Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  March 11, 2026

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report March 11, 2026.

White River

Cotter Area
(updated 3-12-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said spring break has sprung and the fishing community is welcoming visiting families to the beautiful Arkansas Ozarks for memory-making trout fishing. It’s brown trout season on the White River downstream from Bull Shoals Dam. Our anglers are pulling in more browns than rainbows this past week and the guides are going all-out to continue the catching Fever.

No secret to what been tempting the browns: sculpins, shad and minnows. We’ve seen several trophy browns caught with the mighty sculpin and returned to their home waters this week. Get a quick picture before the release to serve as bragging rights and re-bait for your next catch. Handle with care.

Blue and Silver spoons are favored by the rainbows this week, along with a brown-skirted Rooster Tail. Try Sunrise or Orange power bait or pink/white Berkley mousetail worms if throwing spoons isn’t your style. Combining any of those with shrimp or crawdad tail has been an excellent way to reel in some great-sized fish.

Bull Shoals Lake is below desired power pool level at 655.48 feet msl. The lake is rising slowly from the rain and runoff this week but generation from Bull Shoals Dam has remained mostly at minimum flow.

Come visit the Arkansas Ozarks and share a great time each and every day enjoying and employing God’s great outdoors.

Calico Rock Area
(updated 3-12-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said the rains last Friday created a muddy river early this week. On Monday and Tuesda, drift-fishing was difficult. By Tuesday the brown trout bite was good using a Rapala Countdown CD7 in silver/black, Dynamic J-Spec Holofoil Silver and Dynamic HD silver/black.
“We were seeing many 20-inch-plus brown trout. By Wednesday the river cleared enough that drift-fishing with silver inline spinners, Uncommon Baits Neo Pink UV eggs and shrimp worked well. Overall, we are seeing better-than-average fish being caught after a winter of little fishing pressure.”
This week Jim Hinkle Spring River State Hatchery stocked 1,200 rainbows at the Calico Rock boat ramp, with additional stockings at Chessmond Ferry and Reds Landing.

 

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 3-12-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that the lake level has risen to 655 feet msl. Water temperature is 50-54 degrees, give or take.
“It looks like we have some more rain in the forecast. The big monsoon last weekend made the creeks dirty, moving the bait and the fish around. Fish are moving up on the bank. Look at early pre-spawn areas. Power fishermen are doing well cranking parallel the bank. A little color in the water helps.

Del says a Wiggle Wart and SPRO Rock Crawler Red Craw are working, as well as variants like the Mo Craw. “Look at steeper 45-degree, chunky, nasty rock and ledges, transition banks. Try covering water, stay in the wind. Clouds are ideal. If you’re in stained water, a Chatterbait and a spinnerbait will work.
Shad are everywhere and spread out again. Graphing will pay off. “A swimbait is all you need some days, or a Tater Shad fluke or your favorite minnow to shake around the shad. A Megabass Jerkbait is also working.”
If the conditions are clear water and it’s post-frontal flat and sunny, he suggests getting off the bank and try a Jewel Jig in green pumpking orange.. That’s working as well as a green pumpkin shaky head or a Ned rig. Target points at 5-25 feet.
“The white bass are running if you’re into that,” hesays. “Remember: Fish the conditions.”

(updated 3-12-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said walleye fishing patterns have not changed much this past week. Look for fish on and around known spawning sights. Fish shallow during the early mornings and on cloudy days in 2-6 feet of water and deeper in 8-15 feet water if there is little or no cloud cover.

Hair jigs (⅛-ounce to ⅜-ounce) and minnows or jigs and paddletails or ringworms work well after the sun comes up. Jerkbaits such as the 110 and 110+1 or +2 style in black and silver or clown colors are also good now.

If trolling, try stick baits like Rattlin’ Rogues in purple/chartreuse or black/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, now is the time to start going. 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 3-12-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service says they have been finding crappie on all sections of the creeks. The crappie have been a little stingy with the water getting blown out. They’re seeing lots of small ones on brushpiles, but they’re finding some nice ones if you cover enough piles in 15-20 feet. Minnows have been working well and also Tater Bait jigs. There are a few roamers to look for.

 

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

(updated 3-12-2026) 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.”