White River
(updated 1-19-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said mild January temperatures see White River anglers
in light jackets, shirt sleeves and sunscreen. Might
not stay quite that warm, so come prepared for a
change in the thermometer, but the rainbow trout catch
remains steady, while the brown bite increasing. Bull
Shoals Lake has fallen slightly over the last two
weeks to 656.54 feet msl, a couple of feet below
seasonal power pool. The generation has remained
fairly steady at a little less than one unit (2,200
cfs). There have been spurts of increased flow when
power demand increases during the occasional cold
snap, up to 12,000 cfs at times (four units). Low
water signals great wading opportunities and
slow-and-go time for boaters. Watch out for one
another and practice civility and cordiality.
“Clear, cold water is great for trout fishing, so join
us on the river with your arsenal of spinners and
Rooster Tails. The predicted overcast skies tell us
we'll do best using bait with yellow bodies, silver
blades and black skirts. A bright, shiny hammered
spoon (blue/silver) will attract the rainbows, and the
rainbow-colored Buoyants and Cleos will be worth their
weight in trout. A nice white Woolly Bugger with
silver flash should draw them to your hook, too.
“The brown trout spawn is thinning out, so we're
seeing them move downriver to their home
neighborhoods, looking for sculpins and minnows. Shad
continue to catch their eye. Variety is the name of
the game; if you don't get a bite after several casts
with one bait, change locations, change your bait, or
both. Stay stocked, keep catching, and enjoy the great
outdoors in The Natural State.”
(updated 1-19-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the White River
in Calico Rock continues to be low, averaging between
4.5 and 3.5 feet. “The rain Wednesday may cause the
river to become muddy but I don’t expect the water to
rise very much. I would expect by the weekend any
dinginess in the water should be gone.”
Fishing in the low-water conditions has made fishing
with copper- or gold-colored spoons (either
quarter-ounce or one-sixth-ounce) effective as the
trout move up onto the gravel bars to feed. Rapala
Countdowns have been effective this week, as have
white-colored jigs. Drift-fishing with sunrise Power
Eggs with a piece of shrimp or worm continues to be
effective on both the gravel bars and deeper holes.
Fishing with sculpins has been slow, but when the
browns or rainbows bite, the trout have tended to be
larger.
(updated 1-19-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service said that during the past week they had a
quarter-inch of rain in Cotter, cold temperatures and
heavy winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 0.3
foot to rest at 2.5 feet below power pool of 659 feet
msl. This is 38.5 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 0.1 foot to rest at 0.2
foot below power pool and 16.2 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake remained steady at 1.9 feet
below power pool or 11.5 feet below the top of flood
pool. The White has had no wadable water and more
moderate flows. Norfork Lake fell 0.1 foot to rest 0.1
foot below power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 26.3 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 still
at or below power pool. With cooler temperatures, we
can expect higher flows and less wadable water. We can
expect heavy generation during peak power demand.
The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is
closed through 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.
“On the White, the hot spot has been White Hole,” he
said. “We have had some lower flows that have 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.”
Remember: The White and North Fork rivers 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, “When I first began guiding lo these
many years ago, all of my trips were wade trips. Back
then most fly-fishers were wade anglers. When I moved
to Cotter 23 years ago, I quickly realized that if I
did not have a boat, I would miss a lot of trips due
to high water. I therefore bought one.
“My first boat was a used Shawnee with a 15-hp Mercury
pull-start motor. It cost $1,000 and was only 33
inches wide. That is pretty narrow. I felt like I was
in a canoe. I was especially concerned when I had very
large clients as they would adversely affect the trim
of the boat when they cast. It had a bench-style live
well that ran the entire width of the boat making it
difficult to move around. I sold it and got a new
boat.
“This was also a well-used Shawnee. It was 48 inches
wide and had a walk-through live well, which gave me a
lot more room and was much easier to move around in.
It was much steadier, especially with heavier loads.
At $3,500 it was a bargain. I replaced the Evinrude
motor that it came with it with my Mercury. I had some
custom work done. I replaced the spider chairs with
pedestal seats to give me more room and upgraded the
trailer. It served me well for 12 years but was
beginning to show its age. I sold it and bought
another.
“I bought my next boat from the estate of my brother
Dan’s girlfriend. It was the boat he used. It is a
2005 Supreme that is 60 inches wide. It had been
stored in a garage and had been used very little. Dan
hated to fish from a boat. He preferred to wade. This
was a much better boat with a deluxe trailer and an
electric start Honda outboard. Once again, I had some
custom work done. I had the spider chairs replaced
with pedestal seats and added cup holders. I added
roller bunks to the trailer and put a jack plate and a
trolling motor to the boat. After seven years of heavy
use I replaced the 15-hp Honda engine with a 20-hp
(thanks to my sister Ernestine). I am very happy with
my boat and consider it the last boat that I will ever
buy.
“I recently heard that a fellow guide had purchased a
new boat and trailer with no motor for $28,000. This
guy must be doing much better than I am. Over 23 years
of guiding, I have spent $9,000 on three boats. I
heard that inflation is on the rise, but this is
alarming. The new boats that I see some of these guys
have remind me more of bass boats with their metal
flake paint jobs and huge motors. What happened to
trout boats?
“Will these new boats enable them to catch more trout?
I hope so!”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 656.62 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). Flow on Thursday midday
was 4,143 cfs, and tailwater elevation was 453.50
feet. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake
was 915.06 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 915.00
feet msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 1-19-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Bull Shoals Lake water level is at 656
feet or 2 feet below normal winter pool. The water
temperature is about 48 degrees. Fishing has been
fair. For the shallow-fishing anglers, there is plenty
of fish on the bank, especially if there’s wind and
clouds covering water where the wind hits 45 degrees
at chunk rock, a steep bank or ledge rock. Fish close
to deeper water. Use jig or shaky head and drop-shot
in a deep brush/ledge. Fishing in 30-40 feet we’re
cranking a Spro crawler and Wiggle Wart, red craw
Stone Cold or green variations. You’ll have keep
moving to find them but when you do there’s usually a
few close.
The winter patterns are working offshore. It’s video
gaming. Shad are still spread out. It’s all location,
location. Target bigger bait balls and shad becomes
the structure. Fish the creeks hollers – every day
every creek will be different. Even in the main lake,
look for loons and graph. That pays off this time of
year. If fishing near ledges or trees near shad, a
jerkbait will pull a few, usually early or late in the
day when shad are up in the water column. Some shad
may be suspended over deep water. If they are being
finicky, hang a Tater Shad over the side on a Moon Eye
Jig. With schooling fish, use a Jewel Scope or spin
jigging Rap. Under shad, use a Jewel Scuba Spoon for
those bottom dwellers. Lots of different species
showing up out there in the middle. 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 553.76 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet msl;
April-Sept. 556.25 feet msl; top flood elevation 580.0
feet msl). Flow below the dam Thursday midday was
3,243 cfs.
(updated 1-19-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 553.70 feet
msl and rising slowly with a half-inch of rain
Wednesday. They are running one generator at Norfork
Dam for about four hours in a 24-hour period and
regulating the level to the top of the power pool of
553.75 feet msl and keeping it very stable with no
signs of any winter drawdown so far this year. The
White River at Newport is 7.89 feet and dropping,
indicating not much water is being let out anywhere.
The surface water temperature is back over 50 degrees
and was 51 on Wednesday with the warm ambient
temperatures. It was 48 degrees last week. The main
lake is fairly clear and you can see your lure down
about 5 feet and the creeks are stained a little
green, but not bad.
Most all fishing has slowed since last week and the
evening bite just at sunset for bass and crappie has
diminished the last few days, as has the morning bite
for temperate bass, but a few good fish are being
caught every day. Spoons are the best for open-water
fish on shad and slip floats, with live minnows and
small jigs in brush for bass and crappie are both
working. Some bass are near the shoreline in the
evening on windblown secondary points partway back in
the creeks and behind brush piles. Overall, fishing is
fair to poor but the lake is in excellent condition.
For a daily fishing report and lake condition go to
www.blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog.
(updated 1-19-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort had no new reports, but Lou posts almost daily
on his Facebook page with photos and where the fish
are biting and what’s biting. Check it out.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 1-19-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 0.1 foot to rest 0.1 foot below power pool of
553.75 feet msl and 26.3 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 still
at or below power pool. With cooler temperatures, we
can expect higher flows and less wadable water. We can
expect heavy generation during peak power demand.
There has been more wadable water on the Norfork. The
most productive flies have been small midge patterns
like zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and
silver bead). 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 a bit better. 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 and North Fork rivers 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 1-19-2023) 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 much 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.
