White River
(updated 6-9-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said Bull Shoals Lake is sitting well above normal
power pool, currently at 688.10 feet msl and dropping
slowly as the Army Corps Of Engineers begins to lower
the lake level. The Bull Shoals Dam is running between
10,000-15,000 cfs (four to five units) all day.
Drift-fishing is the name of the game on high water
and has allowed for an excellent catch of rainbows and
a good number of browns. “The brown bite has been a
little off this past week, not unexpected, as the
trout acclimate to the swifter water. That being said,
we've still seen a good number in the 19- to 22-inch
range, especially if you can lay your hands on some
soft-shell crawdads. The rainbow catch seems to be a
little heavier since the start of increased water
levels, maybe due to the greater food sources.”
The return of the White River Zig Jigs made a hit last
week in the lower water, but probably won't produce
much action for a while. You've got time to locate
some and save them for our next low water event. One
to two units (3,000 to 6,000 cfs) is good for jigging.
“Stock up on red wrigglers and night crawlers –
they're doing very well for us right now, ensuring a
good catch of the fatter rainbows. I suggest throwing
some brighter baits in this high water, casting some
white or chartreuse egg baits (PowerBait or X-Factor)
toward the bank a little out of the current. Add some
weight to get your baits deeper. I expect to hear
about some good action from larger stick baits, too.
Come in with your success stories with 4-, 5- or even
9-inch lures.
“Drifting the White before the summer heat sets in is
a great way to spend the day. Stay safe. It's a good
idea to keep your life jacket on while on a boat.”
(updated 6-9-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had couple
of rain events that combined for half an inch in
Cotter, warm temperatures and heavy winds. The lake
level at Bull Shoals fell 0.5 foot to rest at 26.3
feet above normal power pool of 662 feet msl. This is
6.7feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table
Rock Lake fell 0.6 foot to rest at 5 feet above power
pool and 9 feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver
Lake remained steady at 6.8 feet above power pool or
1.8 feet below the top of flood pool. The White has
had no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose 0.2 foot to
rest at 16.2 feet above power pool of 556.75 feet msl
and 7 feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
tailwater has 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, expect some wadable water on the Norfork to
prevent downstream flooding.
On the White, the hot spot has been Wildcat Shoals.
“We have had heavier flows. 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
San Juan worm with an orange egg.”
John also said, “I frequently write about the trials
and tribulations of being a fly-fishing guide on the
White River and Norfork tailwater. Sometimes you have
a really good day and you remember why you ever took
up this life choice to begin with. Such a day was last
Saturday. It did not start out that way.
“I was scheduled to take Russ, a banker from Missouri,
and his wife, Julie, a nurse, fishing on Thursday.
They were camping at White River Campgrounds, across
the river from Cotter. The weather forecast called for
significant rain. Russ called and said that he and
Julie were not interested in fishing in the rain. I
understood. While I will fish in the rain if my
clients want to, it is not my favorite thing. Drying
everything out is a pain. We rescheduled for Saturday.
Luckily I was available then. As predicted, it rained
almost all day Thursday.
“Saturday was a near-perfect day. The sky was clear
and the sun was shining. The temperature was in the
low 70s when we started, with light wind. The water
was low but there was enough flow for a good long
drift. What wind that we had was blowing in the right
direction and helped us drift easily. The river was
gin clear and we could easily see the bottom. I saw a
bald eagle fly overhead. Due to my Native American
heritage, that is always a good omen to me.
“I had Russ sit up front. He was more experienced and
not as likely to need my assistance. Meanwhile, Julie
sat in the rear of the boat. She was not as advanced
so I wanted to be able to coach her a bit. We began
fishing and Russ landed a nice one on the first drift.
We were off to the races.
“Julie hooked one but lost it. Russ landed another.
Julie hooked up again, but again she lost it. I
coached her a bit and she soon landed a nice fat
rainbow. The skunk was out of the boat. We continued
on and Julie was landing a good percentage of her
hooked trout. She was definitely getting the feel of
it. Russ was on fire. He landed trout after trout. The
fishing turned out to be outstanding.
“To make things even better, these folks were easy to
get along with. We had a lot in common, so the
conversations were interesting to say the least. I had
worked in banking for several years, and my wife’s
sister and mother had been nurses.
“I didn’t really want the day to end but I had a date
with a lawnmower. We were having company over that
evening for a lawn party and the grass was high. At
noon, we ended the half-day and went our separate
ways. It had been of my best days ever. Good weather,
good water and good clients – does it get better than
this?”
(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.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 688.10 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 662.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam is 16,925 cfs, and releases have been heavy this
week. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake
was 921.50 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 916.58
feet msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with
outflow of 9,442 cfs.
(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 572.85 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.75 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl). Total outflow from Norfork Dam at 2 p.m.
Thursday was 5,568 cfs.
(updated 6-9-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 572.95 feet
msl and has dropped a half-inch in the last 24 hours
with about eight hours of running both generators.
This is the first drop in months and is good news. The
White River at Newport is at 14.11 feet and the
surface water is 76-77 degrees and rising and the
water is clear. Crappie fishing is getting better back
in the creeks near wood in about 25 feet of water if
you can find it. Most brushpiles are too deep at this
time. Fish of several species are on the old shoreline
before the rise in 20-25 feet of water back in the
creeks. A few walleye are on main lake points or just
around them in 20-22 feet of water near the bottom and
hitting the three-eighth-ounce jigging spoon. More are
around Cranfield and Robinson Islands at the same
depth. Trollers are dragging live bait and umbrellas
in open water on shad and catching a few stripers and
bass. Big bluegill are around willows on both the main
lake and in creeks on crickets and small spoons. You
can catch fish off docks at this time if they are at
the right depth, which is from 20-35 feet of water.
Catfishing has slowed but a few are still being caught
on live bluegill on both limb lines and throw lines.
The topwater bite has slowed way down. Fishing overall
is better this week and most people are catching fish.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 6-9-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 0.2 foot to rest at 16.2 feet above power pool of
556.75 feet msl and 7 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater has 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, 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 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 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 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 6-9-2022) 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.
