Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  June 5, 2024

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report June 5, 2024.

White River
(updated 6-6-2024) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said the White River that flows past Cotter in the north-central Arkansas Ozarks, 18 river miles below Bull Shoals Dam, is a perfect blend of peace and lots of fishing action.

Bull Shoals Lake elevation at midweek was 667.57 feet msl, 5 feet above normal power pool. The White River water level has been variable with minimum flows (670 cfs) in the morning to midafternoon, rising to almost four units (12,000 cfs) in the late afternoon/early evening.

“We’ve been catching the tar out of the rainbows, mostly lured in with sunrise or orange PowerBait tipped with shrimp (don’t use anything much bigger than a size 8 hook). Our favorite spinners and spoons were making a splash, too. The copper/gold quarter-ounce Colorado and the red/gold Thomas Buoyant hooked a fair share of trout. Time to tie on a Vibrax Blue Fox spinner, silver or gold. Perfect water for jiggling a

jig, too. Experiment with the new D2 colors offered by Trout Magnet or

go with the tried and true brown and black marabou jigs.

“As expected, the browns are pooled up in the deeper holes and might be a little finicky, but if you can anchor near a deep spot, or drift across one with a sculpin, you’ll have success. The mighty midge has been working for fly-anglers all week.

“A family fishing adventure offers time together in an outdoor arena, watching nature ‘happen’ in real time in a digital-free environment (or as much as you desire it to be.) Go catching and enjoy Arkansas’s natural resources.”

(updated 6-6-2024) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the last few days the river has been averaging between 3-7 feet. “We are seeing rising and dingy water in the mornings with clearer water as the river drops starting late morning. Bull Shoals Lake is still about 5 feet above the normal power pool level and Norfork is about 2 feet above the normal power pool level. With the expected power generation schedule for both lakes, I expect they should slowly reach the desired levels without spilling extra water. Once they reach the power pool levels, expect the river level to drop and the fishing to improve. 

“With the slightly higher water levels, fishing was steady throughout the week. In the mornings, fishing with or without silver inline spinners with Uncommon Baits UV eggs and corn worked best, with shrimp also working well. Dragging sculpins worked well for bigger rainbows and browns. 

“The river levels in the mornings were a little high for lures to be very effective, but as the water drops, lures start working well. The lures that worked best during the high water were the Rapala Shad Raps in shad coloring or purple descent, which dive deeper. As the water drops, quarter-ounce Thompson Colorado spoons in nickel/gold worked well as well as Rapala CD7 in rainbow trout or silver.”
There was one trout stocking this week at the Calico Rock boat ramp with 1,100 rainbow trout from the Norfork Hatchery and another 1,100 rainbows were stocked just upriver at the Chessmond Ferry boat ramp. 

 

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 6-6-2024) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake (815-592-4302) said Wednesday the lake level was holding around 667 feet msl. Parking and boat ramp access is being affected. Water temperature is around 77 degrees, give or take, with warmer water in the dirty areas. Bass are setting up toward summer areas and patterns. Fishing will be good early or before the storm front. There are large groups of schooling fish setting up off ledges. If it’s cloudy, rainy and windy, fish topwater early! Or you can powerfish covering water with a square bill, spinnerbait and Chatterbaits in the stain or dirty runoff. Try a buzzbait if it’s windy and cloudy, or use a frog/toad if it’s sunny, over submerged flooded grass bushes. You can still catch them on points with green pumpkin or puke Ned rigs, or tube or shaky head in 10-20 feet. Keep the boat out deep, especially in the clear water where you can hit the old shoreline. A lot of activity is being seen in the 15-feet range. You can go up there with a Beaver-style bait. A Jewel Football Jig in green pumping orange variants is good until the sun gets up.

Some shallower brush piles closer to deep water in less than 25 feet are holding some fish. The Ole Big Worm is starting to get a few. The shad balls are spread out deep in the old creek channel, way off the points, or the backs of creeks and swings. So, if you’re fishing open water you’re going to have to pay attention to find the shad, but when you do try a flutter spoon, wake baits or something like a Lucky Craft Gunfish, as all are working if they’re all in white or shad patterns. Post any weather front, try a Robo Worm drop-shot on suspended fish.

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 6-6-2024) Southernwalleye Guide Service (501-365-1606) says it is getting some reports that fish are starting to set up in traditional spots and water depths, which indicates the thermocline is setting up. Pulling crawler harnesses in 15-20 feet early will get some fish. Fish a little deeper later after sunrise on bluebird days.
If contour trolling, try shad-style baits in 15-25 feet water. Slide out to deeper water, 30 to 40 feet, after daylight.

If open water trolling for suspended fish, they are getting a little tougher to catch. Troll during the early morning for a few hours, then switch over to crawler harnesses. Find shad and try trolling with snap weights from 45-55 feet deep over 100 or more feet of water while using Berkley No. 9 Flicker Minnows or No. 7 Flicker Shads. Rapala Deep Husky Jerks and Reef Runner 800, or Bandit Deep-Diver Series trolled over the old river channel at 1.5 to 1.8 mph should put some fish in the boat.
They have also heard reports that jigging spoon fishing has also been another tactic that’s working. Casting half-ounce spoons into 15 feet and hopping it off bottom back in to about 30 feet might also get you a few fish.

(updated 6-6-2024) Crappie 101 Guide Service (870-577-2045) reports crappie are definitely more scattered and finding some on the brush and structure. “Quality is still kind of mixed up and we are having to really work at it to catch good numbers. Jig bite has definitely slowed down, but still catching a few on the Tater Baits Tater Shad Jr. with a one-sixteenth-ounce head and, of course, minnows. Stay patient as conditions stabilize — it should really get good.”

 

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

(updated 5-29-2024) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort (870-492-5113) said Wednesday, “A couple of us at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort had a great day fishing for striped bass. I was on the lake around 4:30 a.m. I set out my green light on a main lake bluff wall point to draw in bait. A small school of bait came to the boat, but not the number that I found Tuesday. I landed several baby striped bass in the dark. As it started to get light out, I moved from this point since the stripers seemed to have vacated this area and moved into the back of a main lake creek.
“At a channel swing in about 70 feet of water, I marked several big arcs. The fish were coming under me from 20 feet down to the bottom. I saw a big arc lying on the bottom and dropped my white trash Tater Shad with half-ounce white big eye jig head right onto the striper’s head and he hit it immediately. He gave two great runs and all the time coming up to the surface. I saw him surface about 100 feet away from the boat.

“After his photo shoot he was released to swim away. After this battle I saw some fish surfacing and casted out my Kastmaster with a white feather trailer. One of the two hybrids I caught hammered the bait and circled the boat three times during the battle. What fun! The second hybrid came off the bottom and met my sinking bait at 40 and the game was on again. By this time, it was around 7 a.m. and the fish were scattering out, so I left this creek to check out another area as I headed back toward the resort.
“Of course, I stopped and looked at three other areas along the route. I met one of my friends who was trolling big umbrella rigs, and he told me he had landed nine stripers so far in the area I planned to check out. I set up in 74 feet of water off of a main lake big round point. A deep-water channel also swings into this point on two sides. I was in the middle of the point and started marking scattered fish. These fish were suspended from 30 feet down to the bottom. I got to land two more striped bass and both fish hit the Tater Shad on the fall. 

“It was time to head back to the resort, so I left feeding fish. Brett and his son Logan had a great first morning of fishing after arriving late Tuesday. They caught some threadfin shad and then headed back into a creek I had told them about. They proceeded to land five really nice striped bass along with some big largemouth and spotted bass. To say the least they were excited. ”
The surface water temperature at midweek ranged from 77 to a little over 78 degrees. The lake level is 557.68 feet msl.
“Hummingbird Hideaway Resort still has cabins available during June and July and a few still open for the remainder of May. Summer family vacation fun is just around the corner. Give us a call. If you have not been to Norfork Lake before, you will absolutely fall in love with it!”

Lou posts fishing reports almost every day to his blog on the Hummingbird Hideaway Resort webpage.