White River
(updated 4-7-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “We fish for trout on the White River tailwaters
of Bull Shoals Dam in the Arkansas Ozarks, and our
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission-managed trout waters
allow us to catch a good share of fish every day. Most
recently, generation from Bull Shoals Dam has been
heavy – nearly seven units (20,000 cfs) hourly over
the last three days – making the river deep and swift.
The saving grace is that the generation has been
steady without excessive drops or rises, so the trout
have settled down and are noticing our array of baits.
“Healthy, fighting rainbows are answering the call of
the Smithwick rattlin' Rogues, white bellied, 4½
inches, blue or black back. The smoke-colored
suspending stick baits with silver bellies have
provided some success as have red wriggler worms. What
trout doesn't like a twisting, dancing, live worm?
Gold spoons (quarter-ounce Cleos) are still attracting
attention, and white grubs or smaller white jigs
played mid-depth will allow you to put your net to
work.
“The browns continue to chase shad on the upper
portions of our fishing ‘grounds,’ but I can't say how
long that bite will persist. Sculpins, tied to a No. 2
hook, floating near the bottom of the stream, never
fail to catch a hefty trout. Once they've had their
fill of the staples, cast something new and flashy to
pique their interest.
“The ever-changing April weather reminds you to bring
your rain gear (just in case) when you come to the
Ozarks to enjoy some all-round great fishing. Time on
the river is restorative. Come see us.”
(updated 4-7-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, reports that the
storms last week dumped a lot of rain into the Buffalo
River valley and the lakes. As a result, by Thursday
the river reached over 15 feet and was very muddy.
During the muddy conditions the trout moved into the
creeks where they could find cleaner water and feed on
the worms, etc. being washed down. By mid-morning
Saturday the water cleared up enough for the fish to
move out of the creeks. The river has remained over 11
feet throughout the last week. Fishing has been
difficult this week but bright-colored Power Eggs
worked best. If you plan to be on the river be aware
of floating debris and fast water. Stay safe and good
fishing.
(updated 4-7-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had
several rain events that combined for 3 inches in
Cotter), warmer temperatures and heavy winds (to
include lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull
Shoals rose 1.2 feet to rest at 1 foot above power
pool of 659 feet. This is 35 feet below the top of
flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 1.8 feet to
rest at 1.3 tenths feet above power pool and 14.7 feet
below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose 1.6 feet
to rest at 1.2 feet above power pool or 8.4 feet below
the top of flood pool. The White had no wadable water.
Norfork Lake rose 1.9 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.
All of the lakes in the White River system are now
above power pool. With the current lake levels, we can
expect no wadable water in the near future.
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.
On the White, the hot spot has been the state park
below Bull Shoals Dam. 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 or a girdle bug.
John also recapped the recent Sowbug Roundup in
Mountain Home: “After a two-year hiatus caused by the
pandemic, it was great to be back at the Sowbug
Roundup. I saw grown men hugging each other. They were
fly-fishing and fly-tying buddies that had not seen
each other in years. It was a moving sight. Most were
maskless, but a few attendees wore a mask. I was able
to see and talk to a bunch of fly-tyers from all over
the United States that I had not talked to or seen for
way too long a time.
“It was like nothing had happened. There were some
great seminars led by some great fly-fishers and some
great vendors selling some great fly-tying and
fly-fishing gear that I did not need. When you have
been fly-fishing for 40 years, you pretty much have it
all.
“The big draw, as always, was the fly-tyers. There
were over a hundred of them from all over the United
States – People I wanted to see like Fred Dupre from
Texas. Fred used to live here and was a member of the
Sowbug committee when he lived here. This year he won
the Buz Buzek award from Fly Fishers International
(the organization that the North Arkansas Fly Fishers,
sponsor of the Sowbug Roundup, is affiliated with),
their highest award for fly-tying. Past winners
include Dave Whitlock and Tony Spezio.
“Dave Whitlock was our honoree and he did a masterful
job. He held a standing-room-only seminar and an
incredible fly-casting class. He was available to talk
to and sign books late every day. He is a living
legend, and I have never seen one of these guys work
as hard as he did. He painted an original piece of art
that he donated. The proceeds will help set up a
foundation committed to protecting and improving Dry
Run Creek.
“One thing that did not appeal to me was the
generation levels we had on our local rivers during
the festival. Most of the fly-tyers and attendees want
to fish when they are here. Most want to wade fish. To
accommodate them, the Sowbug Committee requested that
the United States Army Corps of Engineers hold back on
the generation to allow for wade fishing during the
Sowbug Roundup. Despite the fact that all of the lakes
in the White River system were below flood pool, the
Corps ran water almost continuously. There were a few
days where they had a brief 4-hour window of low water
on the Norfork tailwater. There was no wadable water
on the White River. All of the fly-tyers and attendees
were very disappointed to travel here and not be able
to wade fish. We can do better!”
(updated 3-24-2022) White River Trout Club
(870-453-2424) says the river flow is relatively
stable. Trout are good. Cloudy days are better on
midges and jigs around the bank. Four to five
generators have been running at the dam.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 660.07 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam is 18,201 cfs. The reported lake elevation at
Table Rock Lake at 10 a.m. was 915.84 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 915.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 4-7-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake Boat
Dock said his report this week that warming water
temps have been good for bass fishing. Shad are spread
out; look for the loons, that’s where the fish are.
Use are jerkbait in the morning and later try a 2.8
Keitech on a quarter-ounce ballhead, or swim a
grub/darter. Active diving loons will trigger feeding.
As more fish move up and leave the shad, crawfish are
on the menu. Dragging a jig, shaky head, Ned rig in
green pumpkin variations in 5-20 feet on secondary
points or in channel swings leading to spawning areas.
Over the next couple of weeks, key in on areas outside
of spawning areas, around south-facing pockets; creeks
with stain are doing a little better. Temps rise and
fish are seeing red. Rock Crawlers or Wiggle Warts on
windy or steeper ledges and nasty rock transitions
with stained water and wind. If you find warm, stained
runoff, use a bright spinnerbait, Chatterbait or
square bill.
White bass and walleye are spawning. 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 555.60 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 4-7-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 554.67 feet
msl and has dropped 1.75 inches in the last 24 hours
with both generators running continuously. They had
some spillway gates open a bit for a couple of days
but they are closed again now. The lake is approaching
the power pool of 553.75 feet msl again, and that is
good. There is some off-colored water but not bad
after a 4-inch rain and the lake is in good condition
for fishing. The surface water temperature is 57-58
degrees and rising slowly with cold fronts still
coming through once a week.
The walleye, stripers and white bass have finished
spawning and the crappie are ready and the black bass
are not far behind. The spring topwater bite is
beginning and the bass and stripers are coming up
early after warm nights but not after cold ones. It
should be in full swing by April 15. Surprisingly,
some crappie and walleye are coming up with them. The
male crappie are moving up in the creeks to make nests
and the big females are still prespawn feeding, as are
the female bass. “I am seeing no bass on the beds yet,
but the water has been cloudy until just recently in
the creeks.”
The big bluegill have started to bite again. Topwater
lures, spoons, grubs, creature baits and jigs are
still the best baits. A cold front is coming in soon
and then it is to get warm again this weekend and it
should get things started. People are not catching
fish in high numbers but are getting some good ones,
he says.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 3-24-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said Norfork Lake has had some fishing ups and
downs due to the ever-changing weather patterns. But
overall, the bite continues to be good for most
species. Yes, you do have to look for bait to find the
species that follow the bait fish, but typically once
you find the bait, the fish will not be far away. The
bait moves from very shallow water out to deep water
then the cycle begins again.
Striped and hybrid bass are being found all over the
lake. “Today I found them in the back of a medium-size
cove where the strong southwest wind was blowing
straight in. There were big schools of bait at the
mouth of the cove, but once I passed the points of the
cove, I found that the bait was scattered out. The
fish were in 15-25 feet of water feeding on shad. The
fun part of this area was that the largemouth, spotted
and white bass were all feeding heavily on the
surface. I also located a few scattered out
striped/hybrid bass in 60 feet of water just outside
of the main river channel. The bait was scattered out
so, of course, the fish were scattered out as well. I
am catching the shallower stripers either by casting
out a small 3.5-inch paddle tail swimbait or a
Kastmaster with a feather trailer. I have been
catching all species on these two baits when I find
them in relatively shallow water. The deeper stripers,
I have been vertical-jigging a 3-inch plastic jig, but
you can vertical-jig a spoon.”
As stated above, the bass are getting very energetic.
Topwater action is starting and will only get better
as the water temperature continues to warm. This will
happen when the cool fronts stop and the area starts
getting some stable weather. Crankbaits, swimbaits,
spinners, A-rigs and topwater baits are all working.
After a rain, head back into creeks that have some
flowing water and you will find some nice bass.
Crappie have started to school on tops of brush and
are starting to roam back into their spawning areas.
“This is the time when I start trolling Berkley
Flicker Minnows in size 7 and 9. Find a cove that has
a lot of brushpiles and start trolling throughout the
cove. You will pick up some really nice fish. There
will still be some crappie in the brush, typically on
the tops of the brush. Use a small plastic jig. Live
bait drifted over the brush is also working great.
“This is a great time of year to catch most species in
Norfork Lake.”
The surface water temperature was close to 53 degrees.
The water level is rising slowly due the rain last
weekend. The current level is 553.38 feet msl. The
water is stained due to the rain, but is a great
fishing color.
“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 4-7-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 1.9 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 no wadable water on the Norfork during
the day and it fished poorly. 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
eighteen 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. Weekends
can get a quite 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.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 4-7-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are still navigable. With warmer
temperatures, the smallmouths could soon become
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.
