Cotter Trout Dock Weekly Fishing Report

  September 23, 2026

More reports and other videos are on the Cotter Trout Dock Youtube Channel Page.
Below is the Arkansas Game and Fish Fishing Report September 23, 2026.
 
White River

Cotter Area

(updated 9-24-2026) Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said autumn is getting closer — there’s a little nip in the air some mornings. Perfect weather for float fishing on the White River: cool mornings, warm afternoons and lots of trout to tease your hook. Bull Shoals Lake is below power pool now, so generation has remained fairly static over the last month: minimum flow during the day with increased releases later. Sometimes there are high releases in the evening for a few hours. The lake level is 654.96 feet msl, 6 feet lower than normal pool. 

“The rainbow catch has been pretty fabulous: They’re snapping at spinners with silver or rainbow-colored blades, and eating up the shrimp and egg combo. We continue to see success with bubblegum pink worms and mouse tails. Good sizes among the catch, too; many are 16 inches or above. Artificial bait recommendations: spoons and spinners for this low water. Gold Cleos are a staple on the White, and a gold or silver Blue Fox is a good choice. Low flows always prove to be a great time for jig fishing, too. Olive or crawdad-olive/orange jigs are on order this week.

“Keep a variety of live bait on board for the browns. Sculpins, redfin minnows and crawdad tails deliver well. Baits should be kept close to the bottom and to the sides of the main channel, or a deep hole for the browns.

“Cooler temperatures surprised us this week; but prepare for warm afternoons. Thanks for sharing our love of the north Arkansas Ozarks in The Natural State. Drop in when you visit Cotter.”

 

Calico Rock Area
(updated 9-24-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “We have seen varied river levels Thursday through Tuesday with levels as 7.5 feet and dropping to under 4 feet. On Wednesday morning we saw water as low as 3 feet and rising to 5 feet before cresting late in the morning. I believe with the cooler temperatures, Norfork and Bull Shoal dams won’t need to generate as much electricity, which should result in more consistent water levels between 3-5 feet. 

“With the lower water levels, quarter-ounce Thompson Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold, Rapala Countdown CD5 in brown trout or rainbow trout colors, Panther Martin with a black body, yellow dots and gold blade, and jigs should work well.”

 

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 9-24-2026) Fishing guide Del Colvin at Bull Shoals Lake said Wednesday that water temperature dropped to about 81 degrees (4 degrees cooler than last week’s report). The bite still hasn’t changed much. It’s junk-fishing time of year. The lake is in a fall transition; you’re just going to have to put in the work. Powerfishing has been slow; better have wind/clouds/rain/stain. There are definitely some fish up shallow. Look for shallow brush, bushes, anything to flip a Beaver, jig or worm in the backs of creeks with any kind of flow. If it’s the right conditions, you will most likely notice bait fish. “
Try a Toad, buzzbait or Whopper Plopper-style lure on shallow windblown banks while covering water. The topwater bite has slowed; Del hopes the schooling will pick up. Also try a big Spook. Those fish have been moving in schools, and they are MOVING. Take your favorite minnow to look at them. “Now that the bait is moving, there’s activity in the shad if you can find it. I’m using a one-eighth-ounce up high or deep with a three-eighth-ounce Tater or Mooch.

“If the conditions are postfrontal, flat water, high pressure and bluebirds, it will get really tough. I will slow down, downsize and get off the bank, look at deep ledges and brushpiles, and bomb cast with lighter fluorocarbon line. You can try a drop-shot with a Robo in suspended schools. The half-ounce Jewel Football Jig in green-pumpkin orange, PB&J or Bass Whacker sitting off of deep points also will work. Traditional bass fishermen are dragging the long points and ledges with big red worms or craw baits in brushpiles and timber tops on bluffs and bluff ends.
“There is a thermocline down around 32 feet. Lots of fish are holding around this depth. It’s that time of year to keep moving, hitting as many spots as possible. The bait is moving and so are the fish. Remember: ‘Fish the Conditions!’.”

(updated 9-24-2026) Southernwalleye Guide Service said there’s been no changes in walleye fishing patterns this week. Some good fish are being caught suspended 5 feet off the bottom in 30-35 feet of water. Summer patterns are still in play. “We are noticing fish closer to the lower end of the lake are a few feet deeper than mid-lake areas. Fishing has been a little slow this past week. Schools of walleye have not been hard to find, but you need to work them over with different methods to get them to respond.”

The Army Corps of Engineers are still running a little water through the dam in the afternoons, and this has helped the bite pick up a bit more when they do. Fish are holding on flatter points with deep water on one side.

Look for fish on the tips of long points as well as the sides that are close to the sharper drop-off. Walleyes seen next to brushpiles still seem to be situated on the offshore side of the brushpiles where deep water is closer.

Main lake and secondary points have been producing fish during the day. Fishing slow has still been the key to picking up better-size fish.

Fish shallower in the early mornings and on cloudy days in 32-35 feet of water, and deeper in 35-40 feet of water if there is little or no wind or cloud cover. Casting 

jigging spoons in white, chrome and blue and jigging Rapalas in blue and chrome or Helsinki Shad color, in half-ounce to three-quarter-ounce, into 30 feet of water and working it back out into 40 feet has been working. Drop-shotting live crawlers around the offshore side of brushpiles in 32-37 feet is also working.

Bottom-bouncing orange, chartreuse or gold No. 3 Colorado deep cup blades or brass or gold willow leaf bladed spinner rigs and crawlers around the sides and tips of point close to channel swings is producing a lot of short fish as well some good 18- to 23-inch walleyes.

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 35-40 feet of water at speeds of 1.8 to 2.2 mph seems to work best. 

(updated 9-24-2026) Crappie 101 Guide Service reports they’re still finding most of their crappie on brushpiles around 20 feet deep. A one-sixteenth-ounce jig with the Tater Baits Crown Royale 101 has been working as well as minnows.