Releases from Bull Shoals Dam are at one unit or less (3,000 cfs) with a burst in the late evening bringing the river level to 16,000 cfs (five units) for an hour or two. The lake is slowly dropping and currently is at 660.52 feet msl.

Wade anglers will find many accessible locations. Be alert and always have an exit plan if you see a change in water level. John boaters will find it slow and go, a must-stay in the main channel of the river. There's lots of fishing waters here (and lots of trout); share the space and extend a hand to fellow anglers.

Any pink, scented egg bait (Berkley PowerBait or XFactor) and shrimp are reliable baits to provide a lot of action for rainbows. Peach and brown flashy baits (1/8-ounce marabou or D2 jigs, 1/8-ounce), gold Cleos or bronze Colorado Spoons were a sure bet this past week. Catch a sculpin and bait your hook for browns. Crawdads are still causing a stir and should be great bait for at least another month before it gets too cold.

Good luck, enjoy the catch, and we'll see you on the river!

Calico Rock Area

(updated 9-18-2025) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said this week they have seen depths as high as 7 feet in the morning and dropping throughout the day with depths as low as 4.5 overnight. With the lower water we are seeing greater success using artificial lures such as Rapala Countdowns (brown trout, silver or rainbow trout colors), Dynamic J-Specs (glimmer trout, brown trout or silver) and quarter-ounce spoons (Thompson Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold or Thompson Bouyant Spoon in rainbow trout colors).

As always, inline spinners with Uncommon Bait UV eggs tipped with shrimp worked well. Tipping a hook with corn or red wiggler worms also worked.

This week we received one stocking of 2,000 rainbows at Calico Rock, with another 3,000 rainbows split between Norfork and Reds Landing.