(updated 8-25-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “The White River winds through the Arkansas
Ozarks and offers an angler the opportunity to catch
more trout than in any other stream in the country.
After a week or two of brutal heat, we're enjoying a
week of cooler temperatures. Bull Shoals Lake has
arrived at power pool (661 feet msl) after several
months of high lake levels and heavy generation into
the White River. Beginning this week, the river level
is near minimum flow all day followed by heavy
generation late in the afternoon, falling back to
minimum flow before dawn.
“The release schedule makes for great wade fishing, so
take advantage of the easy access. Extra skill and
knowledge of the river are required to keep a john
boat floating, however. Please be considerate and
thoughtful of your fellow anglers. Low river levels
make for a great time to catch trout and we have
60-plus miles to share.” Sunrise-colored Power Eggs
have been a favorite this week for both shore fishers
and anglers in boats. The browns are still biting at
sculpins and soft-shell crawdads (keep the Rebel Wee
Craw handy). The ruby midge has been the go-to fly to
tie on. Pull out your hopper flies; the end of August,
first of September, is the best grasshopper crop of
the year and the trout are looking for them.
“Keep anglin' and we'll see you on the river.”
(updated 8-25-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said Monday that during the past week they had
an inch and a half of rainfall, warm temperatures and
moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 3.2
feet to rest at 0.4 foot above power pool of 661 feet
msl. This is 33.6 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.4 foot to rest at 4.2
feet below power pool and 18.2 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.2 foot to rest at 0.5
foot below power pool or 9.1 feet below the top of
flood pool. The White has had no wadable water. On the
White, the hot spot has been Rim Shoals. “We have had
lower flows in the morning that have been fished well.
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
pheasant tail nymph.”
(updated 8-25-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said fishing
conditions continue to be very good, and with the
expected lower water levels, fishing will get even
better. Bull Shoals Lake has finally reached the power
pool level of 661 feet msl and as a result, anglers on
the White River will see much lower water levels.
Drift-fishing with inline spinners with Power Eggs and
shrimp will continue to work well. Artificial lures
are very effective in low water conditions. Throw
gold-colored quarter-ounce spoons, Rapala Countdowns,
Blue Fox lures or any lure that creates a flash in the
water. With the lower water, be aware of underwater
obstacles. Rocks and gravel bars will be shallower,
and hitting them can damage the lower unit of a motor.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 660.85 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 661.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam at noon Thursday was 8,312 cfs, with release on
Wednesday between 1 and 8 p.m. of 15,000-21,600 cfs.
The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake was
912.40 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet
msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with
outflow of 2,138 cfs.
(updated 8-18-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Thursday that the lake level is at 663
feet, only about 5 feet high, and almost back to
normal. The constant generating from Bull Shoals Dam
has stopped. Water temperature is about 85 degrees.
Typical summer patterns are working. The cooler nights
have the shad starting to move. There are always
shallow fish, especially with recent rains. Target
channel swings, points and ledges close to deep water.
Whooper Plopper, buzzbait and a topwater Lucky Craft
Gunfish are working early in the day. When topwater
slows, use a half-ounce flutter spoon in a shad
pattern and a small swimbait. Then move to a Mooneye
Tater Shad or drop-shot a Jewel Spoon. Most of the
shad are suspended at 25-35 feet. Almost all species
are present. A lot of fish have moved up into the
brushpiles and are coming into play with lowering
water levels. The creek fish have pulled back with the
water coming down. Topwater will slow down when the
sun starts getting high. Move out with a Jewel Special
Ops football jig in green pumpkin-orange variations
and keep the boat out around 40 feet. Fishing is good
around channel swings, standing timber, ledges and
laydowns. Use a Beaver/Big Worm Ole Monster in
green-pumpkin, red or red shad, or plum as well. 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 555.69 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 noon
Thursday was 495 cfs. Heavier generation was seen
Wednesday (over 5,000 cfs) between 11 a.m. and
midnight.
(updated 8-25-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said Wednesday the lake level was
555.92 feet msl and had dropped over 3 inches in the
last 24 hours with more generation than before. “We
are approaching the 555.75 level of power pool and
will hit that level on Wednesday but are still about 4
feet higher than what is normal for this date. The
lake is in excellent condition for swimming, boating
and fishing with a surface water temperature of 85
degrees. The water is clear down to the thermocline at
30 feet on the main lake but stained in the creeks.”
Several fish of different species are in 30-38 feet of
water with the most being on main lake points on or
near brush. The new news is that there has been a
topwater bite in the mornings at about 8 a.m. for the
last few days, for some reason. Stripers, black bass
and white bass are all together and pushing up shad.
It has been lasting for almost two hours. Casting
spoons and Zara Spooks has been catching a lot of
fish. The rest of the time, fish off points in 35-40
feet of water, tapping bottom with the spoon for
walleye. Some crappie have moved to brushpiles at 35
feet, but not a lot. Cast the jig past the brush and
let it sink into it.
The after-dark fishing for largemouth bass is about
over. The moon is small and the catfishing is getting
better on both prepared bait and live bluegill.
Trollers are catching a mixture of bass and walleye
dragging crankbaits in 35 feet of water but the
walleye are mostly undersized. Fishing is better than
it usually is for the end of August and the weather
has been beautiful.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 8-25-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 1.3 feet to rest at 0.7 foot above power pool of
555.75 feet msl and 23.5 feet below the top of flood
pool. There has been more wadable water on the Norfork
tailwater in the morning. 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 moderately. School is back in
session and the creek is not as busy. Weekends can
still get quite crowded. The hot flies have been
sowbugs, various colored San Juan worms (worm brown,
red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise) and white mop
flies. 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.
John also said, “As a working fly-fishing guide and
avid angler, I am constantly going online to check
water conditions. The White River system is considered
to be the sixth most dangerous body of water in the
United States. Since many of our rivers are
tailwaters, our river levels are subject to fast and
substantial changes in water flow. In order for me and
my clients to be safe, I need to know what is going to
happen.
“The prediction that I am writing about is the
projected loading schedule of the Southwestern Power
Administration. I go to my cell phone to obtain this.
It is generally available late afternoon (3:30 p.m. or
later) Monday through Friday for the next day. On
Friday, you get the information for Saturday, Sunday
or Monday. I find this on the USACE Little Rock app.
Last Friday afternoon (5 p.m.) I consulted the SWPA
projected loading schedule for Saturday. I was
interested in wade fishing the Norfork tailwater.
There had been wadable water there for several days in
the morning. I was seeking the generation schedule for
two reasons.
First, I did not want to needlessly drive from my
house in Cotter to the Ackerman Access on the Norfork.
This drive takes me about a half-hour and in these
days of expensive gasoline I did not want to make the
trip unless I knew the water was down. I have done
that before only to look out my windshield to see
rising water as I arrived.
Second, I wanted to know when conditions were to be
safe for wading. It is approximately four miles from
the Norfork dam to the confluence of the White and
North Fork rivers. The water moves about 4 miles an
hour. It would take about 30 minutes for the rising
water to travel from the dam to the area I would be
fishing (the catch-and-release section).|
This area is a couple of miles downstream of the dam.
The Army Corps of Engineers sounds a loud horn a few
minutes before beginning generation. You cannot hear
the horn this far from the dam. Therefore it is
imperative that I know when generation is scheduled to
start, so that I can safely leave before the water
rises.
When the USACE Little Rock app came up on my iPhone, I
noted that the SWPA had not updated the projected
loading schedule for the following Saturday, Sunday or
Monday. I had no reliable information to help me
safely plan my trip.
“I could have called the Corps of Engineers generation
number (870) 431-5311. I have found this to not be
useful. They give you information on what they are
doing now. Not what they are going to do. I kept
checking the app all weekend. It was never updated
until Monday afternoon for the next day. It was never
updated for Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
“We need updated generation information in order to
safely fish our rivers!”
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(Updated 8-25-2022) 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.
