White River
(updated 6-29-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “Trout fishing in the Arkansas Ozarks is most
always successful and the fun never stops – even
during the heat of summer. Bull Shoals Lake is
hovering at 660.07 feet msl, just below where the
Corps of Engineers likes to keep the lake this time of
year (power pool). The river is extremely variable
right now with minimum flows (670 cfs) in the morning
rising to almost four units (12,000 cfs) in the late
afternoon/early evening. Excessive heat calls for high
power demand, which dictates water releases and
impacts river level.
Black was the color to tie on this week when water
levels remained steady at around 3,500 cfs (one unit):
black Rooster Tails, black jigs, sometimes a little
red or moss green in there, dark spoons, nothing too
weighty. Drifting pink PowerBait worms or live red
wigglers achieved quick bites and brought in plentiful
and healthy catches. It sounds crazy, but inflating a
nightcrawler with a Magic Worm Blower excites the
rainbows like nothing else.
Shrimp/PowerBait combo is always a great fallback bait
when others aren't attracting attention. Add a little
salt to your shrimp supply to better keep your bait on
the hook between bites. The brown trout bite has been
exceptional for late spring, with catches in the
double-digits some days. Sculpin and shad have been
the ticket this week with several good keeper browns
reeled in.
Visit Cotter and find out why we're called Trout
Capital USA. Hope to see you at the river!
(updated 6-29-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said this last week
the fishing continues to be great. There has been
little variation in the dam generation schedules. Bull
Shoals Dam continues increasing in the mid- to late
afternoon and decreasing in the evening. In the
morning we are seeing depths as low as under 3 feet
increasing to 5.5 feet by late morning. Norfork Dam
has been releasing water in the mornings, so as the
water from Bull Shoals is dropping we see a slight
jump in depth from the Norfork water and then the rest
of the day the water continues to drop. With the lower
water ¼ ounce spoons are working great. The Colorado
spoons with nickel/gold or copper/gold worked well as
well as Buoyant rainbow trout or brown trout colored
spoons. CD7 Rapala Countdowns in rainbow or silver
seem to be working best. In the deeper holes the
crawdad (orange) colored Shad Reps have been
effective. Drift fishing with sculpins continues to be
effective for bigger sized rainbows and browns. Summer
is in full force and the temperatures are high. Make
sure to dress appropriately, drink water, wear a hat
and use sunscreen. A lot of people are taking a
cooling towel with them and dipping the towel in the
water to help cool off. With the lower water be
careful of where you are going. If you miss the deeper
channel it is easy to run a boat onto a gravel bar or
barely submerged rock. This week we saw two stockings
for a total of approximately 1950 rainbow trout. The
average stock size is about 11 inches but the last
couple of stockings I’ve seen some bigger 13+ inch
fish being stocked.
(updated 6-29-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service at Cotter said that during the past week, they
had two rain events (combined for less than a quarter
of an inch in Cotter), hot temperatures and moderate
winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 0.4 foot to
rest at 1.6 feet below power pool of 661.6 feet msl.
This is 34.9 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.4 foot to rest at 0.7
foot below power pool and 14.7 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.4foot to rest at 0.5
foot below power pool and 9.1 feet below the top of
flood pool. The White had some wadable water and lower
flows. Norfork Lake fell 0.3 foot to rest at power
pool of 556.35 feet msl and 23. 6 feet below the top
of flood pool. The Norfork Tailwater had less wadable
water. All of the lakes are below or near power pool.
Expect lower flows in the coming days. On the Norfork,
all turbines are inoperable for the foreseeable
future. Minimum release is being made through the
siphon at continuous flows of 185 cfs and additional
flows are made through the flood gates.
On the White, the hot spot has been around Cotter. We
have had 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 Wowbugs. Double-fly nymph rigs have been very
effective. John says his favorite has been a copper
John (size 14) with a ruby midge dropper (size 18).
John also said, “This week my wife Lori’s sister,
Terri, her husband, Larry, and their daughter, Brooke,
came to visit. They were interested in kayaking,
fishing and enjoying the beauty of The Natural State.
“Brooke, a pharmacist at the VA hospital wanted to
kayak the Buffalo with Lori and Terri accompanying
her. So we set about planning the trip. We found out
that the outfitters were charging over $40 for a
shuttle so Larry and I decided to handle the shuttle
for them.
“The next morning we got up early and loaded three
kayaks on our Malone kayak trailer. We also got enough
personal flotation devices, paddles, coolers with food
and drinks and fishing gear to fill up our Ford
station wagon. We headed out to the Spring Creek
access on the Buffalo River. Lori and I rode in the
Ford with the gear and the kayak trailer. Larry, Terri
and Brooke followed in their SUV. It took us about an
hour to get to the turnoff for the access, which
turned out to be a rough, pitted dirt road. I quickly
figured out why the shuttles were so expensive.
“We arrived at Spring Creek. We got the kayaks off the
trailer, loaded the gear into the boats and carried
them to the river. It was a perfect day. It was sunny
and warm with little wind. The water was at a good
level for kayaking and was gin clear. The scenery was
gorgeous with limestone bluffs, beautiful green
undergrowth and no development. The plan was for them
to float down to the next access, the Highway 14
bridge, and fish along the way.
“I drove to the Highway 14 bridge with Larry following
me. I parked the Ford where Lori could find it and got
in the car with Larry. We headed back to Cotter. We
stopped at the White Sands Cafe for a late breakfast.
Fortified with a couple of hearty omelets and a bunch
of coffee, we headed to my house four blocks away. We
dropped off Larry’s car and picked up my Suburban. My
Supreme river boat was already hooked up and ready to
go.
“We drove over to Rim Shoals. We loaded my paddle, two
boat nets and a couple of pre-rigged rods into the
boat and launched it into the river. The water was
about 3,500 cfs or a little over one full generator
and clear as a bell. These are near-perfect fishing
conditions.
“We began fishing. The rods were rigged with size 14
Copper Johns with size 18 ruby midge droppers. The
fishing was great. We landed around 20 nice rainbows
and browns in a few hours.
“We beat the girls home. They had a great float but
did not catch many fish. The only casualty was Terri’s
Helios fly rod.”
Bull Shoals Lake
For the Army Corps of Engineers’ real-time outflow
report from Bull Shoals Dam, visit the Corps’ Little
Rock office website.
(updated 6-22-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday that the lake level is steady
at 660 feet msl, only 1 foot higher than normal power
pool. Water temperature is around 80 degrees. Bass
activity seems to be in the 10-25 feet. Del says he’s
spending lots of time graphing offshore, checking
summer spots, swings, points and bluffs as well as
brush piles, drops and ledges. Generation helps the
point bite. Look in large creeks early. If you find
cloudy, warm windy rainwater, powerfishing is best
with Chatterbaits, spinnerbait. Early, pick up a big
worm or Beaver in any of the laydowns. There’s a big
Texas-rigged redworm bite in some of the shallower
brush piles close to deep water. As you move out, try
points cracking a tube or stroking a Jewel half-ounce
Special Ops football jig in green pumpkin orange.
Perch colors, too. In 10-20 feet range in sunny
conditions with clear water, natural colors in small
profile baits are good. Look at ledges, keep the boat
off the fish. Start early with a topwater and as it
slows, a small 2.8 McMinnow is still working. Once the
sun gets up, drop-shot a Robo Worm. Don’t be surprised
if you find a few walleye on those points in 15-20
feet.
The shad are broken up high in the water column mostly
over deep water. Early morning topwater has slowed up
a bit, but bomb casts and look around for activity –
they are schooled up. Try a Lucky Craft Gunfish, white
popper or Spook Jr. topwater as well as a flutter
spoon or Jewel Scope Spin on schoolers. Fish it in the
early morning, or all day if it’s cloudy. If it get
too hot, jump in the water – it’s fine!
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
For the Army Corps of Engineers’ real-time outflow
report from Norfork Dam, visit the Corps’ Little Rock
office website.
(updated 6-29-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level was 556.29 feet
msl and had dropped three-quarters of an inch in the
last 24 hours with sluice gates open an equivalent of
two-thirds of a generator for about 10 hours as of 7
p.m. Wednesday. The generators are still inoperable
and they are not letting out much water anywhere with
a White River level of 5.19 feet. We are getting very
hot and dry and not much relief is in sight. The
surface water temperature is 85 degrees and the
thermocline is at 19 feet with a mudline and cold
water at 23 feet. Several fish are still at or around
this depth, including walleye and bass. The best bite
now is for bass after dark with black lights and
fluorescent line and saltcraws on the first drop-off
on steeper banks, and stripers and some larger walleye
deep early in 50-60 feet of water on jigging spoons.
The water can be deeper but they seem to like the 50-
to 60-feet level and that is where the shad are
located.
“We are now in the middle of the summer fishing. The
lake is at a good level for boating, swimming,
fishing, boating and scuba diving, but the water
clarity is diminishing with the heat.”
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve's
blog for a daily report.
(updated 6-22-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort reports from Wednesday, “Happy first day of
summer! Give us a call at 870-492-5113, if you are
needing a place to stay on Norfork Lake. Hummingbird
Hideaway Resort still has a few cabins available
throughout the summer.
“Today (Wednesday) was the first day since last Friday
that I have been able to get out on the lake. I had a
pretty awesome morning of fishing. I started fishing
around 4 a.m. and landed a nice striped bass at the
second spot that I checked out. The stripers were
suspended 30-50 feet down in 100-plus-feet of water.
This fish was released and swam away very quickly. I
moved to a large flat and found a lot of fish in 25-30
feet of water at all depths.
“On my first drop of a white trash Tater Shad, a big
fish hammered the bait on the fall, but it broke off
immediately. Must have hooked on the gill plate and
cut the line. After that, I started to land one after
another big white bass. When it became light enough to
see, the fish seemed to vanish. I moved back into a
creek and found a lot of bait up high in the water
column. I checked a lot of areas in the creek and
nearby coves, but never could find anything exciting.
“I started to head toward the resort at around 8 a.m.
and decided to check out a deep bluff line with some
rocky points. Over the next hour, schools of stripers
came under the boat and I got to land five more
striped bass. All swam away very willingly. My best
bait in this area was the Binks 3/4-ounce spoon with a
green back and white belly. The stripers wanted to
chase the bait. I dropped the bait down to 50 feet and
when the fish swam though at 30-40 feet, I would reel
up as fast as I could. I would see three to five fish
turn out of the school to chase the bait. Before the
bait reached the surface one of the followers would
hammer the bait. Each of these fish had lots of energy
and would peel out close to 100 feet of line. I could
see the fish surface in the distance.
“What great battles these fish gave today. I was
sitting in 70-110-plus-feet of water.
“There was also quite a bit of surface activity. I
landed and released several nice largemouths. Each
time I saw bass feeding on the surface there seemed to
be stripers under them. This isn't the first time I
have noticed these two species feeding together. I
don't know if the stripers are pushing the bait up or
if they are just waiting for some leftovers from the
feeding bass.
“The Skole group also had a successful morning
fishing, landing several striped bass and largemouth
bass. They caught their fish jigging a Tater Shad and
also jigging a Ned rig. The surface water temp was
about 82 degrees. The lake level is slowly falling and
sits at 556.7 ft msl. The lake appears to be fairly
clear.
“Have a great time on Norfork Lake doing whatever
water activity that you love doing. Give us a call at
870-492-5113, if you are needing a place to stay.”
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 6-29-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Norfork Lake
fell 0.3 foot to rest at power pool of 556.35 feet msl
and 23. 6 feet below the top of flood pool. The
Norfork Tailwater had less wadable water. All of the
lakes are below or near power pool. Expect lower flows
in the coming days. On the Norfork, all turbines are
inoperable for the foreseeable future. Minimum release
is being made through the siphon at continuous flows
of 185 cfs and additional flows are made through the
flood gates.
There has been much less 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
eighteen 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 a
ruby Midge. The fishing is better in the morning and
late afternoon, and tapers off midday.
Dry Run Creek has fished a bit better. School is out
and can get 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 6-29-2023) John Berry of Berry Brothers Guide
Service in Cotter (870-435-2169) said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are fishing well. 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.
