(updated 5-10-2017) Cotter Trout Dock
(870-435-6525) says “Celebrate: The sun is shining,
no rain for several days and we're beginning to dry
out.” Water levels on the tailwaters of Bull Shoals
Dam have remained normal and fishing is good. Water
clarity is great after the days of dinginess from
creek runoff, continuing to improve downriver from
Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River. Panther
Martins, yellow with red spots and a gold blade, are
working well. The brown bite has switched back and
forth between sculpins and minnows – keep both on
hand if possible. Those zig jigs have made a
comeback: just determine which color is working for
the water depth and sky conditions, and you'll catch
any kind of fish in the river; black/olive 1/8-ounce
was a hit this past week, tri-olive does the trick
most often. Expect heavy generation from Bull Shoals
Dam in the coming days. Deeper water means more
drift fishing, no wading opportunities – but the
trout love lots of water and they are feisty and
healthy when they get it. Stop in on your way to the
river.
(updated 5-10-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said that last week
they experienced several rain events (combined for 5
inches in Cotter, which included a flash flood
watch), warm temperatures and heavy winds (to
include lake wind advisories). The lake level at
Bull Shoals rose 22.2 feet to rest at 26.9 feet
above seasonal power pool of 660.57 feet. This is
7.6 feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream,
Table Rock rose 12.2 feet to rest at 15.6 feet above
seasonal power pool and 0.6 feet above the top of
flood pool. The Army Corps of Engineers has opened
several flood gates to release an additional 13,800
cfs in an effort to lower the lake. Beaver Lake rose
2.7 feet to rest at 8 feet above seasonal power pool
and 0.6 feet below the top of flood pool. The Corps
of Engineers has opened several flood gates to
release an additional 3,700 cubic feet per second in
an effort to lower the lake. On the White, we had no
wadable water with some generation. All of the lakes
in the White River System are over or near the top
of flood pool. We should expect a lot of generation
with little if any wadable water in the near future.
On the White, the water below Crooked Creek and the
Buffalo is high and muddy. There has been some
flooding. 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 15 hare and
copper nymph with a size 18 ruby midge suspended
below it). John also says, "For the past few months,
we have been enjoying one of the longest periods of
low, reliable, wadable water that I can remember. It
was so low this past February that it all but
eliminated our traditional streamer season. You need
high water to push the big browns to the bank in
order to target them with the big streamers, and we
had low flows all winter. The low water has been a
boon to the caddis hatch. The low flows have been a
perfect delivery system for dry flies this spring.
The wadable water has rapidly come to an end,
however. "We had a heavy rain that flooded Crooked
Creek and the Buffalo. In addition, the lake levels
on Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes
all rose significantly. Then a couple of days later
we had what has been described by the Weather
Channel as a hundred year rain. It rained for two
days. This time the ground was super saturated and
we had significantly more runoff. All of the lakes
in the White River system rose even more. Beaver,
Table Rock and Norfork are at or near the top of
flood pool and all opened their flood gates in an
effort to draw them down quickly. Bull Shoals rose
34 feet in a week. As I write this, it is raining
again and over 2 inches are expected. "What does
this mean for fishing? With all of the lakes at or
near the top of flood pool, we will have high water
for the rest of spring and well into the summer. I
do not expect wadable water until fall. The fish are
still there but you will need a boat to fish the
White and Norfork. The best way to fish during the
high water will be to fish nymphs under an
indicator. You will need to fish deep. I generally
set my nymph rigs at about 4 feet from the indicator
to the bottom fly. I then add a foot of depth for
each full generator (roughly 3,000 cfs). This is a
rough estimate and I will make adjustments for depth
and current at specific spots on the river. If I am
hanging the bottom, I reduce the depth and, if I am
not getting fish, I increase it. "Weight is also a
key factor. I generally use heavy split shot. My
favorite for this type of fishing is AAA (0.8
grams). I use a lead-free egg-shaped split shot as
it hangs on better. I attach it above my tippet knot
to keep it from slipping. I also prefer to use
heavily weighted flies particularly bead heads tied
on jig hooks. My top flies for this type of fishing
include pheasant tails, hare and copper, copper
Johns, prince nymphs and ruby midges. I favor doubl-
fly rigs and fluorocarbon leaders and tippets as
they sink more quickly than monofilament. Casting
these rigs is difficult at best. Open up your loop
and be sure and not rush your cast. Do not false
cast, as this is an invitation to tangle. "Now is
also a good time to fish streamers. Heavy sink-tip
fly lines, big streamers and larger fly rods are the
norm here. Here again, the casting is tough and a
lot of work. This technique does not produce numbers
but can attract a trophy. Fishing high water can be
very productive. Give it a try!"
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 691.13 feet msl (normal
conservation pool – 659.00 msl).
(updated 4-26-2017) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said lake temperature late last week was
63 degrees on main lake, and he found some 70-plus
temps in the back creeks. Lake level came up a foot
foot to a foot and a half last week, but they are
still below normal pool. The fishing has been
really, really good. Up the lake it seems like the
spawn is on the last leg, it’s fisnishing up. Down
the lake there is still a good spawn bite going on.
Looks like there is a shad spawn going on up the
lake in some of the creeks. That’s a good indicator
that those fish are post-spawn up there. Couple of
things you want to check out going up the lake. The
post-spawners are moving out of the lake, moving out
into the backs of pockets, so you want to hit the
secondary points headed out, the channel swings. Up
there, Del put his boat in 20-25 feet of water.
There are a bunch of baits working. Topwater,
catching them on Sammy, you can throw a Zara Spoon,
a Pop-R and a Redfin is working, too. Also, the
Keitech swimbait, using a 3.8, a quarter round
jighead, slowing it back. If you get in the shad and
they’re not hitting the topwater, you can slow roll
that swimbait through there and catch a few more
fish. Also anglers are catching a few on a
squarebill back in the flats. There’s a little more
dirtier water back in there, so that helps with the
crankbait going back in and out of there. If you’re
going to catch the spawners on the end of the lake
down in this area, same patterns have been working
for a while: the C rig, Shaky Head, you can throw a
jig. There are still a few tree spawners going into
those creeks, the spawning pockets. Check the last
points going in; seems like a lot of those fish are
on the sides of the points leading back into the
pockets. Even on the main lake down here, they’re
not all quite on the back. It’s everything from
smallmouth to Kentuckies to largemouths. You’re just
going to have to cover some water, but the fishing
has been really, really good for the bass; it was a
great week. The walleye are starting to frown a
little bit, it’s slowed down. Water temperatures are
coming up and they’re starting to move out a little
bit. The jerkbait bite is still getting a few, the
swimbait still getting a few. But as the temps come
up the fish are going to start moving down. Pretty
soon those guys will be dragging bottom bouncers and
trolling.
(updated 5-10-2017) K Dock Marina reported it is
closed until further notice due to flood conditions.
Norfork Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 577.13 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: September-April – 553.75 msl,
April-September – 552.00 msl).
(updated 5-10-2017) Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters
says the rain has stopped and Norfork Lake is slowly
going down. The northern part of the lake is full of
debris and mud but that will start to disappear in
the next several weeks. Blowing wind helps the lake
by moving the debris to the shoreline where it gets
stuck, and as the lake goes down the debris will
remain in place. The mud will disappear has the
water up north returns to normal. The lower part of
the lake from Diamond Bay south and from Big Creek
to the dam is mostly free of trees, limbs and other
debris, and water color is clear to stained. It is a
good place to start your day. What most people do
not realize was the lower end of the lake did not
receive the major runoff from the flood. The water
rose from the water coming to the dam, therefore the
southeast part of the lake is the place to fish. The
stripers are continuing to feed heavy on threadfin
shad and should keep this up for the next several
weeks.
Tom says they had some dear friends Alice, Dennis,
and Logan that came down last weekend for two days
of striper fishing. They wanted to introduce their
grandson Logan to the lake and fishing. Saturday
they got a late start but did manage to put five of
the seven stripers they hooked. Logan, who is 6,
caught his first striper and his limit. Logan keep
telling his grandpa that his fish was bigger and he
caught more than grandpa. A true fisher person was
created that day. Sunday, Tom’s son, Sean, came
along to help out. They started earlier and caught
seven of the nine they hooked. Alice, who never had
caught a fish, caught two, which made her day.
Again, Logan caught the most and biggest and made
sure everybody knew. The grandparents’ mission was
accomplished. They created some lasting memories of
their grandson’s first fishing trip on Norfork Lake.
Tom says he and the group were using threadfin shad
on long lines with just a split shot and leader way
back from the boat over deep water 60 plus feet.
(updated 5-3-2017) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort said the last two weeks on Norfork
Lake have been very interesting, to say the least.
They have gone from great spring weather, to cold
fronts, to a major rain event that increased the
lake level to the top of the flood pool. Fishing was
fantastic up through last Saturday morning, then the
severe weather started to impact the lake. Norfork
Lake started rising a foot an hour at around 5 p.m.
Saturday and continued to rise until the flood gates
on the dam were opened to increase water evacuation.
As of Tuesday, the lake was stable and was slowly
falling and at 578.65 feet msl. There is still some
floating debris, but a lot of it is starting to blow
into the shoreline, and as the lake drops it will
get hung up in the flooded trees. The lake is
navigable, but when out on the lake be very cautious
and observant of floating debris. The water north of
the Highways 101 and 62 bridges is still dirty and
the clearer and stained water starts just south of
the 101 and 62 bridge. Hummingbird Hideaway Resort
is in great shape and open for business. The dock is
easily accessible with electric and the fish
cleaning station still in operation.
As for fishing conditions on Norfork Lake, Lou says
the flooding of normally dry land has forced
nightcrawlers to come to the surface and the fish
are starting to have a feast. If you fish for
catfish the combination of dirty water and a large
supply of worms is ideal to catch many cats. Lou
says he has had guests fishing from the shoreline
off of a flooded roadway below the resort and
landing some nice catfish. Limblines and trotlines
will also be a great method to catch big numbers of
cats. On Tuesday, a couple of guests ventured out on
the lake after sunrise and found some clearer water.
They were fishing with shiners and caught a nice
smallmouth and largemouth bass. If you can find a
flooded field or cow pasture that had been grassy
you will clean up on bass feeding on nightcrawlers
and crawdads. Each stable day will help increase the
bite and get the fish very active.
Lou says he has not heard a lot about striper
fishing since last weekend's rain, but from prior
high-water experience you will need to find the
clearer water. Shad will be in the trees and the
stripers will be on the edges of the flooded trees
feeding on the shad. It may take several days for
the fish to get used to their new surroundings, but
if it is similar to past high-water years the
fishing will become really good. Lou says he has not
been able to get out on the lake with all the new
resort work this rain created, but he hopes to get
back at it toward the end of the week, and he’ll
have updates as soon as he can. The water
temperature Tuesday morning was in the mid-60s. A
lot of the lake is dirty, but you will find some
nice stained and clear water back in some of the
major creeks and in the southern part of the main
lake.
North Fork River (Norfork Tailwater)
(updated 5-10-2017) John Berry at Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said Norfork Lake rose
9 feet to rest at 6.7 feet above seasonal power pool
of 555.32 feet and 0.1 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Army Corps of Engineers has opened several
flood gates to release an additional 6,600 cfs in an
effort to lower the lake. On the Norfork, we had no
wadable water. There has been flooding on the
Norfork and the river level is quite high due to the
flood gates being open in an effort to drop the lake
level. The ramps have been closed due to flooding
and debris on them. Navigate this stream with
extreme caution. 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).
The fishing is better in the morning. My favorite
rig has been a hare and copper nymph with a ruby
midge dropper. Dry Run Creek has been affected by
the flooding but has returned to its banks. 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 5-10-2017) Berry Brothers Guide Service
(870-453-2424) said the Buffalo National River is at
flood level and not navigable. With the warmer
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 and the Buffalo has large
drainages that are prone to flooding during and
following any rain event. The water can rise very
quickly.
Crooked Creek
(updated 5-10-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-453-2424) said Crooked Creek is
at flood level and not navigable. With the warmer
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, large drainages and are prone to
flooding during and following any rain event. The
water can rise very quickly.
