Cotter, Arkansas -- We're on the cool side of the final heat wave of the summer (hopefully), so if you're wanting to catch some fat, sassy rainbows now's the time to fish the White River in the Arkansas Ozarks. And if you're looking for a reminder of an old time summer day, you'll find it in Cotter, with the lazy drone of dragonflies just under the sound of kids laughing and splashing in the swimming hole.
Bull Shoals Lake currently sits at 658.41 msl. The river generation schedule is about the same: minimum flow throughout the morning hours and into early afternoon, lasting a little longer than in the past couple of weeks. Higher levels late in the afternoon. With the cooler weather it seems Southwest Power doesn't require as much electricity so we're seeing that big water shut down earlier n the evening, leading to lower water in the morning.
Low water keeps the trout near deep holes, pooled together and the catch has been plentiful and healthy – quick bites drifting Berkley pink worms, sometimes tipped with a white power egg. The nightcrawler drift catches the eye of a brown now and again. Never leave home without it.
We received a little rain this afternoon, so the water might be a little dingy in spots. That's a good time to cast a bronze or copper/gold Colorado spoon, use a slow, dancing retrieve and count the hits. The shrimp/PowerBait combo is always a great fallback bait when others aren't getting attracting attention. The brown trout bite has been exceptional for August, with catches in the double-digits some days. Live crawdads, soft shell is best, have been the ticket this week.
Visit Cotter and find out why we're called Trout Capital USA. Hope to see you at the river!