White River
(updated 9-22-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said the days are getting shorter and, finally, a
little cooler. The tailwater below Bull Shoals Dam is
continuing to run low after a long period of high
water. Bull Shoals Lake is below seasonal power pool
of 661 feet msl elevation, currently sitting at 658.67
feet msl. The river flow is below one unit
(1,000-2,000 cfs) followed by heavier generation late
in the afternoon, returning to lower flows before
dawn.
The rainbow catch has been phenomenal. Bring in some
healthy, brightly colored trout using spinners with
gold blades and olive/brown skirts, or try your
favorite Rooster Tail with a rainbow body and a bright
pink tail. An eighth-ounce jig with white, white-gray
or orange-black skirts bobbed in the center channel
will attract a few, or rig a line with some
garlic-flavored yellow or pink PowerBait and shrimp to
keep you busy reeling. Float your bait just above the
bottom – in the clear water of the White you can
easily see the river bed. It's best to keep it in or
near the river channel during low-water generation.
The browns are continuing to respond best to minnows
for now, but as the spawn kicks into high gear in the
next month or so, keep your options open and carry an
array of baits to pique their curiosity. If you're
casting flies, the ruby midge, as well as red/silver
or black/silver, were a constant success; copper Johns
made a splash last week, too.
Early fall is a great time to get on the water without
having to sweat the temperatures or the catch. Respect
the resource, and your fellow anglers, and continue to
enjoy our Natural State.
(updated 9-22-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, says this week the
fishing has been really good. The water levels have
been cresting between 7-8 feet in the mornings and
dropping down to about 4 feet. The water has some
dinginess in the morning, but by noon the water
clears. Running upriver a few miles will allow a
fisherman to find cleaner water earlier. Starting off
the day drift-fishing with silver bladed inline
spinners with Power Eggs and shrimp is working best.
As the water drops, throwing artificial baits such as
Rapala Countdowns, Blue Foxes or quarter-ounce spoons
work well. If you want to throw artificial during the
morning, add a split shot weight 8-12 inches up the
line to get the bait deeper or fish deeper diving
lures like Shad Raps. We have seen several fat 16-plus
inch rainbows caught this week. We had one trout
stocking this week.
(updated 9-22-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week, they have had
no rain, hot temperatures and moderate winds. The lake
level at Bull Shoals fell 0.8 foot to rest at 2.2 feet
below power pool of 661 feet msl. This is 36.2 below
the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell
0.7 foot to rest at 6 feet below power pool and 20
feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 1
foot to rest at 2.4 feet below power pool or 11 feet
below the top of flood pool. On the White, there has
been marginal wadable water. Norfork Lake fell 0.1
foot to rest at 1.1 feet below power pool of 555.75
feet msl and 25.3 feet below the top of flood pool.
The Norfork 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.
On the White, the hot spot has been 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. My favorite has
been a pheasant tail nymph with a ruby midge dropper,”
John said.
He also said, “My wife, Lori, and I share a love of
fly fishing. We have been fishing together, for over
22 years. We try to fish together at least once a
week. It doesn’t always work but we try to make it
happen. It is no secret that we met in a fly-fishing
class on the Spring River. I was teaching the class
for my old fly-fishing club, the Mid South Fly
Fishers. Lori was a student. I worked with her that
day and was smitten. We began dating and got married.
“My brother, Dan, and I were teaching fly-fishing at a
variety of venues and soon realized that Lori was a
natural teacher and we quickly involved her in
teaching our fly-fishing classes. She was particularly
adept at teaching fly-casting. After Lori moved to
Cotter, we realized the teaching fly-fishing was
something that we both enjoyed and began looking for
the best venue to hold classes. Our neighbor, Dr.
Eddie Dry, is a biology professor at ASU-Mountain
Home. He suggested that ASU-MH would be a good spot
for our classes. We loved the idea.
“We went to ASU-MH and presented the concept for the
class. It was immediately accepted and we began
teaching fly-fishing there. We have done the class
twice a year for several years. We did take off for a
couple of years due to COVID-19. Thankfully we are
back now. We had our usual spring class and it was
very successful.
“Now we are ready to do it again. The fall class will
be held on the Arkansas State University campus in
Mountain Home on Thursday nights beginning Oct. 6 and
running for four weeks (on Thursday nights). Classes
are 6-8 p.m. The first hour is fly-casting instruction
and it is held outside (during inclement weather, it
will be inside). The second hour is classroom and is
held inside on the first floor of Dyer Hall in Room
D106. There is plenty of parking nearby.
“The casting instruction will be led by Lori. She has
been teaching fly-casting for over 20 years and is
considered the best fly-casting instructor in the
area. I will assist her. I have been teaching
fly-casting for over 30 years. She is a better casting
instructor than I am. The goal is to teach every
student to cast a fly rod comfortably.
“I will lead the fly-fishing classroom instruction. I
have been doing this for over 30 years. Lori will
assist. The classes will be casual and questions will
be welcome. I consider myself to be the better
classroom instructor of the two of us.
“If this sounds like something you would be interested
in, go online to asumh.coursestorm.com and sign up.
There is a modest fee. All the needed equipment will
be provided.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 658.57 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 2,112 cfs. The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 910.82 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with outflow of 1,257
cfs.
(updated 9-22-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Thursday morning that water is almost
back to normal. The constant generating has stopped.
Water temperature is 82 degrees, give or take a
degree. Typical summer patterns are still working. The
cooler nights have the shad starting to move. There
are always shallow fish. Target channel swings, points
and ledges close to deep water. Whopper Ploppers,
buzzbaits and a topwater like a Lucky Craft Gunfish
early in the day are working. 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 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 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 a Beaver/big worm
like an Ole Monster in green pumpkin red or red shad
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 554.54 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 2,471 cfs. Wednesday saw 11 hours of
generation (1 p.m. to midnight) averaging 2,450 cfs.
(updated 9-22-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said Wednesday morning that the
lake level was 554.61 feet msl and had dropped a
half-inch in the last 24 hours with three-quarters of
a generator running about half the time. It has been
fairly stable since reaching the power pool of 556.75
feet msl a few weeks ago with a very slow steady drop.
The White River at Newport is 5.47 feet, so they are
not letting much water out anywhere on the chain of
lakes or Norfork Lake. It makes for good wade fishing
on the rivers. The surface water temperature is 83
degrees and rising slowly with the hot weather. That
should change with the cold front coming through
starting on Thursday with a drastic drop in ambient
temperatures on the first day of fall.
“We have not had any rain for about 2½ weeks and it is
getting very dry again. The thermocline started at
about 35 feet with cold water at 37 feet yesterday
when I went diving. The visibility has deteriorated a
bit since the last report but is still OK for
spearfishing, and the color is good for pole fishing
with the creeks being more stained but clear near the
shore. The visibility gets a little better in the
Robinson Point area than in the Blackburn’s area and
is best off steep, river channel, chunk rock banks.
The lake is not anywhere near starting its turnover,
which always comes sometime in October. Sometimes it
is abrupt and other times gradual, taking a week or a
little more depending on how fast the surface water
cools.
The crappie are still on main lake brush that is about
30 feet deep and are above it and roaming, feeding on
baitfish, which are scattered in the water column.
Kentucky bass and bluegill are on the same brush and
at various depths. Drop a jigging spoon in the brush
and you will be surprised what you catch. “The larger
walleye are getting scarce and the most that I am
catching are short with a keeper in about one in five
or six. Bluegill are still good off docks on crickets
and catfish are biting on live bluegill near the
bottom. If you find schools of bluegill, you can be
sure there are some catfish around. The lake overall
is in very good condition for fishing, diving swimming
and boating.”
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 9-15-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “It was a very good morning of fishing on
Norfork Lake. Joe, a current guest headed to the area,
and I have been catching walleye and went looking for
striped bass as well. Joe found the walleye in 27 to
32 feet of water. He caught them by trolling Flicker
Minnows, as well as vertical jigging a purple monkey
Tater Shad. The striped bass should start to scatter
out of the dam area anytime now. I started out the
morning by graphing areas that the stripers have shown
up in the past. In the 3rd area, I marked some fish in
30 feet of water that looked like walleye and spots. I
jigged for a short time with no takers. I moved around
on this main lake point and finally on the inside of
the point I found some big arcs. The fish were feeding
in 38 to 50 feet of water and they were all over the
place. I caught my fish using several different baits
and colors. I was vertical jigging Tater Shads. The
best color of Tater Shad this morning for me was the
glimmer shad. I also was vertical jigging a 3/4 ounce
white with a chartreuse Binks spoon. I ended up
landing 4 stripers and hybrids and 3 others came
unhooked during the battle. They caught fish off the
bottom, as well as near the surface as the fish were
chasing and hammering the bait before it got to the
surface.
The surface lake temperature this morning was near 80
degrees and the lake level is falling slowly. The
current lake level sits at 554.66 feet msl. The main
lake is mainly clear to slightly stained with the
creeks and coves a little more stained.”
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 9-22-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said Norfork Lake fell 0.1 foot to rest at 1.1
feet below power pool of 555.75 feet msl and 25.3 feet
below the top of flood pool. The Norfork 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.
There has been more wadable water on the Norfork in
the morning and it has fished a much 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 eighteen inches below a brightly colored San
Juan worm (hot fluorescent pink or cerise). My
favorite rig has been a pheasant tail nymph #14 and a
ruby midge #18. The fishing is much better in the
morning and late afternoon and tapers off midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished poorly. School is back in
session and the creek is not as busy. Weekends can get
a 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.
“If this sounds like something you would be interested
in, go online to https://asumh.coursestorm.com and
sign up. There is a modest fee. All needed equipment
will be provided.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 658.57 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 2,112 cfs. The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 910.82 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with outflow of 1,257
cfs.
(updated 9-22-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Thursday morning that water is almost
back to normal. The constant generating has stopped.
Water temperature is 82 degrees, give or take a
degree. Typical summer patterns are still working. The
cooler nights have the shad starting to move. There
are always shallow fish. Target channel swings, points
and ledges close to deep water. Whopper Ploppers,
buzzbaits and a topwater like a Lucky Craft Gunfish
early in the day are working. 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 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 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 a Beaver/big worm
like an Ole Monster in green pumpkin red or red shad
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 554.54 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 2,471 cfs. Wednesday saw 11 hours of
generation (1 p.m. to midnight) averaging 2,450 cfs.
(updated 9-22-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said Wednesday morning that the
lake level was 554.61 feet msl and had dropped a
half-inch in the last 24 hours with three-quarters of
a generator running about half the time. It has been
fairly stable since reaching the power pool of 556.75
feet msl a few weeks ago with a very slow steady drop.
The White River at Newport is 5.47 feet, so they are
not letting much water out anywhere on the chain of
lakes or Norfork Lake. It makes for good wade fishing
on the rivers. The surface water temperature is 83
degrees and rising slowly with the hot weather. That
should change with the cold front coming through
starting on Thursday with a drastic drop in ambient
temperatures on the first day of fall.
“We have not had any rain for about 2½ weeks and it is
getting very dry again. The thermocline started at
about 35 feet with cold water at 37 feet yesterday
when I went diving. The visibility has deteriorated a
bit since the last report but is still OK for
spearfishing, and the color is good for pole fishing
with the creeks being more stained but clear near the
shore. The visibility gets a little better in the
Robinson Point area than in the Blackburn’s area and
is best off steep, river channel, chunk rock banks.
The lake is not anywhere near starting its turnover,
which always comes sometime in October. Sometimes it
is abrupt and other times gradual, taking a week or a
little more depending on how fast the surface water
cools.
The crappie are still on main lake brush that is about
30 feet deep and are above it and roaming, feeding on
baitfish, which are scattered in the water column.
Kentucky bass and bluegill are on the same brush and
at various depths. Drop a jigging spoon in the brush
and you will be surprised what you catch. “The larger
walleye are getting scarce and the most that I am
catching are short with a keeper in about one in five
or six. Bluegill are still good off docks on crickets
and catfish are biting on live bluegill near the
bottom. If you find schools of bluegill, you can be
sure there are some catfish around. The lake overall
is in very good condition for fishing, diving swimming
and boating.”
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 9-15-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “It was a very good morning of fishing on
Norfork Lake. Joe, a current guest headed to the area,
and I have been catching walleye and went looking for
striped bass as well. Joe found the walleye in 27 to
32 feet of water. He caught them by trolling Flicker
Minnows, as well as vertical jigging a purple monkey
Tater Shad. The striped bass should start to scatter
out of the dam area anytime now. I started out the
morning by graphing areas that the stripers have shown
up in the past. In the 3rd area, I marked some fish in
30 feet of water that looked like walleye and spots. I
jigged for a short time with no takers. I moved around
on this main lake point and finally on the inside of
the point I found some big arcs. The fish were feeding
in 38 to 50 feet of water and they were all over the
place. I caught my fish using several different baits
and colors. I was vertical jigging Tater Shads. The
best color of Tater Shad this morning for me was the
glimmer shad. I also was vertical jigging a 3/4 ounce
white with a chartreuse Binks spoon. I ended up
landing 4 stripers and hybrids and 3 others came
unhooked during the battle. They caught fish off the
bottom, as well as near the surface as the fish were
chasing and hammering the bait before it got to the
surface.
The surface lake temperature this morning was near 80
degrees and the lake level is falling slowly. The
current lake level sits at 554.66 feet msl. The main
lake is mainly clear to slightly stained with the
creeks and coves a little more stained.” 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 9-22-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 0.1 foot to rest at 1.1 feet below power pool of
555.75 feet msl and 25.3 feet below the top of flood
pool. There has been more wadable water on the Norfork
in the morning and it has fished a much 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). John’s favorite rig has been a No. 14
pheasant tail nymph and a No. 18 ruby midge. The
fishing is much better in the morning and late
afternoon and tapers off midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished poorly. School is back in
session and the creek is not as busy. Weekends can get
a 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.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 9-22-2022) 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.
