White River
(updated 3-30-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “A spring day in the Arkansas Ozarks fishing on
one of our rivers, streams or lakes is the next best
thing to heaven. Spring rains are causing a rise in
the lake levels in the White River watershed but the
increase is being managed well as we continue to net
great trout. Bull Shoals Lake is 13 feet above power
pool level at 672 feet msl. The dam has been holding
back much of its inflows to alleviate flooding
downriver, so we've seen lower flows than might be
expected. The average generation has been two to four
units (6,000-12,000 cfs).
“No surprises that the browns continue to chase mid-
to large-size sculpins and shad, but they've shown
some interest in the larger sinking baits (look for
Rapala's silver and black CD7). Rainbows never fail to
bite at fluorescent yellow or orange eggs with shrimp,
but are also chasing the floating pink mouse tails
(artificial worms) when dam generation causes a rise
in the water. This week we pulled in rainbow after
rainbow casting Rooster Tails with black and yellow
skirts, silver blades, quarter-ounce to three-eighths
ounce.
“This lower water provides the option to fish with
jigs. Try white or olive Zig Jigs or a standard white
maribou jig; both have offered a lot of fun and
success. There's a relatively new jig on the market, a
D2 Jig sold through the Trout Magnet folks. The peach
and olive flavor promises to be a great catch. Live
worms have been working well, too, when the water
level increases flush more worms into the river,
making your bait looks more natural.
“Spring break is mostly behind us for now, but it's
never too late to take a break for fishing. Visit the
Natural State for some terrific catches and lots of
Ozark hospitality.”
(updated 3-30-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the storms last
Friday dumped a lot of rain across the state, causing
the Buffalo River and White River to flood. By
Saturday evening the White River crested at 19 feet at
Calico Rock. Sunday morning the muddy water was back
inside the banks. Monday saw the river starting to
clear up and the best chance to catch trout was to tie
up to a tree in one of the creeks and use corn. There
were some decent size 14-inch-plus trout caught using
this method. By Wednesday the river was down to about
7 feet and still dingy but fishable. Drift-fishing
with yellow or orange Power Eggs with shrimp worked
best when fishing the gravel bars. Rainbow trout
colored Rapala Countdowns and Purpledescent or
shad-colored Shad Raps had some success.
There were two trout stockings Wednesday. In the
morning the AGFC used its pontoon raft to stock 2,400
trout from the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish
Hatchery between Norfork and Calico Rock. In the
afternoon the Norfork Hatchery stocked a large number
of trout at the Calico Rock boat ramp.
(updated 3-30-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service at Cotter said that during the past week they
had a 3-inch rain event, cold and then cool
temperatures, and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull
Shoals rose 6.4 feet to rest at 12.9 feet above power
pool of 659 feet msl. This is 23.1 feet below the top
of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 2.5 feet
to rest at 8.3 feet below power pool and 10.5 feet
below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose 1.5 feet
to rest at 8.3 feet above power pool or 1.3 feet below
the top of flood pool. The White had no wadable water
and heavy, then moderate flows. Norfork Lake rose 6.7
feet to rest at 10.2 feet above power pool of 553.75
feet msl and 16 feet below the top of flood pool. The
Norfork tailwater has had wadable water. All of the
lakes in the White River system are now above power
pool. Expect higher flows on the White and some
wadable water on the Norfork.
John says, “The caddis hatch is just beginning. This
is our best hatch of the year. We have seen some small
hatches in late afternoon. Before the hatch, fish a
caddis pupa like the Sunday Special in size 16. When
you see takes on the top but see no insects, switch to
a caddis emerger like my Green Butt in size 15. When
you observe trout taking insects from the top of the
water, switch to elk hair caddis size 16.
“On the White, the hot spot has been the Rim Shoals.
We have had higher flows that have fished well one day
and poorly the next. 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 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.
John also said, “For the last week or so I was
beginning to think spring was here. My tulip tree
bloomed and went. My hyacinth is in bloom, as is my
quince and forsythia. My dogwood tree is covered in
buds and is ready to pop at any moment. I have cut my
grass twice. I do admit that was to mow down winter
weeds, but it is usually a harbinger of spring. I had
even spent a day or two wearing shorts around the
yard.
“Last weekend I had three days guiding. When I
originally booked them I had no idea how cold it would
be. All three days began in the 20s and did not get
that warm later on.
“I took great care when getting dressed. I put on
polypropylene long underwear, wool socks,
flannel-lined khakis, a heavy fleece pullover, my
warmest down jacket, insulated L.L. Bean boots, a knit
cap topped with my Elmer Fudd billed cap with ear
flaps and heavy wool fingerless gloves.
“On the first day my clients were a nice couple from
Oklahoma. They had made an emergency trip to Walmart
the night before to get some additional warm clothing
that made a big difference for them. I suggested that
we meet at the White Sands Cafe for breakfast and
stayed there drinking coffee until it warmed up a bit.
“We went to Rim Shoals and saw that they were running
about 16,000 cfs, or about five full generators. We
launched and began fishing. We caught several trout on
orange egg patterns. The big problem was that it was
very windy, 10-20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. This
made it feel much colder. We quit early due to the
wind.
“The next day I had three guys, a father and two adult
sons. I knew that I was in trouble when I found out
they were from Wisconsin. To them the 21 degrees at
start time was like a spring day. One guy fished all
day with no gloves and a light mesh-backed ball cap. I
got cold just looking at him.
“The first day we fished at Rim Shoals and did well.
The water conditions were the same but there was much
less wind, which made fishing much easier. We got much
better drifts and caught plenty of trout.
“While making a leader repair I dropped two tippet
spools, which were snapped together, into the river.
They each contained 100 yards of fluorocarbon tippet.
These spools cost $44.95 each plus tax. I sat there
and watched about $100 worth of tippet sink into the
river. If guides were allowed to cry, I would have.
“The next day we fished below Bull Shoals Dam. The
water conditions and the weather were about the same.
The fishing was better with some really nice trout.
“I survived the unexpectedly cold weather and caught
fish but spent the whole time wondering what happened
to spring.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 673.24 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). By midday Thursday the
flow was 4,544 cfs and has ranged from 2,500 to 5,213
cfs for past two days; tailwater elevation was 453.61
feet. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake
was up 4.5 feet to 919.55 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 915.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 3-30-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday that Bull Shoals Lake’s level
was about 13 feet high, at 672 feet msl. Water
temperature has ranged 52-61 degrees give or take. The
lake is on the rise; watch for debris. Temperature and
conditions will dictate your game plan and success.
The bass have been stingy the last couple of days.
It’s up and down like the weather. There are some fish
moving up. While some warmer creeks have a wave of
fish up skinny, they are mostly bucks with an
occasional big. Fish it like two separate lakes: with
windy conditions and dirty, cloudy warm rainwater you
should be power fishing a crankbait, Chatterbait or
squarebill. Try on the last couple of swing banks or
in or around the pockets. Cover water. Fish warm
runoff if available. When it’s sunny and flat water
with stained conditions, try slow-dragging a Jewel
half-ounce Special Ops football jig in green pumpkin
color. With sunny conditions and clear water, try a
green pumpkin three-quarter-ounce shaky head or a Ned
fished slowly, then go a little slower. Also use the
ol’ Wobble Head with a Menace slow-banging on the
rocks, ledges or points in 5-15 feet, early, then
focus on 15-20 feet around midday.
Fish outside the spawning areas. The fish are moving
in. It’s getting to where you can beat the bank and
run into a few. Target staging early prespawn areas in
the creeks, swings and points. Outside the spawning
areas fish the old shoreline. If you’re feeling brave
trying a Megabass Jerkbait+1 on breezy-day bluff ends
over steeper swings and points with shad nearby will
fool a few, but has been hit or miss. I’m not a rig
guy but they are set up for that.
The shad are moving up again, and video gamers are
everywhere from the main lake to the backs of the
creeks. Look for bigger spreads shallower than 30
feet. Gulls and loons can help or hurt; don’t hang out
if they are over deep water. Expect drum or walleyes.
Throw around the ol’ McMinnow 2.8 Swimbait in white or
shad colors. This has been the deal for me.
The bass are definitely grouping up. Whites and
walleyes are spawning or prespawn; early in the
morning or late in the day is the deal to fool them.
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 midday Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers
reported the lake’s elevation at 564.64 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 8,198 cfs, with constant generation in that range
for several days.
(updated 3-30-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 564.41 feet
msl and has risen 3.5 inches in the last 24 hours with
one generator running since 8 a.m. on Wednesday. It is
still rising with one generator running, but not much.
The White River at Newport is 26.35 feet and dropping.
They are predicting a crest on Norfork Lake to be on
April 6 at 565.10 feet msl and it would be a rise of 9
feet since the rain last Friday.
“This report is for the lake area from Cranfield
Island to Robinson Island. The water is brown but not
muddy and clears as you go downstream. I could see my
lure down 6-8 feet in float creek and 2 inches near
Cranfield Island. The water temperature was 54 degrees
and the weather has been very nice but cool. We are
expecting a storm on Friday.
“Fishing has not been the best but a few bass are
being caught beating the bank partway back in the
creeks with a red crankbait or a single spin. I am
using a small grub tipped with a minnow almost
exclusively and catching a few bass and a crappie now
and again. The night bite for stripers is over and did
not amount to much, but some larger fish were caught
than I expected.
“Overall fishing is poor but some bass are being
caught if you know how. The topwater bite should start
anytime if the water warms a bit and it is usually
good on April 15. I will be glad when March is over.”
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
Blog for a daily report.
(updated 3-23-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said the bite for most species has been pretty
good Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but it will
get better once we get some stable weather and a
stable lake level. Normal early spring requests. “I
have several guests in and they are all catching fish.
The bite in the dark is going strong as long as you
find where the fish are hanging out. Casting a small
3.5- to 5-inch paddle tail swimbait with a
quarter-ounce jighead has been working the best.
“You can catch just about any species in the lake,
including walleye, crappie and stripers, by casting
out a swimbait. I prefer white or a Sexy Shad color.
Once it gets light out, the fish tend to move off the
shoreline and into deeper water, about 30-40 feet deep
on the same points. I found fish yesterday morning on
main lake points. I have been using Tater Baits, Tater
Shads in the Bayou Magic, Key Lime and White Trash
flavors. I catch most of my stripers by keeping the
bait motionless about 3 feet off of the bottom.
“On Tuesday morning before the heavier rain started, I
landed my limit of stripers/hybrids, including a
9-pound-plus hybrid. He really gave a great battle.
Bob, another guest, found nice largemouth bass back in
a creek in very shallow, muddy water. He was also
casting out a swimbait. Another area that has been
holding a ton of bait and fish is partway back in a
creek where the fish are in 30-60 feet of water. Most
of the stripers in this area are suspended 20-30 feet
down. You will also find a lot of white bass in the
same areas with the striped/hybrid bass.
“Wednesday morning was another good day to be on the
lake. I checked out a new area and fished a flat in
30-40 feet of water. On one end of the flat I found a
lot of bait and found white bass and a few stripers
feeding heavily. The fish were at all depths, but the
fish on the bottom were the most aggressive. I managed
to land a monster striped bass weighing in at 30
pounds that was suspended 20 feet down in 37 feet of
water. All my fish Wednesday were caught by slowly
vertical-jigging a Bayou Magic Tater Shad. This big
guy took 30 minutes to land on 8-pound test
monofilament line.”
The surface water temp is holding around 50 degrees.
The lake level is falling and currently sits at 556.92
feet msl. The northern part of the lake remains
stained. Enjoy Norfork Lake.
Lou also 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 3-30-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 6.7 feet to rest at 10.2 feet above power pool of
553.75 feet msl and 16 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater has had wadable water. All
of the lakes in the White River system are now above
power pool. Expect higher flows on the White and some
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-head 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 size 14 pheasant tail nymph and a size
18 ruby midge. The fishing is much better in the
morning and late afternoon, while it tapers off at
midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished a bit better. Weekends can
get quite crowded. Some schools may be having a later
spring break, so Friday this week may also have some
younger anglers. 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 3-30-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are fishing poorly. With cooler
temperatures, the smallmouths have not been 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.
