The Beaver Lake level will fall and the White River will rise starting Monday when roundthe-clock power generation begins at Beaver Dam.
That’s good news for lakeanglers weary of high water that tends to scatter the fish, particularly cover seekers like black bass and crappie.
It’s bad news for trout fishermen who cuss the high, fast water. It shouldn’t be - if you have a boat.
Drifting in a boat with the current is the way to put trout on the stringer. Launch a fishing boat, canoe or kayak and getready for some of the best trout fishing on the tailwater.
The longer power generation goes on, the better the fishing seems to get. One trip during a previous 24/7 generation event was unforgettable.
A couple of winters ago I finagled my way into a boat with fishing guide Lisa Mullins of Eureka Springs and her son, Junior.
The White River below Beaver Dam was a fast, high slick rocketing toward Table Rock Lake. We launched her boat at Houseman Access seven miles downstream from the dam.
So high was the river that it raced through shoreline trees.
You’d think the floodgates were open instead of both generatorscranking at the dam.
If I hadn’t fished with Lisa before, I’d swear there wasn’t a wish of catching trout from this torrent. But I knew better.
The key is fi shing current seams where fast current meets slack water, usually close to shore.
A small outboard pushed her john boat toward an eddy the size of a farm pond near the Bertrand launch ramp. Lisa and Junior lobbed countdown Rapalas and gold Buoyant Spoons.
Mom and son let the lures sink, then twitched them through the current seam.
We hadn’t been at the spot five minutes before a footlong rainbow trout wiggled inthe bottom of the boat. Junior caught it on the spoon.
The line where fast water met slow offered up a nice mess of rainbow trout. Lisa coached that trout lurk in the slower water and wait to pounce any food that drifts by in the faster fl ow.
We eddy-hopped upstream past Parker Bend where Junior caught a beautiful brown trout, its belly the color of cream and sides adorned with round, blackish spots.
I can’t recall how many trout we caught that trip, but it was a bunch. And I don’t recall seeing another fi sherman on the river.
Power generation? Bring it on.
FLIP PUTTHOFF IS OUTDOORS EDITOR.
Outdoor, Pages 8 on 12/31/2009