Kimberling City Area: The bite has changed a little in the last week but for the most part it has gotten better. While there are still fish to be caught in the shallow flooded timber the best bite is out away from the bank. The fish are staging in a big way for the spawn and as soon as the water warms there will be a mad rush to the bank to spawn. The best bite over all has been on a 4” Chompers single tail grub in smoke / pepper or salt and pepper rigged on a ¼ oz. jig head.

My wife, Lori, and I are teaching a fly fishing class for couples on May 17 and 18 at River Ridge Inn on the banks of the Norfork River, Arkansas’ true blue ribbon trout stream. While I have been teaching fly fishing for over fifteen years at colleges, universities fly shops, and for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Lori and I have been teaching together for the last six years. Her background in corporate training and teaching psychology at the university level make her a natural. Lori has been fishing all her life and has been a professional guide for the last six years.

Though the reservoirs on the White River system have fallen a bit, they remain precariously close to the top of flood pool. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose fell two tenths of a foot to rest at forty feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is one foot below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell five tenths of a foot to rest at fifteen feet above power pool or one foot below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell seven tenths of a foot to settle at eight and five tenths feet above power pool or one and one tenth of a foot below the top of flood pool.

The other day I was guiding on the Norfork. It was my first visit since the flood and I found that a lot of things had changed. For one, I drove up to Quarry Park to launch my boat and noted that it was closed. I drove down to the confluence and I could not use the ramp there because the road to the ramp was flooded. I launched off the road and headed up stream. The strategy was to motor up all the way to the dam and fish our way down.