White River
(updated 9-1-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said the White River watershed has seen some rain this
week, usually less than predicted in the Cotter area
and mostly much appreciated. River clarity has
remained very good and trout catching has been
phenomenal. Water levels have continued to fluctuate
as they have over the last month with very low water
levels in the morning hours, much higher generation in
the late afternoon. Bull Shoals Lake is slightly below
power pool at 660 feet msl. “When the channels are
narrow due to limited generation, please share the
space. Regardless of experience or technique, we're
all part of the family of trout-loving fishers.”
The rainbow catches were lured in mainly with sunrise
or pink PowerBait tipped with shrimp on a size 8
Aberdeen or bait holder hook. It's a good idea to use
bronze hooks to decrease harm to the trout. Another
favored bait for a great catch has been fresh,
soft-shell crawdads – when drifted mid-depth you'll
likely increase your catch count. Dangling a redworm
or a nightcrawler near the bank during rises in the
water level is most always a sure catch, too. Then
return to tying on a heavier spoon or a favorite
jerkbait when the rise levels off.
Reminder: It's late summer so hopper season is upon
us; pull out your hopper flies and make your way to
the river. September fishing is so laid-back compared
to the hectic spring and summer months. The river
provides even more of an escape now than at any other
time. All the first-day-of-school preparation is
behind us, no demanding holiday schedules yet. Life is
good. Come share it with us.
(updated 9-1-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, says he feels “like
I’m a broken record saying the same thing each week
but it isn’t a bad thing when I’m reporting the
fishing has been very good. We are seeing water
cresting in the morning at approximately 8 feet and
dropping throughout the day to 4-5 feet. The water has
some dinginess in the morning but by noon the water
clears. Drift-fishing with inline spinners with a
silver-colored Colorado spoon and sunrise or orange
Power Eggs and shrimp continues to work best. With the
low water, quarter-ounce gold-colored spoons, Rapala
Countdowns and Blue Fox lures are working well when
fished over the gravel bars. There were two stockings
for a total of over 2,700 rainbow trout. The river
will be busy this weekend. Be careful and respectful
of other anglers and boaters 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.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 660.03 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 661.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam at 2 p.m. Thursday was 9,866 cfs, with release on
Wednesday between 1 and 7 p.m. of 11,000-23,000 cfs.
The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake was
911.83 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet
msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with
outflow of 1,552 cfs.
(updated 9-1-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake Boat
Dock said Wednesday that the lake is almost back to
normal water level. The constant generating has
stopped. Water temperature is 84 degrees, give or take
a degree. The 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. Whopper Plopper, buzzbaits and topwater Lucky
Craft Gunfish are working early in the day. When the
topwater bite 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 30-35 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. The morning topwater bite
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 Beaver or a
Big Worm Ole Monster in green-pumpkin red or red shad
plum. 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 555.02 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 2 p.m.
Thursday was 486 cfs. Heavier generation was seen
Wednesday (over 5,000 cfs) between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m.
(updated 9-1-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 555.13 feet
msl and is dropping slowly with less generation since
reaching the power pool level. The water surface
temperature is 84 degrees and the main lake water is
clear down to and below the thermocline of 30 feet.
The creeks are stained. There are a lot of fish on
brush in the 27-feet range on main lake brush,
including Kentucky bass, black bass, walleye, crappie,
bluegill and catfish. Catfishing is getting better on
jugs and throw lines baited with live bluegill with
the slower water level drop and the small moon. Some
are also biting off docks on prepared bait. The other
fish are biting small spoons and jigs dropping them
right in the brush.
Crappie fishing has shown the best improvement with
some large ones starting to show up. There are some
big schools roaming from brushpile to brushpile but
they are spooky and do not move far.
“I have no reports of temperate bass being caught
except for small ones. Overall fishing has improved
this week and the lake is in very good condition going
into to the holiday weekend. It looks to be very busy
and the water will get stirred up again but will clear
quickly. After that, fall fishing is full speed
ahead.”
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 9-1-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “I fished two different types of areas
(Wednesday) morning. I started in the dark about|5:30
a.m. on a main lake big rounded gravelly point. I was
marking fish in 28-35 feet of water. I trolled two
Flicker Minnows, size 7, with a 1-ounce snap weight
set 50 feet behind the bait and added another 50 feet
line. I was getting the bait down to about 27 feet
traveling 1.2-1.4 mph. I use 8-pound monofilament
line. I started on the outside of the point and
traveled around to the inside of the point.
“I caught a little of almost every species in the
lake. The most plentiful was spotted bass. I also
caught crappie, walleye, a catfish, bluegill and white
bass. They liked baits in chartreuse or a bright green
color. Both baits also had a lot of white on them.
“The big crappie was a 15-inch fish. The spotted bass
ranged from 13-16 inches long. One walleye was a
keeper, but only 18 inches and so was released.
“At around 7:30 I moved to a large flat. I trolled and
vertical-jigged a purple Monkey Tater Shad. I started
out in 35-40 feet of water, but marked nothing. I
moved in shallower 28-35 feet and found fish.
Everything caught in this area were walleye. The big
walleye was a little shy of 19.5 inches long. For
whatever reason the fish that were out in deeper water
for the last two weeks moved into the shallower water
and were plentiful. Fun morning.”
The lake conditions have remained stable with a very
slight drop in level. Surface water temperature was in
the mid-80s. The current Norfork Lake level is 555.04
feet msl. The lake is in great shape. “Happy Fishing
and enjoy Norfork Lake.”
Lou posts nearly daily on his Facebook page with
photos and where the fish are biting and what’s
biting. Check it out.
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.
