Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  April 8, 2026

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report April 8, 2026.


White River

Cotter Area
(updated 4-9-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said the river level has returned to a fairly consistent generation of minimum flow (700 cfs) with the occasional rise to two units, usually late afternoons. Bull Shoals Lake is currently 4 feet below power pool at 655.27 feet msl.

The Gold Cleo or the silver Blue Fox with the rainbow blade are attracting a lot of attention since the recent rain. The old faithfuls are a good bet right now, too: the red-gold Thomas Buoyant Spoon caused a splash this past week, and the ever-successful shrimp/PowerBait brought in rainbows left and right. Keep your bait near the bottom in the center of the channel during these very low water events. 

If you’re not having any luck, try something different right away — keeps both you and the fish interested and attentive. Change up the color you’re using or even just reverse the order. 

The catch has been especially good this past week for browns. Although most were not officially “trophies,” there were many that fell just an inch or two short of the 24-inch requirement to earn a catch-and-release pin. The bait of choice was, again, sculpins, but crawdads are crawling out of the mud and adding to the mix.

Low-water times have been great for fly-fishers with many wading opportunities opening up. Can’t miss with a silver/red midge. You’ll see hatches most every day with these sunny afternoons. Don’t forget: The river level can change fast, so keep an eye on the water level if wade fishing. 

“Stop in and catch up while you’re in Cotter, Trout-Capital-Of-The-USA. We’d love to welcome you to The Natural State.”

 

Calico Rock Area
(updated 4-2-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “Another great week of fishing around Calico Rock. In the mornings we have been seeing water below 4 feet and clear, which is great for artificial lures. On these mornings, we started at the Calico Rock bridge and then fished downriver to stay ahead of rising water. Throwing quarter-ounce Thomas Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold worked great for rainbows and the occasional brown trout. For larger browns and rainbows, Rapala Countdowns, CD5 or CD7, in brown trout or rainbow trout colors worked well. Additionally Dynamic HD lures in ghost brown or rainbow trout colors worked well. 

“In the afternoon, with the rising and dingy water, we were moving several miles upriver to find dropping and clearer water and changing to drift-fishing with Uncommon Bait UV eggs and shrimp. That resulted in some fat 16-inch-plus rainbows being caught. 

“North-central Arkansas is in a severe drought and we look forward to the rain coming on Friday and Saturday. As of now they are predicting over 1.5 inches of rain. The dry ground should soak up most of the rain, and we don’t expect there to be much effect on the river.”

 

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 4-9-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake  said Wednesday that the lake level remains at 655 feet msl; water temperature is up slightly to about 60 degrees. “The lake is the lowest it’s been in quite a while for the spawning season. It would be nice to have a little more cover for recruitment. April means easy bass fishing where everybody has been catching on Bull Shoals. Moss is still a little annoying. But the lake is fishing good. 

“Look at early pre-spawn areas. There are a few making moves up to spawn but still just a bit early for most; usually the smallmouth will go first.”

Powerfishermen are still catching on the right day: wind/clouds/rain/stain with spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits. The shad are not everywhere and moving, so you’re going to have to put the work in. A small Tater Swimbait is working. “I’ve been using a traditional fluke, or try your favorite minnow to shake around the shad eaters. 

“If the conditions are clear water and post-front flat and sunny, it will get tough. I have been able to see bottom in 26 feet in places. Get off the bank and bomb casts with lighter fluorocarbon line. Try a finesse Jewel Pee-Wee Jig in green pumpkin orange, and a green pumpkin shaky head and a Ned rig are also working. Time to start checking points and pockets in 5-25 feet. 

“The tube guys’ wobble headers, hula grubbers and Carolina riggers are in play. They are starting to look down. Remember: Fish the conditions!’” 

(updated 4-9-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said the fishing this past week has been good. Spring fishing patterns are still holding as water temps have changed only a little. We are still seeing a lot of male walleye swimming the spawning point shorelines at night. Look for fish on and around those known spawning sites. Main lake and secondary points have been producing good numbers as well as quality fish.

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 like the 110 and 110+1 or +2 style in black and silver or clown colors, as well as Table Rock Shad, 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 crankbaits 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 4-9-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service says crappie are starting to move up on shallow areas and structure where available in creeks, spawning. Minnows under a float have been good as well as casting the bank and barely bumping the bottom on a slow retrieve.

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

(updated 4-9-2026) Tom Reynolds 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.”