White River
(updated 9-7-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said Bull Shoals Lake is holding steady at 658.09 feet
msl. Water levels continue to be extremely low
throughout the day, providing great catches of trout
and wonderful wading opportunities. Late in the
afternoon when releases climb to 16,000-plus cfs
(about five units or more), floating a wriggling worm
near the bank takes precedence. It takes about
two days for trout to acclimate to changes in water
levels, but when a pattern is established they adjust
and the bite returns to normal. (Normal on the White
River means a lot of action!)
The rainbows are seeking deeper holes during the
morning hours — crawdad tails and shrimp will lure
them out for a nibble. Browns are continuing to be
enticed by shad, soft-shell crawdads and, always,
sculpins. Keep a Rebel Wee Craw in your tackle box.
Later in the day, as the water rises, bring out the
nightcrawlers and watch the rainbows snatch them at
dinner.
The successful trout-catcher this week was tying on
X-Factor fluorescent orange or shrimp pink-scented
worms, and bubblegum pink Berkley Mice Tails. The
copper-colored Colorado spoon was a favorite, too.
“We've seen only a minor decrease in post-Labor Day
river traffic, and are thankful that our Arkansas Game
and Fish Trout Program folks keep up well with demand!
Come on over and catch a rainbow.”
(updated 9-7-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said that over Labor
Day weekend “we saw water as low as just over 2 feet
and rising to 4-5 feet. The fishing was great using
quarter-ounce Thomas Colorado Nickel/Gold spoons.
Bright-colored Rooster Tails were also successful. The
storm Sunday briefly muddied the water, but we didn’t
see any significant rise in river levels. We saw
similar water levels Tuesday. The storm early
Wednesday morning combined with increased generation
raised the water to over 7 feet before starting to
drop.”
Using silver inline spinners with Uncommon Bait UV
Orange and/or UV Firefly colored eggs with shrimp
worked well. Rapala Countdowns in rainbow trout or
brown trout colors work well when the water is lower.
There were two trout stockings in the last week. The
first stocking was with the AGFC pontoon raft
distributing 1,100 rainbow trout between Calico Rock
and Mt. Olive. The second stocking was 500 rainbow
trout. There were some nice 15-inch-plus rainbows
included in the stocking.
(updated 9-7-2023) John Berry, angler and retired
guide/owner Berry Brothers Guide Service at Cotter,
said that during the past week they had about an inch
of rain in Cotter, cooler temperatures and moderate
winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell 0.7 foot to
rest at 3 feet below power pool of 661 feet msl. This
is 37 feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream,
Table Rock Lake fell 0.1 foot to rest at 3.7 feet
below power pool and 17.7 feet below the top of flood
pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.5 foot to rest at 5.7 feet
below power pool and 14.7 feet below the top of flood
pool. The White has had wadable water every day with
heavy flows in the afternoon during peak power demand.
Norfork Lake remained steady at 2.1 feet below power
pool of 555.75 feet msl and 26.4 feet below the top of
flood pool. The Norfork Tailwater has had wadable
water. All of the lakes are below the top of power
pool. Expect wadable water in the coming days with
heavy flows in the afternoon during peak power demand.
At Norfork Dam, 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 Wildcat Shoals. 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 Sowbugs. Double-fly nymph rigs have been very
effective. John’s favorite has been a pheasant tail
(size 14) with a ruby midge dropper (size 18).
John also said, “Thanks to my recent retirement I have
been able to fish with my wife, Lori, about once a
week. This is less time on the river than I am
accustomed to having but I am enjoying it more. First
I get to fish myself, which I have not done enough of
for the past 30 years, and then I get to choose who I
take fishing with me. I fish with Lori, my favorite
fishing buddy, whenever I can.
“Aside from being my wife and the love of my life, she
is easy to fish with. She can rig her own rod and
seldom has a malfunction. She casts better than I do
and we hardly ever have a tangle between us. I have
two boat nets and she has one up front and lands her
own fish. If a fish is over 20 inches long, we assist
each other in landing it.
“Last week we caught a perfect day. It was sunny with
light and variable winds. The forecast high was 100
degrees but the morning was cool. There was a dense
fog blanketing the river, which made it feel quite
comfortable. The water was very low and gin clear.
With the fog and the low water, I had a bit of
difficulty in navigating but I just took my time and
did fine.
“We were fishing with my loaner rods that I keep in my
car still rigged from our last trip. We were fishing a
Pheasant Tail nymph with a ruby Midge Dropper. We had
exactly the same rod, reel, line, leader, tippet,
weight, strike indicator and flies.
“We began fishing. Lori had the hot hand. She caught
four fish before I caught one. After an hour of
serious angling she had 10 and I had one. She was
kicking my rear end. I don’t usually compete with her
but this was starting to bother me a bit.
“About that time, I got a strong hit. The fish was
making a run. This was on one of the rods that Lori
and I regularly fish on Dry Run Creek. The drag on the
reel is cranked all the way down to quickly wear down
the big trout there. He made several stout runs, and
the way he was moving against the drag told me he was
a big fish.
“I finally got a good look at it. I saw a big brown
hugging the bottom and giving me all of the fight that
I could handle. Lori cranked in her line and put her
rod in the bait tray. She picked up her net and came
over to help me land the big brown. We took our time
and finally were able to net the trout. It was a
24-inch brown. It is the biggest brown that I have
personally caught in a while.
“I put my rod down and carefully removed the tiny,
size 18 ruby Midge from the fish. Lori handed me the
net and got out her iPhone and took several shots of
my trout. I then carefully revived and released it. I
was relieved when he slowly swam away. Lori finished
the day with 20 trout and I landed four.
“Sometimes one fish can make a tough day into a
stellar one.”
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 9-7-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake Boat
Dock said Wednesday that lake level is at 658 feet
msl, while the water temperature is about 85 degrees.
Bass fishing has been fair. The early morning topwater
has been hit or miss. A small walk-the-dog-style bait
(Zara Spook, Lucky Craft Gunfish) will work. Typically
September is junk fishing — covering water, Whopper
Plopper or buzzbait time. Wind and clouds definitely
help that bite. The shad have started their migration
towards the creeks.
Graphing can pay off. The shad are getting balled up
way off deep points, channel swing turns and creek
intersections. It appears 32-40 feet seems to be a
consistent depth for the drop-shot. On the points,
brush piles, ledges, etc., a big worm, shaky head worm
and Jewel Jig are working. If the shad are around you,
you’re probably going to get bit. If you venture into
the stained water in the backs most days you’re going
to have to work for them. Target areas with shad.
Square bill, Chatterbait and big worm in the laydowns.
Overall there’s a lot of roaming suspended fish over
deep water, 60-feet-plus. These video game fish can be
tough to fool; try a Damiki with a Tater Shad
drop-shot with a Robo or bombing a spoon. Fall fishing
can be hit or miss as conditions change. “Walleyes
have been mixed in with the bass eating my drop-shot
out on the long points in 32-40 feet. Crappie guys are
hopping brush piles working for them but a lot of
crappie are still out roaming.”
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 9-7-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort said the lake level was 553.56 feet
msl and had dropped 1.75 inches in the last 24 hours
with the sluice gates open to an equivalent of less
than one generator for two days at 7 p.m. yesterday.
Both generators are still inoperable. The White River
at Newport is 3.42 feet and very low, indicating not
much water is being let out into the White River. We
have had two rain events this past week totaling 1.5
inches and we seem to get a rain every time it gets
dry. Wading conditions are good for the trout anglers.
The lake’s surface water temperature is 83 degrees and
dropping slowly and the thermocline is at 32 feet. A
lot of fish are at or around the thermocline no matter
the depth of the water. Kentucky bass are the best
bite now and are in front of or around main lake brush
in 18-25 feet of water. Creature baits and spoons are
the best lures. Trollers are catching a few walleye on
Lindy rigs.
Fishing is fair at best but the lake is at a good
level and is in good condition and will get better as
the water cools. Visit blackburnsresort.com and
click on Scuba Steve's blog for a daily report.
(updated 8-24-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “A couple of our guests had a great day,
or should I say night, and early morning fishing on
Norfork Lake this week. Jimmy and Wayne are night owls
and had the first fish boated by 3:30 a.m. They were
trolling deep-diving 5-inch crankbaits in dark colors.
They got their baits down to 30 feet and were trolling
in 30-45 feet of water. Quite a few big white bass and
15- to 16-inch spotted bass are being caught by
vertical jigging a three-quarter-ounce spoon. The
whites and spots are being found on main lake rounded
points feeding on the bottom.”
Walleye are still being caught in 32-35 feet of water,
either by vertical jigging a spoon or Tater Shad, or
by trolling Flicker Minnows. Get your baits down on
the bottom for the walleye, whites and spotted bass.
The striped bass are suspended from about 30 feet down
to the bottom.
“I got my mount back from Summers Taxidermy and
Wildlife Studio (in Bakersfield, Missouri) yesterday.
They did a fantastic job on this fish. I caught this
30-pound, 41.5-inch striped bass on March 22 by
jigging a white Tater Shad.”
The lake temp was on the rise and was about 88
degrees. The lake level is falling about 3 inches per
day and currently sits at 554.9 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 9-7-2023) John Berry, angler and retired
operator of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter
(870-435-2169), said Norfork Lake remained steady at
2.1 feet below power pool of 555.75 feet msl and 26.4
feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
Tailwater has had wadable water. All of the lakes in
the White River system are below the top of power
pool. Expect wadable water in the coming days with
heavy flows in the afternoon during peak power demand.
At Norfork Dam, 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.
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 Worm 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 despite a lot of
fishing pressure. School is back in session and
weekdays are not as 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.
Buffalo National River/Crooked Creek
(updated 9-7-2023) John Berry, retired guide and
angler in Cotter (870-435-2169), said Crooked Creek
and the Buffalo River are fishing well but are quite
low. 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.
