and fishing has been much better. I fished at Bull Shoals Dam today with a couple from Louisiana and they hammered a bunch of nice bows. Nothing huge and no brownies but a bunch of 16-18 inch rainbows gobbled up the standard red san juan worms. Multiple doubles and beautiful weather(warm and light wind) made for a really fun day. Their arms were sore by 3:00 pm and we didn't even start until 10:00 am. The forecast looks good for...