(updated 2-24-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said the White River watershed is on the rise: Bull
Shoals Lake is up 2 feet (msl) to 659.5 feet msl over
last week's report. The two larger lakes behind Bull
Shoals – Table Rock and Beaver – are also rising due
to winter precipitation. That usually means we will
see an increase in releases from the dams, and so far
that's held true. Winter is still with us: Wome sleet
and ice Wednesday, but weather forecasters are
promising sun by the weekend and March might not come
roaring in too loudly. Until then, our nights are
pretty chilly, so bundle up for early morning
take-offs on the river.
The trout bite has been a somewhat tricky this past
week, possibly due to the up-and-down flow from Bull
Shoals Dam. Water releases have been ranging from
2,500 cfs (just under one generator early in the
morning) to 16,000-plus cfs (five units or more), then
dropping back to a unit or two later in the day. But
it's good to know that the browns are returning to
their favorite spots after the annual spawn and are
looking at larger sculpins and, sometimes, a minnow or
two, if placed near some burbling waters around
underwater structure.
Favorite stick bait this week: The Rapala CD9s and
CD7s, brown trout or rainbow; reeled in several browns
playing the Rapalas in the higher, fast-moving water.
Those keeper rainbows are favoring peach-colored or
fluorescent yellow eggs. Try adding some garlic scent
to your bait if fishing from the bank or in areas of
calmer water.
“We caught a trophy-sized brown this morning in the
sleet, so don't let the weather hold you back. Stop in
to warm up or grab a cup of coffee and share the news
of your latest trophy. Stay dry and warm.”
(updated 2-24-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the rain last
week made the river muddy and the fishing was poor. By
late Sunday the morning the water color had cleared up
enough for the fishing to be good Sunday afternoon and
Monday. The fish were biting on Power Eggs; the
sunrise color worked best but other bright colors had
success. The rain Monday night and into Tuesday
morning again muddied the river and caused the river
to rise to over 12-foot depth, well above the 4.5-6.5
feet depth we have been seeing. It will take couple of
days for the river to clear up again. The winter
weather Wednesday and Thursday has the roads slick and
we’ll see how much the winter precipitation affects
the river.
(updated 2-24-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they have had
two rain events (combined for 2 inches in Cotter),
cold temperatures and heavy winds. “We are currently
waiting for an ice storm,” he said Tuesday. The lake
level at Bull Shoals rose 1.6 feet to rest at 0.4 foot
below power pool of 659 feet msl. This is 35.6 feet
below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake
rose 1.7 feet to rest at 0.7 foot below power pool and
15.3 feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake
rose 1 foot to rest at power pool or 9.6 feet below
the top of flood pool. The White has had no wadable
water. Norfork Lake rose 2.5 feet to rest at 1.1 feet
above power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 25.1 feet
below the top of flood pool. The Norfork tailwater has
had no wadable water.
“There has been a shad kill on the White River at Bull
Shoals Dam,” John reports. “This is a natural
phenomenon that occurs occasionally during cold
weather and high generation. Use white flies like
marabou jigs or mop flies.
“Streamer season fishing is upon us. Now that the
brown trout spawn is over, they are moving back to
their regular locations. Now is a good time to target
them. Fishing is best with heavy generation. Bang the
bank with big streamers on sink tip lines. White is my
current favorite color.
“On the White, the hot spot has been
the-catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam.
After opening day, there have been some big browns
caught. The hot flies were Y2Ks, prince nymphs, zebra
midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red
with silver wire and silver bead), pheasant tails,
copper Johns, pink and cerise San Juan worms, gold
ribbed hare’s ears and sowbugs. Double-fly nymph rigs
have been very effective. Try an orange egg with a
size 18 purple zebra midge.
John also said, “Like many of you, I have spent quite
a bit of time indoors watching the rain, ice, sleet
and snow accumulate. Somehow, between the winter storm
warnings, my wife, Lori, and I found a nice day when
we wanted to go fishing.
“The day was to be sunny with a high in the lower 60s
with light and variable winds. To sweeten the deal the
water level prediction called for a couple of hours of
generation on the Norfork tailwater ending at 8 a.m.
We figured that the Norfork would be quite wadable at
the Ackerman Access around 11 a.m. We decided to head
for the river but took a detour to have lunch at
Heidi’s Ugly Cakes in Norfork. I somehow avoided
eating a delicious piece of peanut butter pie in a
vain attempt to stay on my diet (Lori and I have
picked up a few pounds during the coronavirus
debacle).
“We traveled over to the access and donned our waders.
I opted to begin fishing with the flies on my rod from
a previous trip, a partridge and orange soft hackle
with a size 18 Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Lori started
with an olive Woolly Bugger.
“The river was on the bottom and was gin clear. It was
about 50 degrees with little wind and plenty of
sunshine. We waded far upstream. This was the first
wade trip for Lori since she broke her arm. She did
well and made the long hike with no trouble.
“She hit one spot and I waded further upstream to try
another spot.
“I was off to a slow start and changed flies to a
double nymph rig. I did no better and changed flies
several times. I walked down to where Lori was
fishing. She had no success and went further
downstream. I met a friend and was talking to him. Out
of the corner of my eye I saw Lori’s rod bend. I
returned to my conversation but watched Lori as I
talked. Minutes passed and she was still fighting the
fish.
“She had no net, so I thought that I would wade down
to where she was fishing and see if I could help her.
About that time, the fish jumped. I got a good look at
it and it was huge. I tried to move closer to the
fish, in an attempt to net it.
“Lori was fishing with a size 18 Dan’s turkey tail
emerger. I had tried it earlier with no success. There
were some small midges coming off and Lori had read
the water well. This was my brother, Dan’s, signature
fly and we fish it often. The problem is that it is
very small (No. 18) and when barbless it does not have
a lot of metal in it to hold big fish.
“The trout was a solid 26-inch rainbow (we don’t see a
lot of rainbows that big). It took one last jump and
slipped the hook. Lori was disappointed but at the
same time happy to have hooked a good fish like that.
This time the trout got lucky and got away. Lori
thought it was camera shy.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 659.76 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 915.78 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 915.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 2-24-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said the lake level is 659 feet msl and the
temperature is 46, give or take. Bass fishing has been
fair with generation at the dam and cooler temps
pushing big balls of shad over 120 feet and further
out of creeks. The deep bite is going away. If you are
going to do it, graph to look for shad and look for
loons. Active diving loons will trigger feeding.
Damiki on a Moon Eye and Rapala jigging Rap. As more
fish move up and leave the shad, crawfish are on the
menu. Dragging a jig, shaky head or Ned rig in 10-20
feet secondary. Over the next couple of weeks, key in
on areas outside of spawning areas. Jerkbait has
started catching a few on points and bluff ends in
shallower water around brushpiles, and a little wind
helps. As the temps rise, fish are seeing red. Rock
Crawlers, Wiggle Warts on windy transitions, and cover
water.
See Del’s YouTube site (Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock)
for more information and tips on fishing Bull Shoals
Lake.
Norfork Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 554.74 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 555.75 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl).
(updated 2-24-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort says the lake level is 554.86 feet
msl and has risen a half-inch in the last 24 hours
with both generators running continuously. It is
dropping slowly now if they keep both generators on
but has come up about 2.5 feet in the last week. The
White River at Newport is 19-plus feet. A winter storm
is on its way here now on Wednesday with ice, snow and
sleet expected. The surface water temperature is about
46 degrees, and it got very cold last night after
balmy weather the last weekend with highs in the 60s.
The lake is very clear and you can see your lure down
about 8 feet in the sunshine.
The cold fronts just keep coming through, hurting
fishing, and then it warms up again. It is typical
weather for early March and it’s only the last week in
February. The fishing was slow early last week but got
better as the weekend approached with crappie and bass
being the best bite and a few walleye and stripers
also coming in. Most fish were caught on Blackburn’s
new brushpiles on either the spoon, jig or grub.
Trollers are catching stripers in the 5- to 8-pound
range, and the white bass and hybrids are going
deeper.
The weather should improve by Sunday with much warmer
temperatures, but the snow, sleet and ice will not
warm the water up any. Some nice fish are being caught
but not high numbers.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 2-17-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said there are currently three good bites on
the lake, making fishing Norfork Lake fun for
everyone. Striped bass, black bass (largemouth and
spotted bass) and crappie are the three best bites on
the lake at this time.
You can find largemouth bass in several different
types of areas. Bluff walls have been very productive.
The fish can be up tight to the rocks or suspended out
from the bluff. Most of these fish are 10-20 feet down
either on the bottom, or suspended over deep water.
Alabama rigs are working great with white swimbaits.
You can judge how heavy of a jighead you need
depending on the depth you want to get the bait to.
Typical quarter-ounce works great. If you are using an
A-rig that already has added weight to the center
piece, you may only want a hook with no weight.
Crankbaits, jigs and spinners are also producing some
nice fish. There are still some nice fish hugging the
bottom off of long rocky points from 30-40 feet down.
“My best way to catch these deep fish is to
vertical-jig a spoon slowly right on the bottom.”
Striped bass are still in their winter pattern.
Basically, this is saying that the bait has moved out
to the deep-water river channels or very close to the
channel. You will find streams of bait 10-30 feet
thick and the stripers will be very close by. “I find
the striped bass on top of the bait, at the bottom of
the bait or some are even buried inside the bait. If
there is a deep flat next to the channel you may find
large schools of stripers cruising through the flat,
but they always stay close to the large streams of
bait. The bait is typically suspended 30 to 60 feet
down. This depth will vary and the thickness of the
bait will vary. The fish will be found suspended at
the same depths as the bait. There are various methods
to fish for this species. Live bait is a
tried-and-true method, vertical jigging a one-ounce
spoon, vertical jigging a 3-inch swim bait with a
3/8-ounce jig head or trolling swimbaits, umbrella
rigs, or hard crank baits. The key is to get your bait
at the same depth as the fish. This pattern will stick
around until the water temperature starts to warm,
which should be in the next couple of weeks. With the
warmer water the bait tends to start to move back in
the creeks or farther up river. When the bait moves
the stripers will be chasing.
Crappie are on brush. Find brush in 20-40 feet of
water. The fish will be at all depths depending on the
time of day. Early and late in the day they are
typically suspended on top of the brush and on
occasion only 5-10 feet down. Midday they tend to drop
a little deeper. Of course, the weather plays a big
role on how the bait acts in the brush, and just like
all fish species they tend to follow their food
source. “(Wednesday) morning I hit a couple of
brushpiles. It was a very cloudy, windy day and the
fish seemed to be deeper and buried inside of the
brush. Live bait, small twister tail grubs with a
one-sixteenth-ounce jighead and a small one-eighth- to
quarter-ounce spoon are all working great.”
Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in
the 45-46 degree range, but may start to rise slowly
with the spring type weather we are having. The lake
level has been rising slowly with minimal power
generation and currently sits at 552.75 feet msl. The
lake is trying to clear but still remains slightly
stained.
“I post almost daily on Facebook. If you want more
frequent information please visit and Like Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page. Happy Fishing and
enjoy Norfork Lake.”
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 2-24-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) in Cotter
(870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake rose 2.5 feet to rest
at 1.1 feet above power pool of 553.75 feet msl and
25.1 feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
tailwater has had no wadable water.
There has been less wadable water on the Norfork and
it fished well some days and poorly on others. The
most productive flies have been small midge patterns
like zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and
silver bead). Grasshoppers have produced fish,
particularly when used in conjunction with a small
nymph dropper (try a size 20 black zebra midge).
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). The fishing is much better in the morning and
late afternoon and tapers off midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished particularly well. School is
back in session and now is a great time to fish it,
particularly during the week. Weekends can get a bit
crowded. The hot flies have been sowbugs and various
colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot
fluorescent pink and cerise). Small orange or peach
eggs have been very effective. Carry a large net, as
most fish are lost at the net.
Remember that the White and North Fork rivers and Dry
Run Creek are infected with didymo, an invasive alga.
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/Crooked Creek
(updated 2-24-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are still navigable. With colder
temperatures, the smallmouths are not active. The most
effective fly has been a tan and brown 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.
