Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  June 19, 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 19, 2024.

White River

(updated 6-20-2024) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said Bull Shoals Lake, at 666.98 feet msl, is less than 5 feet from the seasonal power pool goal of 661 feet msl, so if you’re wanting to catch some fat, sassy rainbows, now’s the time to fish the White River in the Arkansas Ozarks.

“We are still experiencing round-the-clock generation from Bull Shoals Dam and the catch has been plentiful and healthy — quick bites drifting Berkley pink worms, sometimes tipped with a white Power Egg. The shrimp/PowerBait combo is always a great fallback bait. Add a little salt your shrimp supply to keep your bait on the hook between bites. I watched an angler this morning, just checking his line and reel, testing the cast; he had a gold Cleo tied one. Bam, a beauty of a rainbow responded. … Try the Cleos this week. 

“The brown trout bite has been exceptional for June, with catches in the double-digits some days. Sculpin have been the ticket this week with several good keeper browns reeled in and released. 

“Visit Cotter and find out why we’re called ‘Trout Capital USA.’ Hope to see you at the river.”

(updated 6-20-2024) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “Late last week we continued to receive dramatic water level changes with high water in the morning and then dropping 3-4 feet throughout the day. By the weekend we began seeing more consistent water levels with the last couple of days average around 8 feet. Both Bull Shoals and Norfork continue to be 4-5 feet above the top power pool levels. More than likely we will continue to see increased water levels on the river until the lakes reach the power pool levels. 

“With the higher water, we are seeing success using Uncommon Bait UV Eggs in Neo Pink or Orange with corn. With the higher water the trout have moved onto the gravel bars looking for food. As we are cleaning fish we are seeing a lot of fish with freshwater shrimp, snails and bug larvae in their stomach, with the occasional crawdad or sculpin in the bigger fish.
“Because of the higher water levels we are seeing limited success with artificial lures. We are starting to see more 90-degree-plus days. Remember to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen and a hat. A cooling towel dipped in the river and draped on your head or neck works wonders to help cool off.

“This week there is one trout stocking scheduled with the AGFC using the pontoon raft to stock from Calico Rock down to Sylamore Creek. With the raft stocking fish, there is a chance for the areas not close to a stocking point to get and hold fish.”

 

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 6-20-2024) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake (815-592-4302) said Wednesday the lake level is around 666 feet msl. The Army Corps of Engineers has been running some big water. Parking and boat ramp access can be limited; check ahead before you go. The water temperature is around 82 degrees, give or take, with stained water being warmer. Bass are set up on summer areas and patterns. Shad are spread out off deeper water around points, ledges, drop-offs and channel swings. 
”Get up early or if it’s cloudy, rainy or windy and hit the surface with topwater! A Zara Spook, Pop-R or Lucky Craft Gunfish and wake baits in shad patterns are working for me. As the sun gets up, try a 2.8 swimbait, especially if there’s wind, or a Flutter Spoon. That will keep the bite going. Once the sun gets up, a lot of fish will move out over deep water. You can follow them out there and try a drop-shot Robo Worm or shad shape worm or Tater Shad. Or just go home and let the ‘look at me’s’ have it.
“If we get rain, I’ll powerfish covering water. Try a buzzbait if it’s windy and cloudy, or a frog/toad if it’s sunny, over submerged flooded bushes. You can still catch ’em on points with a small Jewel Peewee Jig in green pumpkin orange or a tube or a shaky head at 10-20 feet. Keep the boat out deep, especially in the clear water, and you can hit the old shoreline. There is a lot of activity in the 15 feet range. You can also go up there with a Beaver or Salt Craw early or late. Some shallower brush piles closer to deep water in less than 25 feet are holding some fish.
“Overall, summer patterns are here. Suspended fish in large groups are roaming if you can find them with the front looker.”
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 6-20-2024) Southernwalleye Guide Service (501-365-1606) says that pulling crawler harnesses 25-30 feet with 2-ounce bottom bouncers on primary and secondary points with gold or fluorescent orange blades and orange bead patterns seems to be good right now.
If contour trolling, try shad-style baits in 25-30 feet of water.
If open water trolling for suspended fish, they are still getting a little tougher to catch and are going a little deeper — down as deep as 60-70 feet. Troll early morning for a few hours, then switch over to crawler harnesses. Find shad and try trolling with snap weights from 50-70 feet deep over flooded forests over 100 feet-plus of water while using any type of deep-diving crankbait trolled over the old river channel at 1.5-1.8 mph. That should put some fish in the boat. Jigging spoon fishing has also been another tactic that is working. Casting a half-ounce spoon into 25 feet and hopping it off the bottom back into about 35 feet might also get you a few fish. 

(updated 6-20-2024) Crappie 101 Guide Service (870-577-2045) reports that crappie are scattered in creeks in brush at 10-25 feet. They seem to be in smaller groups mostly and you will still have to cover a lot of brush and structure to find the quality. The jig bite is pretty slow, so minnows have been better lately.

 

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

(updated 6-20-2024) Lou Gabric at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort (870-492-5113) said Wednesday, “I started out fishing around 4 a.m. this morning. My first spot was a bust even though I brought in some bait by dropping my green light. Very few fish showed up, so I moved to a main lake point in 100 feet or more of water. Dropped my green light again and the bait showed up. There were some small fry on the surface, but the bigger-sized bait were 15-25 feet down. It wasn’t long until I started seeing a few big arcs cruising under the bait 30-50 feet down. I landed my first striper about 15 minutes after arriving and then it started to get a little light out, but the bait stuck around and a few more fish showed up. I got to land another two stripers by about 5:15.
“By then it was getting light enough that other fishermen started showing up. I had caught three nice stripers and all swam away easily so I decided to look around and fish some new spots for possibly my outing tomorrow. I found one area back in a small creek that was holding a few fish. I fished for them a brief time, but they seemed to be just window shopping. I did manage to catch a couple of nice largemouth by casting out my Kastmaster and letting it sink about 4 seconds. They wanted a steady slow retrieval today. For the striped bass I was using a Tater Bait Tater Shad in a copper rose color pattern. It has been working well for me lately. I headed back to the resort early since I needed to get back and wait for the delivery of a new refrigerator for one of our cabins.
“The lake surface temp was about 83 degrees this morning on the main lake. The water level is fairly stable and sits at 560.65 feet msl. There is a thermocline formed around 25 feet deep. The water is clear on the main lake and slightly stained in the creeks.

“Come make some everlasting memories on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozark.”

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