White River
(updated 4-20-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “We're serving up an Ozark spring at its best!
Add terrific trout fishing to a glorious spring day
and glorious peace on the river, and you've got a
memory in the making.
Bull Shoals Lake is sitting at 668 feet msl, just 8
feet above the desired power pool level – the Corps
has done a great job at bringing the lake down. The
generation has been trending down all week from almost
flood stage levels (30,000 cfs) during the middle of
last week to much more normal levels currently: about
14,000-17,000 cfs (four to six units). The river has
prime fishing water right now.
“The trout bite was phenomenal last weekend on the
high water with Rapala Countdowns No. 5 and No. 7 (the
black/gold and brook trout Rapalas brought the most
success). The glass blue Husky Jerk Minnow was bragged
on by some longtime White River anglers. We pulled in
rainbow after rainbow with floating pink mouse tails
(artificial worms). It's a good idea to have a rod
rigged with your favorite PowerBait hue (garlic flavor
works nice, too) and some shrimp toppers to coax the
more reluctant ones out of hiding. You can try your
hand at jig fishing again now since dam generation has
slowed: moss green or orange/black Zig Jigs or even a
plain white maribou jig should provide a lot of
action. We brought a beauty of a rainbow to the boat
for pictures (22 inches, 5 pounds) (Tuesday) with a
nice little redfin river minnow.
“You can expect our guides to serve you well in all
weather and water conditions, help you catch fish
every day, teach new techniques to sharpen your
fishing skills, and bless you with Arkansas Ozark
hospitality. We welcome you to Cotter.”
(updated 4-20-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said that as of
Wednesday Bull Shoals Dam had 17 spillway gates opened
to 1 foot plus four generators, while Norfork Dam had
11 spillway gates opened to 1 foot and one generator
operating. “Last weekend we saw water depths as high
as 13.5 feet, but by Wednesday the river had dropped
about 3 feet to approximately 10.5 feet. The water has
some dinginess with a fast current. Drift-fishing with
silver-colored inline spinner, yellow Power Eggs and
shrimp was the most effective. Because of the depth of
the water there was minimal success using lures.
“This week we received one trout stocking of over 650
rainbow trout at the Calico Rock boat ramp. An
additional stocking was done at the Chessmond Ferry
boat ramp.”
(updated 4-20-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service at Cotter said that during the past week they
had just a trace or rainfall in Cotter, warmer
temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind
advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 4 feet
to rest at 10.2 feet above power pool of 659 feet.
This is 25.8 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 0.1 foot to rest at 0.3
foot below power pool and 14.3 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.4 foot to rest at 8.6
feet above power pool or 1 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 3.5 feet to rest at 5.7
feet above power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 20.5 feet
below the top of flood pool. The Norfork had no
wadable water. “Here again we have had spillway
releases to augment generation.”
All of the lakes in the White River System except
Table Rock are now above power pool. At the current
rate of drop, expect all of the lakes in the White
River System to reach power pool in three weeks.
John 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 White Hole. 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.”
John also said, “Yesterday I went to the Sowbug
Roundup wrap-up meeting. The object of the meeting is
to analyze the most recent Sowbug to see what went
well and what could be improved upon.
“The secret to Sowbug’s success is that the committee
meets once a month for the entire year. That way we
have plenty of time to plan for its success. Most of
the committee members have served for a number of
years and are very knowledgeable about their
responsibilities. When there is turnover, the
committee member departing mentors the new member.
“This year’s Sowbug Roundup was a major success. We
had around 1,100 attendees who spent an average of
1.62 days at Sowbug. That means that the average
attendee spent quite a bit of time there. Most of this
time was for them to watch some of the top fly-tyers
in the United States do their thing. They also
attended some interesting seminars or took classes in
fly-tying or fly-casting at no additional charge.
“One of the classes taught was a kid’s fly-tying
contest. I heard of one student that learned to tie a
fly. He then took that fly to Dry Run Creek and caught
a fish on it the next day. This is a big deal in fly
fishing, to catch a fish on a fly that you tied. The
first one is special.
“I remember the first time it happened to me. My
brother, Dan, taught me to tie an olive Woolly Bugger.
That week I took it to the Spring River. I started the
day with my fly. In 15 minutes, I had caught a trout
on a fly that I had tied myself. I fished it all day
and caught a total of six trout (a limit at that
time). The Woolly Bugger was a bit beat up. I
carefully put it back in my fly box. Forty years later
I still have it. I am sure that this young man feels
the same.
“The food vendor was a big hit. We had the Clark Ridge
Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary there to provide
breakfast, lunch and snacks for the Sowbug volunteers,
tyers and attendees. It was quality food at reasonable
prices.
“I freely admit to being a serious chowhound. Their
sausage gravy biscuit is the best I ever had. My
sister, Ernestine, talked me into trying it and I am
glad she did. We split a two biscuit plate for $6 and
it was well worth every penny. The fried pies were
fantastic. They reminded me of my mother’s. How good
does it get?
“We spent a lot of time discussing how to make the
Sowbug Roundup better. How do we make the layout more
efficient? We also spent a lot of time figuring out
how to more efficiently handle the finances.
“The meeting went long but we thought that we
accomplished something and hope that we can continue
to make it better every year.”
Bull Shoals Lake
As of Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 668.18 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 659.00 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). By midday Thursday the
flow was 12,939 cfs and has ranged as high as 14,389
the last couple of days; tailwater elevation was
457.30 feet. The reported lake elevation at Table Rock
Lake was 914.70 feet msl (normal conservation pool:
915.00 feet msl; top flood elevation is 931.0 feet
msl).
(updated 4-20-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Bull Shoals Lake level as of midweek
was 668 feet, or 9 feet high. Water temperature is
60-plus degrees. The lake is coming down fast with
floodgates open. There is now accessibility to ramps
and parking again. The bass are grouped up and they
are spawn/prespawn feeding – you can find them on
spread-out flats and in the bushes now. We had a big
wave move up last week, but unfortunately I think
those beds are out of the water and put them in a
funk. There were some that spawned, but a lot did not.
A lot of fish are now suspended, waiting for better,
more stable conditions. I’m looking for prespawners
checking 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. Dirty
creeks, cloudy, warm rain water you’re best
powerfishing with crankbaits, Chatterbaits,
spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps. Try on the last couple
swing banks or in or around the spawning pockets.
Cover water. Fish warm runoff if available.
Sunny days with flat water and stain conditions, try
slow-dragging a Jewel half-ounce Special Ops football
jig in green pumpkin. Sunny with clear water, look at
the old shoreline points, keep the boat in 25-30 feet,
try a green pumpkin 3/16-ounce shaky head or a Ned
fished slow, then go a little slower. The ol’ Wobble
Bead with a Menace slow-banging on the rocks, ledges
and points in 5-15 feet early, 15-20 feet midday
around points and outside spawning areas.
It’s getting to where you can beat the bank and run
into a few. The shad are moving up again. Video gamers
are everywhere up high. Check the backs of the creeks
and look for bigger spreads shallower than 40ft; be
sure to check 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. White bass are
munching in the very backs of the big creeks. The
walleyes caught bass fishing looked spawned out. Go
out 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 558.07 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 9,404 cfs, with constant generation in that range
for several days.
(updated 4-20-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 558.51 feet
msl and has dropped over 7 inches in the last 24 hours
with one generator running continuously and spillway
gates open to about an additional 2¼ generators. The
White River at Newport is 22.28 feet and dropping
quickly. They now predict the lake will be at the top
of the power pool of 553.75 feet msl on May 1. That is
very good compared to where we were. All launches and
parking are back to normal and that is very good. The
topwater bite depends on the nighttime ambient
temperature. If it is about 55 degrees it is very
good, and below 50 it’s nonexistent. The water
temperature is all over the place, but is about 67 on
the main lake in the Blackburn’s Creek area.
“Walleye, white bass and some small stripers are
coming up on warm mornings. Crappie are in the middle
of spawn and are deciding what to do with the quickly
dropping water. Black bass are worse and do not know
what to do. I am glad the water is not so high, but it
is not helping the spawn any with the quick drop in
level. It is still early and things will settle out as
long as we do not get any big rains in the Norfork
watershed area. Fishing is still fair to good.”
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
blog for a daily report.
(updated 4-20-2023) 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 4-20-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 3.5 feet to rest at 5.7 feet above power pool of
553.75 feet msl and 20.5 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork had no wadable water. “Here again we
have had spillway releases to augment generation.”
All of the lakes in the White River System except
Table Rock are now above power pool. At the current
rate of drop, expect all of the lakes in the White
River System to reach power pool in three weeks.
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 4-20-2023) 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.
