mojorig

I'm not aware of any full time Striped Bass guides on Bull Shoals Lake. Del Colvin is a bass guide who is catching Striped Bass on Bull Shoals, right now. The Striped Bass fishery is too new on Bull Shoals Lake to support full time guides at this time. There are several guides on Norfork Lake. It just depends on what type of fishing style you are looking for (spooning vs live bait vs trolling). However, the Striped Bass fishing isn't great right now on Norfork Lake. It should pick up in late March/Early April.

I always like to scroll down to see what the weights are at the end of the check line. It was interesting to see 25th place had 13 pounds and the last check (51st place) only had 10-13 which seems low for Rayburn. The weights appeared to be down besides the one "huge" sack compared to previous years.

Yellow Perch are more common after high water years. They are common throughout the lake however we hear of more being caught in the mid to upper end of the lake. The Livescope is awesome for figuring out how the fish repositioned in piles.

Did Dustin Blevins catch the 24 pounds? I saw on IG that he said he had almost 25 pounds on TR on Sunday.

I'm using Livescope on my current boat. Echomap Ultra 10" (106SV) Using the LVS32 transducer Mounted to shaft of Ultrex I won't have another boat without it.

2020 goals -> Work more and fish less...... wait a minute, lol!! 😂

I really like my Livescope and have caught numerous that I would have not otherwise caught.

I tried to pause the DVR several times on David Walker to see what he was throwing. I'm guessing it looked to be a Bomber Long A. However I could be wrong.

Here is a link to the USACE Water Level Control Plan for the White River basin. This is normal operation regardless of current water levels. "1 December – 14 April: Regulate to 21 feet except, if a natural rise exceeding 21 feet occurs, regulate to the lesser of the observed crest or 24 feet. Spillway or conduit releases (non power-producing releases) will be utilized as needed to maintain a 21 feet regulating stage but, will be used to maintain a 24 feet regulating stage only when the 4- lake system flood storage exceeds 50% full. During flood operations, the total project discharge from Bull Shoals (using turbine and non-turbine releases) will approximate up to the equivalent of 10 hydropower turbines (32,000 cfs) and the total project discharge at Norfork will approximate up to the equivalent of 3 hydropower turbines (11,000 cfs), unless emergency operations are required. 15 April – 7 May: Regulate to 14 feet except, regulate to 21 feet from 15 April through 30 April, and 18 feet from 1 May through 14 May, if the 4-lake system flood storage exceeds 50% full. At the request of Southwest Power Administration, and after coordination with the Little Rock District Corps of Engineers, hydropower releases for peak power demands in excess of those limited by the 14 feet regulating stage at Newport can be made providing: (1) Newport stage does not exceed 16 feet; (2) increased releases do not occur for more than 3 consecutive days; and (3) there will be a minimum of 7 days between requests. 8 May – 30 November: Regulate to 12 feet except, regulate to 14 feet from 15 May through 30 November if the 4-lake system flood storage exceeds 70% full." http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/docs/White_River_Master_Manual.pdf

I have daily water level readings from impoundment to January 1, 2019 for Bull Shoals Lake and Norfork Lake and to January 1, 2016 for Table Rock. I can post graphs of those, if people are interested in seeing them.

While I don't have any specific data, I would agree that high water likely reduces the number of users on Bull Shoals Lake which ultimately has an impact on the local economies. I'm good friends with the Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock crew and also work closely with the Lake Norfork Chamber of Commerce, so I am aware of the impacts on these types of businesses in this area. One of the biggest issues with high water on Bull Shoals Lake is launching and parking. That is something that I feel the USACE should be focusing efforts right now. We (AGFC) have identified some areas at our accesses that we hope to improve that could alleviate some access issues on the lower end of Bull Shoals Lake. As far as impacts of high water on fisheries within the Upper White River Basin, there are tons of data going back to the 60s showing the high water tends to have a positive impact on most of the native sport fish and forage fish in these reservoirs. For example, this year we completed an age and growth study on LMB in Norfork Lake. Almost 70% of the LMB sampled were produced during high water events (years: 2008, 11, 13, 15, and 17). Another example, last year, we conducted a similar age and growth study on Black Crappie in Norfork Lake. Ninety-eight percent of the Black Crappie sampled were produced during a high water year (years: 2015 and 17). On the other end of the spectrum, those that fished around here in the late 90s and early 2000s will recall how tough the fishing was here. It was quite possibly the worst it has ever been. The winning weights for many tournaments was less than 12 pounds with the check range being less than 10 pounds, even in the winter. The lower number of fish was the result of a long period of normal to lower water years which resulted in poor recruitment. I've only provided examples from north-central Arkansas because that is where I work. However, I know the biologists from Beaver and Table Rock could also present similar data because I hear similar results during our annual meeting. To wrap things up, we hear quite often from anglers who are frustrated with access and fishing during high water years. We get it because we get frustrated with access as well. However, the long-term benefits to the fish populations as a result of high water outweighs the short-term inconveniences. Now don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting high water every other year like the current cycle we are in. However, it would be nice to have high water every 5 years or so. Just my two cents…

I would still suggest joining the Twin Lakes Walleye Club. While you might not be able to attend their monthly meeting, you can still benefit greatly. As a member, you'll receive fishing report for other members. Below is an excerpt from a report from last week. There are days when the club sends out five or more o these fishing reports. The reports help with determining what depth and presentation to start with.

Bull Shoals has been off and on over the past month or so. So it might not have been any better...

Sure email them at: info@twinlakeswalleyeclub.com

Holler at me at Jeremy.Risley@agfc.ar.gov if you have any questions about this project or anything related to management of Crooked Creek fisheries.

Quillback is correct. Here is what it says in our (AGFC) fishing guidebook: "A White River Border Lakes License is available for a $10 annual fee. This license allows Arkansas residents who hold a valid license to fish in the Missouri waters of Bull Shoals, Norfork and Table Rock lakes without a fishing license from Missouri. The permit is valid for impounded waters (the waters between Beaver Lake Dam and Houseman Access in Arkansas are excluded). Trout may not be taken with this license. Anglers younger than 16 do not need to buy this license to fish in Missouri waters. The WRL is available to residents of Missouri or Arkansas only and may be purchased in either state."

Excellent comments!!!

So I attended the meeting last night in Mountain Home. I wanted to provide some information from the meeting. I was told the meeting format was similar to the Highway Departments public meetings. There were no informative talks or open microphone sessions. They had people associated with the study stationed at several locations to provide information and converse with the public. The USACE reiterated several times that the most impactful thing the public could do was submit written comments through the website (click here). They said these comments will be recorded as public record and should be addressed in the completion report. Of course, issues that receive a high number of comments would have much more weight than the issues that receive few comments. I would encourage people to submit comments so your voice can be heard. Please remember the goals and objectives of the study are: 1) examine original design criteria/assumptions for dams/reservoirs and compare those assumptions to actual conditions and 2) evaluate current water needs and determine projected water needs in the basin. I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from attending the Branson meeting on Oct 29th. I wanted to inform you all about what to expect when attending the meeting.

Right now, Bull Shoals Lake has a very healthy population of Walleye. It is likely the best it has ever been. We receive numerous daily fishing reports from members of the Twin Lakes Walleye club. Speaking of this club, I would highly encourage you to check out this website (click here) if you fish for Walleye in this area. While this club mainly focuses on Bull Shoals and Norfork, they have numerous members that can flat out catch Walleye. I would imagine many of the techniques they use will work on TR.

Yes that court case was documented in the court case, I attached: "It has been widely assumed that the Mcilroy Court affected title to the property of W.L. Mcilroy and his brother's estate by redefining "navigability" over 150 years after Statehood and after property rights had vested. In fact, following the decision, the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas voted to relinquish and quitclaim title to the creek bed back to the property owners, Act 872 of 1981, saying: " ... the Arkansas Supreme Court in holding the Mulberry River to be navigable seriously impaired the oil and gas leases, farming leases, and the sale of property along the Mulberry River; that the boundary lines of property owners have been materially affected in that they now cannot be determined without additional court action ... " A careful reading of the opinion reveals, however, that the Court avoided the issue of bed ownership and gave no indication that it intended to affect title to the bed of Mulberry Creek. At least the authorities cited in the case suggests that conclusion."

They also listed these goals and objectives on their website: Goals and Objectives: 1) Examine original design criteria/assumptions for dams/reservoirs and compare those assumptions to actual conditions. 2) Evaluate current water needs and determine projected water needs in the basin.

Here is an excerpt from State vs Sharp (97-229-1) which involved access on Crooked Creek: IT IS THEREFORE, CONSIDERED, ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED by the Court that the plaintiffs contention that Crooked Creek is navigable in the sense that the State has acquired title to the bed of such waterway up to the high water mark is without merit, should be, and hereby is dismissed. 44. The prescriptive easement recognized herein extends only to the use of the water of Crooked Creek as it flows through the lands of the defendants, and is not an authorization or permit for the public to trespass upon, or litter the defendants' property. State v. Sharp, E 97-229-1 (Crooked Creek) (1).pdf

Be careful camping on gravel bars on Crooked Creek. By law, the gravel bars are private property.

We occasionally receive reports of freshwater jellyfish in Bull Shoals Lake. Find more information about them at this link (click here).

I would agree with listening to those anglers... My family (including myself), along with another biologist working on this project family (including himself), have been fishing the creek for at least three generations. Hopefully that will help provide some historical perspective.