Fishing Report June 11, 2011

Our longtime guests Bob & Vicki Leggit from St. Louis, MO have been camping at White Buffalo and fishing the White River for the past eight days.

Hear what they have to say about the River and fishing prospects at the moment.

Low Water on the White River

Praise God and Thank You Army Corps of Engineers, Bull Shoals Dam is SHUT DOWN today and our water is dropping steadily. After all the high water we've had in the last month, we are ready for the break. High water makes for great fishing, but it tends to scare off some of our more faint-hearted fishermen.

Just a quick plug- this is IDEAL water for fly fishing, we have two guests getting ready to go try their flies out now.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Did you have a reservation with us this past week but were skeptical about river conditions and fishing not being up to par? Did you cancel or reschedule your long awaited trip because of reports of flooding and high water? I'm here to report the fishing conditions the last three days have been phenomenal with one group tallying up to 86 fish caught in one day between the public access and our boat dock and another boat in the same party on the same day reporting 67 fish caught in the same area. In addition to the great fishing, the weather has been gorgeous and Bull Shoals has been generating nice and easy with 3 units- allowing our fishermen to get above the shoals if they want to. Wish you were here...

The Morning After

Oh No, Not Again?!

Just as our busy season was beginning to get underway, another UNPRECEDENTED amount of rainfall was recorded this past week at the White Buffalo Resort and surrounding areas. River levels did not reach 2008 highs, but over 11" of rain came down making it touch and go over a three day period from Easter Sunday to Wednesday of Easter week. THANK YOU to all who called, sent e-mails, or came down to the resort with offers of prayers, help, and support. We are open and anticipate clear water and excellent fishing to resume this weekend. Please continue to pray for all those who did experience flooding and devastation from tornadoes and other storms in the area.

Current River Conditions

So many of our friends and customers are calling to ask "How are You?" and "How's the River?" that I am posting this report as of today 4-15-08.

Bull Shoals Dam is at & over capacity with a level of 695.02 feet. They have all 8 units generating with emergency spillways online which is equivalent to 2 extra units or 5,625 csf of water. The Corp of Engineers is managing the water so as not to add to the complications downriver at Norfork Dam. They closed the emergency spillway gates at Norfork today at 3:00 p.m.

The White River is running high and fast but has a long way to go before exceeding the banks. We are encouraging our guests to allow us to arrange for guides who are familiar with high water fishing and are experienced boatsmen.

The weather is beautiful today but there is a storm out west that will either split and miss us or bring more showers.

Guests who came right after the March flood said the fishing was never so good.

If we could predict anything beyond what we know today...but we all know that's not possible. These are unprecedented conditions. That's about all we can say with assurance.

When you make your plans to visit the Ozarks, we hope you'll stay with us.

Neither Down Nor Out...

One of the drawbacks of being "Where the Rivers Meet" is that there's no escaping the water. All bets were off the third week of March as Arkansas and Missouri received catastrophic rain and thunderstorms over the course of two days. Our property was doused with 12 full inches. Needless to say, records were broken on both the White and Buffalo Rivers with the Buffalo cresting approx. 30' over flood stage. We got a little wet...
Our campground, Camper Cabins and office ended up under water and while the clean-up has been a hassle, it's far from impossible.
As far as business is concerned, we have remained fully operational (albeit slightly disorganized) over the past few weeks. Our Deluxe Cabins and Lodges, docks, boats, and full hook-up RV sites remained unscathed throughout the Great Flood of '08. All previous bookings remain intact and we are always accepting new reservations. Believe it or not, the fishing is great too. As our guides keep telling us: "Fish LIKE water..."
We would like to take this opportunity also to thank everyone for their prayers, support and help during our time of need. Springtime seems to have set in at last, and we encourage you to come enjoy the river with us.