Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists continue to evaluate some different strains of rainbows to complement their current stocking strategy. Recently, some McConaughy rainbow fingerlings were stocked in both the Little Red and the White Rivers. According to trout biologist Jeff Williams, “The fingerlings averaged about 3.5 inches in length and were marked with an adipose fin clip.”

The McConaughy rainbows (pronounced mih-KAH-nuh-hay) originate from the North Plate River Valley above Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska. There the rainbows make a natural spawning run out of the lake into the groundwater tributary streams in the winter and reproduce. The smolts then migrate into the lake for a period of 2-3 years before returning to the streams to spawn as 3-4 pound rainbows.

Williams says the trout biologists here have been investigating using other strains of rainbows in the White River tailwaters since data suggests the typical stocked rainbow is not getting the growth rate desired in the catch and release areas which have recently been studied. Williams thinks a “wilder” strain such as the McConaughy bows might be better foragers in the tailwaters. In 2008, AGFC stocked a small number of McConaughy’s in the Little Red. The high water that year foiled attempts to sample and evaluate those efforts.  A few were recaptured and those had seemed to grow extremely well.

This summer AGFC stocked about 12,500 fingerlings in the Bull Shoals Catch & Release area and an equal amount at Rim Shoals. These were stocked the end of July.  About 25,000 fingerlings were stocked in the Little Red about the same time as well. 

An initial sample was conducted last week and monthly samples in the coming year will be taken to monitor growth and survival.  The first sample at Bull Shoals dam found a pretty good number of the fingerlings, which were concentrated around the cedar trees that the AGFC habitat program had put in last year.  At Rim Shoals far fewer fingerlings were found. 

AGFC has received a verbal agreement from the Norfork National Fish hatchery to raise some McConaughy’s for the Norfork Tailwater, and Williams anticipates those to be ready within the year. 

© 2010, Scott Branyan

SOME CAMPSITES AT DAM QUARRY PARK TO TEMPORARILY CLOSE

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. – The Army Corps of Engineers will temporarily close 17 campsites at Dam Quarry Park below Norfork Dam to repair damage from 2008 flooding.  Campsites 14 through 30 will close the week of March 8 and reopen in mid-July, barring weather delays.  The park’s other 51 campsites will remain open.

Jordan Park campground is a nearby alternative in the lower portion of Norfork Lake.

The campsite renovations and paving work are part of an overall effort to repair damage incurred during the April 2008 flooding in which the access road and other park structures and utilities along the Norfork River were damaged or destroyed.

The Corps regrets any inconvenience this closure may cause, but the end result will be improved campsites and a renovated access road when work is complete.

For more information, contact the Mountain Home Project Office at 870-425-2700, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.

Additional Norfork Lake information is available on the internet at http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/norfork/index.htm, and Bull Shoals Lake information can be found at http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/bullshoals/index.html.

Here is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s 2009 Annual Report on the trout management program.

[Update 3/9/2010] Here are the specific tailwater managment plans and creel reports. You can find some of the biological objectives in the specific plans. They are generally given in fish per hours of electroshocking.

© 2010, Scott Branyan

The National Weather Service in Tulsa has posted its spring flood outlook. Long and short of it: an enhanced chance of above normal precipitation for March in Northwest Arkansas.

HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
337 PM CST FRI FEB 19 2010

…SPRING FLOOD OUTLOOK FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS…

SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL…
THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOOD CONDITIONS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS WILL BE NEAR AVERAGE THIS SPRING. EXCEPT FOR THE MAINSTEM OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER…FLOODING IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS USUALLY OCCURS IN RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC PRECIPITATION EVENTS. THE ARKANSAS RIVER MAY FLOOD IN RESPONSE TO MORE WIDESPREAD UPSTREAM CONDITIONS. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO INDICATIONS OF EXTREME HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS TO ALTER THE FLOOD POTENTIAL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

BASED ON OBSERVED SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS…OBSERVED STREAMFLOWS AND NORMAL SPRING RAINFALL PATTERNS…AN ABOVE AVERAGE FLOOD POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED THIS SPRING OVER THE WHITE BASIN IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

THIS SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK GENERALLY DEFINES THE RISK OF LONG TERM RIVER FLOODING. IT DOES NOT ASSESS THE SHORT TERM RISK OF FLOODING…PARTICULARLY FLASH FLOODING. LOCALIZED…HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL CAN CREATE FLASH FLOODING AT ANY TIME. THIS IS TRUE EVEN DURING PERIODS OF DROUGHT.

PRECIPITATION…
WATER-YEAR /BEGINNING 1 OCTOBER 2009/ RAINFALL TOTALS ARE GENERALLY NEAR AVERAGE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. HOWEVER…SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA RECEIVED ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL. ACCORDING TO THE OKLAHOMA CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY…SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA RECEIVED NEAR 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL RAINFALL AND IS RANKED AS THE 10TH WETTEST OCTOBER 1 THROUGH FEBRUARY 18 PERIOD SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1921.

RAINFALL TOTALS OVER THE LAST 60 DAYS /21 DECEMBER 2009 TO 18 FEBRUARY 2010/ WERE ALSO NEAR AVERAGE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA REMAINED ABOVE AVERAGE DURING THIS PERIOD WITH OVER 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL RAINFALL AND RANKED AS THE 12TH WETTEST PERIOD SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1921 ACCORDING TO THE OKLAHOMA CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY.

SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS…
ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA…SOIL MOISTURE IS GENERALLY ABOVE AVERAGE WITH SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA IN THE 80-95TH PERCENTILE. SOIL MOISTURE WAS IN EXCESS OF THE 90TH PERCENTILE ACROSS THE WESTERN PORTION OF ARKANSAS. SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS FOR THE WHITE RIVER BASIN IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS ARE ALSO ABOVE THE SEASONAL AVERAGE.

RIVER AND STREAM CONDITIONS…
RIVERS AND STREAMS ARE FLOWING AT NEAR AVERAGE LEVELS ACROSS MOST OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. HOWEVER THE RED RIVER IS FLOWING AT MUCH ABOVE AVERAGE LEVELS. RIVERS AND STREAMS IN WESTERN ARKANSAS ARE FLOWING AT AVERAGE TO ABOVE AVERAGE LEVELS.

LAKE AND RESERVOIR CONDITIONS…
ACCORDING TO THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS…RESERVOIRS IN THE ARKANSAS AND RED RIVER SYSTEMS WERE BOTH AVERAGING 93 PERCENT OF FLOOD CONTROL STORAGE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. BEAVER LAKE RESERVOIR IN THE WHITE RIVER BASIN HAS 85 PERCENT OF FLOOD CONTROL STORAGE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

RECENT FLOODS…
THERE HAS BEEN NO MAINSTEM RIVER FLOODING IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS SO FAR IN 2010.

DROUGHT CONDITIONS…
ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR…NO DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXIST IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION OUTLOOKS…
THE MARCH OUTLOOK FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER /CPC/ INDICATES AN ENHANCED CHANCE FOR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

THE SPRING OUTLOOK FOR MARCH-APRIL-MAY FROM CPC INDICATES AN ENHANCED CHANCE FOR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE…NEAR…AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. HOWEVER…THERE
IS AN ENHANCED CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION JUST WEST OF THE NWS TULSA HYDROLOGIC SERVICE AREA IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA.

RESOURCES…
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL AND WATER SUPPLY IS AVAILABLE AT…
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/ABRFC/WATERSUPPLY/INDEX.PHP
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TULSA

INFORMATION USED TO COMPILE THIS SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK WAS PROVIDED COURTESY OF THE ARKANSAS RED BASIN AND THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER FORECAST CENTERS…THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER…THE USACE…THE USGS…THE OKLAHOMA CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. 

$$

© 2010, Scott Branyan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District awarded a $728,750 contract Nov. 30th to Gateway Public Authority of Garfield, Arkansas. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will be used to install a waterline at the Dam Site River Park, which will modernize the park facilities. Work should already be beginning and is scheduled to be completed in July 2010.

New and enlarged bath house facilities have been completed in the last couple of years.

© 2010, Scott Branyan

[Update note: There is no archive. See the latest forecast.]

The first of the new fly-fishing forecast videos has been posted. This is an attempt to tell more of what goes into understanding the generation patterns on the tailwaters. Usual disclaimers apply (nothing official, everything subject to change!).

As this process gets easier for me, I hope to do an end-of-the-week video covering actual fly-fishing reports, hatches and fly patterns which are effective.

Here are the links to the Corps data pages I reference in the video. These are found on the Little Rock Corps District page. The graphs are already linked on the river report page. I will do some individual videos on the primary data pages from the corps to help give folks a feel for how I use them to help see trends and patterns.

Little Rock District Page

Current Conditions

Daily Reservoir Report

Forecast Elevations Report

Please let me know how you like, or not, the videos and any suggestions you might have. Thanks!

I am looking forward to a great spring of fishing,

© 2010, Scott Branyan

I managed to get a couple of guide trips in during the Christmas break week before the bottom dropped out on the weather front. One day, we had temps above freezing for the entire day. By New Year’s Day, however, the big chill returned, and we now have snow cover again and the prospect of more snow and frigid single digit temps coming in later this week. It’s just as well, I suppose, as the Corps has started running around-the-clock again at Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry powerhouses, and the flows are steadily increasing as the river stage at Newport continues to fall again.

The rain in central Arkansas during Christmas has delayed any draw down on Beaver Lake. We should see a revised forecast date sometime this week. Wade fishing at Beaver tailwater will still be possible during the non-generation periods. Generation has been occurring early in the morning or late afternoon and sometimes twice daily, so check the generation forecast from SPA the evening before. Table Rock powerhouse saw some low water New Year’s weekend. Before that, flows had been around-the-clock and averaging around 2,500 cfs.

I started a facebook page for Ozark Fly Flinger and a graphic link to it can be found on the top of the masthead menu. I’ll post events and short notices there, so check it from time to time. There is also a discussion board. Longer updates and fishing reports will continue to be found on the river report page and here on the blog. Stop by and become a fan. My personal facebook page will be where you can send your friend invites. I’ll be happy to be your friend, but please send a message with the request, so I know you are a reader of this website. Otherwise, your request may be ignored if I don’t have any clues who you are.

The 2009 photo gallery has been updated through the end of the year. Please enjoy.

Have a great first full week of 2010,

© 2010, Scott Branyan

Several things have changed since last evening. Big rains east and south have generation at Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry dams either shut down or nearly shut down today. Northwest Arkansas is under a winter storm warning and expecting several inches of snow Christmas Eve evening. Frigid temperatures are expected for the remainder of the Christmas weekend.

The corps has taken down forecast dates for lake levels on their forecast page, and it will take several days to see the effects of flooding and the precipitation totals. But this will certainly delay emptying flood pools.

I’ll post here on the blog this weekend if anything newsworthy comes up. Have a great Christmas weekend.

© 2009, Scott Branyan

Arkansas Trout Unlimited Council (the state representation of TU) has published a letter to AGFC urging the commission to repeal Option 2 and approve Option 1 (the option recommended by the staff biologists and result of the public input process) of the Trout Management Plan for Norfork tailwater recently proposed and voted on by the commission this summer and fall. It is urging Arkansas’ 1,000 TU members to contact the commission expressing support of the TU request. There is a link on the Arkansas Chapter’s website to the contacts of commissioners.

Arkansas Chapter of TU’s website is at:
http://www.arkansaschaptertu.org/

© 2009, Scott Branyan

A new Missouri record brown trout weighing 28.8 pounds was caught last Friday. See the news story. The angler, Scott Sandusky of Arnold, MO, was staying at Lilley’s Resort, and Phil posted several YouTube videos on the weigh-in and an interview in a thread on his Ozark Anglers forum.

© 2009, Scott Branyan