More reports and other videos are on the Cotter
Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report
September 28, 2016. Bull Shoals Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the
lake’s elevation at 658.13 feet msl (normal conservation
pool – 659.00 msl).
(updated 9-21-2016) K Dock Marina reported lake level
has dropped enough to get the lower road above water for
access. Courtesy ramp is also out of the water and is
usable. Current level is 659 feet msl. K Dock has three
bass tournaments scheduled for this fall. The first is
this Saturday, Sept. 24, a benefit for the local Lions
Club. The tourney has a 50/50 payout. Take off will be
at 8 a.m. with weigh-in at 3 p.m. Entry is $50 per boat
with $10 optional big bass side pot available. Early
signup will begin Friday at 8 a.m. Other tournaments are
a benefit for Chadwich (Mo.) High School on Saturday,
Oct. 15 and the 3rd annual K Dock Fall Bass Tournament
on Sunday, Oct. 23. Call the marina for more details
(417-334-2880).
White River (Bull Shoals Tailwater)
(updated 9-28-2016) Sportsman’s White River Resort
(870-453-2424) reported perfect river conditions for
fishing. Two generators were running on the dam at most.
Trout are biting good, with some great catches of
rainbows. Browns are biting really well at night.
Spinners are working well for the fish.
(updated 9-28-2016) Ron Gamble at Cotter Trout Dock said
they’re starting to see some nip in the air – autumn's
finally popping out. Cool mornings, warm days, perfect
weather for float fishing on the White for trout. The
rainbow catch has been fabulous; they're snapping up the
shrimp and worm combo. Good sizes among the catch, too;
there were several rainbows measured at 16 inches or
above. Catch-and-release certificates are being rewarded
and soon the new pins will be available to show off on
your favorite good-luck fishing cap. Ron is seeing
grasshoppers out there now, so they know the hopper
patterns and baits should lure some trout to the
fishers; good for a tr,y anyway. Ron says, come out and
spend some time with us on the river – you won't regret
it.
(updated 9-28-2016) John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide
Service (870-453-2424) reported one rain event with a
bit over an inch of rainfall at Cotter, warm
temperatures and moderate winds last week. The lake
level at Bull Shoals fell 0.9 feet to rest at 2.2 feet
below seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is 36.2 feet
below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell
0.2 feet to rest at 6.2 feet below seasonal power pool
and 20.2 feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake
rose 0.8 feet to rest at 4.3 feet below seasonal power
pool and 12.9 feet below the top of flood pool. On the
White, we had heavy generation in the afternoon with
wadable water on some mornings and the bite has been
excellent. The hot spot has been Wildcat Shoals, where
there is some wadable water. The hot flies were olive
Woolly Buggers (sizes 8, 10), Y2Ks (sizes 14, 12),
prince nymphs (size 14), zebra midges (black with silver
wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver
bead sizes 16, 18), pheasant tails (size 14), ruby
midges (size 18), root beer midges (size 18), pink and
cerise San Juan worms (size 10), and sowbugs (size 16).
Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (my
current favorite is a size 14 hare and copper nymph with
a size 18 ruby midge suspended below it). The best bet
for large trout has been to bang the bank with large
articulated streamers delivered with heavy 24-30-foot
sink tips (350 grains or heavier) on bigger water. You
will need an 8- or 9-weight rod. This is heavy work but
the rewards can be great.
John also reports: “As many of you know, my wife, Lori,
and I have been teaching a basic fly fishing class at
Arkansas State University Mountain Home, for several
years. Our fall class is scheduled for four Thursday
nights (6-8 p.m.) on Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 27 on the ASUMH
campus. This is the perfect place for us to hold our
classes. It is conveniently located just off the U.S.
62/412 by pass across the street from the Donald W.
Reynolds Library in Mountain Home. There is ample
parking, a nice lawn for us to teach casting and a great
class room for us to teach in. When we moved here 16
years ago, we left careers in the corporate world. I was
a CPA working for Ducks Unlimited, and Lori was a
counselor working in marketing and corporate training
for a large psychiatric hospital. The idea was to
simplify our lives, concentrate our efforts on fly
fishing guiding and teaching and enjoying the laid-back
lifestyle here in the Twin Lakes area. We have never
regretted our move. We have been successful, in
establishing ourselves in new careers and making a
living doing what we love to do. Hands down, the
favorite part of our new careers is the teaching.
Working with new fly fishers is very rewarding to us.
Though Lori has been teaching fly casting for 15 years
and I have been teaching it for over 25 years, she is
the better casting instructor and therefore leads the
casting instruction. I concentrate on bring my 25 years
of guiding to bear when leading the classroom portion of
the class. I teach things like equipment (what to buy
and what not to buy), water safety, knots, rigging, fly
selection and reading the water, to name a few. Half of
the class is devoted to casting instruction (with an
emphasis on personal attention) and half is devoted to
the class room. I assist Lori on the casting and she
assists me in the class room. We have slowly improved
the curriculum over the years to keep everything simple
and easy to comprehend. This is all taught in a
comfortable, non-threatening atmosphere, where questions
are welcome. It is the perfect opportunity for anyone to
learn how to fly fish. Couples find it to be a great
place to share a new endeavor. The university has made
everything easy by developing a website for effortless
enrollment in the class. Just go to
https://asumh.edu/services/community-education.html and
sign up. If you do not have access to a computer, call
Sarah Sikes at (870) 508-6105. There is a nominal fee,
for the class. If this sounds like something that you
would be interested in, please sign up. Lori and I look
forward to working with you.
Norfork Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the
lake’s elevation at 553.73 feet msl (normal conservation
pool: September-April – 553.75 msl, April-September –
552.00 msl).(updated 9-28-2016) Tom Reynolds of STR
Outfitters said this past week instead of cooling down,
Norfork Lake went up in water temperature. Tom said that
at the time he was reporting, the lake is at 83 degrees
from Udall to Big Creek. The stripers have shut down.
Tom said he fished four times again from Udall to Big
Creek looking for feeding stripers and did not have a
bite. He has canceled five trips and will continue to
until the lake cools down. There are some guides taking
out clients but Tom said he will not when he knows there
are no stripers to catch. His best advice is stay home
until the weather takes a turns cold. The lake needs to
get into the low 70s for the upper lake stripers to turn
on and into the high 60s for the mid- to lower lake sees
any real activity. The white bass and largemouth are
feeding early on small fry in the 101 and Hand Cove
areas and above Fouts. The weather forecast calling for
highs in the 70s and lows in the low 60s. We should see
some water cooling but until we get a hard cold rain,
the lake will not drop much at once. It will over time,
but for now switch to other species or watch baseball
and football. Tom said he and his son, Sean, will
continue to prefish this week trying to find active fish
but he did not expect much until next week.
(updated 9-14-2016) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said the lake is in the final stages of the late
summer fishing pattern. Water depth is falling very
slowly and currently sits at 553.74 feet msl. Periodic
power generation is occurring daily. The main lake is
clear and the creeks and coves are still stained. As the
lake water cools and the oxygen returns to all depths,
the fish will scatter to all parts and depths of the
lake. The surface water temperature is slowly falling
each day, was in the low 80s one morning this week, and
it’s expected we’ll see the upper 70s very soon. Lou
said there has been little change with fishing since his
last report. Striped bass fishing is still the best in
the dam area. The early morning and late afternoon bites
are the best, and the fish continue to be caught in
25-35 feet of water whether on the bottom or suspended
in deeper water. Lou said he is starting to find a few
stripers heading upriver and also back in the mid-lake
creeks, but no big schools at this time. It will not be
long, though. Live shad, either threadfin or gizzards,
are working the best, but vertical jigging spoons and
casting blade baits worked on the bottom are also
picking up some nice fish. The biggest fishing change
has been with largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass.
Lou has located some nice topwater action at sunrise,
but it only lasts 30-60 minutes. It's plenty of time to
have some fun with a Zara Spook. Lou says the best place
he’s found has been back in a creek that has the old
river channel swing in close to shore. The fish are
hitting a little bit of everything when they are active.
He has been using a fluke, Rat-L-Trap, Kastmaster and a
Zara Spook, and all of these baits have landed some nice
fish. Most of the big spotted bass have hit live bait
set at 24 feet. Large flats are another good area to
fish. Look in the 25-35 feet depths and you will find
scattered schools of white bass, largemouth bass,
crappie, catfish and walleye. Lou has been vertical
jigging a spoon on the flats and once he finds the bait,
he said he finds the fish right in the same spot.
(updated 9-14-2016) Guide Steve Olomon of Steve’s Guide
Service said the Norfork Lake level is 554 and the water
temperature is in the low 80s. Look for the stripers
early in the morning suspended 30 feet off points and in
coves. They can be on the bottom or out in deeper water
as the sun gets higher and will move deeper from 30 to
50 feet. Steve said he found some stripers and hybrids
in Koso Bay this week and there were a few coming up
chasing shad bait fish, but was over in about five
minutes. There were stripers down under the topwater
fish and the only thing I could get them to hit was an
in-line spinner. They would not hit a spoon. Look for
the stripers within a few miles of the dam. When the
water temperature starts cooling down they will move up
in the creeks and back up in the lake. There will be
stripers still down around the dam area. The bass are
coming up hitting topwater baits early (Zara Spooks).
Steve found some in a creek along a deep channel swing.
Marked some suspended fish (at 30 feet) in 90 feet of
water and dropped a jigging spoon and caught some nice
Kentucky bass. Also caught some on jigs in 15-25 feet of
depth on some flats.
North Fork River (Norfork Tailwater)
(updated 9-28-2016) John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide
Service (870-453-2424) said Norfork Lake rose 0.4 feet
to rest at 1.8 feet below seasonal power pool of 555.75
feet and 26 feet below the top of flood pool. On the
Norfork, we had reliable wadable water every morning,
with light generation in the afternoon. The Norfork has
fished better on the lower water and has not been as
crowded with wadable water on the White. The most
productive flies have been small midge patterns (#18,
#20, #22) like ruby midges, root beer midges, zebra
midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead)
and soft hackles (#14, #16) like the green butt. Egg
patterns have also been productive. Double fly nymph
rigs have been very effective. Try a small bead headed
nymph (zebra midge, copper John or pheasant tail)
suspended eighteen inches below a brightly colored San
Juan worm (hot fluorescent pink or cerise #10). There
have been reliable hatches of small midges (try a size
24 Adams parachute) and caddis (try a size 18 elk hair
caddis). The fishing is better in the morning. My
favorite fly has been the green butt. Dry Run Creek has
been less crowded with school back in session. It has
fished a bit better and is yielding some trophy trout.
The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and
various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot
fluorescent pink and cerise #10). While you are at the
creek you should visit the Norfork National Fish
Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your
waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic
diseases.
Buffalo National River
(updated 9-28-2016) Berry Brothers Guide Service
(870-453-2424) said the Buffalo is navigable. The
smallmouths are still active. His favorite fly is a
Clouser minnow. Carefully check the water level before
entering the Buffalo River. There are no dams, it has
large drainages and is prone to flooding during and
following any rain event. The water can rise very
quickly.
Crooked Creek
(updated 9-28-2016) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service (870-453-2424) said Crooked Creek is navigable.
The smallmouths are still active. John’s favorite fly is
a Clouser minnow. Carefully check the water level before
entering Crooked Creek. There are no dams, it has large
drainages and is prone to flooding during and following
any rain event. The water can rise very quickly.
