White River
(updated 5-26-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said the lakes in the White River watershed are full
and are being attentively managed by the Army Corps of
Engineers. Bull Shoals Lake is hovering at 687.6 feet
msl, just 8 feet from the top of flood pool (695.00
feet msl) as we head into a week of predicted sunshine
-- or at least no rain. Soon we'll begin the slow and
steady release of lake waters into the White River
below Bull Shoals Dam, so get out your weighted line,
heavier sinkers and big, gutsy stick baits because
they'll be your ticket to successful trout catching.
This week we continued trolling with the blue and
silver spoons (Cleos or the hammered Thomas Buoyants);
the rainbows haven't turned away from them yet. The
hatches we saw last week which sated the trout and
made it really tough to get their attention in the
afternoon hours have slowed down this week with the
rain and cooler temps. But we'll see more of those
bugs as we warm up this coming week, so the morning
hours are going to be more successful than later in
the day.
The best brown bite here in the Cotter area has been
with slimy sculpins. The best ones are the blue
gummers as the old-timers call them --
turquoise-colored bellies. Look for them under rocks
while the water is low and generation slow.
Not much longer before the school year is finished.
Bring your kids or grandkids to the river and let them
learn about The Natural State of things. Arkansas is
the place to teach them. See you at the river.
(updated 5-26-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said this has been
another week of varied river conditions. Thursday and
Friday the river began clearing after the storms of
last week. The river conditions were good Saturday
morning with several people catching their limits of
fish. The storms on Saturday once again caused the
Buffalo River to rise, resulting in muddying up the
White River at Calico Rock on Sunday and Monday. On
Tuesday and Wednesday the river conditions were much
improved. The Buffalo River rose again after the
storms Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. The
resulting muddy water should arrive in Calico Rock by
Thursday. If generation at Bulls Shoal Dam remains at
least three generators running, the muddy water should
be washed away for the holiday weekend. Recommended
baits for this weekend are a mix of white and orange
Power Eggs or sunrise Power Eggs. Add an inline
spinner for additional flash to gain the trout’s
attention. If desired, add a piece of shrimp or
redworm. The use of a dead sculpin may entice the
larger trout to bite. "Stay safe this holiday weekend.
Remember the purpose of Memorial Day is to remember
our military personnel who lost their life in the
service of our country."
(updated 5-26-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had just a
trace of rain in Cotter, warm temperatures and heavy
wind. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose 2.8 feet to
rest at 25.4 feet above power pool of 662 feet msl.
This is 7.6 feet below the top of the flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lakle fell 3.5 feet to rest at
4.1 feet above power pool and 10.2 feet below the top
of the flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.2 foot to rest
at 6.9 feet above power pool or 1.7 feet below the top
of the flood pool. The White River had no wadable
water. Norfork Lake rose 2.4 feet to rest at 15.3 feet
above power pool of 556.73 and 8 feet below the top of
the flood pool. The Norfork tailwater had less wadable
water.
The water level for the top of normal conservation
pool has been reset higher for all of the lakes in the
White River system. All of the lakes in the system are
now above power pool. With the current lake levels, we
can expect some wadable water on the Norfork tailwater
as the Corps of Engineers works to prevent downstream
flooding.
On the White, the hot spot has been Rim Shoals. The
hot flies were Y2Ks, prince nymphs, zebra midges
(black with silver wire and silver bead or red with
silver wire nad silver bead), pheasant tails, copper
Johns, pink and cerise San Juan worms, gold-ribbed
hare's ear and sowbugs. Double-fly nymph rigs have
been very effective. Try a prince nymph with a size 18
ruby midge.
(updated 5-26-2022) White River Trout Club
(870-453-2424) says the river is high and muddy and
they have had no reports lately.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 687.35 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 662.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam is 4,873 cfs, with a high in the past 24 hours of
6,910 cfs. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock
Lake was 921.39 feet msl (normal conservation pool:
916.58 feet msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet
msl), with outflow of 9,437 cfs.
(updated 5-26-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday afternoon that with Bull
Shoals Lake at its current level and water being up,
limited parking at the boat dock can be an issue, so
plan ahead. Despite the high water, the lake is really
clear in the main part. The backs of bigger creeks
have stain. The water temperature dropped down to
around 68 degrees this week. The lake level Wednesday
was about 687 feet, or 28 feet above normal level.
Watch for debris on calm days.
Bass fishing has been up and down of late. Shad have
spread out. Use a 2.8 Keitech on a quarter-ounce ball
head, or swim a grub in shad colors. Target windy main
lake secondary points, saddles and humps. Don’t pass
up shad way out on the points. Use topwater, LC
Gunfish or a Zara Spook. For sunny days, dragging a
Jewel Special Ops Football Jig in green-pumpkin
orange, a Ned rig with green pumpkin variations, and
keep the boat out around 30 feet.
A lot of fish are on the old shoreline on secondary
points and channel swings. Bloody tails are starting
to show up in the summer areas. The flipping bite is
tougher as the water came up; check out deep bushes,
standing timber or laydowns. Use Beaver/Senkos/a small
jig. If you find warm, dirty water use a bright
spinnerbait, a Chatterbait, Whopper Plopper or square
bill. 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 572.25 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.40 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl). Total outflow from Norfork Dam was 2,120
cfs.
(updated 5-26-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 572.12 feet
msl and has risen 1.2 inches in the last 24 hours
(through Wednesday) with one generator running for
about 10 hours. We received about three-quarters of an
inch of rain (Tuesday ) and (Tuesday) night and it has
been cloudy, rainy and cool for the last three days.
The surface water temperature has dropped from about
77 degrees to 71 degrees in the last week. The main
lake water is very clear and you can see your lure
down at least 15 feet on the main lake, but it is
stained in the creeks with only a few feet of
visibility but clear near the shore. The thermocline
has formed and is at 18 feet as is the old shoreline
before the lake started rising and there are a lot of
fish at this depth, especially in the creeks, but
walleye are on main lake points just inside the
brushpiles near the bottom. Bass are coming up most
days and all day long on cloudy rainy ones on shad,
and some white bass are with them. Catfishing is
excellent, with flatheads slowing a bit but blues and
channels picking nicely. They really like live
bluegill on limb lines and short throw lines. Crappie
are still biting but are scattered with so much cover
and bait available. Some stripers have moved into
deeper water and live bait draggers are catching a
few. Bluegill are biting on crickets and small spoons
under docks and on shallow willow bunches.
Overall the lake is in good condition and fishing is
fair to good and most species are biting.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 5-5-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said the bite for most species has been good on
Norfork. The never-ending changes in the weather have
definitely affected the bite by not allowing it to
become consistent. The fish keep moving around as
their comfort zone changes. But with a little looking
each day you will find the fish. The largemouth bite
has been the best, with crappie, walleye and
striped/hybrid bass all being a close second. Most of
the species in our lake have spawned or are in the
process except for bluegills. Catfish are close to
their spawn cycle, if not already in it.
Largemouth bass have started their post-spawn feed.
Topwater action can be found most early mornings and
late evenings. “I have found them surface-feeding both
back in creeks and coves as well as out on the main
lake, especially near long brushy points. It’s prime
time to start fishing with flukes and you can catch a
lot of bass up inside of the newly sunken brush.
Swimbaits and spinnerbaits are also working very well.
If a cool front moves through, the fish do seem to
move off the shoreline, but can be found nearby in
10-20 feet of water, and will move back into the brush
very quickly.”
Crappie are also on their post-spawn feed. You will
find them schooled up, roaming from brush to brush,
out in 20-30 feet of water. A great way to catch these
roaming fish is to troll Berkley Flicker Minnows in
size 7. Some of these crappie are relating strictly to
brush, and the brush is usually in less than 20 feet
of water. A few crappie are still spawning and can be
caught by casting to the shoreline with small grubs, a
small swimbait or a Road Runner.
Striped/hybrid bass fishing has been good, but the
fish seem to be continually moving. You need to find
the shad and the stripers will be nearby. “One day I
found them back in creeks close to the shoreline and
the next day they were out on main lake points that
have a lot of sunken buckbrush. The lake is getting
more and more buckbrush under water due to recent
rains and the rise in the water level. Threadfin shad
are getting very close to spawning, if not already
spawning, in some areas of the lake. If you can find
spawning threadfin, the stripers will be close to them
in very shallow water. Cast out a topwater bait, a
swimbait or a Kastmaster and hang on.”
Walleye fishing has also been pretty good. “The best
bite for me has been early in the morning before
sunrise. Find an area with bait and cast a small
3.5-inch swimbait with a one-eighth- or quarter-ounce
jighead. The walleye will be near the surface feeding
on the shad. You will also find them in about 18-25
feet of water on the bottom. Vertical-jigging or
dragging a crawler harness will pick up some fish. Or
you can troll a hard crankbait that gets down to 15-18
feet to catch some nice ones. Back in the coves and
creeks are good places to find walleye."
The surface water temperature has been keeping fairly
consistent, ranging from 63 to 65 degrees. The water
level is rising due to recent rains. The current level
is 563.37 which is about 9 feet over normal seasonal
pool. The water is fairly clear, but may stain up a
bit with the most recent rains and runoff.
“If you are looking for almost daily fishing reports
and to see what species are being caught, check out
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page. Give us a
like and start seeing what is happening on the lake.
Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.”
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 5-26-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 2.4 feet to rest at 15.3 feet above power pool of
556.73 and 8 feet below the top of the flood pool. The
Norfork tailwater had less wadable water.
The water level for the top of normal conservation
pool has been reset higher for all of the lakes in the
White River system. All of the lakes in the sy stem
are now above power pool. With the current lake
levels, we can expect some wadable water on the
Norfork tailwater as the Corps of Engineers works to
prevent downstream flooding. There has been some
wadable water on the Norfork during the day and it has
fished moderately. The most productive flies have been
small midge patters 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 well. Weekends can get 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.
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 5-26-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are a bit high and off-color.
With warmer temperatures, the smallmouths are 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.
