(updated 6-7-2017) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
says: "Night crawlers. That's what the browns are
hitting today." Words from one of the guides on
Tuesday. Drifting a live worm (Belgium reds or
nightcrawlers) on the White River in the Cotter area
has been attracting both browns, rainbows and the
occasional cutthroat. Add enough weight to your
river rig to reach mid-depth and move with the
current. The Army Corps of Engineers has dropped the
water level to approximate five generators, about
2-3 feet lower than we've seen for a few weeks.
Still more than enough water to keep the trout
growing strong, and less warm water coming in from
the top of the lake since the flood gates have been
closed. That's great news for all of us on the
river. Almost time to return to dangling some shrimp
on the hook and seeing an increase in the rainbow
bite. Give the fish a day or two to acclimate to the
dropped river level and you'll see more action than
in the last week or two. Experiment with the
spinners; a 1/4-ounce gold Vibrax might be about
right for this water. See you at the river!
Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said
(updated 5-31-2017) Sportsman’s White River Resort
(870-453-2424) said the water is "tremendously
high," and there have been 10 generators running.
Fishing is difficult at best, and anglers are
advised to be extra careful.
(updated 6-7-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service (870-435-2169) said that during the
past week, they have had a rain event (about a
half-inch in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate
winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 1.3 feet
to rest 29.3 feet above seasonal power pool of 662
feet. This is 3.7 feet below the top of flood pool.
The Army Corps of Engineers has opened 17 flood
gates to release 14,600 cfs to augment generation
and lower the lake. Upstream, Table Rock fell 1.7
feet to rest at 9.2 feet above seasonal power pool
and 4.8 feet above the top of flood pool. Beaver
Lake fell 0.5 feet to rest at 7.2 feet above
seasonal power pool and 1.4 feet below the top of
flood pool. On the White, we had no wadable water
with high generation.
Seasonal power pool has been reset for the lakes in
the White River system. All of the lakes in the
White River System are now below 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 has cleared up. The hot flies were olive
woolly buggers (sizes 8, 10), Y2Ks (sizes 14, 12),
prince nymphs (sizes 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). Use lots of lead and long
leaders to get your flies down
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 689.91 feet msl (normal
conservation pool – 659.00 feet msl).
(updated 6-7-2017) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said last Saturday that the lake was at
691 feet msl and the water temperature was 76
degrees, up to 84 degrees depending on where you’re
fishing. The water is getting warm pretty quick and
the fish are in post-spawn mode. Lots of these fish
have moved out of the spawning pockets and are
staging up on the points. Down by the dam the water
is really clear. Even in the creeks the water has
gotten pretty clear. The channel bite had gotten a
little challenging unless you’ve got wind or a
little dirty water. Some of those creeks where
there’s no flow, the fishing is real slow back in
there. You want to avoid those if you can. The water
level is coming down and as the temperature keeps
coming up the fish are going to be moving out a
little bit deeper. A lot of the offshore stuff is
beginning to pick up a little bit. Most guys Del
sees, he says, are fishing with their boats on top
of the fish. What you want to do is get in the old
shoreline anywhere from 25-30 feet off the shore and
cast in. On any given day you could throw a Carolina
rig, you could throw a Ned rig. Tubes are working.
Del said he likes to draw a jig through the old
brush; not necessarily dragging it but hopping it
along, keeping it tight the whole time. There a ton
of crawdads in the lake and the fish are eating on
them. A green pumpkin with orange is the best color
to match. Del uses a ½-ounce jig with a Jackall craw
bait, you can use whatever one you want, he says.
Highlight it if you have a marker. As for the
topwater bite, seems like the creeks that do have a
little bit of flow, if you don’t go into the very
back, you can catch a few throwing a Whopper
Plopper, a buzzbait, but conditions have to be right
for it. If it’s bright and sunny, and the water is
flat, Del says he wouldn’t go to the back and start
power fishing. Also throwing the Walk the Dog-style
baits will catch some fish but it’s still dependent
on conditions. If you’re fishing from here on out,
have a topwater ready to fire out there. If you can
get up close to the shoreline along those steeper
banks, the fish are on those channel swing banks. If
it gets really, really windy and you’ve got some
clouds, the spinnerbait bite is still working. The
biggest thing is to fish the conditions. If you get
on a pattern now you can figure them out. If it lays
real flat for you, it seems like those hot days when
it lays flat, you’re going to have to back out into
the main lake, catch them on the drop-shot with a
shad pattern, and a worm is working, too. Anywhere
in the 30-40 feet depth seems to be holding the fish
when the sun is up, it’s calm and nice and hot. Del
is still catching a few in the back on the
squarebill. He uses a Lucky Craft and swims it
through submerged bushes, banging it across
something, clashing it into a bush or coming across
a log under the water. He says if you’re fishing an
area closer to the main lake and catching
smallmouth, sneak up closer on the points, look for
the old road beds or walking paths that people have
used to get down to the lake. There’s a lot of
largemouth up in the areas up in the same areas that
the smallmouths are, just a little bit shallower.
Don’t be afraid to go up there on any given day. If
you’re catching smallmouths on a point in 30 feet of
water, after you’ve fished that, go back in and fish
it shallow for the black bass. Drag a jig around,
throw a tube around.
(updated 6-7-2017) K Dock Marina said the general
public must access the marina from the lake only
during this high water situation. No boat rentals at
this time. They have no fishing reports.
Norfork Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports
the lake’s elevation at 575.62 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: September-April, 552.00 msl,
April-September, 554.00 msl).
(updated 5-31-2017) Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters
says the rain continues but not every day as it was.
The Norfork Lake level is being maintained at 3 feet
under the top of the flood pool. Tom said the hope
is, once they get into their hotter period, the lake
can be lowered. Striper fishing is outstanding right
now in the mid-lake and down to the dam and east to
Big Creek. Almost every point is holding fish. The
shad continue to stay in the brush on the points and
the stripers are staying right with them. In the
last week they have seen a lot of topwater action
around Point 1 and out in the main lake. The only
problem is its not consistent and you never know
when the stripers will come up. If you can get out
before sunrise you should be able to catch stripers
throwing swimbaits into the brush on any point in
the southern part of the lake. You should also try a
topwater lure off the points even if you see no
surface action. The stripers are there, just not
chasing surface baits. If you want to try live bait
and cannot get shad, use shiners. They are working.
Try long-lining them behind your boat, pitching them
into the brush, and downlines set 28 feet.
Tom added, “Frank from Lakeview schedule a trip for
his family who had never striper fished on Norfork
Lake. It was rather cold and overcast with a slight
miss in the air. I started in Diamond Bay and had no
bites the first hour so moved to another spot and
started to have some success. We caught a couple and
loss a couple, then the fish got active and we could
not keep up with the action. I had eight lines out
and at different times we had three and four bites
and fish on the line. We ended up catching 11 and
keeping nine. It was very hectic, but for their
first time striper fishing, it was quite an
experience they will not soon forget.”
(updated 5-31-2017) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort said Norfork Lake fishing has been
good over the last couple of weeks, but this year’s
high-water event has made it a challenge. Last week
Lou concentrated hi fishing from the Diamond Bay
area down to Hudson Point. He found all the bass
species in all his normal late spring/early summer
haunts. Main lake points such as Tick Point, Point
2, Thumb Point, Point 1 and Hudson Point are
examples of areas holding fish. All species of fish
are inside of or very near the sunken brush and
trees. The fish will remain near the sunken brush as
long as the shad stay inside the brush. This will
more than likely change once the lake warms enough
to create a thermocline. The early morning bite has
been the best. Lou said he hasn’t been out fishing
in the afternoon for quite some time.
Lou added, “I am getting back out on the lake after
the holiday weekend and this week I am concentrating
my fishing areas to the mid-lake area. Yesterday
morning I fished the major creeks in the mid lake
area and caught stripers and largemouth bass, but
all were on the short side. Today I stayed out on
the main lake and fished points that have a lot of
sunken trees out in the lake. At around 6:30 a.m. I
found a point where the shad was flipping all over
the place. I was fishing with live shad (large
shiners will also work) and started flipping the
shad between the trees. For the next two hours it
was pretty much nonstop action. All the bass species
were feeding in 2-20 feet of water. I ended up
landing six stripers, three hybrids, numerous
whites, a couple nice largemouth bass and a 5-pound
channel cat. The biggest challenge I have in fishing
inside of the brush is that the brush tends to keep
a lot of my fish after I get them hooked up. I went
through 20-plus hooks this morning, but it sure was
fun. The stripers up in my area are starting to feed
again and fatten up. I caught no skinny fish this
morning all fat and healthy looking.”
Lou said there is still good topwater action down
off the points in the dam area. He saw very few fish
coming up this week in the mid-lake area. Live bait
appears to be the best method for catching all
species of fish now, but some artificial baits are
working. Swimbaits of all sizes are working,
spinnerbaits and shallow diving crankbaits for
largemouth, and spooks for topwater action. Vertical
jigging with a spoon is starting to work out in 40
feet of water once the shad moves away from the
brush. The fish have been below the shad. Lou said
he had a guest last week that likes to troll
umbrellas rigs as well as swimbaits. He had success
in all parts of the lake keeping his baits around
20-25 feet deep.
The Norfork Lake level was at 577.08 at midweek and
was dropping about 2-3 inches per day with both
generators running full time. The main lake, creeks
and coves north of the Robinson area are stained to
a light brown color, but the brown is falling out
steadily. The lake is stained down to the dam and is
clear east of the dam. Thursday morning the lake
surface water temperature was in the low to mid 70s.
Last week there was very little floating debris, but
as of yesterday there was lots of floating timber
west of the Highway 101 bridge to Robinson area. Lou
said he’s had no problem out on the lake, but as
always you need to be extremely vigilante when on
the water and slow down when you notice floating
debris. Remember to be safe and always wear your
life vest.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 6-7-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service said Norfork Lake fell 1 foot to rest
at 19.7 feet above seasonal power pool of 556.75
feet and 3.5 feet below the top of flood pool. The
Corps of Engineers has closed the flood gates and
returned the dam to normal generation. On the
Norfork, we had no wadable water. On the Norfork
there was flooding but the river is back in its
banks and the flood gates have been closed. Navigate
this stream with caution as things have changed a
bit during the recent flooding. There has been major
gravel recruitment at the bottom of Mill Pond and
the dock hole. 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).
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.
Berry fished Dry Run Creek over the Memorial Day
weekend. He said, “I had a guide trip last on the
Saturday of the three-day weekend. I had a brother
and sister accompanied by mom, dad, grandma,
granddad, two cousins and two in-laws. The general
idea was for me to guide brother and sister and for
granddad to work with the two cousins (both teen age
girls). I have a saying, the more people you have,
the slower you move. I tried to get everyone moving
early because I was concerned that Dry Run Creek
would be crowded on a holiday weekend. It was like
herding cats.
“I was greatly relieved when we arrived at the
hatchery and noted just a couple of cars, in the
parking lot. I already had a couple of rods rigged
up and we headed toward the creek. The going early
was a bit slow. It had rained the night before and
the creek was a bit off-color. After a while, we
began picking up trout. The hot fly was a brown San
Juan worm. I always like to fish San Juan worms
after a rain storm. Other anglers began arriving and
we began working our way upstream to find new water.
They had taped off the trail near the hatchery from
the second set of stairs all the way to the end of
the facility. Therefore to access the stream further
upstream you needed to walk along the creek.
“We began having more success. The 8-year-old sister
landed a nice 25-inch rainbow. It came in amazingly
quickly for a fish that size. Brother was
struggling. He hooked up several trophies but lost
them. He had a tendency to grip the line tightly.
When you have a big one on, you have to let them
run. If you clamp down on the line or grip the reel
handle the fish can slip the hook or break off. I
worked with him on it and he eventually caught a
good rainbow. Sister’s was still a bit longer.
“At the same time the cousins were struggling.
Granddad had never fished Dry Run Creek. It looks
easy but it can be challenging. I gave him a few
pointers but they still had limited success. I began
coaching them on where to cast and achieve a good
drift. I made sure that they were properly rigged
and were in the right spot. They also began to pick
up fish. They both caught a 20-inch-or-better trout.
“Near noon I looked around and noticed that the
creek was getting crowded. We had the stream to
ourselves, for most of the morning and were able, to
fish, wherever we wanted to. I don’t normally like
to work with so many clients at a time because it
limits the individual attention that can give to
each one of them. Kids fly fishing for the first
time need a lot, of individual attention, in order
to learn the proper way to do it. Somehow it all
worked out and everyone had a great time.”
Buffalo National River
(updated 6-7-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said the
Buffalo National River is navigable but high. 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 or the Buffalo River. There are no
dams on these streams. They both have large
drainages and are prone to flooding during and
following any rain event. The water can rise very
quickly.
Crooked Creek
(updated 6-7-2017) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked
Creek is navigable but high. 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 or the
Buffalo River. There are no dams on these streams.
They both have large drainages and are prone to
flooding during and following any rain event. The
water can rise very quickly.
