(updated 10-13-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said autumn is here in full force in the Arkansas
Ozarks with cool mornings and warmer afternoons
calling anglers to the river. Water releases from the
Bull Shoals Dam, the famous tailwaters of the White
River, have been steady throughout each day for the
last week: minimum flow during the morning followed by
higher generation in the afternoon.
Rooster Tails with orange bodies and gold or orange
speckled blades are producing good catches. If you're
not getting the desired result, turn to a dark colored
skirt – mud brown, olive green or even black,
depending on the area of the river you're fishing. Any
of a variety of spoons will bring some rainbows to
your net – the Thomas Buoyant red/gold and
silver/blue, one-sixth or quarter-ounce, or the brass
and nickel/gold Colorados.
Success this week was also found using the smaller
gold/black or rainbow trout floating Rapalas. If your
favorite bait is worms, wait until later in the day
when the afternoon releases are increasing the river
level and keep your bait near the bank.
The browns have continued to move into spawning areas
as their season gets underway, but quite a few still
remain in their favorite spots on the gravel bars
downriver. The favorite PowerBait color is slowly
switching from yellow to orange as we move further
into the spawn. The mornings are beautiful and chilly;
bundle up and head on over to the White River for some
great fishing.
“Wade fishers are able to find a sweet spot near the
center of the river and boaters will need to stay in
the narrow channel, so there will be competing needs.
It's breathtakingly beautiful these autumn days, so
take care of one another, respect the resource and
share the space. Hope to see you on the river this
week. Fish Natural!”
(updated 10-13-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, says The fishing and
the weather have been excellent. The leaves are
changing colors. Spoons continue to be the go-to lure
in the low water. Additionally, black jigs, rooster
tails, lures with a spinner, and Rapala Countdowns
have worked very well. Power eggs with shrimp, corn or
worms continue to work well when the water rises.
Since the weekend minimum flow from Bull Shoals Dam
and limited generation from Norfork Dam has kept the
river low with water at little more than 2+ feet in
the morning and rising to 4 feet during the day. With
this low water be careful when boating there are many
rocks and snags now exposed or just under the water
surface which can damage a boat or motor. There were
not any trout stockings this week at the Calico Rock
boat ramp.
(updated 10-13-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service said that during the past week, they had
no rain, cooler temperatures and brisk winds. The lake
level at Bull Shoals fell 0.9 foot to rest at 2.8 feet
below power pool of 659 feet msl. This is 38.8 feet
below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake
fell 0.1 foot to rest at 6.8 feet below power pool and
20.8 feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake
fell 0.9 foot to rest at 3.5 feet below power pool or
13.1 feet below the top of flood pool. The White has
had some wadable water. Norfork Lake fell 0.4 foot to
rest at 0.5 foot below power pool of 553.75 feet msl
and 26.8 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.”
Remember that the White and Norfork Rivers and Dry Run
Creek are infected with didymo, an invasive alga. Be
sure and 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, “A couple of weeks ago I had a three
day guide trip with two brothers. They were both
retired. One had been a physician and the other had
been an engineer. One lived in Georgia and the other
lived in Texas. Both were avid fly-fishers and had
fished all over the United States. My problem with a
three-day trip was to make it interesting. We had
consistent flows of low water.
“The first day we had very low flows on the White,
less than half a generator. Basically it was too much
to wade and not enough to float. My wife, Lori, and I
had fished it and done well at Rim Shoals. We fished
from my river boat. The idea was to concentrate on the
main channel where the trout were concentrated.
“I rigged their rods just like I had rigged for Lori
and me. I tied on a size 14 flash back bead-head
pheasant tail tied on a jig hook with a size 18 ruby
midge dropper. I added a BB split shot and a strike
indicator, then set the depth of the rig at about 4.5
feet. We launched my river boat and headed upstream
carefully dodging rocks. We began catching trout
immediately. We tore them up ending the day with over
60 trout coming to the net.
“The next day we decided to try something a little
different. The Norfork was on the bottom. We drove
over early and were on the water at 7 a.m. The water
was due to be turned on at 2 p.m. and we wanted to get
a full day in. We decided to eat lunch after fishing
to maximize our fishing time. I rigged them up the
same way we had fished the day before. We waded far up
into the catch-and-release section. We were
immediately into fish. The big difference from the
previous day was that the fish were bigger and fought
more fiercely. We were surprised that we had the spot
all to ourselves all day. At 2:30 p.m., I expected the
water to come up any minute. I convinced the guys to
walk out. As we got to the access, the water began to
rise. It was perfect timing. We had another 60-trout
day.
“The last day, I was concerned. We had two great days
of fishing. How long could I produce great fishing
like that? The conditions were the same on the White
as we had encountered on the first day. We began with
the same rig and had the same results. The guys wanted
to fish grasshoppers and we rigged up for that. We
tried for a couple of hours and did not get a single
take. No technique works every time. Despite this we
still ended the day with 50 trout.
“It had been a great trip and the brothers are already
planning their next. Life is good!”
(updated 5-5-2022) White River Trout Club
(870-453-2424) says the river is high and muddy and
they have had no reports lately.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 656.17 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam at noon Thursday was 686 cfs. The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 910.17 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with outflow of 20 cfs.
(updated 10-13-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Thursday that the lake level is down
more than 2 feet (656 feet at last check). The water
temperature has dropped to around 73 degrees. Junk
Fishing 101 has begun. We’re seeing typical fall
patterns. The cooler nights have the shad starting to
ball up. Turnover is still happening in the creeks.
There are always a few shallow fish, so try a
Chatterbait, square bill or spinnerbait in the skinny
stained water early. There are a few fish there, but
mostly small ones right now. Creeks up the lake seem
to be further along and have shad further along and on
the flats. Del suggests the early morning Plopper,
buzz, or toad on channel swings, points and ledges
covering water. Fish the windy side if you have any
wind. Target bushes and rock transitions close to
deeper water. The jig bite is starting to get better
as the sun gets up. Target steeper banks and long
points.
“For me, the deep bite has been best. Brushpiles are
in play at 25-35 feet deep. Use a shaky head when the
sun gets high. Move out toward the main lake and use a
Jewel Football Jig in Bass Whacker or green-pumpkin
blue. Keep the boat out around 40 feet.”
The drop-shot has been reliable with the pressure
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 553.22 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. Wednesday saw 4+ hours of
generation (5-9 p.m.) averaging 2,480 cfs.
(updated 10-13-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 553.23 feet
msl and was the same Wednesday as it was Tuesday with
just a couple of hours of generation. It has taken 17
days to drop the last foot with no rain since Sept. 6.
“We are getting a little rain on Wednesday but not
nearly what we need. It is very dry. The lake remains
in very good condition and is clearing from the top
down after the turnover and you can see your lure down
about 6-7 feet on the main lake and the creeks are
also clearing after being very stained.”
Bass and crappie remain the best bite “but I did find
some nice-sized walleye (Wednesday) on a main lake
brush pile in 27 feet of water. They were right in the
brush just a couple of feet off the bottom. It was
windy on Tuesday and Wednesday and blew off a lot of
fall foliage and also blew the baitfish from the
north-facing creeks to the south-facing ones.
Brushpiles on the northwest side of the entrance to
creeks are holding fish at various depths from 18-30
feet and the windblown banks have some black bass on
them and a lot of smaller Kentucky bass. More larger
black bass are being caught than at this time last
week. A few small temperate bass are being caught
trolling, with most being hybrids in the 2-3 pound
range. Bluegill are on top of brushpiles and under
docks and biting crickets.
Scuba divers are having some of the best fishing all
year and are on the big crappie and walleye. The
surface water temperature was 75 degrees in the
afternoon and 74 in the evening after sundown. Drop a
spoon in the brush and use a crankbait and creature
bait on the windblown banks.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 9-29-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said Tuesday, “Norfork Lake has changed every
day that I have been out. The surface temp is slowly
dropping and the thermocline is dropping as well.
“I went to a flat where I had been fishing and doing
quite well, but found that the fish have vacated this
flat, no matter what depth I checked. After about 45
minutes of trolling and marking nothing, I headed
northward. I found a large rounded point that was
holding lots of fish. I landed a striped bass along
with a couple mid-sized hybrids. Plenty of white bass
were schooling in the same area. I found the fish in
42-45 feet of water on the bottom. My best bait today
was the Tater Baits, Tater Shad in the white trash
color. Previously, the spoon had been working the
best, but today they only wanted this soft,
shad-shaped bait with a chartreuse 3/8-ounce jighead.
I found lots of bait from 35 feet out to 45 feet deep
either on the bottom or suspended. There weren't a lot
of fish in the bait, but they will find it soon.
“Yesterday, I fished a log along a bluff line that was
stacked with crappie and bluegill. I landed three nice
crappie and several thumper gills. I was using the
Tater Baits Small Fry in silver flash with a
1/16-ounce jighead. One of our guests landed a nice
striped bass and a bunch of crappie several days ago.”
The surface water temp was around 78 degrees Tuesday
morning and the lake level is dropping roughly an inch
per day and currently sits at 553.95 feet msl. The
lake is clear on the main lake and stained in the
coves. “Have a great time fishing 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 10-13-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork
Lake fell 0.4 foot to rest at 0.5 foot below power
pool of 553.75 feet msl and 26.8 feet below the top of
flood pool. 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 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). “My favorite
rig has been a size 14 pheasant tail nymph and a size
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; most fish are lost at the net.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 10-13-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked
Creek and the Buffalo River are low but fishing well.
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.
