Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  March 25, 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 25, 2026.

White River

Cotter Area
(updated 3-26-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said, “Visit the White River in Arkansas Ozark country and take some time to slow down and enjoy spring break like a kid.”

They report that Bull Shoals Dam is continuing slow releases from the lake with a daily norm of around one generator, about 3,300 cfs. Lake level is 656.08 feet msl.
“Keep your bait closer to the bottom and expect the bite nearer the bank. This week the rainbows have been turning to lemon-lime-colored baits; chartreuse might be close enough. That’s the entomology for both fly- and spin-fishers. The old faithful baits — red-gold Thomas Buoyant Spoon and rainbow Rapalas — were causing a splash this past week as well as rainbow-colored Rooster Tails with yellow skirts.

“The browns kept us busy this week, too. Find some really nice sculpins and you’ll attract some really nice browns. They’ve been moving downriver since the end of the spawn and are a little more scattered than earlier in the year. Chances are good for a trophy brown in lots of new places.

“Whatever form your fishing takes, bring it to the river and enjoy Arkansas, The Natural State.”

 

Calico Rock Area
(updated 3-26-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “For most of the week we saw water levels varying between 3.5 and 6 feet except for Monday and Tuesday, where we saw water stay under 4 feet. In the morning before the rising water arrives, we are doing well fishing quarter-ounce Thomas Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold. The bite is good if you stay just ahead of the rising water. Once the rise passes, there is a lull in fishing for about an hour before the trout start biting again.

With the higher water, drift-fishing with silver inline spinners with Uncommon Bait UV neo-pink eggs with shrimp or corn worked well. We have seen some success drift-fishing with sculpins. Sculpins are on the bigger rainbow and brown trout favorite meal list. Using sculpins we have seen several 3-plus-pound rainbows to include one topping out over 5 pounds and also several brown trout over 20 inches, with a few over 25 inches.

 

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 3-26-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that the lake level is 656 feet msl, while water temperature is around 56 degrees. “Fronts have the fish moving around. We could use a little rain, just not all at once. Look at early pre-spawn areas, areas with deep water nearby where they can drop down when it gets cold.”
Powerfishermen are still catching on the right day (wind/clouds) cranking parallel to the shoreline. A little color in the water helps. A Wiggle Wart and SPRO Rock Crawler green craws are working, as well as variants like the Mo Craw. Look at steeper, 45-degree, chunky, nasty rock and ledges and transition banks. If you’re in stained water, a Chatterbait and a spinner bait will work.

The shad are everywhere and spread out again; graphing will pay off. A small Tater swimbait is working — try a Tater Shad, traditional fluke or your favorite minnow to shake around the shad. A Megabass jerkbait is also working. If the conditions are clear water and post-front flat and sunny, get off the shoreline — the clear water has visibility up to 22 feet. Try a finesse Jewel Peewee Jig in green pumpkin orange, or use a green pumpkin shaky head or a Ned rig. They’re all working, and focus on points in 5-25 feet.

The white bass are running if you’re into that. Remember: “Fish the conditions!”

 

(updated 3-26-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said the fishing this past week has been fair. Fishing patterns are still the same. Look for fish on and around known 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.

Hair jigs (1/8 to 3/8 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 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 — 1.0 to 1.5 mph seems to work best. Look for an open water trolling bite to start soon as the walleye start to migrate back to the summer holding spots. Deep-diving crankbait like Bandits, Rapala Tail Dancers (size 11) and Reef Runners trolled over the flooded forest along the old river channel will get some nice fish.

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 at night is the key.

(updated 3-26-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service says crappie are in creeks on brush and structure. They are also roaming. Some males are getting gray, which means we aren’t too far away from the start of the spawn as long as mother nature doesn’t keep bringing cold fronts.

Crappie have been caught on jigs and minnows — a 1/16-ounce jig tipped with a Small Fry bait has been working well.
“We’ve been having awesome luck with the Tater Baits Crown Royale 101 color.”

Norfork Lake

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

(updated 3-26-2026) Tom Reynolds guides out of Tracy Ferry Marina. He offered this pointers 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.”