White River
(updated 7-21-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said Bull Shoals Lake is dropping pretty quickly –
Wednesday it was just below 673 feet msl, which is
only 12 feet above desired power pool. The water
releases have begun to slow a little and the fishing
gets better and better. Mornings on the river begin
with an average of four generators operating (about
12,000 cfs), a near-perfect floating level. An
experienced angler can anchor in his favorite places
or can drift without hanging up too often. There are
fewer places to safely wade fish but bank fishing is
not out of the question. Both boaters and shore
anglers can catch a creel full of rainbows with red
wigglers or nightcrawlers. You'll see higher releases
starting at about noon (six or seven units,
18,000-21,000 cfs) but not apparent in the Cotter
region until 3 p.m. or later.
Best bait? This week the rainbows have been hitting
the pink worm – Berkley or X-Factor – better when
drift-fishing from a boat. A lot of anglers elect to
use the "mouse tail" worm. It comes ready-made with a
white egg at the top; thread it to cover the eye of
your hook and dangle the rest of the imitator worm
like you would a live red wiggler. Experiment with the
orange Power Worm, too, to lure the more curious ones.
The average size of the rainbows here in the Ozark
region of The Natural State seems to be increasing and
they're still attracted by a flash of gold (Little
Cleos, quarter-ounce for now) and the scent of shrimp.
This is great water for stick baits. The glass blue
Husky Jerk minnow is magic. The bigger brown trout
have been looking for sculpins, red worms and shad.
Keep anglin' and stay aware of surroundings with the
higher water. Prepare for the heat and come ready to
catch some great trout on the White River.
(updated 7-21-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had a bit
over a quarter of an inch of rainfall in Cotter,
brutally hot temperatures (to include heat advisories)
and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell
3 feet to rest at 12.6 feet above power pool of 661
feet msl. This is 21.4 feet below the top of flood
pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.8 foot to rest
at 1.5 feet below power pool and 15.5 feet below the
top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 1.1 feet to rest
at 3.1 feet above power pool or 5.4 feet below the top
of flood pool. The White has had no wadable water of
late. Norfork Lake fell 1.3 feet to rest at 7.4 feet
above power pool of 555.75 feet msl and 16.8 feet
below the top of flood pool. The Norfork tailwater has
had no wadable water during the day. The water level
for the top of power pool has been reset higher for
all of the lakes in the White River system. Most of
the lakes in the White River system are now above
power pool. With the current lake levels, expect high
water all summer. The prediction for the lakes to
reach power pool has been updated to Aug. 16;
previously the expectation for power pool was Sept. 5.
On the White, the hot spot has been White Hole. “We
have had less heavy 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 a
cerise San Juan worm with a girdle bug.”
In discussing this oppressive heat and dealing with
the heat advisories, John says, “I wrote my usual
column on Monday this week only to learn later in the
day that I had missed the real story. The story is not
what happened on my last guide trip. The story is the
weather. This is the hottest summer that I can
remember since I moved to Cotter 22 years ago. This
was brought home when I learned that my friend Tommy
Hagan suffered from heat exhaustion during his annual
July Fourth parade and had to go to the emergency
room. If that can happen in your front yard, it can
definitely hit you on the river.
“We have had many days over 100 degrees with heat
indexes as high as 115 degrees. Heat advisories are
almost a daily affair. How do we protect ourselves in
weather like this?
“The best way is to avoid them. The greatest heat is
normally from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The best way is to be
outside early. I suggest that my clients do a half-day
in the morning. I like to start early when it is cool
and quit about noon when it is starting to get hot.
There is usually a heavy fog on the river that keeps
things much cooler.
“When my brother-in-law, Larry, and I recently painted
my house during this heat, we started at 6 a.m. and
quit about 11 a.m., when we lost the shade. We then
cleaned our paint brushes and headed for the White
Sands Cafe for a late breakfast. Our wives kayaked or
fished and usually joined us for breakfast. The rest
of the day was spent inside an air conditioned house
taking a shower, relaxing, reading or going to town
for painting supplies for the next day. My yard work
is done in much the same way.
“If you have to be outside in the heat, dress
properly. Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing. I
wear a long sleeve quick drying tropical shirt and
similar long pants. I wear light wading shoes and
light socks. I also wear sun gloves and a big straw
cowboy hat. All of this saves my fair complexion (I am
Scotch/Irish). On really hot days I also carry a large
neckerchief that I can dip in the river water and wrap
it around my neck, to cool me down.
“Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids. Avoid alcohol.
The best thing to drink is water. On hot days, I carry
twice as much water as I usually do and keep extra
bottles of water in my boat. At lunch, I always find a
bit of shade. I also take breaks in the shade whenever
my clients need to escape the heat.
“Take care. Excessive heat can kill you!”
(updated 7-21-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said fishing remained
steady this week. Silver in-line spinners with sunrise
or orange Power Eggs topped with shrimp worked the
best the week to catch a nice limit of fish. Many
anglers had success fishing the shallower gravel bars
where the fish have moved onto to feed on crawfish,
freshwater shrimp, snails and sculpins. Throwing
quarter-ounce gold spoons and Rapala Countdowns worked
well in the shallower water. Silver or River
Shad-colored Shad Raps worked well fishing the deeper
holes, resulting in some nice 18-inch-plus brown
trout. There were two stockings at Calico Rock boat
ramp resulting in over 3,500 trout stocked.
“We are seeing more fluctuation in water levels based
on the SWPA generation schedule. Norfork Lake is still
several feet above the conservation pool, so expect
them to continue to alternate running one or two
units. Bull Shoals is still about 10 feet above
conservation pool and has been generating all eight
units. It will be late August or early September
before we expect river levels to drop significantly.
“There have been some small storms during the last
week. It has been nice to get a little rain and see
the grass green up some but it has also increased the
humidity levels. Even with light to moderate activity,
high humidity combined with high temperatures can take
a toll. Drink plenty of water and watch out for each
other.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 672.45 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 661.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam at 9 a.m. Thursday was 11,655 cfs, and releases
have trailed off from earlier in the week. The
reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake was 914.96
feet msl (normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl;
top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with outflow
of 2,398 cfs.
(updated 7-21-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said the lake down below 673 feet msl at
last check, or around 11 feet above normal pool. The
parking lots and boat ramps are starting to emerge.
The surface water temperature is around 88 degrees.
The fishing report is about the same as it’s been, he
says, with typical summer patterns working. “There are
always shallow fish but the heat and falling water has
lots of bait over the old river,” he said. Target
channel swings and ledges close to deep water. There
is an early topwater bite; Del likes an LC Gunfish
“for busting fish.” When topwater slows, a half-ounce
flutter spoon in a shad pattern, small swim bait or
drop-shot the fish. Fish are in 20-40 feet over 60-80
feet. Most of the shad are under 3 inches suspended in
20-25 feet. Almost all species are present under
bigger shad balls. There appears to be fish throughout
the top half of the water column.
The creek fish have pulled back with the water coming
down. The topwater bite will slow when the sun starts
getting high. Move out, hopping a Jewel Special Ops
Football Jig in green pumpkin or orange, or a Ned rig
in green pumpkin variations, and keep the boat out
around 40 feet now. Channel swings, standing timber
ledges and laydowns should be fished with a Beaver, a
Big Worm Ol’ Monster in green-pumpkin, red or red
shad, or plum. Those are working best. Always fish the
conditions.
Del regularly posts new YouTube videos. Visit his
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 562.52 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.25 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl). Total outflow from Norfork Dam at 9 a.m.
Thursday was 2,927 cfs, and releases over the past 36
hours have ranged 2,900-3,000.
(updated 7-21-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 562.74 feet
msl and is dropping 2 inches a day with one generator
running continuously, and they are holding the White
River at Newport at 12 feet. The lake level is down a
little over 10 feet from its high of 573 feet msl on
June 6. “We received a half-inch of rain earlier this
week. The surface water temperature is 90 degrees and
the thermocline starts at about 24 feet and gets cold
at 29 feet. The water appears clear from the surface,
but there is a mud line from about 19 feet to over 30
feet. The water clears again at 33-35 feet and several
fish are at the 35ft. level near the bottom including
bass, walleye and small stripers.”
Main lake points are the best. White bass are a little
shallower and suspended. Spoons are the best lure in
the early morning from before sunrise to about 8 a.m.
The larger stripers have moved out into deeper water
in the main lake channels and are not biting. There
are still some open water fish on shad also early from
30-60 feet suspended but are mostly small bass and
smaller stripers.
Some brushpiles are coming into play with the dropping
water, but not very many fish have moved on them yet
except for bluegill. Bluegill are also biting off
docks in the shade. Catfishing is not the best but
some are being caught on jugs drop-shotted and baited
with live bluegill and shiners. The night bite with
black lights and salt craws is the best for larger
bass. Not much fishing during the middle of the hot
days and the best is early before and just after
sunrise and after dark. The lake overall is in
excellent condition for fishing, boating and swimming.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 7-21-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 1.3 feet to rest at 7.4 feet above power pool of
555.75 feet msl and 16.8 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater has had no wadable water
during the day. The water level for the top of power
pool has been reset higher for all of the lakes in the
White River system. Most of the lakes in the White
River system are now above power pool. With the
current lake levels, expect high water all summer. The
prediction for the lakes to reach power pool has been
updated to Aug. 16; previously the expectation for
power pool was Sept. 5.
There has been no wadable water on the Norfork 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 moderately. 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.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 7-21-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are low. With hot temperatures,
the smallmouths are less 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.
