Cotter Trout Dock
Cotter Arkansas — Spring break has sprung and the fishing community is welcoming lots of visiting families to the beautiful Arkansas Ozarks for terrific trout fishing on the White. We’re reeling in a whole lot of good browns and a few trophy-sized rainbow trout this week, including a 22″ golden rainbow just this morning.
Bull Shoals Lake has reached desired power pool level, now sitting at 658.59 feet msl–a decrease in output from the dam is anticipated as the lake continues to drop. Generation from Bull Shoals Dam has stayed steady at around three units (9,000-11,000 cfs). Minnows and sculpin have still been standout baits for the browns, along with blue-backed, orange-bellied Smithwick and Rebel lures.
We’ve seen several larger-than-20-inch rainbows caught and released this week. Some were caught on sculpin and some on the tried-and-true shrimp/PowerBait combo; try yellow or orange eggs first.
Best bait this week was the red/gold hammered Thomas Buoyant spoon, followed by the gold Cleo (1/4 ounce).
Continued high water means that weighted line is popular for most fly-fishing, or waiting for a glimpse of the sun to do some quick dry fly-fishing has been the way to go. Won’t be long before the crawdads poke their heads out so Rebel Wee Craws and crawfish will attract attention. We’re seeing some greening on the bluffs across from Cotter–just in time for the “wearin’ o’ the green”, St. Patrick’s Day. Enjoy the season and come visit us on the river.
Cotter Trout Dock weekly video
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