White River
(updated 11-2-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “We’ve been served with an unexpected taste of
winter for a few days. After a week of unseasonably
warm weather, we’re now waking up to some frigid
mornings. Expect more seasonable temps this weekend
and into next week — warmer days and fewer cold
nights, more conducive to spending time outdoors.
Check the nighttime low temperature, rather
than the daytime highs, when planning your fishing
trip; then dress in layers for the lowest temperatures
and remove a layer at a time as the day warms up.”
Bull Shoals Lake is 5.5 feet below power pool and
still dropping. Daily releases have included very low
flows (less than one unit or 3,000 cfs) during the
early morning hours, up to three or four units (9,000
to 12,000 cfs) later in the day.
It’s good to know that the air temp doesn’t affect the
trout bite. Rainbows have been attracted to — and
hitting on — pumped up nightcrawlers for the shore
anglers. If you’re able to float the river and choose
to fish a deep hole for a while, drop a hook with
shrimp and garlic-scented PowerBait (try orange first)
as near to the bottom as possible. Fresh river minnows
are the ticket for good-sized ’bows. “We’ve pulled in
some dandies this week: 21-inch, fat, healthy,
colorful rainbows.”
Drift anglers had luck with a No. 5 rainbow and brook
trout Rapala Countdowns and with one-sixth-ounce
Rooster Tails, gold blades and orange bodies, and tan
skirts. “Although we had some luck with the Rebel Wee
Craw last week, this cold snap says it’s time to
retire it for the season.
“We’ve had to fight for the browns all week long.
River guides have tried all the tricks in their tackle
boxes to get the attention of the spawning browns.
Turns out the best bites were on small- to
medium-sized sculpins and shad.
“Be careful out there. Stay warm. And keep anglin’.
See you at the river.”
(updated 11-2-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the rains
Saturday and Sunday dumped a lot of rain into the
Buffalo River Valley and Bull Shoals and Norfork
lakes. Although the Buffalo River didn’t flood, it did
dump a lot of muddy water into the White River.
Norfork Lake opened all of its floodgates 1 foot,
releasing additional water. As a result, by Monday the
river was up over 7 feet and muddy and not really
fishable. By Wednesday the river levels dropped to
around 6 feet and the water cleared significantly.
Fishing with Uncommon Baits UV eggs and shrimp worked
the best. There was minimal success using artificial
baits.
“If we continue to see clear and steady water levels,
fishing should be good the next few days,” McCulley
said. “This week we received one stocking from the
Norfork Hatchery.”
(updated 10-26-2023) John Berry, veteran angler and
retired guide/owner in Cotter, said that during the
past week they had a couple of rain events that
combined for an inch and a half in Cotter, cold
temperatures (to include frost advisories) and
moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals remained
steady at 5.5 feet below power pool of 659 feet msl.
This is 41.5 feet below the top of flood pool.
Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell 0.2 foot to rest at 4
feet below power pool and 18 feet below the top of
flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.3 foot to rest at 6.4
feet below power pool and 16 feet below the top of
flood pool. The White had less wadable water in recent
days with moderate flows in the afternoon during peak
power demand. Norfork Lake fell 0.1 foot to rest at
0.5 foot below power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 26.7
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 moderate flows in the afternoon
during peak power demand. 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 floodgates.
The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is
closed until Jan. 31 to accommodate the brown trout
spawn. The State Park is seasonal catch-and-release
for the same period. All brown trout must be
immediately released. In addition, night fishing is
prohibited in this area during this period.
John says, “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. My favorite has been a
Pheasant Tail (size 14) with a ruby midge dropper
(size 18).
John also said, “Now that I have retired, I have been
quite busy winding down my fly-fishing guide business.
The idea is to shut down any expenses associated with
the business and deal with any equipment that was used
in the guide service.
“My biggest expense was liability insurance. I
canceled it when it came up for renewal. My wife,
Lori, wanted to keep the liability insurance as she
wanted to continue guiding and teaching. These would
be half-day wading trips. She convinced me to work on
half-day guide trips on Dry Run Creek with her. We
therefore got a wade-only policy that was much less
expensive.
“I will keep my boat to take Lori, family and friends
fishing. I got separate insurance for it. You would
think that a boat would be my primary expense. I am
very frugal. Over 30 years of guiding, I spent $9,000
for three used boats (with motors and trailers). I
bought good equipment and maintained it properly.
“I had several extra personal flotation devices that I
carried in the boat that are no longer needed. I have
an extra big one for large clients, a small one for
children (kids under 12 years old and younger must
wear a PFD at all times when in a boat). I also had a
couple of spares. I will donate these to a
not-for-profit.
“I have four Temple Fork Outfitter rods that I used
for clients. I picked out the two best-looking rods
and reels and set them aside for Lori and me to use. I
bought new fly lines for them along with new leaders.
Lori and I use them on our weekly fishing trips. The
other two I set aside to sell. They are good rods with
plenty of life left in them.
“My two boat nets (Lori and I both use them) were
pretty beat up. They were both in bad need of repair.
The handles are carbon fiber and are nearly
indestructible, but the net bags have suffered a lot
of abuse and are torn in spots. They must be fixed to
prevent fish loss. I bought replacement bags from
Amazon. They had everything needed to replace the bag
and even had a video showing how to do it. It was an
easy repair and only cost $70 to repair both nets.
“There are a lot of flies, more than I will ever use.
These are special to me. Many were tied by my brother,
Dan, or me. I will fish as many as I can and look for
a good home for the others. My Yeti cooler, various
tote bags and lunch gear will be repurposed to dog
shows.
“Now if I can just figure out what to do with three
dozen shirts embroidered with BERRY BROTHERS GUIDE
SERVICE.”
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 11-2-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday the lake level is still at
653 feet msl. The water temperature dropped to 64
degrees give or take. Bass fishing has been up and
down like the weather. Be sure to fish the conditions.
It’s a mixed bag — you can catch them a bunch of
different ways without one being better than the
other. Looks like we’re getting some shallow fish
creeping up. Fall fishing equals junk fishing,
covering water. Use a buzzbait, spinnerbait, square
bill, Chatterbait. The shad should pick back up in
skinny water. I will powerfish if it gets cloudy and
windy. Use a Rock Crawler and target steep transition
banks.
The shad are ever so slowly getting grouped up in the
creeks. There are wads three-quarters back in the
middle of the channel or pushed on the flats,
especially if there’s wind. I have found groups
busting the surface down to 50 feet. Graphing can pay
off. Get around bait and fish whatever is available:
piles, ledges, swings, etc. … Beaver, shaky head worm
and Jewel Jig in green pumpkin orange with red
highlights are working for me. I seem to need some
color in the water for this bite to be good. They seem
to be holding onto ledges shallow if it’s cloudy, or
in the 15-20 feet range while not munching shad. Most
days you’re going to have to work for them. There are
mega schools of smallies demolishing shad, but
videogame fish can be tough to fool; try a small shad
swimbait, a Damiki or Hover Rig with a Tater Shad.
The Jewel Scuba Spoon and Rapala Ice Jig are working
for me if the shad are on the bottom. Every day is
different; fish the conditions;
Walleyes are in the deep trees and humps in 50-60
feet. Crappie are picking up, hopping brush piles is
working for some anglers. Try a crappie minnow under a
float.
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 11-2-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort and Boat Rental said Wednesday
night that the lake level was 553.24 feet msl with no
change for 24 hours with no discharge from the dam.
The Army Corps of Engineers are very reluctant to drop
the level below 553 feet msl and both generators have
been inoperable for months and they are working on the
dam. The surface water temperature was almost 67
degrees last evening at 6 p.m. and the water looked
pretty clear. Scuba Steve said he was not diving and
it was hard to tell what was happening below from the
surface. The cold ambient weather has dropped the
surface water from 70 to 67 degrees with the cold
temperatures. Norfork is a big body of deep water and
does not drop in temperature as quickly as you would
think. The shallower the water, the lower the
temperature and the quicker it drops this time of
year.
The fishing is about the same and is still not the
best, but some nice ones are being caught every day.
Crappie and Kentucky bass are the best bite over brush
piles in 18-30 feet of water on the main lake. “Cold
weather does not make for good fishing, but I am ready
for the winter crappie bite and caught a couple this
afternoon. Warm weather to follow,” Scuba Steve said.
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve’s
blog for a daily update.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 11-2-2023) John Berry, angler and retired
operator of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter
(870-435-2169), said Norfork Lake fell 0.1 foot to
rest at 0.5 foot below power pool of 553.75 feet msl
and 26.7 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 moderate flows in the afternoon
during peak power demand. 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 floodgates.
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 11-2-2023) John Berry, angler and retired
operator of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter
(870-435-2169), said Crooked Creek and the Buffalo
River are fishing well but are very low. With moderate
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.
