Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  March 6, 2024

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report March 6, 2024.

White River

(updated 3-7-2024) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said, “Whether this is a ‘teaser’ spring or an actual early, here-to-stay spring season, let’s take advantage of it. Cotter, Trout Capitol USA, 18 river miles from Bull Shoals Dam, is enjoying very mild daytime temperatures for the next couple of weeks; however, the cool nights still make for some chilly mornings. The releases from Bull Shoals Dam have been variable, going from one unit to over four units (12,000 cfs) during the past week while the lake sits at 656.91 feet msl.

The recent ample brown trout bite again proves that February and March are great months to visit the White River. Now, a week or two after a small shad kill, browns are returning to minnows or sculpins, but don’t toss the white baits out yet. Keep some egg pattern baits (white- or light-yellow-peach-colored, with an orange leading bead), or lemon lime-colored PowerBait on hand to drift at mid-depth and you’ll be cranking that reel and bringing in trout.

“Drift-fishing is preferred when angling from a boat during the higher releases: No. 5 or No. 7 Rapala Countdowns, especially silver and black (white bellies), diving to 5-7 feet. Keep an orange-bellied black or blue back Rogue tied on and ready to cast, too. The Rapala floaters are nice to have on hand during low water releases, retrieving at a shallower rate. 

“Keep anglin’ and we’ll see you at the river.”

(updated 3-7-2024) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “The rain Tuesday night caused the Buffalo River to rise, which resulted in us having muddy water Wednesday morning. With more rain forecast Thursday and Friday, I expect the river will remain high and muddy into or beyond the weekend. If the creeks stay clear, the best option for fishing would be to move into the creek and tie up to the bank, then use corn to catch the fish looking for cleaner water. 

“Last week through Tuesday the river remained low and clear. Using quarter-ounce spoons with some mix of gold coloring worked well. In addition, several boats said they had success with different Rapala Countdown coloring and/or one-sixteenth-ounce jigs in dark colors. As usual, drift-fishing with a No. 7 split shot 8-12 inches up the line with a No. 2 bronze hook with Uncommon Baits UV eggs and shrimp worked very well. This week we received one stocking of over 1,000 rainbow trout.”

 

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 3-7-2024) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday’s lake level was 656 feet msl. The Army Corps of Engineers has been running some water in the mornings. The water temp is ranging 53-59 degrees. Bass fishing has been up and down with the weather fronts and changing daily. Powerfish if it’s cloudy, rainy and windy covering water with a Rock Crawler, Wiggle Wart or square bill in red/orange variations. Look for windblown shady, ledgy or chunk rock banks and steeper swings and target 5-15 feet.
“I’m going halfway to three-quarters into the creeks. In stained water use a square bill or Chatterbait covering water. You can always catch them on a jig in green pumpkin variations and a PB&J color. Try piles, ledges or wood areas close to shad balls or even close to spawning areas near south-facing pockets protected from the cold north winds. The jig bite can vary from 5-25 feet day to day. A shaky head or Ned rig will get bites on tough days. I feel a lot the fish are still looking up, so I’m still Scoping, and the shad seem to have spread out again, moving back into the bigger creeks arms and mouths of pockets, holding down in the 60-70 feet range, and then they’re spread out up high everywhere. Graph, graph, graph. Drop a small shad, Damiki, Tater Shad or Thump Shad, changing head size according to depth. A swimbait will fool some also. A fluke on high shad balls or a jerkbait in white or shad colors is working for me. Loons and gulls are in the area; you better pay attention. Every day is different. 

White bass are up to spawn 

Not much has changed with the crappie, and the crappie fishing is still pretty good. Crappie are still actively feeding and posting up on brush in the creeks. Still catching a few roamers and also on brush. A one-eighth-ounce jig with a Tater Shad Jr. in Bayou Bleeder color has been the best lately. And, of course, minnows are working well, also.

Del regularly posts new YouTube videos. Visit his YouTube site (Bull Shoals Lake Fishing Report) for more information and tips on fishing Bull Shoals Lake.

(updated 3-7-2024) Southernwalleye Guide Service reports walleyes for the most part are still deep under or around shad 50-60 feet deep on the lower lake section and larger creeks. “We have also started to catch a few smaller spawning male walleyes around known main lake spawning points in 50-60 feet on spoons. Fish are making their way up to spawning areas up in the bigger tributaries (Theodosia and Power Site areas) to the warmer flowing waters. Rapala Ice Jigs and spoons are still the ticket. Jerkbaits and small shad-style crankbaits fished like a jerkbait should be producing soon if the weather stays warm. If trolling, try stick baits slow and shallow during low light periods in 8-14 feet of water — 0.85 to 1.2 mph should produce a few fish. 

 

Norfork Lake
For the Army Corps of Engineers’ real-time outflow report from Norfork Dam, visit the Corps’ Little Rock office website. 

(updated 3-7-2024) Steven “Scuba Steve” Street at Blackburn’s Resort and Boat Rental said the lake level was 553.53 feet msl and had dropped a half-inch in the last 24 hours when he came in at dark Wednesday evening. There is only one operating generator and they run it for about 8 hours and shut it off. The White River at Newport is 5.53 feet and very low, indicating not much water is being released into the White River anywhere.
“We are very dry and could get some rain tonight. The surface water temperature is 54-55 degrees on the main lake and about what you want it to be back in the creeks up to the ambient temperature in the sunshine and shallow water. It goes down quickly at dusk. The fish are not staying there with the cool nights, but are there in the heat of the day. My barometer is when the bluegill, crappie and turtles move under my dock and they did it today.
“If it does not get cold like it could in early March, they should stay there until spawn. It looks like spring but I am very careful about early March. There are not very many fish in open water on shad and it is about time to start the stick bait bite for walleye and stripers shallow in the evening and at dark. Fishing is picking up, and it needed to and is best back in the windblown creeks, but it is not good yet. The lake overall is in excellent condition and at a good level. I could see my lure down about 10 feet.”

Visit blackburnsresort.com and click on Scuba Steve’s blog for daily updates and more information. 

(updated 3-7-2024) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort said Wednesday that the fish are on the move, and once you find them they are hungry. About midweek last week, Lou said he was into day three of checking new areas on the lake for striped bass. “The third time was the charm. I basically had been skunked the last two mornings, but today was one of those days to dream about. I was back in a cove that had the wind blowing in. I found bait early with fish on it, but I continued graphing the rest of the cove all the way to the end. I headed back to where I first saw bait and it was gone. I did a little cursing to myself for not stopping the first time, then continued to look around. I went into a secondary cut of the cove and saw some bait on the surface. Then it started! Fish of all sizes started feeding on the bait. It wasn’t true topwater action, but there were some really huge fish coming totally out of the water. I started to cast my Kastmaster with a white feather trailer and let it sink for 3 seconds. One crank and it was sucked in by the biggest striper of the day. What a great battle. Over the next 1½ hours it was fish after fish.
“I first landed three striped bass, then they seemed to vacate the area, but the largemouth started to bite. I landed six dandies in the 2.5- to 4.5-pound range. Then the largemouth stopped biting and the hybrids took over. I got to land three very big hybrids. The hybrids took off and the largemouth started again. A couple of boats must have seen me boating fish and came over and started casting in the same area where I was casting. It was time to go, anyway. 

“I stopped and looked at a few other areas on my way back to the resort. One of our current guests, Joe, arrived Monday and has been crappie fishing. He has been doing really well with the Tater Baits Small Fry, white trash and silver flash. He was using a one-sixteenth-ounce green head jig. The crappie were suspended 20-30 feet deep on the top or inside of brush back in creeks.
“The surface water temp ranged 52-55 degrees. The lake level is falling very slowly and sits at 553.55 feet msl. It looks like rain for the next couple of days, so I may not be out on the lake for a while. Happy fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.”
Lou posts fishing reports almost every day on Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page.