WHEN WILL WE GET WADABLE WATER? BY JOHN BERRY

The most often asked question that both local and out of town anglers ask me is, when will we get wadable water? I understand their concern. We have received precious little this summer. I myself prefer wade fishing and I can count the days that I have been able to wade this summer, on one hand. To say that there is some pent up demand is an understatement.

Our troubles began in early April. Before that we had some really great wading conditions that had me wading low water several times a week. The out of nowhere we had a series, of major rain events. There was a lot of runoff and the lake levels surged upward. At one time, all of the lakes in the White River System (Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Norfork) were over the top of flood pool. The Corps of Engineers open the spill gates, on all of the dams, in an effort to get the dams below flood pool. This resulted, in severe flooding, on the White and Norfork Rivers. Now after four months, of high water, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. The lakes are beginning to drop.

The White River is a series of lakes. Normal procedures call for the lake level at Table Rock to be dropped first. Today the lake level at table rock is only an inch or two above the top of power pool. That means that all of the water that has been running to draw down Table Rock will not be coming into Bull Shoals Lake. This will allow Bull Shoals to fall more quickly. Beaver is usually down when Bull is near to Power pool. This happens fast.

Then there is the funnel effect. As the water in a lake falls, the surface area of the lake is reduced. As this occurs the water level, of the lake, falls quicker just like the water, in a funnel. Therefore, as the lake level comes down, it will fall faster, with the same level, of generation.

In addition, they have increased the level of generation this week. The lake level at Bull Shoals is a bit less than twenty four feet above the top of power pool. The lake level is currently falling about one and a half feet per week. At that rate, it would take about sixteen weeks for Bull Shoals to fall to the top of power pool but with the funnel effect that could be substantially quicker. I predict that Bull Shoals could drop to power pool in ten to twelve weeks. They usually draw down Norfork at about the same rate. That would result in the possibility of wadable water in mid to late October.

This prediction is based on the same level of generation that we now have and that we do not have a major rain event. I know that that sounds like a long time but it will be here before you know it. In the meantime, the fly fishing from a boat is good some days and excellent on others.