White River
(updated 4-13-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said cool mornings and sunny days make for great trout
fishing conditions – and we've got 'em. Bull Shoals
Lake is sitting at 673.09 feet msl, still 14 feet
above power pool, but dropping fairly quickly. Plan on
continued heavy generation from the dam for a while.
We're currently seeing releases of 24,000+ cfs which
is the equivalent of a full 7 units split between the
power units and releases from the spillways. Big water
… making big trout!
The brown trout bite has been reliable with shad doing
best. Rainbows are snapping at sunrise and orange
PowerBait; combined with shrimp or crawdad tails
you're almost sure to reel in some great-sized fish.
Casting toward the bank has been the best way to keep
your bait into the mouths of trout and not being hung
up with moss. Drift-fishing from a john boat takes the
frustration out of high-water fishing; this is not the
kind of water to for using an anchor.
“The redbuds are blooming, the dogwoods are gorgeous,
decked out in white buds, and spring has sprung here
in the beautiful Ozark Mountain region of Arkansas. We
invite you to come join us.”
(updated 4-13-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said that as of
Wednesday, Bull Shoals Dam had 17 spillway gates open
plus for four generators and Norfork Dam had six
spillway gates open and one generator. Water at
Calico Rock has been between 11.5 feet and 12.5 feet
with some dinginess and fast current. Fishing has been
slow, but not impossible. Drift-fishing with
silver-colored inline spinner, yellow Power Eggs and
shrimp was the most effective. Adding extra weight
helps get the bait to the bottom.
Although fishing has been slow this week, we have seen
several rainbow trout over 2 pounds and brown trout
over 18 inches. The faster water is stirring up more
food and it seems like the bigger fish are taking
advantage. One 2½-pound rainbow had five sculpin and
at least four crawdads in its stomach.
This week we received two trout stockings, 1,200 trout
were stocked at the Calico Rock boat ramp and early
this week the AGFC used its pontoon raft to stock
trout between Calico Rock and Sylamore Creek.
(updated 4-13-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service at Cotter said that during the past week they
had no rain, warmer temperatures and moderate winds.
The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 2.1 feet to rest at
14.2 feet above power pool of 659 feet msl. This is
21.8 feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table
Rock Lake rose 1.8 feet to rest at 0.4 foot below
power pool and 15.6 feet below the top of flood pool.
Beaver Lake remained steady at 9 feet above power pool
or 0.6 foot below the top of flood pool. The White has
had no wadable water and extremely heavy flows
augmented by substantial spillway releases. Norfork
Lake fell 2.2 feet to rest at 9.2 feet above power
pool of 553.75 feet msl and 16.8 feet below the top of
flood pool. The Norfork tailwater had no wadable
water. “Here again we have had spillway releases to
augment generation. All of the lakes in the White
River system are now above power pool. We can expect
higher flows on the White and Norfork for some time to
come.”
John also said, “The caddis hatch is ongoing. 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. It will be
difficult to fish this hatch with the high water
levels we now have.
“On the White, the hot spot has been Wildcat 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. Use long leaders and plenty of additional
weight.
“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, “Last winter I had gotten accustomed
to fishing low water. I must say that I enjoyed it.
Every time that my wife, Lori, and I caught a warm day
with little wind we went fishing. It was glorious.
“This spring has been a bit different. It seems like
we have a major storm every week. I am writing this in
the middle of what The Weather Channel describes as a
severe thunderstorm. I will take their word for it.
Last week during the previous severe thunderstorm we
had here, a tornado touched down a couple of blocks
from my friend Randy’s home in Little Rock. The same
storm knocked out my sister Ernestine’s power in
Memphis for three days.
“The lakes are rising as I write. Bull Shoals Dam is
16 feet above power pool and Norfork Lake is 12 feet
above power pool. This means high water for months to
come.
“It was less than two weeks ago when I took two
clients out the day after the Sowbug Roundup ended to
fish the White River. They were avid fly-fishers and
serious fly-tyers who had both tied at Sowbug and were
hoping to catch the caddis hatch.
“The Army Corps of Engineers was running around 6,000
cfs, which is about two full generators. This is a
near-perfect level of generation for fishing from a
boat. There is enough water to be above the rocks and
go wherever you like with a propeller-driven motor
like I have. At the same time, the fish are not
scattered and are easy to reach. The casting was easy,
the drifts were long and the trout were cooperating.
We ended the day with 60-plus trout, which included
several big fish.
“A couple of days ago I went back to the same place
with different conditions. This time the Corps was
running double the amount of water of the previous
day. I had a repeat client that was a solid angler
with lots of experience. Early on we caught a few
trout. As the day went on, the water came up. I was
surprised because the prediction was for constant
flows. The rise turned the trout off and fishing was
tough for the remainder of the day.
“When I went online to study the rise, I noted that
the Corps had instituted spillway releases (through
the flood gates) of almost 5,000 cfs, or more than one
and a half full generators of additional water.
“What surprised me most is that they had increased the
flow by opening the floodgates instead of running the
water through the generators. I thought they would
want to generate electricity to power electric
vehicles or charge your iPhone. I looked further and
noted that they had spillway releases on all of the
dams in the White River system. I heard that they are
having some generator problems at Beaver Dam and were
using the spillway releases to get the lake level
down.
“I know the lake levels are high and we are going to
deal with that for a while. They are currently running
26,000 cfs on the White and 7,500 on the Norfork.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 672.33 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). By midday Thursday the
flow was 27,817 cfs and has ranged about that same
level for several days; tailwater elevation was 461.02
feet. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake
was 915.17 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 915.00
feet msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 4-13-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said lake level is 673 feet msl, or 14 foot
above normal pool level. Water temperature is ranging
56 degrees to 60-degrees-plus. The lake is coming down
a little with floodgates open. There is definitely
limited accessibility to ramps, and parking can be an
issue so call ahead. The black bass are grouped up and
they are prespawn feeding. You can find them on
spread-out flats and in the bushes now. Del says he
has seen Kentucky bass on beds, as well as crappie
moving up. “I’m looking for pockets with wind and
shad. Most fish still seem to be looking up. Most of
the dirty water cleared out, but some of the bigger
creeks or up the lake have stain, while there is 18
feet visibility around the dam area. Fish it like two
separate lakes.
He says that with dirty creeks, cloudy day, warm
rainwater you need to be power fishing with
crankbaits, Chatterbaits or square bill. Try on the
last couple of swing banks or in or around the
pockets. Cover water. Fish warm runoff if available.
For sunny days with flat water and strained
conditions, try slow-dragging a Jewel half-ounce
Special Ops football jig in green pumpkin. On sunny
days with clear water, look at the old shoreline
points, keep boat in 25-30 feet, and try a green
pumpkin three-sixteenth-ounce shaky head or Ned,
fished slow then go a little slower. Try the ol’
wobble head with a Menace slow-banging on the rocks,
ledges and points early in 5-15 feet, then 15-20 feet
midday. Check out points outside spawning areas.
It’s getting to where you can beat the bank and run
into a few target staging early in prespawn areas The
shad are moving up again, and video gamers are
everywhere from the main lake to backs of the creeks.
Look for bigger spreads shallower than 30 feet, and be
sure to check the flats. Graph time pays off. Throw
around the ol’ McMinnow 2.8 swimbait in white or shad
colors, and also a fluke and Lucky Craft Gunfish
topwater – “this pattern has been the deal for me.”
The bass are definitely grouping up. Whites are
munching in the very backs of the big creeks. The
walleyes caught bass fishing have looked spawned out.
Fish early or late in the day unless it’s a cloudy,
windy day. 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 562.51 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 9,591 cfs, with constant generation in that range
for several days.
(updated 4-13-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 562.94 feet
msl and has dropped 5 inches in the last 24 hours with
one generator running continuously and spillway gates
open to an additional over two more generators. “This
drop is about as fast as I have seen it drop in my 28
years of living here,” Steven said. “The White River
at Newport is 23.83 feet and has been the same for
three days. The surface water temperature was 68
degrees when I came in at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. It
was a beautiful day. The water is still tea-colored in
the Blackburn’s Creek area and you can see your lure
down a couple of feet but you can find about any water
color that you want. Color is not an issue. There is
no muddy water or debris. Darker water warms more
quickly.
“The topwater bite for black bass and white bass has
begun in the morning at sunrise, and the crappie have
moved to their spawning banks. Flathead catfish have
started biting on live shiners both on rod-and-reel
and on short throw lines partway back in creeks.
Things are getting better quickly.”
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
blog for a daily report.
(updated 4-13-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort 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 4-13-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 2.2 feet to rest at 9.2 feet above power pool of
553.75 feet msl and 16.8 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork tailwater had no wadable water.
“Here again we have had spillway releases to augment
generation. All of the lakes in the White River system
are now above power pool. We can expect higher flows
on the White and Norfork for some time to come.”
There has been no 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 cerise San Juan worms and an orange
egg. The fishing is 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 4-13-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are fishing better. With warmer
temperatures, the smallmouths should be active soon.
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.
