May has been a great month for us here at White Hole Resort. We’ve stayed very busy with both fly fishing and spin fishing trips on the White River, along with several large guided groups through the lodge.
These group trips are something we truly enjoy because of how consistent the overall guest experience becomes. A good lodge breakfast and fresh sack lunch before a full day on the river, followed up with one of our barbecue dinners back at the lodge, has pretty much been the rhythm around here lately. We’ve also had some excellent catches from several of our younger anglers this month, which is always one of the coolest parts of guiding this time of year.
White River Fly Fishing Report – Late May Bug Activity
The fly fishing side has been especially interesting lately as the river begins transitioning between major hatches.
The caddis hatch has started to taper off around the White River, although we’re still seeing the occasional late afternoon push of bugs. Those windows have become less frequent over the last week or so, and attention is beginning to shift toward the incoming sulphur hatch.
We’re seeing more and more mayfly nymphs in the system now, which is usually a strong indicator that the sulphurs are not far behind. We haven’t seen heavy dry fly activity around the lodge quite yet, but farther downriver anglers are already starting to encounter emerging bugs and more consistent mayfly activity.
Standard mayfly nymph patterns are beginning to come into play, especially when mixed with yellow hotspot variations that really imitate those early sulphur tones well. If you’re coming to fish the White River over the next couple weeks, now is the time to start stocking up your mayfly boxes.
This year’s caddis hatch came on hard, stayed consistent longer than expected, and honestly surprised a lot of us with how sustained the fishing remained. Because of that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the sulphur hatch show up around the lodge in a major way over the next 7–10 days.
Outside of the hatch-specific bugs, the staples continue to produce. Girdle bugs have remained very consistent, and the ruby and root beer midges are still absolute bread-and-butter patterns day in and day out.
Streamer Fishing & Fishing the Water Windows
Personally, what I’ve been doing on most of my guide days lately is heavily focusing on fishing the water windows and adjusting start times around generation schedules.
That flexibility has allowed us to capitalize on some very legitimate streamer fishing over the last couple weeks. Honestly, this style of fishing is one of my favorite aspects of the White River.
Blane Chocklett’s Game Changer platform flies have been especially productive for us lately, particularly with both deer hair and craft fur variations. Fish have been extremely aggressive during those generation pushes, and larger flies have been a great way to trigger some of those bigger, predatory eats.
A lot of anglers think 7- and 8-weight rods with big articulated flies are strictly a winter thing on the White River, but in reality, it’s much more of a conditions-based game. When water starts moving and fish get aggressive, those bigger streamer setups absolutely shine.
One thing we really focus on with our fly fishing program at the White Hole is flexibility throughout the day. Because we’re located directly on the river, we’re able to move trips around and fish when the water conditions are best for a strong brown trout bite.
We believe that approach gives guests the best possible opportunity to experience the White River at its best — and honestly, it makes guiding a lot more fun for us too.
If you’re looking to plan a White River fly fishing trip in Arkansas over the next several weeks, our guide program will put you in a great position to capitalize on the best bites while you stay with us at White Hole Resort. The mix of changing bug life, moving water opportunities, and aggressive fish has made for varied and satisfying fishing as of late.
