White River
(updated 11-25-2022) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said Bull Shoals Lake is nearly 4.5 feet below power
pool and generation is based mainly on power demands.
The colder weather increases those demands.
“Since the arctic snap passed through last week, we're
now being blessed with beautiful, mild days, cold
nights and amazing creel fills of colorful rainbow
trout.” Releases from Bull Shoals Dam have been
variable with minimum flows during the late evening
and early morning, followed by a quick rise to almost
three units (9,000 cfs) later in the morning. The lake
at this writing is sitting at 654.25 feet msl and
still dropping.
“We are having success with a variety of spoons and
heavier-than-normal spinners. Locate any
rainbow-colored spoons or Rooster Tails in your tackle
box and throw those first. If you prefer bait, the
guides are taking out lots of red wiggler worms and
backing them up with shrimp and peach, orange or
sunrise egg patterns. The X-Factor steelhead orange
and shrimp-colored baits (egg clusters and
regular-sized egg patterns) as well as their red worms
are attracting the rainbows, too.
The browns are not immune to bait now even during the
annual spawn, but they're mostly striking in an
attempt to get rid of the annoyance. With the
Thanksgiving weekend coming up, we'll be seeing more
visitors to the area and an increase in river traffic.
For those of us on the river often, it's time to be
especially careful. We have a big river, wonderfully
tended by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission with lots
of trout, and enough room for every type and size of
angler who visits. We look forward to seeing you and
sharing fishing stories.”
(updated 11-25-2022) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the days have had
cold mornings and the last couple of days warming up
into the 50s. “We have seen varied generation from
both Bull Shoals Dam and Norfork Dam resulting in
water levels varying between 3-6 feet. During the time
of lower water, throwing quarter-ounce spoons have
been effective. Additionally, jigs, Rooster Tails,
lures with a spinner, and Rapala Countdowns have
worked well. Power Eggs with shrimp continue to work
well throughout the week. On Monday the Norfork
Hatchery stocked approximately 1,100 trout and on
Tuesday the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Hatchery
stocked 450 trout at the Calico Rock boat ramp. With
the reduced fishing pressure this time of year, most
of those trout will have the chance to be pretty nice
fish by spring. We hope everybody has safe and
enjoyable Thanksgiving.”
(updated 11-25-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service said that during the past week, they had
sleet and snow (about a quarter of an inch here in
Cotter), cold temperatures (to include winter storm
warnings) and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull
Shoals fell 0.4 foot to rest at 4.9 feet below power
pool of 659 feet msl. This is 40.9 feet below the top
of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.8 foot
to rest at 7.8 feet below power pool and 21.8 feet
below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.9
tenths of a foot to rest at 6.1 feet below power pool
of 15.7 feet below the top of flood pool. The White
had little wadable water and higher flows during
periods of peak power demand. Norfork Lake fell 0.7
foot to rest at 1.8 feet below power pool of 553.75
feet msl and 28 feet below the top of flood pool. The
Norfork tailwater has had some wadable water.
All of the lakes in the White River system are now
well below power pool. With the current lake levels,
expect lower flows and more wadable water. However
with the cold temperatures, also expect heavy
generation during peak power demand.
The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is
closed through Jan. 31, 2025, 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.
On the White, the hot spot has been the Narrows. “We
have had higher flows 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. My favorite has been a cerise San
Juan worm with an orange egg dropper.”
John also said, “Recently my wife, Lori, and I went to
a dog show in Springfield, Missouri. We were showing
our champion Labrador retriever, Ghillie, in an effort
to have him earn his grand champion title. When we
left town the high temperatures were in the low 80s
and the lows were in the 50s. We dressed for the warm
temperatures. I wore blue jeans and a tropical fishing
shirt. I was quite comfortable.
“I had a guide trip on Saturday, so I drove back to
Cotter on Friday afternoon. We had each taken our own
cars for the trip. When I got home I began planning
for the guide trip. The first thing I did was to check
the weather forecast. I was surprised to learn that
the next day would have a 30-degree start time and a
high of 40 and 10-20 mph winds, which would create
some frigid wind chills. To make things more
interesting, snow and freezing rain were expected
Friday night.
“I scurried around the house to make sure that I had
my cold weather gear close at hand. I hooked my boat
trailer to my car so that I would not have to do that
the next morning with frigid hands. I woke up early to
find an inch and a half of snow and ice on my boat and
Suburban. Luckily the streets were clear.
“I dressed carefully. Starting with long polypropylene
underwear, I added flannel-lined khakis and a fleece
sweater. Heavy wool socks and knee-high Muck boots
protected my feet. A thick down jacket, heavy
fingerless gloves and my extra warm Elmer Fudd hat
completed my winter uniform. I put my electric hand
warmer in my jacket pocket and went outside to scrape
the windshield.
“I met my client at The White Sands Cafe three blocks
from my house in Cotter at 7 a.m. We ate a hearty
breakfast, drank a lot of hot coffee and headed to the
river. The ramp was clear and the water was higher
than it has been for several weeks. The Corps of
Engineers and Southwestern Power Administration was
running water to meet power demand for the cold
temperatures. My client is also an avid duck hunter so
he had the necessary gear and plenty of outdoor
experience to handle the conditions.
“I went to rig his rod and chose flies that had been
working recently, a pheasant tail with a ruby midge
dropper. I launched my boat and we began fishing. We
did two drifts and did not get a sniff. I decided to
try different flies. I tied on a cerise San Juan worm
with an orange egg fly. This is usually considered a
high-water or winter rig. We drifted 10 feet and
caught our first trout, 30 feet later we caught
another and a few minutes later we caught a third. We
stayed with that rig for the remainder of the day and
landed 20 trout, with a few nice ones.
“I kept my down jacket on all day. It never warmed up.
It was a brisk winter day two weeks before
Thanksgiving. What happened to fall?”
(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 Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported the
lake’s elevation at 654.37 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). The reported lake
elevation at Table Rock Lake was 909.33 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: 917.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 11-25-2022) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Tuesday that Bull Shoals lake level is
654 feet msl, about 4 feet below normal pool. The
water temperature is 58 degrees. Fishing has been good
this week. Unseasonably cold weather patterns have
given way to a comfortable afternoon bite. There is a
notable difference in water clarity throughout the
lake. There are plenty of fish on the shoreline. If
there are wind and clouds, Del suggests covering water
where the wind hits square on the bank, hopefully on a
point chunk or ledge rock, close to deeper water. Go
with a Spro Crawler, a Wiggle Wart or a Red Craw Stone
Cold in the clear water; square bill, spinnerbait or
Chatterbait is recommended in the stain. You’ll have
keep moving to find them, but when you do there’s
usually a few there.
There are still some bushes and rock transitions close
to deeper water. There are always fish to be caught on
a jig. Target flat, sunny points with brush 25-35
feet. The offshore deep bite is better. Shad are still
spread out. Target bigger bait balls and shad becomes
the structure. Look in the creeks and hollers at 45-65
feet. A single 2.8 white swimbait or jerkbait around
those high swimming shad balls will work. If they are
being finicky fish, try a Moon Eye with a Tater Shad.
With schooling fish, a Jewel Scope Spin Jigging Rap.
Use 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 Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported the
lake’s elevation at 551.89 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.25 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl).
(updated 11-25-2022) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said Tuesday the lake level is
551.90 feet msl and has dropped 0.5 inches in the last
24 hours with six hours of generation starting in the
morning and then about two hours in the afternoon. The
White River at Newport is 3.7 feet and is very low
with not much water being let out anywhere. The lake
level is 1.85 feet below the top of the power pool and
normal for this time of year. The surface water
temperature is just under 60 degrees as of Wednesday,
and both the main lake and creeks are stained green
and you can see your lure down 2-3 feet on a sunny
day.
There are still schooled open water temperate bass on
shad in front of the docks to the west of Mallard
Point and more at the drop-off at the end of Cow Point
and across from Bidwell Point. A spoon works best
dropped right on their heads, but live bait and
umbrella trollers are also catching a few. The morning
bite is the best for them. A few big crappie are
biting jigs and grubs on brush in 18 feet of water
during the day and then again near the shoreline
shallow partway back in the creeks in the evening just
before dark. Some black bass are with the open water
fish and others are in the same place as the crappie
in the evening, mostly Kentucky bass. Fish wind-blown
shoreline. Overall fishing remains just fair with some
nice size but not high numbers.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 11-25-2022) 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 11-25-2022) John Berry of Berry Brothers
Guide Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork
Lake fell 0.7 foot to rest at 1.8 feet below power
pool of 553.75 feet msl and 28 feet below the top of
flood pool. All of the lakes in the White River system
are now well below power pool. With the current lake
levels, expect lower flows and more wadable water.
However with the cold temperatures, also 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 18 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.
Carry a large net, as most fish are lost at the net.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 11-25-2022) 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.
