White River
(updated 11-16-2023) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525)
said, “Daily water releases from Bull Shoals Dam into
the teeming White River Tailwater have been extremely
variable throughout the last week: minimum flow during
the early morning followed by higher generation (up to
four units or 12,000 cfs) in the later morning before
dropping back to minimum flows for the afternoon. Bull
Shoals Lake is 8 feet below seasonal power pool of 661
feet msl elevation, currently sitting at 652.77 feet
msl as of midweek.
“Can an angler really get tired of catching fish? Some
folks have been heard to say their casting arms are
worn out from reeling in so many rainbows. Imagine
that! But that’s been the case here on the White River
in our breathtakingly beautiful Arkansas Ozarks.
If you prefer bait, the guides have found red wiggler
worms to be the ticket. Backing them up with shrimp
and peach, orange or sunrise egg patterns adds to the
count. For a little more challenge, but still bringing
a lot of trout to the boat, anglers have been casting
spinners. Under an overcast, cloudy sky, work a
Rooster Tail with a gold blade, pink body or a Blue
Fox with a rainbow blade, gold bell. But when the sun
comes out, put the artificial baits away and return to
the scented or live baits.
“The brown bite remains fickle; your best bet is to
get your hands on fresh river minnows or varied sizes
of sculpins and dangle them near the bottom.
“It’s easy to see all that we have to be thankful for
as we look around the hills and waterways here in the
Ozarks, so take special care this holiday season with
the resources and with one another. Respect the gifts
we’ve been given and enjoy all The Natural State has
to offer.”
(updated 11-16-2023) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins
Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said they have seen
varied river levels from as low as less than 2.5 feet
Sunday morning through Monday evening to as high as
almost 6 feet Tuesday morning. The sudden rise in
water from Monday to Tuesday resulted in dingy water
with a lot of moss and small debris. When the water
was below 4 feet and clear, throwing Colorado
quarter-ounce spoons and shallow-diving lures worked
well. With the deeper water, drift-fishing with eggs
and shrimp worked well. Some guides have reported
success using olive-colored 1/16-ounce jigs.
“This weekend we are expecting some nice days with
mornings in the upper 30s and highs in the 60s,
perfect time to get out on the river and catch some
trout. This week we received one stocking at the
Calico Rock boat ramp of 2,400 rainbow trout. With the
reduced fishing pressure this winter, some of those
trout should have the chance to grow into some fat
13-inch-plus rainbows by spring.
(updated 11-16-2023) John Berry, veteran angler and
retired guide/owner in Cotter, said that during the
past week they had no measurable rain, cool
temperatures, and moderate winds. The lake level at
Bull Shoals fell 0.3 foot to rest at 6.3 feet below
power pool of 659 feet msl. This is 42.3 feet below
the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake fell
0.5 foot to rest at 4.7 feet below power pool and 18.7
feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell 0.4
foot to rest at 7 feet below power pool and 16.6 feet
below the top of flood pool. The White had much more
wadable water with moderate flows this past week in
the afternoon during peak power demand. Norfork Lake
remained steady at 0.4 foot below power pool of 553.75
feet msl and 26.6 feet below the top of flood pool.
The Norfork Tailwater had wadable water. All of the
lakes are well 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 protect the brown trout spawn.
The State Park will be 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. On Feb. 1 this section
will open to fishing.
John says that on the White this week, 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 size 14 pheasant tail with a size 18 ruby midge
dropper.”
He also opined, “Last week I took my wife, Lori, on
our weekly fishing trip. It was a cold start. When I
was hooking up my boat and removing my boat cover I
noticed that the boat was covered with a heavy coat of
frost. The light down sweater that I was wearing was
not up to the job and I got chilled. I went in the
house and told Lori it was pretty cold and she should
dress warmly to walk the dogs and then join me on the
stream. I put on my warmest down jacket, grabbed a
Yeti tumbler full of hot coffee and headed toward the
river.
“I prepared the boat to launch and, for the first time
this season, I put on my wool fingerless gloves and my
warm insulated fishing hat. I was glad that I had put
on my warmest jacket. I pulled out two fly rods that
were already rigged and put them in the boat. One was
rigged with a Pheasant Tail Nymph with a Ruby Midge
dropper; the other had a Blob Fly (a conical egg
pattern) with a Ruby Midge dropper. I did adjust the
strike indicators for the low water conditions. They
were running about 1,500 cfs, or a bit less than half
a generator.
“I launched my boat, parked my Suburban, got aboard
and headed upstream. Before I had begun my first drift
I heard my iPhone. Lori was on the ramp ready to fish.
I motored down and picked her up. She got in and we
headed out.
“On our first drift, I picked up a nice rainbow on the
Pheasant Tail nymph. I was thinking that this was
going to be the hot fly. I was wrong. On the next
three drifts, Lori picked up three fish on the Blob
while I caught none. I have always said one fish is a
fluke, two is a coincidence and three is a trend. It
became evident that the Blob was out producing the
Pheasant Tail nymph. It was time to change flies.
“I stopped fishing and clipped the dropper and the
Pheasant Tail off. I then tied on a Blob and put the
tippet holding the Ruby Midge on the bend of the
Blob’s hook. All of this took a few minutes. Lori
continued fishing and caught another nice fat rainbow.
That was tough, changing flies with cold hands, while
your fishing buddy is doing a little too well.
“I returned to fishing and was immediately into a nice
one. It was worth the effort. The Blob was hot and I
was catching fish after fish. Lori continued her
success. Once when releasing a trout I noticed that I
had lost my dropper. Neither one of us had caught a
trout on the Ruby Midge. I decided to go with just the
Blob and clipped off the remnant of the dropper
tippet. I continued fishing and did well. We didn’t
count but we had all we could handle. By the time we
headed home, it was a bit warmer.
“Something as simple as a fly change can make a big
difference.”
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 11-9-2023) Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake
Boat Dock said Wednesday the lake level was 652 feet
msl, some 7 feet below normal pool, and water
temperature was back up to 65 degrees. “Bass fishing
has been up and down like the weather. Be sure to fish
the conditions. It’s a mixed bag; you can catch ’em a
bunch of different ways without one being better than
the other! Powerfish if it’s cloudy and windy. I’m
going with Chatterbait, spinnerbait and square bill in
the stained water. I use a red Rock Crawler to target
windy, steep transition banks. If it’s sunny, flat and
bluebirds, pull the Robo drop-shot back out.
“Or target the shad eaters. They were getting grouped
up in the creeks, then the water warmed up and they
spread back out. There are wads three-quarters back
out in the channel. I have found groups busting the
surface down to 40 feet.
“Graph, graph, graph! Graphing can pay off. Get around
bait and fish whatever is available: piles, ledges,
swings, etc. A Beaver, A Texas Cowboy on a wobble
shaky head worm in green pumpkin, and a Jewel Jig in
green pumpkin orange with red highlights are working
for me. I seem to need to have some color in the water
for this bite to be good. They seem to be holding on
ledges shallow if it’s cloudy, or in the 15- to
20-foot range while not munching shad.
“Most days you’re going to have to work for them.
There are mega schools of fish grouping up demolishing
shad, but videogame fish can be tough to fool. Try a
small shad swimbait, or a Damiki or Hover Rig with a
Tater Shad. The Jewel Scuba Spoon or Rapala Ice Jig is
also working for me if the shad are on the bottom.
Every day is different, so fish the conditions.
“Walleye are in the deep trees and humps around 50-60
feet. Crappie picking up. Anglers are hopping brush
piles working for them; stay off of them and 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 11-16-2023) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at
Blackburn’s Resort and Boat Rental said the lake level
is 553.36 feet msl and has been the same since last
week’s report with no discharge from the dam except
for minimum flow. Both generators are still
inoperable. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday the surface water
temperature was 64 degrees and stable with the warm
ambient temperatures and the White River at Newport
was 3.32 feet and very low, indicating not much water
is being let out anywhere in the White River. The
clarity is good on the main lake and I could see my
lure down about 5-6 feet in the warm sunshine and the
creeks are stained a bit but not bad. The lake level
and water conditions are both excellent, but fishing
overall is just fair at best.
A few temperate bass are being caught in open water at
varying depths depending on the time of day on the
jigging spoon but not very many and not very big. Some
crappie, black bass and walleye are biting on brush in
18-25 feet of water on live bait on a slip float about
5 feet further down than you can see your bait.
There are more baitfish than predator fish, and
feeding fish are hard to find, but a few good ones are
being caught every day. Bluegill are the best bite now
and some are very nice-sized. The weather is supposed
to cool next week, and later this weekend the fishing
might get better but I cannot guarantee anything. It
is just nice to be out there in the warm sunshine and
catch a few fish.
Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve’s
blog for daily updates.
(updated 11-9-2023) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway
Resort said, “It looks like the beginning of the fall
bite has begun. All species are starting to feed
heavily as they typically do before the cold winter
season. Our guests can see the fish activity getting
better each day. The striped bass, hybrid bass and
white bass have started to school up and can be found
in shallow water out to about 50 feet of water. If you
are out fishing very early in the morning, start
checking out shallow water, less than 20 feet, and as
the sun gets higher overhead the fish move out into
deeper water. This whole pattern is based on where the
bait is located. Check out large flats and also big
round main lake points. If you are fishing in the
afternoon, the fish will still be out in deeper water.
The current magic water depth appears to be around 50
feet. At sunset the fish typically move up in the
water column and also toward the shore following the
bait. Fish will also be back in the major creeks,
assuming the bait migrates into them.
“This is the time of year that the fish can and will
be in many different types of locations. It takes a
little time graphing, but once you find them you will
have a blast. John and Joe, a couple of our guests,
caught over 25 jumbo white bass Wednesday morning
vertical jigging a 1-ounce spoon. Mike and Craig, two
guests, told me they have caught all the predator
species in the lake except for a smallmouth.”
The surface water temp is around 65 degrees and the
lake is holding stable at normal seasonal pool of
553.3 feet msl. The lake is fairly clear to slightly
stain back in coves. “It is going to be a lot of fun
fishing Norfork Lake over the next several months. If
you are needing a place to stay, give us a call at
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort, 870-492-5113 for
reservations. Happy fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.”
Lou posts fishing reports almost every day on
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page.
Norfork Tailwater
(updated 11-16-2023) John Berry, angler and retired
operator of Berry Brothers Guide Service in Cotter
(870-435-2169), said Norfork Lake remained steady at
0.4 foot below power pool of 553.75 feet msl and 26.6
feet below the top of flood pool. The Norfork
Tailwater had wadable water. All of the lakes are well
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 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 despite a lot of
fishing pressure. School is in session, though it will
be out some of next week, and weekdays tend to be 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 11-16-2023) 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.
