(updated 6-2-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said Bull Shoals Lake elevation is 689 feet msl, 6
feet from the top of flood pool. “Our friends and
fellow Arkansans, especially those along the Arkansas
River and the Mississippi near Memphis, and many folks
to the west and north of us, are experiencing
flooding, so the Corps of Engineers is employing the
dam to hold back lake water. We anticipate controlled,
managed releases from Bull Shoals Lake sometime in the
next weeks. When that happens, we will see much higher
water levels, but we will continue to fish – and catch
– great trout.
“The No. 1 question on everybody's mind is, ‘Will we
be able to fish on the White River when they release
lots of water?’ ‘Yes! Yes, you will!’ And we will
catch beautiful, healthy rainbows and browns.”
At this time, releases from the dam remain low,
averaging 1½ units (4,800 cfs) with large spurts in
the late afternoon for a few hours. That means the
White River below Bull Shoals is relatively shallow,
and may be wadable in some spots during morning hours.
“The browns kept us busy this past week. Find some
really nice sculpins and you'll attract some really
nice browns. The rainbows are showing curiosity toward
shiny silver spoons (especially Cleos and the hammered
blue-silver Thomas Buoyant). They're also biting at
just about any worm, especially when a bubblegum pink
or fluorescent orange worm is used in conjunction with
shrimp. But don't discount the live ones – red
wigglers and Canadian nightcrawlers – for catching
great rainbows. Whatever form your fishing takes,
bring it to the river and enjoy Arkansas, The Natural
State.”
(updated 6-2-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said that late last
week the river remained high and muddy from the rains
in the Buffalo River Valley. By Saturday the water
cleared and was between 6-7 feet deep. Fishing was
great during the holiday weekend with many
15-inch-plus rainbow trout caught and several brown
trout that topped 18 inches. A couple of boats
reported hooking some 5-pound-plus rainbows or brown
trout that either broke the line or threw the
hook. One angler caught and released an 8-pound
brown trout. The trout were hungry and weren’t too
picky. Drift-fishing with Power Eggs with shrimp or
worms or corn performed well. Rapala Countdowns caught
some of the bigger trout. Tuesday and Wednesday,
throwing gold-colored spoons on the gravel bars worked
well as well as drift-fishing with sculpins. On
Tuesday the Norfork Hatchery with the Arkansas Game
and Fish used a pontoon raft to stock over 2,200
rainbow trout between the Calico Rock boat ramp and
the Optimus boat ramp.
(updated 6-2-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had half
an inch of rain in Cotter, warm temperatures and heavy
winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose 1.4 feet to
rest at 26.8 feet above power pool of 662 feet msl.
This is 6.2 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 1.8 feet to rest at 5.6
feet above power pool and 8.4 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake rose 0.1 foot to rest at 6.8
feet above power pool or 1.8 feet below the top of
flood pool. The White had no wadable water. Norfork
Lake rose 0.8 foot to rest at 16 feet above power pool
of 556.75 feet msl and 7.2 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater had had a bit more wadable
water.
The water level for the top of power pool has been
reset higher for all of the lakes in the White River
system. All of the lakes in the White River system are
now well above power pool. With the current lake
levels, we can expect some wadable water on the
Norfork to prevent downstream flooding.
On the White, the hot spot has been the Rim Shoals.
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 a prince nymph with a size 18
ruby midge.
John also said, “Here recently my wife, Lori, and I
have been pretty lucky in that we have been able to
fish together almost every week. We have had some
decent weather between thunderstorms and have also had
some nice lower flows. We have even been able to wade
fish a bit. Last week we had another stellar
opportunity. I should note that on the last two
previous fishing trips with Lori, she has out fished
me mercilessly.
“It was a bright sunny day. The river was on the
bottom and gin clear. There were few waders but plenty
of boats. We left the house as soon as Lori had fed
and walked our dogs. I loaded our gear into my
Suburban. We drove to the access and put on our
waders. We had been chasing the caddis hatch for weeks
and they had eluded us.
“I pulled out my Sage rod. It was still rigged with a
partridge and orange soft hackle. I left it on,
figuring that it would be an effective fly for the
caddis. Lori took a client rod. These are rods that we
keep in my Suburban for client use. They are quite
serviceable but are not as fancy as our personal rods.
This one was not rigged. Lori was going to rig it when
she got on stream and observed the conditions.
“We walked far from the access. We noted a few caddis.
It was not a hatch. They were ovipositors, adults that
had previously hatched that had returned to the river
to lay eggs. I opted to fish the partridge and orange
soft hackle I had on, while Lori decided to fish dry
flies. In this case she went for an elk hair caddis.
“I began fishing and caught several. The partridge and
orange was producing trout after trout. Meantime, Lori
was struggling. She had managed to hook one but set
the hook too soon and pulled the fly from the trout’s
mouth. This is a common problem. You have to let the
trout close its mouth before you set the hook. The
problem with topwater fishing is that you see the
strike and the adrenalin is pumping.
“Lori wanted to fish the dry flies and nothing else.
She kept at it with no further success. I had caught
enough, so I cranked in my line and sat on the bank
watching her fish. I really enjoyed watching her. She
is a really good fly caster and she was in her
element. She tried several different caddis dry fly
patterns but was unwilling to try any other technique.
She went fishless.
“Sometimes it is the technique that counts and you
have to be willing to try something else. Sometimes
you just want to do it your way.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 688.95 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 662.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). The outflow from Bull
Shoals Dam at 1 p.m. was 10,536 cfs. The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 922.61 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 916.58 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 6-2-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake Boat
Dock said Thursday morning that limited parking at the
boat dock can be an issue, so plan ahead. The lake
continues to rise, now at 688 feet msl (or 29 feet
high and 7 feet from the top of the lake). Despite the
high water, the lake is really clear in the main
portion. Bigger creeks have stain. The water
temperature is around 70 degrees. Watch for debris on
calm days.
Bass fishing has been up and down with the weather
fronts. The 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 and
saddle humps. Don’t pass up shad way out on the
points, and use topwater, an 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, so deep bushes, standing
timber and laydowns are where to focus. Use a
Beaver/Senko/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 572.90 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.40 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl).
(updated 6-2-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 572.83 feet
msl and has risen three-quarters of an inch in the
last 24 hours with three hours of running both
generators and 2-hours of less than one. It is
scheduled to crest at 572.90 on 5-June at 66% full.
The White River at Newport is 15.87 and dropping
quickly. Surface water temperature is 76-degrees and
the water is clearing nicely again after the holiday
churn. The thermocline is between 19 and 20 feet as is
the old shoreline before the water rise and many fish
are at this level. The top-water bite has slowed with
the warming water and will diminish as the thermocline
goes deeper. Crappie and bass are both near cover and
in open water on shad. Live bait fishermen are
catching a few temperate bass. Bluegill fishing
remains good on crickets and small spoons. Catfishing
is fair on live bluegill on throw lines and limb
lines. Bluegill about 4-inches long is the best bait.
Overall spooning main lake points and just around them
is good but working the bank for black bass in the
creeks with grubs and creature baits is also working.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 6-2-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort had no updated report this week. But check out
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page, where Lou
gives periodic updates on Norfork Lake.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 6-2-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 0.8 foot to rest at 16 feet above power pool of
556.75 feet msl and 7.2 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater had had a bit more wadable
water.
The water level for the top of power pool has been
reset higher for all of the lakes in the White River
system. All of the lakes in the White River system are
now well above power pool. With the current lake
levels, we can expect some wadable water on the
Norfork to prevent downstream flooding.
There has been some wadable water on the Norfork
during the day and it fished moderately. 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 well. School is out and the
creek is busy. 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.
Remember that the White River, Norfork tailwater 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 6-2-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are navigable. 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.
