Howdy everyone,

Gonna go hit the river with the wife this summer at Beavers Bend State Park and was wondering what type of critters the fish are feeding on? Any tips for what flies to use this time of year? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Keep driving up to Arkansas. The White River or the Little Red would be a lot less crowded and easier to fish.

A woollybugger is always a good fly to fling at Beavers Bend if you decide to go and dodge swimmers and rafters and canoers and kayakers and kids throwing rocks and ya-hoos wading through right where you’re fishing.

Good luck! Mash the barbs! It’s the law!

JR

Split Cane is right! It's going to be CROWDED! Although, if you hit the river early (daybreak) you might get in an hour or 2 before the crowds start to show up.

That said, i agree on the woollybugger. And small midges. Also, stop by the fly shop in the park. Super good people that own it. They'll be happy to help you with what they're biting on and where.

Lower Illinois: July 7. Elevation is normal and stable, water temperature 58°F and clear. Rainbow trout fair on caddis flies, in-line spinnerbaits, midges, nymphs, and PowerBait below the dam. Comments: Best times are during periods of low and no flow from the dam usually early morning and late evening. Best areas are below the dam and at the Watts area. Report submitted by Brek Henry, game warden stationed in Sequoyah County.

Lower Mountain Fork: July 7. Elevation is normal and stable, water temperature 69°F and clear. Rainbow trout excellent on PowerBait and small lures around creek channels, dam, and spillway. Report submitted by Mark Hannah, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.

I had thought I'd already replied to this thread. I guess not. Here goes. Fish at daybreak. Fish on weekdays, if possible. The water kind of warms up as you go downstream in mid-summer, so fish up by the Spillway, if possible. Up closer to the Spillway, the section known as "Spillway Creek", about a mile and a half, is very much pocket water. If you can get a nymph down deep in those pockets, you can have good luck. I've been having success lately with small mayfly nymphs, Pheasant Tails and Hare's Ear type things in 16 or 18. Often though, Pat's Rubberlegs work up there, which are kind of huge, so go figure.

Downstream, at the Evening Hole, I'd only fish it quite early during the summer. . I've had good luck swinging down and across something like a Bird's Nest. You might look up what it looks like on the Internet. Get something that looks similar. I seined out some emergers when fish were rising last spring. They were all messy-sloppy looking like the Bird's Nest fly. I put one on, not an actual BN fly, just something ugly and messy, not hard to find amongst my ties, and started catching fish. Now I swear by it. Otherwise, the usual mayfly-type nymphs work there, probably better than anything else.

I might start fishing at the EH about 5:30 AM. After awhile, drive upstream to "Cardiac Hill". It's the trail down to the river from the little asphalt parking area just barely downstream from the bridge over the Spillway (the small dam).

Good luck. With the tourist trap that place has become you will be there with thousands of other people. It’s not like the pre flood old days. Fly wise, it’s pretty straightforward. Any bright colored egg pattern or San Juan worm trailed by any color zebra midge, woolly bugger, nymph, scud, small streamer, really anything small that looks like food, they’re not all that complicated up there, more about getting the right drift and getting the fly down to the fish.

how does this place fish during august after school starts. During the week

Fine! I was there this morning. Again, though, until the weather finally cools off, I fish very early and up near the Spillway. I measured the water temperature up there about 6:30 AM. It was 60 Degrees. Being a weekday and very early there was no one else out at all. By the time I left, about 9, there were several other fishermen, but we were spread out over a quarter mile. So, I think your only worry will be water temps.

Seems like we need a reality check there this fall - or after school starts? Anybody want to come along?

PS - No word from DancesWithSquirrels? Perhaps desaparecido?

Retired as I am, I can meet a group at BB nearly any time. I'd definitely enjoy that.

txflycaster, when are you thinking of going, i need to get away for a few days

Tuesday - Thursday has been good from 6am to about 10:30am on the spillway creek, 4 to 5 fish per hour. Not a lot of people out at this time.

I usually do well with a size 22 bwo emerger at the bottom of a 2 or 3 nymph rig. Usually put a pats, egg, or worm on the top.

I've never fished the spillway, sounds like I'm missing out! Any tips for getting started up there?

Spillway is all higher gradient, faster water, deep pockets. You have to be able to get something down quickly. Heavy beads, maybe splitshot, using larger bobbers to support them, or euro-nymphing methods. Plenty of fish. The lower Spillway access is the good sized dirt parking lot just upstream of the big Bluffs parking lot. One Upper Spillway access is "Cardiac Hill". It's the smallish parking lot just the Park side of the road over the Spillway. Also, you can drive down the little road on the other side of the Spillway to the base of the Spillway itself and begin there. That will put you, making your way downstream, on the opposite side of the river from the Cardiac Hill access. Enjoy, and be careful. I've sort of fallen off of a little cliff there and gotten a little banged up before.