(updated 3-17-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “Spring break has sprung and the fishing
community is welcoming lots of visiting families to
the beautiful Arkansas Ozarks for terrific trout
fishing on the White. We're reeling in a whole lot of
good browns and a few trophy-sized rainbow trout this
week, including a 22-inch golden rainbow (Wednesday)
morning.”
Bull Shoals Lake has reached desired power pool level,
now sitting at 658.59 feet msl – a decrease in output
from the dam is anticipated as the lake continues to
drop. Generation from Bull Shoals Dam has stayed
steady at around three units (9,000-11,000 cfs).
Minnows and sculpin have still been standout baits for
the browns, along with blue-backed, orange-bellied
Smithwick and Rebel lures. “We've seen several
larger-than-20-inch rainbows caught and released this
week. Some were caught on sculpin and some on the
tried-and-true shrimp/PowerBait combo; try yellow or
orange eggs first.”
Best bait this week was the red/gold hammered Thomas
Buoyant Spoon, followed by the gold Cleo
(quarter-ounce).
Continued high water means that weighted line is
popular for most fly-fishing, or waiting for a glimpse
of the sun to do some quick dry fly-fishing has been
the way to go. Won't be long before the crawdads poke
their heads out, so Rebel Wee Craws and crawfish will
attract attention. “We're seeing some greening on the
bluffs across from Cotter – just in time for the
"wearin' o' the green", St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy the
season and come visit us on the river.”
(updated 3-17-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the river
conditions have stabilized this last week with clear
water and depths between 7-9 feet. The weather has
been great, other than the snow Friday afternoon and
the frigid temperatures Saturday. The warmer weather
means spring break is here and it has been great
seeing a lot of younger anglers with their parents on
the river whether with a guide, private boat, boat
rental or fishing on the bank. The fish have been
cooperating, creating a lot of smiles on many faces
and lifetime memories.
Bright-colored Power Eggs with or without shrimp or
corn or worms worked well this week, and there has
been success with adding inline spinners. When it is
cloudy, try using a silver-colored spinner, and when
it is sunny, try a gold-colored spinner. Rapala
Countdowns (gold and rainbow trout colors have worked
best) have been successful as have Shad Raps and
Little Cleo spoons.
(updated 3-17-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had snow
(about 2 inches in Cotter), frigid temperatures and
heavy winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 0.3
foot to rest at 0.3 foot below power pool of 659 feet
msl. This is 36.3 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.8 foot to rest at 0.4
foot below power pool and sixteen and 0.4 feet below
the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.4 foot to
rest at 0.4 foot below power pool or 10 feet below the
top of flood pool. The White had no wadable water.
Norfork Lake fell 0.8 foot to rest at 0.4 foot below
power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 26.6 feet below the
top of flood pool. The Norfork tailwater had no
wadable water during the day. All of the lakes in the
White River system are now below power pool. With the
current lake levels, we can expect more wadable water
in the future.
The shad kill on the White River at Bull Shoals Dam
and on the Norfork tailwater at Norfork Dam is about
over. 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. It 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 John’s
current favorite color, he said.
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, “One of the most exciting and
anticipated times to be fly-fishing on our rivers
during the winter is the shad kill. This is a natural
phenomenon that occurs when we have very low
temperatures and high levels of power generation on
our dams. The shad on the lake are killed by low
temperatures on the lake and are drawn through the
generators in the dams. Some make it through whole and
some are chopped up. Both are tempting morsels for the
trout below the dam.
“This phenomenon is pretty much impossible to predict.
It just happens. It can begin quickly and end just as
easily. The tale-tell sign that it is beginning is to
see gulls get active just below the dam feeding on the
shad coming through. The story goes out quickly.
Nearby anglers in the area head toward the dam and
call their buddies on cell phones to report the shad
kill. Of course, this means that you will generally be
fishing high water in cold conditions.
“The shad are white and the flies to imitate them are
the same. Since some of the shad are on the surface of
the water you will need a floating fly. This is my
favorite method as you see big fish come up and take
big flies. I use a foam and hackle shad pattern.
However many of the shad are below the surface and the
fishing on the bottom is often the most productive.
You can use a white Woolly Bugger, but I prefer a
white mop fly tied on a jig hook because it doesn’t
hang the bottom.
“I prefer to fish this below Bull Shoals Dam. The
catch-and-release section there is home to some very
large trout. It probably holds more large trout than
any other section of our rivers. In addition, it is
closed from fishing from Nov. 1 through Jan. 31 to
accommodate the brown trout spawn. It is also much
larger than the section below the Norfork Dam, giving
more room to maneuver and fish. Even so, this section
below Bull Shoals dam can get congested. There was one
day recently when there were no less than 17 boats in
this section of river. That is crowded.
“As the shad kill goes on, the fish at the top of the
river get gorged and the food drifts downstream
tempting the trout there. I have caught trout as far
downstream as Rim Shoals on shad patterns just after a
shad kill. That is 24 miles from Bull Shoals dam.
“I have caught the shad kill on several occasions and
done quite well when fishing it. As a result, I always
keep several different white shad flies in my boat fly
box so that I am always ready for it. You should do
the same.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 658.90 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam is 15,964 cfs. The reported lake elevation at
Table Rock Lake was 915.34 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 915.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 3-17-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said bass fishing has been fair. Generation
has been steady. The deep bite is going away. Shad are
moving into the creeks. Graph to look for shad and
look for loons. Active diving loons will trigger
feeding. Try a Moon Eye Damiki rig and Rapala Jigging
Rap. As more fish move up and leave the shad, crawfish
are on the menu. Del’s found success dragging a jig,
shaky head or Ned rig in 10-20 feet secondary points
and channel swings. Over the next couple of weeks, key
in on areas outside of spawning areas; south facing
pockets and creeks with stain are doing a little
better. Jerkbait is catching a few around points on
bluff ends, shallower brushpiles – a little wind
helps. As the temps rise, fish are seeing red. Use a
Rock crawler, Wiggle Wart on windy. steeper ledges and
nasty rock transitions with stained water and wind. If
you find warm stained runoff, use a Chatterbait pr
square bill. White bass and walleye are staging to
spawn. Fish the conditions.
Visit 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 554.00 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 555.75 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl). Total outflow from Norfork Dam is 6,220
cfs.
(updated 3-10-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said the bite continues to be good for most
species in the lake, especially striped bass,
largemouth bass and crappie. “It really surprised me
that after the lake temperature dropped about 3
degrees it didn’t affect the feeding habits of the
fish. What the drop in water temperature did was to
make the bait move to other areas of the lake, but not
necessarily far away from where they were. The fish
will follow the bait.
“Striped bass fishing continues to be strong. Yes, you
will need to do some searching, but if you find some
bait, I just about guarantee you will find striped
bass nearby. The best areas to find these fish have
been back in major creeks, deep flats and (Wednesday)
I found them in the old river channel in the main lake
area. In the creeks, they have been on or very close
to the banks first thing in the morning. After the sun
gets over the tree line, they seem to concentrate more
in the creek channel. Their depth will depend on the
depth of the bait. The deeper flats have started to
hold more bait in the 40- to 50-foot range. The fish
again relate to the depth of the bait. I have found
that the stripers seem to be on the flats late
morning. The bait that I found today was in the old
river channel, which in this area was roughly 70 feet
deep. The bait was 20-40 deep and varied. The fish
were at the same depths. The striped bass that I found
today were in large schools that appeared to be
feeding. My bait of choice for the shallower fish, say
from the shoreline out to 30 feet down, has been
casting a Kastmaster blade-style bait. I do replace
the hook with a feathered treble hook. I think that
gives it a closer resemblance to a injured live shad,
especially if you work it in a twitching motion. I
reel back to the boat very slowly, letting it sink
more as it is being retrieved. For deeper fish, I have
been vertical-jigging with a spoon or a small 3-inch
plastic jig with a three-eighth-ounce jighead.”
Crappie fishing has also continued to be very good. Of
course, crappie is like most species that go through a
feeding cycle. If you find them and they are not
feeding, you will need to wait them out until they get
energetic again or move to the next brushpile. Small
spoons or small crappie jigs and, of course, live
minnows are all working very well. The best brush has
been in 20-25 feet of water and the fish will be on
the tops to buried within the brush. You will just
need to keep working different depths until you find
that magic area.
“I have not done a lot of bass fishing lately, but
they do appear to be going shallow. Crankbait, Wiggle
Warts, soft plastics and Alabama rigs have all
produced some nice fish. As the water temperature
continues to rise back in the creeks the fish head
back to the warmer water. (Wednesday) I fished a
brushpile to see if crappie were there. No crappie,
but the brushpile was inhabited by some nice-sized
largemouth bass. They loved my Tater Baits Electric
Monkey crappie jig. The bass were buried inside of the
brush towards the bottom. I can’t believe I could pull
these beasts out of the brush with 4-pound test.”
Norfork Lake surface water temperature is rising very
slowly after the 3-degree drop from last weekend’s
storms. The lake temperature was 48-52 degrees
Wednesday morning. The lake level has been stable with
a slight drop with intermittent power generation and
currently sits at 554.05 feet msl. The lake is clear
to stained, depending on where you are at in the lake.
“If our current forecast holds true, we have another
deep freeze arriving Friday afternoon. I guess I will
be out seeing where the bait moved to next Sunday.
“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.”
(updated 3-17-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort says the lake level is 552.81 and
has dropped 1.2 inches in the last 24-hours with both
generators running about 2/3rds the time. The White
River at Newport is 20.27 and dropping but they are
still letting out a lot of water. The lake is at a
good level now. The surface water temperature
was 50+ degrees yesterday afternoon and the water is
stained a little green and you can see your lure down
about 3-feet. There is some moss on the rocks near the
shore that we do not normally have. I see no fish
making or on nests yet. The boat traffic is picking up
everyday now with the warmer weather and spring break.
Several fish of most species have moved back into the
creeks but some are still on shad in open water
depending on the prevailing wind. Spripers are
simulating their spawn and are on their spawning banks
near the shore at dark and then move out to deeper
water during the day. Fish for walleye on the shadowy
banks with a soft plastic in the evening and then
switch to a 5-inch stick bait at dusk. You will catch
some bass also in the same places. Crappie are on
brush but in different places and different places
during the day. In the sunshine they are deeper and on
cloudy days shallower. They bite for a few minutes and
then quit for a couple of hours. I am staying away
from the brush and casting past it and letting the
grub or jig sink down into it. They are hitting on the
drop at various depths but mostly about 15-feet down
and I am catching some very nice ones in the 15-16
inch range. White Bass have moved back in the major
creeks in bays in their normal places for mid-march.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 3-17-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 0.8 foot to rest at 0.4 foot below power pool of
553.75 feet msl and 26.6 feet below the top of flood
pool. There has been no wadable water on the Norfork
during the day 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 (some schools may be in spring break
now) and this 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. Be sure and carry a large net, as most fish
are lost at the net.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 3-10-2022) 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.
