Tailwater · Limestone · Arkansas, US

White River below Bull Shoals Dam

Group fishing in boat near Bull Shoals Dam on White River
Today · About as good as it gets
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Falling
1.36 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp11.4°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather12°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1035 hPa
Rain · recent0.7 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
11°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

A dam sets this river's temperature, not the weather, so it can shift several degrees within hours when the release changes. It also warms as it runs away from the dam.

How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Damselflies & dragonflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12 Uhr

12 Uhr(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 63%
Also:Black Midge39%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 12 Uhr — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive (Eastern Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Open all year
  • AGFC 2026 rule changes (effective 1 Feb 2026) affect the Norfork Access–Hwy 58 reach — verify current reach rules against AGFC; older summaries can be wrong
  • Arkansas trout permit/licence applies.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
Norfork (North Fork) River below Norfork Dam
32 km
86
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
North Fork of the White River (upper)
48 km
83
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Group fishing in boat near Bull Shoals Dam on White River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'White River' (AR_11010003_902), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · AR_11010003_902

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 84 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 84
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts