Tailwater · Limestone · Arkansas

White River below Bull Shoals Dam

White River below Bull Shoals Dam terrain map
Prime · Brown Trout
Sulphur Comparadun · 16-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.71 mDropping in the last 6h
  • Water temp11.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
SC
Sulphur Comparadun16-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Falling
1.71 m
Dropping in the last 6h
Water temp11.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather28°C
WindSW 8 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent4.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.6 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
11.4°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
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.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July 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
Brown Trout fly box
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
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
North Fork of the White River (upper)
43 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
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 85 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 activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 85
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
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts