(updated 3-15-2017) Sportsman’s White River Resort
(870-453-2424) said the fishing, even though it was
cold, was similar to the previous week. Clarity of
the river is fair. Trout bite is good, with some
good catches reported for brown trout. Rainbows seem
to be favoring PowerBait and pink worms.
(updated 3-15-2017) Cotter Trout Dock
(870-435-6525) says it looks like winter waited for
spring break to occur. They received their first
snow of the year on Saturday and have had some
pretty cold days this past week. Lots of brave
fishers out there, continuing to catch lots of fish
even in snow showers. The most consistent catch has
been with shrimp and a bright-colored egg. Gold
spinners have attracted some attention from the
rainbows; the browns are responding to minnows as is
typical in the spring. They have been fishing in
very low water for a couple of months, but this week
they’re seeing some pretty big water from Bull
Shoals Dam. Be prepared to change your fishing
tactics in the middle of the day as the water rises.
Worms work very nicely as the water level increases.
Happy St. Patrick's Day; stay safe and keep fishing.
(updated 3-15-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said that last week, a
couple of rain events combined for about three
quarters of an inch in Cotter, along with milder
then cold temperatures and heavy winds (to include
lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals
rose 0.3 feet to rest at 7.6 feet below seasonal
power pool of 659 feet. This is 43.6 feet below the
top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock remained
steady at 8.2 feet below seasonal power pool and
24.2 feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake
rose 0.5 feet to rest at 9.3 feet below seasonal
power pool and 18.9 feet below the top of flood
pool. On the White, we had significant wadable water
with almost no generation. On the White, the bite
has been spotty. Some days have been excellent and
some poor. The hot spot has been the
catch-and-release section at Rim Shoals. 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 (John’s current
favorite is a size 14 hare and copper nymph with a
size 18 ruby midge suspended below it). Berry says
the caddis hatch is their best hatch of the year and
it should arrive soon. He says he has already
observed a few caddis on the Norfork tailwater and
on the White. With the lower lake levels they should
have perfect flows to target this hatch. Before the
hatch, when the trout are feeding on the surface but
you see no insects, use a soft hackle like John’s
Green Butt or a partridge and orange. When the trout
begin to target insects on the surface of the water,
switch over to an elk hair caddis. Match your fly to
the hatching insect based on size, shape and color.
Berry adds, “Late last week I guided Lynn, a regular
client, and two of his buddies. While Lynn is an
accomplished angler, John and Mark either had never
fly-fished or had little experience. I began the day
with a brief casting class. When I am guiding three
anglers in the boat, I only have two fishing at a
time to limit the tangles due to the close proximity
of the fly-fishers. We were fishing at Rim Shoals.
The weather was cool, the sky was overcast and the
wind was unrelenting. The parking lot was at maximum
capacity because, in addition to the guides that
fish there regularly, there were several additional
guides that generally work the Norfork fishing
there. They told me that the Norfork was fishing
poorly and they thought the fishing would be better
at Rim Shoals.
“In fact, the going was slow, despite having a
stellar day here, on the day before. We were fishing
a size 16 pheasant tail nymphs tied on a jig hook
with a slotted copper bead and a ruby midge as a
dropper. We caught few fish in the morning. I talked
with many of the other guides as we passed on the
river and all said that the bite was slow. I pumped
the stomachs of the few fish we caught and noted
that they had not been feeding.
About 10:30 a.m., the wind picked up. It was colder
to me than was forecast. I was wearing a cotton
turtleneck, a down sweater and a rain jacket and I
was freezing. I motored over to the ramp and got my
rain bibs, a fleece-lined jacket, some wool
fingerless gloves and a warmer hat. John was also
cold so I loaned him a down vest I had in the boat.
We returned to the water and were much more
comfortable. We fished until lunch and picked up a
precious few more trout.
“Lynn had been letting his buddies do all the
fishing for most of the day. He finally decided to
fish some. The going was slow and though Mark and
John landed several, he had not hooked a trout. All
of a sudden I saw his indicator go down and yelled
out, “Ho!” He set the hook and immediately felt a
good fish. I could tell by the bend in his rod and
the way the fish was moving that it was a trophy. It
was hugging the bottom like a brown.
“I ran to the front of the boat and pulled my drag
chain up on the deck so that there was nothing the
fish could get tangled in. Mark pulled in his line
and we just sat there and watched Lynn fight the
fish. It took run after run and circumnavigated the
boat a couple of times. Lynn kept constant pressure
on the fish and took his time. After about ten
minutes the fish finally gave up and surrendered to
the net. One of the guys had videoed the fight.
“When we looked in the net we saw a gorgeous
twenty-four-inch brown trout with good girth and
gorgeous color. It had spit the hook in the net.
Lynn had landed a trophy brown trout on a size
eighteen ruby midge. That is not much metal to hold
a fish that big and that hot. We posed for a few
photos and then carefully released the brown
unharmed into the river. It was the only trout Lynn
landed that day and was the biggest brown that he
had ever landed.
“Sometimes one trout is all you need.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 651.59 feet msl (normal
conservation pool – 659.00 msl).
(updated 3-8-2017) Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock said
great fishing at the lake has started early this
year. The water temps are staying in the low 50s
around the lake. The dogwood trees, redbud trees and
marigolds are all blooming now. That usually doesnt
happen until mid-April or so. If we don-t get some
type of cold snap or snow then things should start
soon. We fish year around and you can fish every
day. However, the easier fishing is keyed to water
temperature. The fish will move up to shallower
water to feed and try to get fat before they spawn.
With the early spring we are having this is going to
happen early it looks like. The lake is still low
around 10 feet. The state of Arkansas and southern
Missouri is in a moderate drought. All of the lakes
are lower then normal for this time of year.
Visibility is great. Bass fishing continues to be
great and hasn't really slowed up over the winter.
There are several patterns working depending on who
you talk to. Swimbaits, crankbaits, jigs, Carolina
rigged lizard, jerkbaits for the shallow running
patterns. A-rigs in deeper water along with
drop-shots. Spooning is still working on bright
sunny non-windy days. Walleye are in staging for
spawn. They are being caught in shallow water on
stickbaits on warmer windy nights. We are catching
mostly males they are spraying when put in boat.
Colder nights they seem to be deeper and not on the
bank as much. Crankbaits and jigs are working for
the deeper patterns. Some white bass are being
brought in. They are finding them way back in the
creeks in the warmer colored water. Yes it is early
but everything is early this year.
Norfork Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 545.23 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: September-April – 553.75 msl,
April-September – 552.00 msl).(updated 3-8-2017) Tom
Reynolds of STR Outfitters says March’s first week
of weather keeps pushing their spring up by three
weeks for fishing. The trees are in full bloom, the
water temperature is climbing up and is now in the
mid-50s, and the fish are biting all over the lake.
Crappie, bass, stripers and hybrids are being caught
very shallow for this time of year. Tom says he has
seen schools of stripers in waters less than 15
feet. If you present the right bait, you will catch
fish. Right now, stripers are hitting threadfin and
gizzard shad. Some days size does not matter but
other days the stripers seem to want the small
3-inch baits. Find the warmest off-color water with
bait and you will find feeding stripers. Make sure
you’re on the water before sunrise as it’s an early
bite; this will change when the time changes, but
for now it’s an early rise to be in place to catch
the stripers. All these things point to a very early
spring. But a cold blast could send the bite back a
week, so let’s hope for a continuation of this
weather. Some brave guys have started fishing for
stripers at night with some success, so get your
stickbaits ready. The night bite will get in full
force if the warm south winds continue.
Tom said he and his son have been doing some
pre-fishing looking for active fish for their
upcoming trips. Tom has been fishing the north
section of the lake up around Fout Marina. There is
lots of bait and schooling stripers and hybrids that
are feeding early. Tom’s son, Sean, has been fishing
the Brushy Creek and Big Creek areas and finding
numerous schools of stripers. On Friday he took
their friend Kyle out looking for stripers. When
they shut the boat down they stopped right on a
school of stripers. They started getting bites right
away and caught five in a very short time, the bite
lasted for 45 minutes and then the stripers shut
down. They were still in the area but would only
mouth the bait. They hooked up with nine stripers
but only boated five, yet for that short time they
had a lot of action.
(updated 3-8-2017) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort said Norfork Lake has entered the
early spring bite pattern. Some species are spawning
and others are moving out of the deep, cold water to
shallower water following the shad. The shad are
moving shallower due to the warmer water. Walleye
and white bass have started their early spring spawn
while other species are feeding very heavily on
threadfin shad. The flowering trees have blossomed
out and the redbuds are just starting to bloom.
Remember the old saying that when the dogwoods are
in bloom the crappie are not far behind on their
spawn. Well, Lou says, he bets the crappie are not
far away from moving into the shoreline. The lake
water warmed quickly this year and is still 2-5
degrees warmer than past years. Last year the
surface temperature in the morning was around 50 and
two years ago it was in the upper 40s. Yesterday our
morning surface temperature was 54.5 degrees. As
always, the surface temp warms several degrees more
during the afternoon with the warm sun. The striped
bass bite has been good. They have moved to the
shallower water of the major creeks. Lou is finding
big schools of fish roaming large flats as well as
close to the creek channels. Sunday he was fishing
with a friend with live shad. They were in 40 feet
of water and a school came under them with fish from
15 feet to 40 feet. All of sudden one pole got
buried, then the second, and so forth. They had four
big stripers and hybrids hooked at the same time and
it was total chaos on Lou’s boat. They ended up
landing three of the four, with one getting too
close to the motor and cutting the line. (That must
have been Kyle's 40 pounder, Lou said with a smile).
Locations vary, but Lou likes to fish secondary
points that have the creek channel swinging in close
to the shore. Lou says he has found fish both on the
deeper bluff line side, as well as, points on the
shallower side. The best bite at this time, for him,
has started around 9 a.m. and goes until the early
afternoon. Live bait is working great, but spooning
has also picked up a few fish. Tolling with
swimbaits or Alabama rigs are also working very
well. You need to get your baits down to around
20-40 feet deep as the fish are at all levels. Lou
has also started to fish after dark when the wind
allows him. His first time out for the evening was
after he wrote his last fishing report and he landed
a couple stripers. He has fished several other times
after dark and caught either stripers or hybrids
each time. The fish have started to feed after dark,
so check the hooks on your suspending stick baits
and find a good shallow point with deep water close
and give it a try. It is a blast hooking into a
large striper when you cannot see anything and
everything is by feel. A couple of Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort Facebook followers read his last
report and headed out after dark and landed a couple
really nice fish.
Lou adds that largemouth bass are also starting to
move a little closer to the shoreline. He has caught
a few in the early morning up tight throwing a jerk
bait, but most have been on the short side. He
suggests looking at about 15-30 deep off of bluff
line points. Some will be suspended, but the bigger
ones will be on the bottom. It will not be long
until they start moving in with a vengeance and
start their pre-spawn feed. Another great spot to
fish will be brush piles in 20-30 feet of water. The
bass will be hanging around the outsides of the
brush watching for those shad that decide to venture
away from the brush. Plastics worked along the
bottom are working and crank baits are starting to
pick up some nice fish. White bass are still back in
the creeks and coves finishing up their spawn. Try
casting out Rooster Tails or Road Runners up close
to the shoreline and retrieve slowly. You will also
start to pick up some nice crappie fishing this way.
After the majority of white bass finish up spawning,
they will start moving out to the flats and then
topwater action for whites will start. Lou says he
looks forward to this time, as it is a blast. He is
seeing a few whites come up early in the morning,
but nothing to get real excited about yet. Norfork
Lake level rises slowly when power generation stops
and drops when the generators are turned back on.
Currently minimal generation is occurring and the
lake level was at 546.16 for this report. The
surface water temperature in the morning has been
53-55 degrees depending on how far back in the
creeks you go. The water is stained back in the
creeks and the main lake is clear to partly stained.
North Fork River (Norfork Tailwater)
(updated 3-15-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said Norfork Lake rose
by last Friday 0.5 feet to rest at 7 feet below
seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and 33.2 feet
below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had
less generation with more wadable water. There has
been more wadable water on the Norfork but it has
fished poorly. Daphnia has been spotted on the upper
river and could adversely affect the bite. The most
productive flies have been small midge patterns
(sizes 18, 20, 22) like ruby midges, root beer
midges, zebra midges (black or red with silver wire
and silver bead) and soft hackles (sizes 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 18
inches below a brightly colored San Juan worm (hot
fluorescent pink or cerise size 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.
John’s favorite rig has been a hare and copper nymph
with a ruby midge dropper. Dry Run Creek has been
very crowded due to spring break. The hot flies have
been sowbugs (size 14), Y2Ks (size 12) and various
colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot
fluorescent pink and cerise size 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. Remember that the White and
Norfork Rivers and Dry Run Creek are infected with
didymo, an invasive alga. Be sure and thoroughly
clean and dry your waders (especially the felt soles
on wading boots) before using them in any other
water. Many manufacturers are now making rubber
soled wading boots that are easier to clean and are
not as likely to harbor didymo.
Buffalo National River
(updated 3-15-2017) Berry Brothers Guide Service
(870-453-2424) said the Buffalo is navigable. With
warm weather, the smallmouths should be more active.
Berry’s 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 3-15-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said the creek is
navigable. With warm weather, the smallmouths should
be more active. Berry’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.
