🎣 Fishing Reports
Bull Shoals • Table Rock • Norfork Lake • Taneycomo • White River • and more
Reports updated nightly — pulling the most current conditions from AGFC, MDC, and local guides so you wake up knowing what the fish are doing.
🎣 Fishing Summary
Bull Shoals Lake • Norfork • Table Rock • White River • and more
Bull Shoals Lake is running hot at 84°F with heavy generation kicking in—three units in the morning, four by midday—and Del Colvin warns that once generation slows this summer, thermocline formation will reshape where fish hang. Right now the bite is still solid in the transition, but the lake's dropping toward 661 feet msl, so focus your efforts on main lake points and deeper structure before the squeeze hits. Lake Taneycomo is dialed in with consistent minimum flow out of the dam starting around 7 a.m., water sitting at a cool 53°F, and dissolved oxygen being actively managed—perfect trout water if you're running Mepps spinners and small jigs in the tailrace. The Norfork tailwater just flipped to gin-clear low flow at 205 CFS, which means trophy trout are spooky and feeding hard on small stuff; this is your elite sight-fishing window before generation ramps up again.
The White River and Norfork are both in primo shape for float work and drift fishing. Spring River is recovering from recent rain, running clearer by the day at 380 CFS with black leeches and Woollies lighting up rainbows. Table Rock Lake is loaded with bass—especially spotted bass in the 11–14" range that anglers are encouraged to keep—making it a solid option if you want numbers and variety over trout precision. Pick your poison: go big water and chase generation swings on Bull Shoals, or slip into the tailwaters for technical trout work on light gear.
🏹 What's Working — Baits & Lures
- Mepps #0–1 spinner (Norfork tailwater, gin-clear low flow)
- Black leech pattern (Spring River, post-rain)
- 1/8 oz jig with sculpin trailer (White River drift sections)
- Silver inline spinner (White River, drift-fishing main channel)
- Midge pattern #18–20 (Lake Taneycomo, early morning minimum flow).
🎮 How They're Fishing
- Float fishing small Mepps #1 spinners (Norfork tailwater, early morning low flow)
- Drift fishing jigs and sculpin trailers (White River below Cotter, morning generation)
- Fly fishing midge and scud patterns (Lake Taneycomo, early light before generation ramp)
- Wade-and-cast spoon work on main points (Bull Shoals Lake, predawn before three-unit generation).
💡 Guide's Insider Tip
Del Colvin warns: "Once generation slows down, the lake typically will form a thermocline"—get your deep-structure lures (jigs, spoons) dialed in now before summer squeeze repositions fish into oxygen-rich zones.
🏆 Top Picks Right Now
Bull Shoals is approaching the summer squeeze when thermocline locks fish into narrow depth bands—veteran anglers at Sugarloaf Marina already switching focus to deep main lake structure and off-shore humps rather than shallow coves, since the lake level is dropping and generation is ramping up unpredictably through midday.
Bull Shoals Lake
Bull Shoals Lake measured 662.01 feet msl Wednesday, fast approaching desired power pool elevation, with generation continuing with three units (9,000 cfs) in the morning, rising a little earlier than it has been, to almost 12,000 cfs (four generators) by midafternoon. (updated 7-9-2026) Local reports indicate the water temperature is around 84 degrees. “Feels great to jump in for a swim if you get hot. The Corps of Engineers have been running big water. Not looking forward to the summer squeeze. Once generation slows down, the lake typically will form a thermocline. The lake level is down to …
Table Rock Lake
Fishing for black bass should be excellent in 2026. Largemouth bass are plentiful throughout the lake as a result of the high lake levels in past years. Fall 2025 electrofishing surveys revealed good numbers of largemouth bass in the 15”-18” range. These surveys also revealed an abundance of spotted bass in the 11”-14” range, with just three percent of the spotted bass captured in the fall 2025 surveys exceeding 15”. Due to the high abundance and slow growth rates of spotted bass in Table Rock Lake, the minimum length limit is planned to be reduced to 12” in 2026. Anglers are encouraged to har…
White River
Cotter Area (updated 7-9-2026) Local reports indicate “Change is hard for some folks, so we hang on to the best of our world: Trout fishing on the White River here in the beautiful Arkansas Ozarks continues to produce great catches and tons of action. The beauty, peace and hospitality you’ll find in Cotter, Trout Capital USA, and the whole of north-central Arkansas will keep you coming back for more.” Calico Rock Area (updated 7-9-2026) Local reports indicate “Last week we saw the river crest in the morning around 10 feet, dropping throughout the day to about 8 feet. We continue to have succes…
Norfork River
[USACE Norfork Dam — 205 CFS total release] # Norfork Tailwater Report – September 23, 2026 We're running low and clear this morning at 205 CFS—gin-clear conditions. That means fish are spooky, so downsize everything. Work small spinners (Mepps #0–1) and ultralight spoons near the dam and through the upper tailwater. These trout will see you coming, so wade slow and keep your shadow off the water. Early morning like this, they're feeding, but they're picky. Given the low, stable flow, drift fishing with small jigs and sculpin trailers will work below Otter Creek and through the catch-and-relea…
Norfork Lake
No report available at this time. Check back after float season begins.
Lake Taneycomo
September 1, 2026 Fishing Report Post author: Phil Lilley Post published: September 1, 2026 Post category: Uncategorized We have had fairly consistent generation flows here on Lake Taneycomo for most of August, which makes trout fishing pretty good. They have been running minimum flow starting around 7 a.m. into the afternoon, then increasing it up to 135 megawatts (2.5 units) from mid-afternoon into the evening. Our water temperature has gone up to about 53 degrees, which is normal for this time of year. Dissolved oxygen levels have dropped, so dam operators are injecting liquid oxygen into t…
🚴 Float Rivers
Live gauge readings — Buffalo, Crooked Creek, Spring & Kings
| Type | Period | Time (CDT) | Duration | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | Moon Overhead | 10:42 PM | 2 hrs | Upcoming |
| Major | Moon Underfoot | 10:42 AM | 2 hrs | Past |
| Minor | Moonrise | 5:38 PM | 1 hr | 🟢 NOW |
| Minor | Moonset | 3:46 AM | 1 hr | Past |
- Near-peak solunar activity: Gibbous moons produce strong solunar periods nearly as pronounced as a full moon -- fish the major windows hard.
- Stable conditions key: Bass behavior is most predictable when barometric pressure is steady. Watch for fronts.
- Pre/post-spawn movement: Waxing gibbous pushes fish toward beds; waning gibbous sees them pulling back to deeper staging areas.
- Proven baits: Swim jig, finesse swimbait, or Carolina-rigged lizard along transition edges.