Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  April 22, 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 22, 2026.

White River

Cotter Area
(updated 4-23-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said releases from Bull Shoals Dam into the tailwater have been low over the past week, offering more access for angling from the shore and gravel bars. Bull Shoals Lake is 4 feet below power pool level, at 655.11 feet msl. The average generation has been minimum flow (700 cfs) with an occasional burst of higher discharges for several hours in the late afternoon.

The rainbow-hued spinners and spoons continue to attract a good share of trout, and the overcast days call for shiny silver blades and spoons. The silver Cleo have played a part in successful landings and returns. When the sun peeks out, change tactics — look for chartreuse- or lemon-lime-colored baits, either in an egg pattern or in the body and/or skirt of a Rooster Tail or spinner. Add gold blades and you’ll tempt some good-looking rainbows. It’ll be easy to keep your bait near the streambed because the White River water level near Cotter has remained fairly low during the past month.

No surprises for the brown bite: They’re nibbling on sculpins and shad, and continue to remain near the bottom and center of the stream, or hiding in deeper holes behind rock and brush structure.

“The weathermen promise warmer temperatures beginning Saturday, so pack some sunscreen when you’re headed to the river. A rain poncho might come in handy, too. Visit The Natural State for some terrific catches and lots of Ozark hospitality.

 

Calico Rock Area
(updated 4-23-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “Fishing continues to be good. The last few days we have seen evening water generation from the dams. The Norfork Dam water reaches us overnight and the Bulls Shoals Dam water reaches us late the next morning. The lower water conditions (3-ish feet), before the Bull Shoals Dam water reaches us, has been great fishing using artificial lures such as quarter-ounce spoons, Rapala Countdown, Dynamic HD or J-Spec lures. When the water arrives late in the morning, rising to around 4 feet, the bite slows down for a while but picks back up early in the afternoon. 

“The guides have been fishing downriver in the mornings and, after lunch, moving upriver where the water is already dropping. During the higher water times, we see success with drift-fishing with inline spinners, eggs (try different colors until you find what the trout prefer that day) and shrimp. 

“The weather forecast starting on Friday shows some rain each day for the next week. With the drought conditions, any rain we get will be good, and if the forecast doesn’t change, the rain will be spread out enough — we shouldn’t see flooding. I do expect we may see dingy or even muddy water conditions from the Buffalo River and the creeks feeding into the river above Calico Rock.” 

 

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 4-23-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that the lake level remains at 655 feet msl; water temperature is up a little to around 65 degrees. “The lake is low for spawning season. April means everybody is going to catch a few. Moss is annoying. Now there are fish in all stages of the spawn.”
Powerfishermen are still catching on the right day: wind/clouds/rain/stain with spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits. You’re going to have to keep an eye out for shad — they’re moving. Topwater has started; try smaller Zara Spook-style baits or poppers. A small Tater Swimbait is working. I’ve been using the Jewel Shad Spoon or traditional fluke, or try your favorite minnow to shake around the shad.
“If the conditions are flat water and post-front flat bluebird and sunny, it will get tough. I have been able to see bottom in 26 feet in places. Get off the bank and bomb cast with lighter fluorocarbon line. Try a finesse Jewel Pee-Wee Jig in green pumpkin orange or a Bass Whacker is working, as well as a green pumpkin shaky head and a Ned rig.

Time to start checking points and pockets in 5-25 feet. 

“The tube guys’ wobble headers, hula grubbers, Senkos and Carolina riggers are in play. The fronts seemed to slow things down a bit. Remember: ‘Fish the conditions!’” 

(updated 4-23-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said the fishing this past week has been slow in the morning and a little better in the evening when the dam is moving water. Post-spawn fishing patterns seem to be taking place as water surface temps have come up a little more. Fish are moving with the shad and seem only to be holding on points close to them.

Look for fish on long points close to the channel swings. Main lake and secondary points have been producing a few fish during the day.

Fish shallow in the early mornings and on cloudy days in 10-15 feet of water and deeper in 20-35 feet 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, and Ned rigs work well after the sun comes up. Jerkbaits such as the 110+2 style in black and silver or clown color and Table Rock Shad are also good at this time. 

If trolling, try shad-style and small banana-style baits like No. 7 Flicker Shads or No. 9 Flicker Minnow in natural colors. Trolling in 15-35 feet of water at speeds of 1.5 to 1.7 mph seems to work best.

The open-water trolling bite has been slow. 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 slowly is the key . 

(updated 4-23-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service says Crappie seem all jumbled up quality-wise. The spawn seemingly started well, and the cool front a couple weeks ago pulled them out and they just haven’t ever moved back in well. Hopefully this next moon will bring a new wave.

“We’re catching crappie on shallower brush and even found a few on deeper brush. A 1/16- to ⅛-ounce jig with a Small Fry bait has been working, like the Tater Baits Crown Royale 101 or the Key Lime color up in the algae bloom up the lake.

 

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

(updated 4-23-2026) 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.”