Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  June 18, 2025

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report June 18, 2025.

White River

Cotter Area

(updated 6-19-2025) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said, “We’re finally seeing those Arkansas summertime temps we’ve avoided so far — from blissful to blazing hot. But our early-morning hours are still blessed with a little bit of chill that counteracts the afternoon heat. The hot baits for the best catches of trout during this week’s heat streak have been scented artificial worms, mostly bubblegum pink.

“The continued releases from Bull Shoals Dam have led to drift-fishing, and anglers are regularly pulling in quality rainbows throughout the day. Bull Shoals Lake is sitting at just above 692 feet msl and water releases have begun to fluctuate. Mornings on the river over the last week began with an average of one unit (about 3,000 cfs), then much higher releases later in the afternoon. The Corps of Engineers is working hard to drop all the lakes in the White River watershed equitably and safely, so prepare for continued releases throughout the summer.

“Add a nibble of shrimp to the barb to test the waters for increased action (single hooking point only). Jigs are the ticket for morning hours with low water. Higher water calls for silver/blue spoons, brassy Colorados or silver Cleos. A cup of nightcrawlers or redworms is a must during the late-afternoon rise. The No. 7 Rapala Countdowns of almost any color (gold/black, brown or brook trout, rainbow, silver/black) are great to have around for brown trout fishing.

“Come on over and indulge in a little of the great outdoors. There’s no greater Great Outdoors than here in the Arkansas Ozarks.”

 

Calico Rock Area

(updated 6-19-2025) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “Before the rains Sunday night, the river was around 9-10 feet with good clarity. Drift-fishing with a No. 7 split shot 8-12 inches above a No. 2 bronze hook (with or without a silver inline spinner), Uncommon Bait Neo Pink UV eggs with corn or shrimp worked well. The fish seemed to remain on the gravel bars. There was some success using artificial lures such as Dynamic Lures J-spec in glimmer trout or Rapala Countdown CD7 in rainbow trout. 

“The heavy rains Sunday night caused flash flooding in the creeks, causing the river to rise and crest at 14.5 feet Monday morning. By Monday night through Tuesday morning, the river cleared up before dirty water from the Buffalo River arrived. Tuesday afternoon, Norfork Dam opened some floodgates, and Bull Shoals Dam increased water generation. Wednesday morning, the river was around 10 feet with some dinginess, and by late morning, the river was dropping and clearing. 

“This weekend, the White River claimed three boats, one here at the Calico Rock bridge, one on the Norfork River and one below Bull Shoals Dam. All it takes is one second for things to go terribly wrong, especially with the higher and faster water. Respect the river, be careful, make sure the kids are wearing a life vest and your boat has the required safety equipment to include a throwable flotation device. With the lakes so full, I expect we will see higher-than-usual water throughout the summer.”

 

Allison/Mountain View Area

(updated 6-19-2025) Jack’s White River Fishing Resort reports that the White River guides — Bart, Braiden, Caleb, Chris and Irvin all consistently limited out on rainbow trout throughout the week with excellent success across the board. Among the highlights: 17-inch rainbows were landed on multiple outings — a great size and exciting for anglers; the guides round excellent results using End of the Line TR Orange and Royal Blue Power Eggs and Jack’s handmade hammered silver spinners — this winning combo brought solid bites in varied conditions.

The river has been fluctuating with periods of high, muddy water due to heavy rainfall and dam generation cycles. At times, conditions cleaned up between flow events, giving guides confidence to run drift rigs and spinners.

 

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 6-19-2025) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that the lake level is still on the rise and is sitting 33 feet (at a 692 feet msl level) above normal pool with more rain in the forecast. Water temperature is rising and has reached 78 degrees, give or take. The lake may be high, but fish don’t seem to mind. The bigger creeks have some debris coming in; be careful with floaters as the wind changes direction. Take debris precautions on flooded launch ramps and courtesy docks. Parking has been an issue for several weeks now as most boat ramps and parking areas are now underwater. The marinas are doing a great job to accommodate everyone. The water conditions toward the main lake remain gin clear to the dam with some color still in the backs of creeks. 

Bass are setting up early in summer areas. Get up early and check ledges, points and swings. The bass are grouping up. Powerfishing shallow has been fair with the right conditions, shad, clouds, rain and/or wind and stained runoff water. Use spinnerbaits, Chatterbait and a square bill in stained runoff water. The ole Big Worm, Texas-rigged, is good in laydowns. There are always fish to be caught on a flipping jig like a Jewel half-ounce green pumpkin variant. Try putting the boat on the old shoreline. Try a shaky head, wobble head, tube or a Ned rig. You’re going to have to contend with flooded bushes, but that’s where they are at. 

A lot of fish have moved up with the rise. Look at steeper banks as the temps rise. The offshore videogamers are still going to have to work. The shad are still spread out. Target larger bait balls or any bait you can find up high near the surface and closer to the shore. If you are targeting shad eaters, a smaller 2.8 swimbait and/or a regular Tater Shad and the Rapala Mooch Minnow will work. 

“You’re going to have to experiment with head sizes. I’m using 3/16-ounce up to ⅜-ounce depending on the day and the depth of the fish.”
Topwater has slowed. Use a Lucky Craft Gunfish or an all-white Booyah Popper wake bait or Zara Spook Jr. over flooded points and saddles. “Fish the conditions. If it’s about to rain or storm, they are going to bite. After the storm and the sun gets high, you’re going to have to finesse. Summer equals four- and six-hour trips.”

(updated 6-19-2025) Southernwalleye Guide Service said the walleye fishing has been poor to fair this past week with a few good fish being caught over the flooded buckbrush. If the sun is high, fish a little deeper along the old shoreline. Fish are scattered along rounded points with deep water close by and along steeper creek channel swings that have shad. Fish the shoreline in 25-35 feet of water with spinnerbaits and crawler rigs or work a jig and crawler along in 30-35 feet around the edges of the flooded brush. 

When trolling or casting over buckbrush, try a size 7 or 9 Berkley Flicker Shad or size 9 Flicker Minnow in 12-23 feet of water. Trolling at speeds 1.5 to 1.7 mph seems to be a good speed at this time.

Some walleye are still being caught in open water over the flooded trees, but this is starting to slow down. (However, with the lake still rising, we are seeing a lot of debris floating in the water, making it hard to troll.) If trolling deep, try deep-diving crank baits with snap weights to get your baits down 40-70 feet and fish over the flooded trees in 80 or more feet of water at 1.5 to 1.7 mph.

(updated 6-19-2025) Crappie 101 Guide Service say crappie are same still super scattered all over the lake. There isn’t a lot of structure in the right zones, but anglers are catching some when you are lucky enough to find it. Minnows have definitely been best as of late. Cover lots of water and look for it around 10-20 feet. 

 

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

(updated 6-19-2025) Tom Reynolds guides out of Tracy Ferry Marina and reports that the lake is 579 feet msl and falling. The rain continues. The lake was down 3 feet, but recent rains have pushed the water up to the flood pool. The Army Corps of Engineers has begun a spillway release to evacuate water. The stripers were moving south, but the rise of water seemed to slow the process. The past several days have seen lots of topwater action; the stripers are smaller but still legal. 

The bigger stripers are being caught between 40-60 feet. “One problem I have found is that my bait is now dying above 30 feet. This is very unusual for this time of year, especially with all the freshwater coming into the lake.

“The stripers are going deeper after the sun rises. (Tuesday), I spot-locked a deep-water spot and set all my lines between 50-60 feet and waited as the stripers were showing up in groups of four or five. It took about an hour to catch our limit.
“So, patience is the key once the sun hits the water. Long lines continue to produce early. Bluffs that parallel the river channel right now are the place to consistently catch stripers.”