White River
(updated 11-17-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “Winter has arrived. After a week of some frigid
mornings and a light snow Saturday night, we may see a
few days with daytime temperatures a little more
conducive to spending time outdoors. It's best to
check the nighttime low temperatures rather than the
daytime highs when planning your fishing trip. Dress
in layers for the lowest temperatures and remove
layers as the day warms up.”
Bull Shoals Lake is 4.5 feet below power pool and
still dropping; daily releases have been at minimum
flow or very low flows (less than one unit) during the
early morning hours rising to three or four units
(9,000 to 12,000 cfs) later in the day.
“It's good to know that the air temp doesn't affect
the trout bite. Rainbows have been attracted to, and
hitting on, pumped up nightcrawlers for the shore
anglers. If you're able to float the river and choose
to fish a deep hole for a while, drop a hook with
shrimp and garlic-scented PowerBait (try orange first)
as near to the bottom as possible. Fresh river minnows
are the ticket for good-sized ’bows.
“Drift anglers had luck with a No. 5 rainbow and brook
trout Rapala Countdowns and with 1/6-ounce Rooster
Tails, gold blades and orange bodies, chartreuse and
black skirts. We even had some luck with the Rebel Wee
Craw, although it seems pretty late in the season.
“It never hurts to tie on a favorite lure and test the
waters. We've had to fight for the browns. River
guides have tried all the tricks in their tackle boxes
to get the attention of the spawning browns. Turns out
the best bites were on small to medium-sized sculpins
or on an olive size 8 Woolly Bugger.
“Be careful out there. Stay warm. And keep anglin'.
See you at the river."
(updated 11-17-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said fishing has been
consistent over the last week with river levels
varying between 3-7 feet. “Old Man Winter has made his
presence felt with the cold temperatures and snow.
Layer your clothes so you can add or remove layers as
needed.”
Inline spinners with sunrise Power Eggs with shrimp
continue to work well. During the periods of lower
water, quarter-ounce spoons, Rooster Tails and Rapala
Countdowns have success. When the water is higher,
throwing Shad Raps (shad color) has worked well.
The changing river levels can make fishing challenging
at times, but hang in there, the conditions will
change again. Fishing is best if you recognize the
river is starting to rise and if you can stay in front
of the rising water.
(updated 11-17-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service said that during the past week, they had
rain, sleet and snow (about a quarter of an inch in
Cotter), cold temperatures (to include winter storm
warnings) and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull
Shoals fell 0.5 foot to rest at 4.5 feet below power
pool of 659 feet msl. This is 40.5 feet below the top
of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake remained
steady at 7 feet below power pool and 21 feet below
the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.8 foot to
rest at 5.2 feet below power pool or 14.8 feet below
the top of flood pool. On the White, there had been
little wadable water and higher flows during periods
of peak power demand. Norfork Lake fell 0.5 foot to
rest at 1.1 feet below power pool of 553.75 feet msl
and 27.3 feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
tailwater also has had little wadable water.
With the current lake levels in the White River
system, anglers should expect lower flows and more
wadable water. However, with the cold temperatures,
expect heavy generation during peak power demand.
The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is
closed from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 to accommodate the brown
trout spawn. The State Park will be seasonal
catch-and-release for the same period. All brown trout
must be immediately released.
In addition, night fishing is prohibited in this area
during this period. This section of the White River
will reopen on Feb. 1.
On the White, the hot spot has been Rim Shoals. “We
have had higher flows 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 cerise San
Juan worm with an orange egg dropper,” John said.
John added, “One of my biggest problems as a guide is
to remember everything. I have to make sure that I
have everything that I will need before I leave the
ramp when I am fishing from my boat or my car when I
am wading. I have to have a lot of gear and keeping up
with it is a full-time job.
“In the boat, everything is critical because you may
be far from home when you realize that you have
forgotten something. This can begin on the ramp. There
has been more than one time where I backed my boat
into the river and went to push it off the trailer
only to discover that I did not remove the tie downs
before backing into the water. I have to move back up
the ramp far enough for me to walk to the back of the
boat and remove the tie downs. This usually occurs
when another guide is waiting to use the ramp.
“Then, of course, there is the ultimate rookie
mistake: forgetting to put in the plug. Here again,
you don’t notice this until you back your boat into
the water. Yes, I did this once but that was a long
time ago. The new regulation from the Arkansas Game
and Fish Commission requiring that you remove the plug
from the boat when you leave the water makes it more
likely to make this error. I used to keep my plug in
all the time. Now I always check the plug before
launching.
“Something that I have forgotten several times is the
boat net. I don’t realize this until my client hooks a
fish and I go to release it. If I am fishing by
myself, this is not much of a problem. I can just
hand-release it, but a client expects you to use a
net, particularly if they want a photograph. A net is
also much easier on the fish. They can come in quicker
and are not handled as much.
“Then there are polarized sunglasses. I usually don’t
realize this until I turn into the sun on my way to
the river. This usually occurs when I am short on time
and can’t go back home without being late, and that is
unacceptable to me. Navigating the river whether in
the boat or wading is much easier with polarized
sunglasses. I have called my wife, Lori, to bring them
to me at lunch.
“Forgetting to fill your fuel tank is a real problem.
If you are on the river and run out of gas, you are in
trouble. This has never happened to me. I use the same
fuel in my lawn mower and my outboard motor: premium
ethanol-free. I keep a big full gas can in my garage
and top off my fuel tank before I leave the house
every time I head to the river.
“All of these problems can be avoided by remembering
to prevent them. This gets harder the older that I
get.”
Norfork Lake fell 0.5 foot to rest at 1.1 feet below
power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 27.3 feet below the
top of flood pool. The Norfork tailwater also has had
little wadable water.
With the current lake levels in the White River
system, anglers should expect lower flows and more
wadable water. However, with the cold temperatures,
expect heavy generation during peak power demand.
There has been less wadable water on the Norfork 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). My favorite rig has been
a pheasant tail nymph size 14 and a ruby midge size
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.”
(updated 11-10-2022) White River Trout Club
(870-453-2424) says fishing is not great now because
the water there at White Hole is so low. No reports.
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 654.45 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Total outflow from the
dam Thursday afternoon was 3,193 cfs, with constant
generation over the past two days ranging from 1,958
cfs to 12,058 cfs. The reported lake elevation at
Table Rock Lake was 909.60 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl), with outflow of as much
as 13,249 at 11 a.m. Thursday, dropping down to 20 by
2 p.m. There was seven hours of generation Wednesday
ranging from 2,194 to 13,276 cfs for easing down to 20
by midnight.
(updated 11-17-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Thursday the lake level is 654 feet
msl, or 4 feet below normal pool. The water
temperature is 59 degrees. Unseasonably cold weather
patterns have the shads starting to ball up. Little
generational still has them spread out and moving out
deeper, 40-50 feet, and in the middle of hollows and
creeks. There is a notable difference in water clarity
throughout the lake.
There are plenty of fish on the shoreline. If there’s
wind and clouds, make sure you are covering water
where the wind hits square on the shoreline. Hopefully
on a point, chunk or ledge rock. Close to deeper
water. Use a Spro Crawler, wiggle wart, a Flopper,
square bill or spinnerbait. You’ll have to keep moving
to find them, but when you do there’s usually a couple
close by.
Target bushes and rock transitions close to deeper
water. The jig bite is starting to get better in 10-20
feet as the sun gets up. Target deeper (25-30 feet)
points with brush in 25-35 feet of water.
The offshore deep bite is slowly getting better. Shad
are still spread out. Target bigger bait balls and
shad becomes the structure. There are wolf packs of
smallmouth grouped up if you can run into them. It’s
not uncommon to double-up. A single swimbait or
jerkbait around those high swimming shad will work.
Drop-shot or moon-eye with a Tater Shad on the finicky
fish. A Jewel Scope Shad or jigging Rap on schoolers
and suspenders. Try a Jewel Scuba Spoon for those
bottom dwellers.
Each day is different, so 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 552.35 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 3 p.m.
Thursday was 1,276 cfs. Wednesday saw 6+ hours of
generation (6-midnight) averaging 3,300 cfs.
(updated 11-17-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 552.53 feet
msl and has dropped about 10 inches in the last week
with just a few hours of generation per day. The
surface water temperature is 62 degrees and has
dropped 5 degrees since last Thursday, which is a very
fast temp drop. The main lake and the creeks have
about the same clarity and you can see your lure down
4-5 feet in the sunshine and less on cloudy days.
“I have been catching some large crappie but not high
numbers, which is not uncommon for cold weather. Open
water fishermen have been catching schooled temperate
bass about 40-45 feet down at various depths on the
spoon, but most are white bass and are small. Some
stripers in the 5- to 8-pound range are with them.
They are looking hard for them with more looking than
finding.
“The crappie start biting about 4 p.m. for a few
minutes and then quit again at dark.
“Overall, fishing is just fair with the cold fronts
that just keep coming. Some black bass are near the
shore on main lake points just inside brushpiles. The
cold north or northwest winds and temperatures
struggling to get out of the 30s have not made for the
best fishing conditions, but some nice fish are being
caught in the January-like weather.”
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 11-17-2022) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort had no new report. 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 11-17-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork
Lake fell 0.5 foot to rest at 1.1 feet below power
pool of 553.75 feet msl and 27.3 feet below the top of
flood pool. The Norfork tailwater also has had little
wadable water. With the current lake levels in the
White River system, anglers should be seeing lower
flows and more wadable water. However, with the cold
temperatures, there has been heavy generation during
peak power demand.
Therefore, it’s been less wadable water on the Norfork
in the mornings. 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 says his favorite
rig has been a pheasant tail nymph size 14 and a ruby
midge size 18. The fishing is much better in the
morning and late afternoon and tapers off midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished poorly. With school in
session, the creek is not as busy. Weekends can get a
quite crowded, however. 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.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 11-17-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked
Creek and the Buffalo River are fishing poorly. With
colder 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.
