Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  February 18, 2026

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report February 18, 2026.

White River

Cotter Area
(updated 2-19-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said Bull Shoals Lake elevation has risen slightly over the last week due to the recent rains; however, the lake is still well below power pool. Elevation is currently 653.09 feet msl, 6 feet below the seasonal power pool level. Generation has been variable but mostly at minimum flow (700 cfs) with an occasional rise up to three units (9,000 cfs). Be especially cautious motoring in these low water conditions. 

Expect early morning chill followed by a welcome rise in the temperature for now. March is coming, though, so be prepared for weather changes and maybe a return to winter.

The ample brown trout bite has proven that late winter is a great time to visit the White River, and the rainbows aren’t ignoring the bait either. Shad, minnows and sculpins are the preferred meal for a hungry brown; egg patterns (light yellow peach colored) with an orange leading bead have caused some excitement, too. Do not leave home without a supply of jigs. Moss green, brown and orange and peach/moss will lead the catch.

Nightcrawlers proved their worth for bank fishermen. Spinners, especially the 3/16-ounce gold Blue Fox Spinner played about a foot or 2 below the surface, produced more than a few smiles.

“Winter probably isn’t through with us yet, but we will take advantage of this early spring-like weather while it’s here! Keep anglin’ and we’ll see you at the river.”

Calico Rock Area
(updated 2-19-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “The last several days we have seen water levels from just over 2 feet to 3.5 feet. With this low water, drift-fishing dragging bait has not been very effective due to the low flow. Artificial lures have worked well. Quarter-ounce Thompson Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold have worked well for rainbow trout. Rapala Countdown CD7 in brown trout, rainbow trout or silver/black along with Dynamic HD lures in ghost brown or silver/black have worked well for some very nice 24-inch-plus brown trout.
“With the low water, be careful navigating the river. Many gravel bars have been exposed or are just barely underwater. If you are in the Memphis area this weekend, stop by the Mid-South Sport and Boat Show at the Agricenter and see us.” 

 

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 2-19-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that the lake level is 653 feet msl and water temperature is 47 degrees. “Fake spring has been fun. Bass fishing has been fair depending on weather conditions. Looks like a lot of fish are moving up from the winter haunts. Late winter early pre-spawn.”

Powerfishermen are doing well on windy, cloudy days A Wiggle Wart and SPRO Rock Crawler are working; try red color craw variants or a Mo Craw. Stone-cold steeper 45-degree nasty rock and ledges, transition banks and chunk rock ledges are the places to look. Try covering water; wind and clouds are ideal. Try a Megabass Jerkbait along bluff ends and points that have deep water nearby.
The temperature changes have some shad dying off high in the water. If the conditions are flat and sunny, get off the bank. There are always fish to be caught in 5-20 feet on a jig, like a Jewel half-ounce in green pumpkin or brown with some red or bright orange.
The shad are in the creeks but a lot of them are breaking up and moving out deep over deep. Graph time will pay off this time of year. Find the shad, find the fish. Most of the shad seem to suspend down in 60-80 feet over deeper water or shallow spread out on the flats. Most of the fish seem to be suspended over trees or up roaming relatively shallow. Use a smaller 2.8 Tater Shad dead-sticked, or shake a Minnow Mooch if they are up active; a swimbait is working. The shad are definitely on the move and the post-front days are always going to be rough. Remember: “Fish the Conditions!”

(updated 2-19-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said walleye fishing patterns seem to be moving more into the prespawn stage this past week. “The rain we received last week has moved some to washout areas close to spawning sites. 

Fish shallow in the early mornings and on cloudy days in 2-6 feet of water and deeper in 8-15 feet of water if there is little or no cloud cover.”
Jigs (⅛- to ⅜-ounce) and minnows or jigs and plastic work well after the sun comes up. Jerkbaits such as the 110 and 110+1 style in black and silver or clown colors are also good at this time.
If trolling, try stick baits like Rattlin’ Rogues in purple/chartreuse or black and gold. Troll in 8-15 feet of water at slow speeds — 0.8 to 1.0 mph seems to work best this early in the season. If you’re into night fishing, two hours before light and up to two or three hours after dark seem to be the best times. Fishing slow is the key. 

(updated 2-19-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service says crappie are still being found in and out of the creeks. Brush in the 20-foot range has been good if you can find the ones that are cooperative and feeding. Minnows have been working as well as a 1/16-ounce jig with a Small Fry bait. 

 

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

(updated 2-19-2026) Tom Reynolds offered this pointers this week for spring fishing on Norfork:

“Starting in late February we typically will see the winds switch to the south and a gradual warm up of air and water temperatures. The stripers will begin to move from the deep water following the shad. There will be multiple opportunities to catch stripers at that time. Both live bait and artificial baits will be very effective. The night bite will begin once the winds blow from the south. You will want to fish the northern and northeastern banks of the bays and main lake and main arm points. Some excellent spots are the points near Norfork Dam, Koso Bay and Point, the Hudson area, Frog Pond, Diamond Bay, Cranfield Island and the points north of the Cranfield area heading toward Red Bank Access.  
“The best time to night fish is a half-hour before dark until about 10 p.m. The best bait historically is a 5-inch or 6-inch Rogues. The color of the Rogue varies, with black/gold, clown and blue/black combinations seeming to work the best, but experiment with the colors until you find the one that works best that night. Bone color has been hot the last few years. Make long casts parallel to the bank and reel very, very slowly. A lot of the bites will be right next to the boat, so always have a big net ready. Stripers, hybrids and walleye are all active during this time. Watch the water temperature. As it moves up toward 60 degrees, the bite will get stronger. 
“During this time of year, live bait, shad and shiners are also very effective. The stripers will be roaming the shoreline looking for food. I use shad, but everything I do can be done using shiners. Most days I will run a large spread of lines. I begin with two inside planer boards, one near the shore and other out 20 to 30 yards. These board lines will have large gizzard shad in the 4- to 8-inch range. Out of the back of the boat I will have two lines with floats, shad on the hooks, with no weight at various depths from 10 to 30 feet from the floats. These lines will be set back from the boat between 30 to 60 yards. I then set out two free lines with a split shot weight on one line and nothing on the other. Both will have large shad on them and will be set 40-60 feet from the back of the boat. The last outside line will have one planer board with a large shad out 40 yards from the back of the boat. I will put out a wake bait: It is a large shad about 1 foot under the water right behind the engine. The wake bait is very effective for stripers roaming shallow water.
“As the water warms, the stripers will continue to move into the larger creeks to spawn. The magic water temperature number is 60 degrees. Your tactic to catch stripers should be to keep moving with the fish and continue to experiment with your techniques.”