Cotter, Arkansas -- Cotter Trout Dock (870-435-6525) said, “We’re finally getting those Arkansas summertime temps we’ve avoided so far — from blissful to blazing hot. The early morning hours on the river continue to be blessed with a little bit of chill that counteracts the afternoon heat. Bull Shoals Lake is at power pool now, so they are conserving the water in the lake: We are seeing minimum flows (700 cfs) during the morning, rising to over five units (15,000 cfs) in the afternoon with the lake level at 660.64 feet msl.
“The rainbow catch has been fabulous: They’re snapping up the shrimp and egg combo, and we’re continuing to see success with bubblegum pink worms and Berkley PowerBait mouse tails. Rooster Tails with silver blades and pink or white bodies are causing a stir, too. Good sizes among the catch, too, many measuring 16 inches or above. Artificial bait recommendations: spoons and spinners for this low water. Gold Cleos are a staple on the White River, and a gold or silver Blue Fox is a good choice. This is also a great time for jig fishing — 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.
“Thanks for sharing our love of the north Arkansas Ozarks in The Natural State. Drop in when you visit Cotter.”
Calico Rock Area
(updated 7-23-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “This week we are seeing the river crest between 8-9 feet before dropping throughout the day to 5 feet. The water releases are based on electrical demand with more water released during the day and dropping overnight. Fishing remains consistent, with us seeing some better-than-average-sized rainbows being caught.
“We continue to have success drift-fishing using silver inline spinners with a No. 2 hook with two Uncommon Bait Neo Pink UV eggs and tipped with shrimp. Rapala CD7 brown trout and Dynamic HD Trout in ghost brown continue to provide results with some 16-inch-plus rainbows and 20-inch-plus brown trout being caught.”
Last Thursday the AGFC raft stocked from Norfork to Calico Rock. This week the raft stocked 4,000 rainbow trout from Calico Rock to below Sylamore Creek. In addition there was a stocking of over 1,400 rainbow trout at Red’s Landing.
