Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  September 3, 2025

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report September 3, 2025.

White River

Cotter Area
(updated 9-4-2025) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said, “We’re enjoying the end of summer here in Cotter with the kids back in school, Labor Day celebrations behind us and a week of sunny, mild days. Bull Shoals Lake is now just 4 feet above power pool and dropping; generation from the dam is averaging around four units (13,000 cfs) all day until a late afternoon rise.

“Our anglers have been nabbing lots of 12- to 13-inch rainbows, best if you decide to keep any and absolutely perfect for lots of action and making forever memories. Shrimp and PowerBait are a must in your bait bucket, but many guides say you can’t beat the real thing, as they pack in live worms and river minnows for their days on the river.

“This may be the last good opportunity for experimenting with larger stick baits (orange bellies) as we expect generation to decrease soon. There’s been some good action with Rapala Countdowns (rainbow and brown trout, Nos. 5 and 7) and Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues for the browns, but they continue to snap up sculpins, minnows and crawdads

Once in a while you’ll even see the browns show some interest in pink mousetail worms – not always trophy-size trout, but healthy, fighting browns that make your heart race while you’re waiting to see just how big that fish is on the end of your line.
“The Natural State offers everything an avid trout angler needs: clear, cold water, mellow weather, lots of river to spread out in, a whole bunch of trout, and sweet Southern hospitality and friendly smiles to welcome you. Come see for yourself.

 

Calico Rock Area
(updated 9-4-2025) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “Bull Shoals Lake is approximately 10 feet above the power pool, with Norfork Lake about 2 feet above the power pool. We continue to see a peak early in the morning around 9.5 feet, dropping until late morning with a small spike and then dropping again throughout the rest of the day. With the lakes getting lower, I expect in the next 2-3 weeks we will see lower and clearer water. 

“Fishing has been really good with drift-fishing with silver inline spinner with a No. 2 hook with two Uncommon Bait UV eggs (neo pink is working best) and tipped with shrimp. 

“We are starting to see more success with Rapala Countdown CD7 brown trout colors and the Dynamic J-Spec Glimmer Trout. The brown trout bite has been good the last week. One-eighth-ounce jigs with dark colors highlighted with orange seemed to work well.” 

 

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 9-4-2025) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday the lake level is 665 feet msl, now 5 feet above normal pool and still dropping. Water temperature took a tumble to 80 degrees, give or take, with the cooler weather and shorter days. Bass fishing is still fair. They can be finicky some days. It’s best to get up early and look to beat the heat and look for surface activity. There are shad high toward the surface. Topwater has been hit or miss. Try a small popper-style bait or Zara Spook-style bait in natural colors. Del says he’s a fan of the Lucky Craft Gunfish. If it happens, though, it hasn’t lasted long. With the shad migration, there are still some on the main lake, but look at the mouths of the creeks where there is some activity. Plopper and buzzbait mite on the flares should pick up once the lake generation slows.

Largemouth bass are really grouped up. Powerfishing shallow in the creeks is still hit or miss. It’s good when we get some rain coming in. The ol’ Big Red Worm, Texas-rigged, around trees and laydowns is good. There are always fish to be caught on a jig or Jewel half-ounce Peewee. Try green pumpkin variants. Treetops on the bluff ends, bluff swing, long runout points along the channel. Try pulling off ledges. A lot of the suspended fish are pulling onto the points around the thermocline at 28-32 feet.

The shad are spread out from the backs of the creeks to the main lake. Feeding windows seem to be short-lived; better capitalize on it when it starts. Target larger schools offshore, covering water off from swings and ledges off the bank with a drop-shot for bluebird, post-frontal suspended fish. A smaller 2.8 swimbait or shake a minnow if they are up active, and a regular Tater Shad on suspended fish. A half-ounce Magic Jigging Spoon will come in handy. Fall junk fishing has started; make the best of it and “fish the conditions.”

(updated 9-4-2025) Southernwalleye Guide Service said the walleye fishing on the lower end of the lake has still not changed much this past week. The fish have been in kind of a neutral feeding mood. Small pods of fish are in the thermocline on gravel main lake points and secondary points with deeper water close by. Lots of small walleye and some limits of legal-size walleye are being caught. If the sun is high and wind is light, fish just a little deeper and away from the boat. What’s been working is fishing in 28-33 feet of water with spinnerbaits and crawler rigs with a small Colorado or a Mack’s Smile butterfly blade, or working a jig and crawler or drop-shotting a live crawler. Also a half-ounce to 1-ounce white or chrome jigging spoon at those depth has been working. 

When trolling, try a size 5 or 7 Flicker Shad or size 9 Flicker Minnow, as well as a half-ounce Hot n Top, in 28-35 feet of water. Trolling at speeds of 2.0 to 2.5 mph seems to be a good speed to get a reaction bite.

(updated 9-4-2025) Crappie 101 Guide Service says fish are still scattered but showing up on brushpiles in the 20-25 feet range. The bite has definitely been on the finicky side. Minnows have been best as of late. Put the work in.

 

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

(updated 8-28-2025) Tom Reynolds says the lake is at 562 feet msl and slowly falling. The lake is scheduled to reach its normal pool level on Sept. 15.
In his most recent report, the stripers appeared stressed due to low oxygen and hot water. The lake water has been in the high 80s, almost 90 degrees, late in the afternoon. The oxygen level is very low for this time of year, and the oxygen will only get worse as the lake is lower and with no rain. Based on history, the stripers will shut down, and the bite will continue to decline unless the oxygen bubble bursts, which usually happens around Labor Day.
The stripers were beginning to shut down earlier this month; they kept moving to deeper water, but the oxygen has been very low for this time of year. “We are in desperate need of rain and cooler weather to get the water temp down.

“The best opportunity for stripers will be the upper section of Norfork, where the river ends and the lake begins. Cool water continues to flow south, but heavy rains would cause the stripers to migrate as the water cools. Right now, you can entice them using very active live bait. They do not seem to be interested in spoons or swimbaits right now.