White River
(updated 5-11-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said trout fishing has been spectacular this week with
perfect spring weather to match – morning temps, low
60s, some overcast but mostly clear skies, afternoons
a little warmer. Bull Shoals Dam has been averaging
10,500 cfs daily over the last week, equivalent to
three generators/units, if you use that method to
estimate water levels. The flow has remained fairly
constant, which is good news; steady water releases
cause less stress to the trout than frequent changes
to the generation amounts.
The Cotter catch has been high quality this week: 16-
to 20-inch rainbows are not uncommon, and the keepers
(under 14 inches) are healthy and fat. Seems you
couldn't go wrong with a Vibrax Blue Fox. Gold or
silver in 3/16 ounce worked best, but the ⅛-ounce
spinners caught their share, too. The No. 7 Countdowns
of almost any color (gold/black, brown or brook trout,
rainbow, silver/black) are flying off the shelf, which
tells me the word on the river is "Rapalas are
catching!"
To fill your creel with keeper rainbows, downsize your
hooks (size 8 or 6) and try a tiny piece of shrimp
with a bubblegum pink worm. Make it a mousetail –
white egg pattern on the pink worm – for a more sure
catch.
Rising water? Always turn to live worms first. The
browns have been nibbling shad and sculpins.
While the water level is still a little too high for
wading, fishing along the river bank is not out of the
question. It may require more frequent (but gentle and
slow) casting and retrieve than when the river level
is low, but success is assured with patience.
“Come enjoy an Ozark spring day and you'll be hooked.
See you on the river!”
(updated 5-11-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “The weather is
getting hot. Even with the recent rains the river
conditions have been excellent with clear water and
depths between 6.5-8 feet. Fishing has been great.
Silver inline spinners with yellow Power Eggs and
shrimp worked well. Artificial lures such as Rapala
Countdown CD7 in brown trout or rainbow colors
continue to work well. Casting quarter-ounce spoons on
the gravel bars was effective.
“This last week we have seen an increase in the number
of 18-inch-plus brown trout caught. Although most
weren’t legal size to keep, they had been eating well,
were fat and put up a good fight.
“We have had three different trout stockings in the
last week to include one stocking of 4,000 6- to
8-inch brown trout.”
(updated 5-11-2023) AGFC staff fished the White River
in the Sylamore Creek-White River junction area last
weekend. On Saturday, there was a little smallmouth
bite in the current of the big river just in front of
the creek, biting white maribou Trout Magnets.
Rainbows like the Trout Magnet some but early, as well
as an inline spinner, at midday started really
favoring the orange PowerBait, while some liked the
No. 7 rainbow trout-colored Rapala Countdown. On
Sunday, fishing out of Jack’s Resort (870-585-2211)
after the river had risen 1 foot overnight, we
drift-fished the White River below the confluence,
catching what would have been boatload of rainbows
(all were returned to the river), including a
16-incher, using inline spinners and hooks baited with
X Factor eggs and pieces of shrimp.
(updated 5-11-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service at Cotter said that during the past week they
had a half-inch of rain, warmer temperatures and heavy
winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 1.9 feet to
rest at 1.9 feet above power pool of 661.3 feet msl.
This is 31.8 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose 0.4 foot to rest at 1.6
feet below power pool and 16.3 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.8 foot to rest at 5.4
feet above power pool or 3.2 feet below the top of
flood pool. The White around Cotter has had no wadable
water and heavy flows. Norfork Lake rose 0.4 foot to
rest at 1.1 feet below power pool of 556 feet msl and
25.1 feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
Tailwater has had wadable water. All of the lakes in
the White River System except Table Rock and Norfork
are above power pool, but dropping.
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 Cane Island. We
have had lower flows that have fished well some days
and poorly on others. 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, “For around a decade my wife, Lori,
and I have been teaching fly-fishing at Arkansas State
University Mountain Home (ASUMH). An integral part of
that class has always been basic fly-casting
instruction, which is led by Lori. She has also been
teaching basic casting instruction at the Sowbug
Roundup every year for quite a while. In addition, she
has been giving private lessons to anglers who wanted
to hone their casting skills beyond the basic level.
She is the best casting instructor in the area. This
is due to her learning to teach casting from Lefty
Kreh and other master casters. I have taught casting
for several years and usually assist.
“We discussed the fact that there are a lot of anglers
out there who want to improve their casting skills.
Therefore we decided to add a casting seminar to the
list of classes that we teach at ASUMH. We have
scheduled an intermediate casting seminar on June, 3
from 10 a.m. until noon at the ASUMH campus.
“This seminar is for anglers who have already mastered
the basic cast. It is recommended that you bring your
own rod, although we will have spare rods available
for your use. All instruction will be outside. There
will be no classroom.
“We will evaluate your cast and tune it up with
constructive criticism and positive instruction. Lori
will then teach you to shoot line. This will enable
you to cast further with little effort.
“Then she will show you how to double haul. This
enables you to increase line speed, which will allow
you to increase distance and helps beat the wind. This
is one of the more difficult techniques in fly-casting
and it requires an accomplished instructor to teach
it. Lori breaks it down to its simplest components and
makes it easy to understand.
“Shooting line and the double haul are important
contributors to success in salt water fly-fishing,
fly-fishing streamers and any fly-fishing endeavor
that requires a long cast.
“We will also cover the Belgian cast. This is a
continuous cast that is perfect for casting the heavy
double-fly nymph rigs that we favor here. It is a
great way to cast in windy conditions. I was guiding
yesterday and my clients were having trouble casting
in intense wind conditions. I showed them how to use
the Belgian cast and they were able to cope with the
windy conditions with a minimum of tangles using heavy
double-fly rigs.
“Our last intermediate cast is the reach cast. This is
a specialty cast used in fishing dry flies. You
actually make a mend in the line as you cast. This
helps deliver a dry fly with a drag free float, which
is necessary for success when fishing dry flies.
“If this sounds like something you would enjoy, go the
ASU’s website
https://asumh.coursestorm.com/category/outdoors and
register. There is a modest fee. Lori and I hope to
see you there.”
(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 Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported
the lake’s elevation at 662.92 feet msl (normal
conservation pool: 661.43 feet msl; top flood
elevation is 695.00 feet msl). By midday Thursday the
flow was 13,521 cfs with constant generation over
recent days; tailwater elevation was 456.45 feet. The
reported lake elevation at Table Rock Lake was 915.18
feet msl (normal conservation pool: 915.00 feet msl;
top flood elevation is 931.0 feet msl).
(updated 5-11-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday that Bull Shoals’ water
temperature jumped from 60 degrees recently to around
70 degrees with the lake level dropping. “Algae blooms
can be a hassle. Another wave of bass have moved up,
we got another big wave. There’s a shad spawn with
post-spawner bass feeding. You can find them grouped
around docks spread out on flats, in pockets and in
the bushes now. A lot of fish are now suspending. I’m
spending lots of time graphing, checking pockets with
wind and shad. Most fish still seem to be looking up.
Most of the dirty water is in the bigger creeks, while
there is high visibility around the dam area.
Fish it like two separate lakes. With dirty creeks,
cloudy and warm, windy and rain, stick with
powerfishing a square bill, Chatterbait, spinnerbait
or Rat-L-Trap-style bait.
Try on the last couple of swing banks or in or around
the spawning pockets. Cover water. Fish runoff if
available.
If you’re chasing spawners, try Senko, Beaver or Ned
rig.
If it’s sunny, flat, stain conditions, then try points
slow-dragging a Jewel half-ounce Special Ops football
jig in green pumpkin. On sunny days with clear water,
look at ledges already, keep boat in 25-30 feet, and
try a green pumpkin 3/16-ounce shaky head or a Ned
fished slow, then go a little slower. Look at points
outside spawning areas.
The shad are moving up high, check to backs of the
creeks and mouths of creeks. Also way off the points
look for feeding activity. Bigger spreads are
shallower, so be sure to check flats for a shad spawn.
Graph time pays off. Bomb casts around the Ol’
McMinnow 2.8 Swimbait in white or shad colors, and
also a fluke and topwater wake shad, or Lucky Craft
Gunfish topwater early in the morning. This pattern
has been the deal for me. The bass are definitely
grouping up. 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 555.09 feet msl
(normal conservation pool: Sept.-April, 553.75 feet
msl; April-Sept. 556.18 feet msl; top flood elevation
580.0 feet msl). Flow below the dam Thursday midday
was 206 cfs, about 2,700 cfs drop from a 5-hour
generation Wednesday night.
(updated 5-11-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level is 554.93 and
had risen 1 inch in the last 24 hours when Scuba Steve
came in at 4:15 p.m. (anticipating a thunderstorm, and
not disappointed). It rained hard again at 4:30 just
like the day before. The level has risen from 554.47
feet at its low about 10 days ago after the quick
drop. The surface water temperature is 70 degrees and
the water is clearing and you can see your lure down
7-8 feet in the main lake and less in the creeks.
There was a spike in the threadfin shad spawn at full
moon last Friday but it is tapering off, though it
continues. They spawn mostly at night.
Some bass and crappie are still spawning, but many
have finished. Both spawned-out bass and crappie are
moving on brush piles and under docks. The topwater
bite is getting good early at sunrise and lasts longer
on cloudy days, and another is in the evening but is
mostly bass partway back in the windblown creeks. Use
Zara Spooks or Spittin’ Image until they go down and
then switch to a 3-inch swimbait.
Catfish are biting live shiners and bluegill on throw
lines. Smallmouth bass are on shallow flats and around
points on creature baits. Bluegill are preparing for
spawn. Overall, the lake is in excellent condition and
at a good level for both fishing and boating.
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
blog for a daily report.
(updated 5-4-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort says the bite for most species has slowed a
little over the last couple of days with the cool
front that rolled through the area. “Or at least it
has slowed for me!” he said. “A 3-degree drop in
surface lake temp has not helped. The heat wave is
arriving soon, so the lake temp will begin to climb
again and the bite will improve.
“This has not stopped anyone from fishing and catching
fish. The striped/hybrid bass have really scattered
out in the areas where I have been fishing. The very
early-morning bite is the best and I have been
catching a few each morning by casting a 3.5 swimbait
up close to shoreline points, both back in coves or on
the main lake. Crappie are both on brush and scattered
out in coves roaming between brush. Trolling Flicker
Minnows is working the best, but a slip float with
live minnows is also producing some fish. Bass are on
shoreline points in 3-10 feet of water. Casting
swimbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits are all
catching fish. I have found also some nice bass
feeding in the middle of a cove in 30 feet of water. I
was trolling for crappie with four rods out and all
four got hammered by bass at the same time. I have
also found bass in 25 feet deep brush piles. Jigging a
Tater Shad was driving them crazy, especially with a
fast reel up.
“Another angler landed some nice striped bass and
largemouth on topwater baits, as well as by trolling
Flicker Minnows. Meanwhile, Mike and Sam have been
crappie fishing, trolling Flicker Minnows and by using
live bait on a slip float. Wednesday, trolling worked
the best for them. They landed a huge 15.5-inch
crappie. All their fish were released to be caught
another day.”
The surface water temp has dropped to around 60
degrees Wednesday morning. The lake level is stable at
554.51 feet msl, which is slightly under the current
seasonal pool of 554.47 feet msl.
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 5-11-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
rose 0.4 foot to rest at 1.1 feet below power pool of
556 feet msl and 25.1 feet below the top of flood
pool. The Norfork Tailwater has had wadable water. All
of the lakes in the White River System except Table
Rock and Norfork are above power pool, but dropping.
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
eighteen inches below a brightly colored San Juan worm
(hot fluorescent pink or cerise). My 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.
Be sure and 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 5-11-2023) 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 are more 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.
