White River
(updated 9-8-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “We're enjoying the last of summer here in
Cotter with a week of respite from the heat. I'm even
seeing a little change in the color of the leaves
signaling a start to autumn.”
Bull Shoals Lake is 2 feet below power pool “so we're
treated to very low water in the morning hours and
varying amounts of generation in the afternoon,
anywhere from 3,000 cfs to 18,000 cfs. The river level
returns to near minimum flow amounts by dawn and
remains that way until the mid-afternoon rise. Great
for fishing from the river's banks and for wade
fishing but requires extra attention on the part of
john boat pilots.
“Once you get used to the lower river levels, you'll
find that it makes for a great time to catch trout.
Sunrise-colored Power Eggs have been a favorite this
week for both shore fishers and anglers in boats. The
browns continue to favor sculpins and soft-shell
crawdads (keep the Rebel Wee Craw handy) with a rare
but exciting bite on yellow PowerBait. A lightning bug
fly (there are many variations, but look for one with
red highlights) or the ruby midge have been the go-to
flies. Grasshoppers are still prevalent in the area,
so keep your hopper flies handy. Keep anglin' and
we'll see you on the river.
(updated 9-8-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, says fishing in the
past week was great some days and not good on others.
The thunderstorms Friday night muddied up the river
Saturday and fishing was poor at best.By Sunday the
water cleared and fishing was back to being great
again. On Labor Day the fishing was tremendous; it
wasn’t uncommon for a boat with two people fishing
catching 40 or more fish before noon. “We saw a couple
of days of low water flow resulting in depths as low
as 3 feet. With the water that low, throwing
quarter-ounce gold-colored spoons or Rapala Countdowns
produced some nice fish. When the water was higher,
drift-fishing using silver bladed in-line spinners
with Power Eggs and shrimp proved the most effective.
“This week the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission used
their pontoon raft to stock 4,800 fish between Calico
Rock and Sylamore Creek. The advantage of when they
use the raft is the fish are more widely dispersed.
“Stay safe and good fishing.”
(updated 8-25-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had a
major rain event dropping 3½ inches at Cotter, warm
temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at
Bull Shoals fell 0.1 foot to rest at 0.8 foot below
power pool of 661 feet msl. This is 34.8 feet below
the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake
remained steady at 4.9 feet below power pool and 18.9
feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.4
foot to rest at 1.4 feet below power pool or 10 feet
below the top of flood pool. The White has had more
wadable water this past week. Norfork Lake rose 0.2
foot to rest at 0.3 foot below power pool of 555.75
feet msl and 24.5 feet below the top of flood pool.
TheNorfork tailwater has had more wadable water. All
of the lakes in the White River system are now below
power pool. With the current lake levels, expect lower
flows and more wadable water.
He said, “On the White, the hot spot has been the Rim
Shoals. We have had lower flows in the morning that
have been fished very 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
pheasant tail nymph with a ruby midge dropper.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 660.05 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 2,840 cfs, with release on
Wednesday between 2 and 6 p.m. of 13,000-18,300 cfs.
The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake was
912.00 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet
msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with
outflow of 1,245 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 555.40 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 206 cfs. Heavier generation was seen
Wednesday (about 5,000 cfs) between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.
(updated 9-8-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 555.46 feet
msl and is dropping very slowly with minimum
generation. The White River at Newport is 6.81 feet,
so they are not letting out much in any of the area
lakes. The surface water temperature is at 83 degrees
and it is also dropping slowly with the shorter days
and night time lows in the 60s. The creeks are still
stained and the main lake is still a little cloudy
from the boat traffic on the holiday but is clearing
again quickly. The thermocline is at 30 feet. Crappie
fishing is the best now on brushpiles that are 35 feet
at the bottom and 20 feet at the top. The crappie are
schooled and at 30 feet. Small spoons, jigs, grubs and
live minnows on a slip float are all working. You have
to get down to them. Black bass are in the same area
and biting a little bigger spoon. Catfishing is fair
on jugs and throw lines baited with live bluegill back
in the creeks and are mostly channel cats. The
temperate bass that are being caught are mostly small
and coming out of deeper water. It does not look like
there will be a striper kill this fall so far and it
mostly affects the big ones. Bluegill fishing is good
off docks on crickets. The walleye that I am catching
are mostly short. There are a lot of baitfish out
there with several being on the brushpiles drawing the
game fish. Scuba diving conditions are fair to good
but getting better as the cooler water clears. Try
spooning brush on main lake channel swings on steep
banks in 30-35 feet near the bottom for walleye. There
is still a topwater bite early for a few minutes that
is mostly bass.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 9-8-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “I had a much better day getting striped
bass bites (Wednesday) morning. I was looking and
fishing within a couple miles of the dam and found
fish on two different main lake points. The fish were
in 40-44 feet of water in both areas. The first main
lake point that I found holding fish was a big round
point. I landed a striped bass and missed three
others, basically all caught in the dark or at
twilight. By 7 a.m. the fish disappeared from this
area. The second point that I found holding fish was a
long rocky point. I landed a big hybrid and another
striped bass. Until I saw the hybrid, I thought I had
a really big catfish on the line. No big runs, but the
fish continued to dig for the bottom every time I
would gain a few feet. It took me over 10 minutes to
land this guy. What a great battle.
“Today all fish were caught or missed vertical-jigging
a white with chartreuse top, three-quarter-ounce spoon
or a 1-ounce white spoon. The fish were mainly hitting
the spoon on the fall. Fish were still on this second
point when I left at 10 a.m. Yes, I fished later than
normal. By the way, there is also a good late
afternoon bite for striped bass in the same general
area.”
The surface lake temp was a little above 83 degrees
this morning. The lake is holding fairly stable with a
little rise then a little fall, and sits at 555.47
feet msl. The lake remains 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 9-8-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 0.2 foot to rest at 0.3 foot below power pool of
555.75 feet msl and 24.5 feet below the top of flood
pool. There has been more wadable water on the Norfork
in the morning and it has fished a bit better. 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 back in
session and the creek is not as busy. Weekends can 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.
Be sure and 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, “Last week my wife sister, Terri, and
her husband, Larry, came to Cotter to visit Lori and
me. They are both avid fly-fishers and Terri is an
avid kayaker. She recently bought a kayak at the kayak
shop here in Cotter. She keeps it in our garage with
our kayaks and tries to take a float every time they
come up for a visit.
“They were very interested in kayaking on this visit.
The first day they went wade fishing at the Narrows
and did incredibly well, catching almost 70 trout in a
half-day of fishing all on olive Woolly Buggers. They
were stoked. It was one of the best days that they had
ever had here. I suggested kayaking and fishing on the
Norfork the next day.
“I was interested in accompanying them. I wanted to
fish the upper part of the catch-and-release section,
also called McClellan’s, a historic trout dock on the
Norfork, where I first fished the river over 40 years
ago. Larry was not interested in kayaking, but he was
interested in fishing. He dropped us and our kayaks
off at the dam and then drove down to the Ackerman
Access. The idea was that we would float down and link
up with him there.
“When I first got into my boat, I noticed that I was
not nearly as nimble as I used to be. Getting in was
reasonably easy but getting out was more of a
challenge. At 75 I am still able to do it.
“When we were on the ramp I noticed a black sludge on
it. It was very slippery and I was glad to have my
studded wader boots. I noticed this sludge all the way
down stream and it made wading difficult. I also
noticed that the water was lightly stained. It was not
nearly as clear as the White had been a few days
earlier.
“When we got to McClellan’s, I did not recognize it. I
had fished through it on high water but I had not
waded it in low water in years. Before I began
fishing, I walked around looking for my favorite spots
that I have fished for years. They weren’t there. I
kept looking and found some new spots.
“Lori and Terri were catching trout on olive Woolly
Buggers. I tried other flies to see what else would
work. I finally had some success with Dan’s Turkey
Tail Emergers, my brother’s favorite fly that he
developed on this section of the river many years ago.
“We fished a while longer but headed out to beat the
expected water rise. We linked up with Larry. He was
fishing near Charlie’s and had done well. We floated
down to Ackerman and loaded the boats onto our kayak
trailer. We ended the day with lunch at Heidi’s Ugly
Cakes in Norfork.
“The float was great, but I am concerned about the
black sludge I saw and the lack of water clarity on
the Norfork. Something is amiss.”
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 9-8-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are low. With cooler
temperatures, the smallmouths are more 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.
