(updated 3-22-2017) Sportsman’s White River Resort
(870-453-2424) said water was clear and the river was
low with a slow flow with little generation. It proved
to be good fishing for trout. Use PowerBait for
rainbows. Patient fishermen were reporting success with
the browns.
(updated 3-22-2017) Cotter Trout Dock
(870-435-6525) says, “What a week on the White! Spring
break brings lots of old friends to town and introduces
new ones, and the river never fails to surprise
newcomers.” The rainbow catch seems to be bringing in
more quality bows, although the total count may be
smaller than some previous seasons. After two days with
some amount of generation, the water level has
stabilized, very low, so they’re seeing anglers
anchoring over favorite fishing holes with enough weight
to get deeper. Garlic-scented bait and Power Eggs with
or without sparkle are catching the eye of the rainbows.
Add some shrimp and catch even more. Cutthroats and
browns continue to answer the call of the minnow.
"Celebrate spring, come fish the White!"
(updated 3-22-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide
Service (870-453-2424) said that during the past week,
they have had rain and snow (combined for about a
half-inch in Cotter), cold temperatures to include
freeze advisories) and heavy winds. The lake level at
Bull Shoals rose 0.3 feet to rest at 7.3 feet below
seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is 43.3 feet below
the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose 0.2
feet to rest at 8 feet below seasonal power pool and 24
feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose 0.8
to rest at 8.5 feet below seasonal power pool and 18.1
feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, they had
significant wadable water with more 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 this is their best caddis hatch of the year
and should arrive soon. 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 Berry’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 also says of the annual Sowbug Roundup this week
in Cotter: “What began 20 years ago as a small fly-tying
show at the Youth Center in Cotter has now turned into
the best fly-tying show in the South, and possibly the
top show in the United States. It draws tyers from all
over the country and from other countries. I have been
involved with it ever since I moved here 18 years ago,
first as a seminar presenter, then a fly-tyer (they
lowered the standards so that I could participate), then
I was a vendor, and now I am a member of the Sowbug
Committee. I am proud of my involvement. The Sowbug
Roundup is sponsored by the North Arkansas Fly Fishers,
our local fly-fishing club, which is affiliated with the
Federation of Fly Fishers. Proceeds from the show
sponsor local scholarships and other educational and
conservational activities. This year’s Sowbug will be
held at the Baxter County Fairgrounds March 23-25 from 9
a.m. until 4 p.m. each day. The entrance fee is $5 for
all three days. Children under 12 years of age are
admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult
(adults with accompanying children are also free).
“The big draw at the show is the fly-tyers. There will
be around 120 tyers from all over the U.S. and Canada.
They will be spread out over the three days. The idea is
to watch them tie. You will be surprised and amazed at
some of the flies that they create. You can learn
something from every one of them. Also, there are around
20 vendors to tempt you. They include most of our local
fly shops like Blue Ribbon, Dally’s, Two Rivers and
Wishes and Fishes. Dave Whitlock, The Golden Rule Fly
Shop and Duane Hada will also be there. I will be there
with two booths, Blue Ribbon Fly Shop and Berry Brothers
Guide Service. Stop by and let me tie you a fly.
“On Friday night they have the Shindig. This was
originally started as a tyer appreciation night and has
morphed into a fundraiser social event of the first
order. Seating is limited. There is a large auction with
some incredibly fine items. including some spectacular
fly plates. Inquire about tickets at the registration
desk at Sowbug. They will not be available at the
Shindig.
“There are several seminars, including some excellent
ones on fly-tying. As usual, I will teach one on ‘When,
Where and How to fish the White and Norfork Rivers’ on
Friday at 11 a.m. My wife, Lori, will teach a couple of
seminars on fly-casting. On Friday, she has an
intermediate class and on Saturday she has one for
beginners. She surpassed me on fly-casting ability years
ago. Several Saturday programs are designed for
children. These are must-attend events. If any of this
sounds like something you would like to do, please join
me at the Sowbug Roundup.
“Also, the week after Sowbug, Lori and I will teach our
‘Fly Fishing Class’ at Arkansas State University
starting on Thursday March 30, and running for four
weeks. We meet at 6 p.m. and are finished at 8 p.m.
Register online through the community education
department. The cost is $80.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the
lake’s elevation at 651.67 feet msl (normal conservation
pool – 659.00 msl).
(updated 3-22-2017) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake Boat
Dock said the lake is still low at 651 feet msl and they
really need some rain, and some would help. Temperature
has ranged 55-63 degrees. Fish are definitely in
pre-spawn mode. A couple of different things are
working, depending on the weather – and last week they
had snow before it was back up in the 80s. The fishing
is only get better. They’re coming up shallow. They’re
not all the way in backs of the creeks, but almost in
the backs and in the flats. They’re still holding off a
little bit. Del still hasn’t put the jerkbait away, he
said. He’s also used a Shaky Head. Try a swimbait with
just a little small head and casting it along the docks,
outside of the docks. Around the transition banks, the
fish seem to be on the sides of the points or where it
goes to bluff wall to gravel; it doesn’t matter, look
for those changes in the rock and you’re going to get
bit. Del says that lately he doesn’t think he’s fished
anything deeper than 15 feet, and you won’t h ave to for
the next month. You can still use a Wiggle Wart a little
bit, or a rock crawler bait, but that bite should begin
to drop off. Got with the brighter colors in the dirtier
water, more natural colors in the clear water. Also, a
jig is catching a lot of fish right now, he said,
especially on the steeper banks into the pockets, which
are hodling a lot of fish. Hit the bank with a jig and
work it back nice and slow. A flashy finesse spinnerbait
is also working. In the dirtier water add some flash.
Walleye were still working on Tuesday and he said you
probably have one more week of jerkbaiting for walleye.
Go for them an hour or so before the sun goes down to an
hour afterward. They’re shallow, about 18 inches below
the surface. White bass are kind of tapering off, he
said. Some are moving out of the creeks already. You’ll
find white bass on the secondary points.
Norfork Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the
lake’s elevation at 545.27 feet msl (normal conservation
pool: September-April – 553.75 msl, April-September –
552.00 msl).(updated 3-22-2017) Tom Reynolds of STR
Outfitters says, “What a week of swinging weather and
fishing patterns.” They started off with snow and very
cold weather and wound up sunny with 60 degrees. Fishing
was outstanding all week without the sun being out. They
caught over 55-plus stripers during that period. On
Friday Tom and his son caught 22 stripers and were
excited to know the sun and warm weather was coming
Saturday. Tom says he told his clients that fishing was
outstanding when they came on board – “boy, was I
wrong,” he quipped. They were fishing near Fouts Marina,
which is a narrow straight of water that does not have
much room for heavy boat traffic. The sun came out and
then the boats. They had a striper and bass tourney that
caused heavy boating, the bass boats were flying up and
down the lake, and the striper guys were trolling. The
stripers have been shallow and all the traffic shut them
down. Tom says he fished 5½ hours and Sean fished 9
hours and between them they boated four stripers. Sean
caught them all and Tom was skunked. Sunday they went to
Big Creek trying to get out of the traffic and both
caught one striper apiece. Tom says he expects the
pattern will improve with less boat traffic and
consistent weather. On a bright note, the walleye are
hitting crankbaits up above Calamity Beach; people are
catching limits of walleye from the shore in the
evening. Tom had a call about fishing Thursday from
Mike, who had his trip canceled in Tennessee. Mike and
his sons Levi and Luke, along with their friend Harlan,
were on their first-time striper fishing trip. They
booked an 8-hour trip. When the group left the dock, it
was cold, overcast and windy. They made it to Fouts, so
Tom began his setup, which is 10 baited rods; two
planner boards, two floats, two free lines, and four
downlines. They started off slow, but their first fish
was a double-headed. The young boys, 11 and 12, were the
first ones to catch a striper, then the men took over
and kept this up for the next 6½ hours. They caught
number 12 and the boys were cold, so the trip was
complete with their first limit of stripers. The boys
had a trip they would soon not forget.
(updated 3-22-2017) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said the term "March Madness" definitely fits
Norfork Lake this month. Three inches of snow a week
ago, 90 degrees earlier this week and some thunderstorms
and cooler weather on the way. The changing weather
patterns play havoc with the fish, but Tuesday the fish
gave signs of getting back on track. Lou says he saw
sporadic surface activity for largemouth bass and
striped/hybrid bass, crappie moving in tighter to the
banks for their pre-spawn activity, and the white bass
and walleye have started to move out to the flats, which
indicates the majority of the walleye and whites have
completed their spawn.
Tuesday was a very interesting morning of fishing. Lou
says his game plan was to search a different area of the
lake for striped bass. He didn't find striped bass, but
he ended up catching fish on five different types of
baits. In the dark he started casting a suspending
stickbait to the shoreline. He landed largemouth and
crappie on his Smithwick Rogue. As the sun was coming up
he cast out his blade bait, Kastmaster, and landed some
whites. As the morning wore on he started casting out a
paddle tail swimbait to the shoreline and landed a
largemouth, then in deeper water he dropped a spoon and
landed a walleye. Live threadfin shad landed a second
walleye and he broke off a big fish, maybe what he was
looking for, he said. Striped bass fishing the last
couple of days has slowed with the cool system that
rolled through their area last week. The snow and cold
temperatures dropped the surface lake temperature from
56 degrees to 50 degrees. Tuesday morning the lake had
warmed back up to 56 degrees. A few days ago the
stripers that had moved back into the major creek arms
were biting aggressively and could be found anywhere
from 20 to 50 feet of water. Most fish that Lou was
catching and marking were suspended 15-35 feet down.
Tuesday, Lou said he did mark a few stripers, but they
were not feeding. This will change with the warming
water very shortly and the good bite will begin again.
Lou adds that largemouth bass fishing has been good.
This species is moving in close to the shoreline early
and late in the day. Tuesday morning brought some of the
best surface activity that he have seen so far this
year. This is still early for topwater, but a very good
sign. Lou caught largemouth before Tuesday’s sunrise on
a suspending jerkbait; after sunrise, largemouth were
being caught on a 5-inch paddle tail swimbait by one of
Lou’s guests. The topwater started just as the sun got
above the horizon. Lou says start carrying your favorite
topwater bait as he believes this will become a little
more common each day. Alabama rigs are also working very
well rigged out with a 3½- to 4-inch swimbait. The
shorter baits are still working a little better than
longer baits, but this will change as the water
continues to warm.
Lou caught walleye Tuesday morning, one on a shallow
flat in 18 feet of water and the other was out in 65
feet of water suspended down 55 feet. Lou marked bait
from 40 feet to the bottom and saw five big arcs in the
bait. He assumed the arcs were stripers so he dropped a
½-ounce spoon and landed a nice 23-inch walleye. “You
tell me what the current pattern of our walleye are?” he
asks with a grin. The majority of the walleye have
spawned and should be moving to the flats to feed.
Deep-diving crankbaits, crawler harnesses and dragging
live minnows will start to pick up some nice fish. White
bass have also completed the majority of their spawning
activities. Lou says he’s starting to find scattered
fish on large flats suspended down 20-30 feet in 30-50
feet of water. He caught several nice whites on his
Kastmaster blade bait. It will not be long until large
schools of whites will be roaming shallow flats feeding
heavily on shad. Topwater frenzies will erupt and make
the water boil. Topwater baits, blade baits, spoons and
swimbaits will all pick up some nice fish.
Norfork Lake surface water temperature Tuesday morning
was 55-56 degrees. The lake level is falling very slowly
and currently sits at 545.25, which is approximately a 1
foot drop over the last two weeks. The lake is somewhat
stained but clearly is occurring.
North Fork River (Norfork Tailwater)
(updated 3-22-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers Guide
Service (870-453-2424) said Norfork Lake fell 0.5 feet
to rest at 7.5 feet below seasonal power pool of 553.75
feet and 33.7 feet below the top of flood pool. On the
Norfork, we had less generation with more wadable water,
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.
Berry’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.
Buffalo National River
(updated 3-22-2017) 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 3-22-2017) 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.
