Bull for a New Guy

[Rwh46]

On 12/17/2020 at 12:21 PM, Fish24/7 said:

You will learn so much. Just for kicks I read 20+ pages of Upper Bull yesterday.

There's also an Arkansas conservation app for habitat/brush piles i think. That would be worth getting imo.

Hot Spots makes  good paper maps for the lake. Its divided into two sections. Worth looking into them imo. It has fishing tips with good information as well as names of coves and creeks ect. I use them because I don't use high end electronics. 

If you read enough reports on upper and lower you'll see there's seasonal patterns,lures, and techniques on the lake as well as depths and locations being mentioned year after year after year. Reports during low water and flood conditions are also posted. So no matter the water level next April, there's information already on there.

there's  a few tackle stores around the area. Reds, and Bull Shoals dock sells tackle. There may be others nearby ,I haven't been around there in a long time. Probably just Google it and find out. 

Get familiar with catching smallmouth in clear water. mixermarkb has some great reports on that!

ive seen a quite a few tournaments won with 15-17 lbs of smallmouth in April so don't count them out

 

I ordered the Hot Spots map from TW. I also have an old Garmin application on my computer called Map Source. I got it when I was doing Orienteering with my Boy Scout Troop. It came with the handheld unit on a CD, so ill see if it has any info

You say read reports on Upper and Lower. I thought lower was for info below the dam, shows you what i know. I'll look into it as well

I think Ill plan on bringing multiple tackle boxes as the local places seem limited in stock

I'll ck mixermarkb's reports, thanks

[Rwh46]

On 12/17/2020 at 12:30 PM, Fish24/7 said:

If these guys are bank beaters they may struggle big time on Bull Shoals. I worked at a marina there for  almost 18 years, have been fishing it for 35 years approximately. I live there. I've seen hundreds of skunked fishermen because they couldn't get off the bank when the fish were not there. So that cranking business is gonna be hit or miss based on what the lake conditions and weather are when you get there. 

Del Colvin has a YouTube channel with fishing reports. Check it out

By the time April rolls around and youre still not sure what to do just send me a personal message and we'll chat then .

I'm not a big crankbait guy but if you looked at how many i own you would say the opposite. Wasted moneies, should have bought more jigs & shakeyheads

I started looking at a couple of Del Colvin's you tube reports. One thing i like for starters is he isn't pimping somebodies baits like so many other guides do. He does good coverage on generalities and covers the spectrum. i'll need to hear/see more before i gain value i guess

Thanks for the offer to chat in April next year. You can bet I'll still be screwed up and will need help then

Does the Lower Bull Shoals part of this forum just cover below the dam or above the dam but closer to the dam, I thought it was just for the White and i haven't looked at it?

[Fish24/7]

23 minutes ago, Rwh46 said:

I ordered the Hot Spots map from TW. I also have an old Garmin application on my computer called Map Source. I got it when I was doing Orienteering with my Boy Scout Troop. It came with the handheld unit on a CD, so ill see if it has any info

You say read reports on Upper and Lower. I thought lower was for info below the dam, shows you what i know. I'll look into it as well

I think Ill plan on bringing multiple tackle boxes as the local places seem limited in stock

I'll ck mixermarkb's reports, thanks

I tend to fish more of the major creek arms year round vs. main lake. Have posted dozens of reports on Lower Bull. I spend a lot of time in the Theodosia arm on the Missouri side because its close to home and there's plenty of fish to keep me busy.

mixermarkb does more mid lake reports,  say Oakland area, Music creek area  and further up the "river" for example "the middle" of the lake I call it. and a lot of his reports are in the Spring.  He typically launches out of buck Creek area and fishes all over that part of lake from there.

Have you looked into the Border Lakes Permit?

[Fish24/7]

4 minutes ago, Rwh46 said:

I'm not a big crankbait guy but if you looked at how many i own you would say the opposite. Wasted moneies, should have bought more jigs & shakeyheads

I started looking at a couple of Del Colvin's you tube reports. One thing i like for starters is he isn't pimping somebodies baits like so many other guides do. He does good coverage on generalities and covers the spectrum. i'll need to hear/see more before i gain value i guess

Thanks for the offer to chat in April next year. You can bet I'll still be screwed up and will need help then

Does the Lower Bull Shoals part of this forum just cover below the dam or above the dam but closer to the dam, I thought it was just for the White and i haven't looked at it?

Most reports for lower bull are from the MO side of the lake. With some Bull Shoals dam area mixed in both upper and lower.  Upper reports usually come below Powersite dam and down from there.

[Rwh46]

On 12/19/2020 at 9:52 AM, Fish24/7 said:

I tend to fish more of the major creek arms year round vs. main lake. Have posted dozens of reports on Lower Bull. I spend a lot of time in the Theodosia arm on the Missouri side because its close to home and there's plenty of fish to keep me busy.

mixermarkb does more mid lake reports,  say Oakland area, Music creek area  and further up the "river" for example "the middle" of the lake I call it. and a lot of his reports are in the Spring.  He typically launches out of buck Creek area and fishes all over that part of lake from there.

Have you looked into the Border Lakes Permit?

Thanks for the tip on "Lower" data. I'll get busy on it

As far as  White River Border Lakes Permits, I did look into them and the guys that aren't old enough to get by without a license will be using that permit vs an Ark Out of state License. Thanks for the suggestion. Since I'm  an OLF at 74 I don't need a license in Mo. and Ark. reciprocates as long as I'm fishing Border Waters, so i get a freebee. Probably the 1st thing I ever got free from a government agency other than a plane trip ticket to Nam.

[Fish24/7]

On 12/20/2020 at 2:27 PM, Rwh46 said:

Thanks for the tip on "Lower" data. I'll get busy on it

As far as  White River Border Lakes Permits, I did look into them and the guys that aren't old enough to get by without a license will be using that permit vs an Ark Out of state License. Thanks for the suggestion. Since I'm  an OLF at 74 I don't need a license in Mo. and Ark. reciprocates as long as I'm fishing Border Waters, so i get a freebee. Probably the 1st thing I ever got free from a government agency other than a plane trip ticket to Nam.

Are you finding everything ok? Any more questions let me know.

[Rwh46]

On 12/24/2020 at 9:23 PM, Fish24/7 said:

Are you finding everything ok? Any more questions let me know.

Got sidelined with Grandkids over Xmas. Back on the searchs now

I have "cut & pasted'  54 pages of "data" on April/May reports from  from Upper and Lower Bull Shoals. They're in a word document. Now I start back thru them and save the "nuggets" of what, when, and where. That'll get me a better idea of what baits on what days at what depth and where on the lake I should look. That's usually takes more than one pass thru. When i get something down to a manageable size (2 or 3 pages) i'll send you a PM with that data , and if you would, tell me whether I'm off base or not.

Thanks

[Royal Blue]

I fish the upper end for the most part, but I can tell you that there are a ton of big bass in that lake.  If I were looking for a game plan for late april it would absolutely depend on water temp, because if it's really warm you could even be catching post spawn fish on points and secondary points.  I spend a ton of those days with nothing but a deep crankbait and a football jig on that lake and Table Rock for that matter.  

You could get lucky and find the lake around 6-10 feet high and most of the fish having not spawned yet.  If that's the case I would load up on mouse or sexy mouse colored spinnerbaits and beat the heck out of the outsides of the bushes.  You'll load the boat and it will be a memorable trip for sure.  We've had some epic days from K-Dock to Lead Hill doing that.  That's a heck of a long run from where you're staying, but it would be worth trailering a day or two to check out that end of the lake.

 

I wouldn't be afraid to throw a jerkbait around the outsides of bushes too...

 

PM me anytime for more info up at that end.  I live close to that area and that is where I spend about half of my time off from work.

[Rwh46]

On 12/26/2020 at 11:05 AM, Royal Blue said:

I fish the upper end for the most part, but I can tell you that there are a ton of big bass in that lake.  If I were looking for a game plan for late april it would absolutely depend on water temp, because if it's really warm you could even be catching post spawn fish on points and secondary points.  I spend a ton of those days with nothing but a deep crankbait and a football jig on that lake and Table Rock for that matter.  

You could get lucky and find the lake around 6-10 feet high and most of the fish having not spawned yet.  If that's the case I would load up on mouse or sexy mouse colored spinnerbaits and beat the heck out of the outsides of the bushes.  You'll load the boat and it will be a memorable trip for sure.  We've had some epic days from K-Dock to Lead Hill doing that.  That's a heck of a long run from where you're staying, but it would be worth trailering a day or two to check out that end of the lake.

 

I wouldn't be afraid to throw a jerkbait around the outsides of bushes too...

 

PM me anytime for more info up at that end.  I live close to that area and that is where I spend about half of my time off from work.

Thanks for the tips. I'll certainly contact you sometime mid April. 

We're fishing the last wee of that month.

[Lvn2Fish]

Late April you should have no problem catching fish anywhere on the the lake . The last year bull has fished amazing all year long . You should hit it when they are really on the feed . Should be a lot of fish spawning too ! There are plenty of places to dump the old boat in when the water is 20 ft+ .