Hooly Dooly we might be waking up to low flows for the first time in a while this morning. Once the morning storms pass it should be a very caddisy Friday. The authorities slid back the water flows from last week’s 20 000+ cfs over the course of the week sparking off the first real caddis […]

Water water everywhere nor any spot to wade. You just might need a boat. Messing with Coleridge is one way to pass the time while tying up long leaders and digging out the big split shot. It’s been a while since we had some round the clock big flows but it looks like we will […]

It’s spring time on the tailwaters caddis popping gusty winds and dealing with spring rails but the fishing has been a lot of fun. Bull Shoals Lake has officially crested after recent torrential rains and is on the way back down as the Dam has ramped up releases each day this week. Norfork has floodgates […]

Timely to repost the video I shot with fellow guide and great friend Chad Johnson during the spring of 2020 on fishing the White River’s epic caddis hatches. Every year is slightly different but there is a lot of solid information in here Listen to our great friend and colleague Chad Johnson fill you in […]

For all the furrowed brows and sweaty palms from last weekend’s torrential rain this week turned out pretty dam good. It was our first big group of the spring: four guides a day; Chef Shane prepping gourmet dinners every night and booking out the entire Commercial Hotel in Cotter to ensure everyone had private rooms. […]

I waited until April 7th to write this report because of the big rain event we had over the weekend.  I wanted to address how six inches of rain water would affect our fishery.  Now I know. Beaver and Table Rock lakes rose several feet and both have crested. Now we know about how much […] The post April 2025 Fishing Report appeared first on Lilley...

Received this cool image and letter from Jim Cole who has fished with me for 3 years now including some entertaining brown trout action last fall. Steve hope all is well. Thought you might like to see the nice Brown that we brought to your boat this past November keeping company with my first Steelhead […]

So glad to see this: good friend colleague and amazing guide Ben Levin sits down with The Ozark Podcast to talk caddis. Enjoy this weekend The White River in Arkansas has quietly become one of the premier caddis hatch destinations in the country. In this episode fly fishing legend Ben Levin joins us for an […]

“Just wait and see”. I’ve given this advice a bunch over the years and through myriad weather events. Weather is just part of the game in the outdoors and no the professional forecaster don’t get it right all the time. Rain is part of the game the bilge pump in my boat isn’t there for […]

It’s been a heck of a long time since we had scheduled low water for both the White and Norfork for Sowbug Friday. The tyers and vendors will still be around tomorrow afternoon but you can bet your life there will be a subtle migration towards the tailwaters. Saturday morning can normally be a bit […]

Since Sowbug Roundup kicks off Thursday its a good time to return to this video Davy Wotton and I shot a few years back. We billed it at the time as a Lesson in Wet Fly Techniques but it blew my mind how many awesome tying tips Davy packed into these 23 minutes. You will […]

Windy enough to blow the cream out of your coffee. That’s been the story of this week. Springtime weather has slid on in upper 70s early in the week a slap of cold morning from a front midweek and warming back up tomorrow. And that wind is definitely a spring thing in the Ozarks. But […]

Guide Paul Brown backed up  again on Monday with 3 budding fly fishers and had a hoot. Teaching 3 newcomers at the same time is no joke but the boys father Kevin was impressed by the morning. Hey Steve we had a great time with Paul today. Thanks again and my highest compliment on Paul. […]

It’s officially spring and we have an outlook for the rest of the month and an overview of why the water is so cold right now.

Spring breaks for schools in surrounding State is in full swing and the Vincent boys had an awesome time last week on Dry Run Creek with our guide Paul Brown. If you haven’t heard about Dry Run it is a partially spring fed creek which runs alongside and takes the outflow from the Norfork National […]

Once in a while every so often you hear the story about the guy who actually did get to “be here yesterday” when it all the elements come together. Jason Taylor called SDO Wednesday night saying he was bringing his wife down for a last minute trip and could he get a guide? As it […]

Kicking off a new series of fly fishing videos things to make your fly fishing life easier. Fishing tips and tactics casting fly tying gear and anything else that takes our fancy. You will be able to find it here and across our social media: YouTube Instagram and TikTok. This episode deals with one of […]

The F3T is up and moving with the release of the official 2025 Tailer of films. The 19th Annual Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) is scheduled to be back in Big Spring Park Cotter on May 24. We will try and let you know when tickets come available. Enjoy the trailer The highly anticipated 19th […]

Launching March 26 my good mate and colleague Chad Johnson’s Reel Southern Podcast. Never short of a word and most of them worth listening to this should be some awesome entertainment from one of the fishiest and funniest guys on the river. More news to come.

A flurry of activity on the shad kill below Bull Shoals yesterday and Wednesday afternoon. But the warming temperatures have scheduled flows this morning a lot lower and even the highest are short-lived which might slow things down a tad. You shoulda been here yesterday as the cliche goes. Which was the opposite for Marty […]

For the official record_ for what we think come back tomorrow am. Also read Bryan Hendricks piece for the Democrat Gazette here The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) has implemented a temporary 120-day emergency order effective immediately to reduce daily trout possession limits in the state’s four major coldwater fisheries due to a signific...