that line class for many years. Bull Shoals Lake is known for its clear, deep waters. During the spring, fall, and early winter months, bass can be found relatively shallow along rocky points, banks, and channel swing areas. Now formally its own species, it is distinguished by lines of dark-colored spots, which appear as rows just underneath the lateral line on each side of the fishs body. I almost always put in around Spring Creek, or Pontiac. **Go to the ParkCache listings to find all 53 caches. The longear sunfish is a diurnal feeder and is skilled at finding prey in moving bodies of water. Good Luck! It is now an invasive species in Asia, South America, and Europe. of catfish fishing. The best way to keep a dream alive - is to keep sleeping. There are a lot of other species of fish in this lake. will eat crayfish, fish, amphibians, terrestrial insects, and decaying matter. Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Music Creek is in Arkansas and about an 8 or 9 mile run down the main lake. As a general rule of thumb; poor weather conditions (i.e. the Reservoir, This living fossil is the only extant species left in its family, Polyodontindae. Water Level (Range): normal Spotted Bass, The hot calm days warmed the lake surface several degrees in just a couple days and marked the end of most game fish spawning activities in the mid-lake area. Landlocked striped bass can grow to be remarkably large. MOYAK Mondays 7!! Ken Minsky of Ken Minksy's Loch Leven Guide Service said Bull Shoals is fishing well with mid-lake temperatures in the mid-70s, up several degrees from just a week ago. There are over 1,000 miles of shoreline. For anglers that are good with their electronics, schooling fish can be found following baitfish from the summer months all the way through winter. Spearfishing is also a very popular method The striped bass is an elegantly streamlined fish distinguished by its horizontally-oriented lateral stripes. Premier trout fishing is offered not only at the world-class trout fishery near Bull Shoals Dam, but also where the lake's headwaters cross the tailwaters of Lake Taneycomo. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. Welcome to BullShoals.com, your source for all things related to Bull Shoals Lake in the Ozarks. Look for vapor lights 1 mile up south bay across from pt 16. High water levels throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022 also produced substantial year classes of largemouth bass and spotted bass, but anglers will have to wait a few more years before these fish reach 15 inches and 12 inches in length, respectively. Striped bass: only 3 striped bass may be included in the aggregate. would periodically repopulate the smaller tributaries where conditions are unsuitable to Thanks for the information Arky. alive. Restrictions. They feed on swarms of these in rivers, channels, lakes, and even in drainage basins. This fish attractors hold bass, crappie and other fish too. Spring and summer blooming wildflowers cover the area in natural beauty. September 12, 2022 by Brent Pollock. Visit our catfish page to learn more. Channel & Blue Catfish Arkansas Game & Fish stocks tens of thousands catchable size ( 1/2 to 1.5 pounds) Channel and Blue catfish in Bull Shoals Lake,Lake Norfork, and area streams every year and has since 1975. It is now Fishing Techniques Which make me want to be down in the area Russell suggested Music Creek. The Pontiac, Spring Creek, and Theodsia Accesses are in Ozark County and located off of Highways W, HH, and 160, respectively. We recommend a guided trip because the fishing techniques used in the clear Ozark mountain waters are far different from those used in other parts of America. Bull Shoals Lake is located on the border of Missouri and Arkansas. Blue Catfish, Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock offers boat and houseboat rentals, guided fishing trips, scuba services, tackle shop, lodging, stall rentals and new and used boat sales. Lake navigation features include advanced instrumentation to gather wind speed direction, water temperature, water depth . Some fish over 60 pounds are possible here. This lake is the largest lake in Arkansas, with over 45,000 acres of water. In the spring, you have a variety of bass and other fish that move into the creek arms to get ready to spawn, but lake levels and water clarity can change quickly here in the spring. Channel catfish is also rich in vitamins and minerals and has a fairly low concentration of methyl-mercury compared to other predatory freshwater fish. up toward and around the rt 160 bridge? Water Surface Temp: 65 With over seventy-four square miles (94,000 acres) of water and over 1,050 miles of shoreline, Bull Shoals lake is the largest lake in Arkansas.and one of the most popular lakes in Arkansas! Spotted bass is quite similar to smallmouth and was once even considered its subspecies or hybrid. Detailed Lake Information: Type of Lake: Hilland. When stocked in this order and properly managed, these species provide great fishing and good eating. Just plan accordingly with the things you will need for a week on the lake. Largemouth bass are making a showing on the main lake near shoulders of cuts at 12 to 18 feet. Bull Shoals is a great lake and don't let 1 short trip form an opinion. You can also find plenty of shorelines in the creeks with shoreline wood as cover to fish as well. Daily limit: Of course, one of the most popular ones is sport fishing. Because of their aggressiveness, they are Bull Shoals Lake is deep, so plan on fishing deeper water to consistently catch fish here. Freshwater Fishing fishing, boating or just sunbathing. Bull Shoals is a great lake and don't let 1 short trip form an opinion. Anglers can identify largemouth and spotted bass by using differences in the jaw bone length, cheek scale size, connectivity of the spinous and soft dorsal fin, and absence/presence of a tongue patch. including lakes and streams. dispersed. 6' dropline and a 4" bluegill. SCUBA divers often find Flatheads This species is one of the most abundant of all catfish in US waters. For boat permits and information call 410-795-6150. In the Swan Creek Arm above U.S. Highway 160: Taney Bull Shoals Lake is an awesome multi-species fishing lake. Ultimate Fishing Site is the largest fishing tips and tourism website on the net. For this reason, it has the potential to become invasive. Use 6 to 8 pound test line and youll get a lot more bites and still have enough strength to get some of the bigger fish into the boat. I've had a lot of luck jug fishing about half-way back in Music creek. pass. Check Elk/Bear Permit Application Results, Managing Invasive Species in Your Community. Copperheads and rattlesnakes may be encountered. 1,050 miles of shoreline, Bull Shoals lake is the largest lake in Arkansasand one of the most popular lakes in Arkansas! Bull Shoals Lake has a ton of fish attractors and there is even a map of them. He has been featured in numerous fishing magazines and newspapers such as Outdoor Life, The In-Fisherman, Twin Lakes Outdoors, Outdoor World, Fishing Facts, Dakota Country Magazine, Tulsa World, Fox Valley News and the Diversion Magazine, to mention a few. Whether it is big rains or the amount of water they are running through the dam, the lake level can drastically affect where the fish are and how well they are feeding. I would head up the arm toward the 160 bridge. 2br - Water Front Bull Shoals Lake Getaway . Bull Shoals Dam was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1951. This 71,000-acre reservoir has over 1,000 miles of shoreline, plenty of which is accessible for bank fishing. With over seventy-four square miles (94,000 acres) of water and over1,050 miles of shoreline, Bull Shoals lake is the largest lake in Arkansasand one of the most popular lakes in Arkansas! Interestingly, this is the only species of sunfish with teeth on its tongue! Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Contact | About, List of Bull Shoals Lake Fish Species 2021 [Updated], 1) Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), 4) Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), 5) Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus), 8) Black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), 9) Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), 12) American paddlefish (Polydon spathula), 15) Flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris), 16) Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), to produce hydroelectric power and prevent flooding, projects that can help sustain game fish communities, increase the likelihood of successfully baiting this bass, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, entering into the Bull Shoals-White River State Park, world record holder was fished in Alabama, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, How to Plant & Grow Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), Do Goldfish Eat Tadpoles & Frogspawn? Including the portion located in Missouri, the lake totals some 45,500 surface acres. Crappie: 10" minimum, On the lake and its tributaries: Ozark, Taney, Christian, and Douglas Black Bass: Fair July. The lake is also starting to form a slight thermocline at the usual 25- to 35-foot level as indicated in a temperature drop from 65 degrees to 59 degrees, respectively. Many of the shorelines drop off quick, so you dont have to be far from shore to be fishing water deep enough to hold a variety of fish and quality fish. Check out the map above to view nearby river levels, or head to the Visitors, no need to worry about where you will stay while you're here. Anglers from all over the country eagerly seek out the largemouth bass in spring and fall, when communities tend to remain close to waters surface in banks, rocky points, and clear channels. In the late spring, summer, and fall, minnows and nightcrawlers rigged on bottom-bouncers, and crankbaits slowly trolled along flats and points at or just above the depth of the thermocline catch good numbers of fish. There are a lot of catfish in Bull Shoals Lake. Tim "Hotdawg" Curtis has been a fishing guide since 1974, so he knows the best spots to catch bass, walleye, catfish and bream on Bull Shoals Lake and the White River. Jigs and live bait are quite effective at luring this species. The points that lead to deep water quickly are great spots to fish in the summer. This enormous body of water that borders Missouri and Arkansas offers fantastic fishing year-round. Size does not make a perceptible difference in the flavor of On average, this sunfish can fit in a single hand. Flathead catfish pulled out of river systems close to Bull Shoals Lake can easily exceed a weight of 50 pounds (22.7 kg). Many anglers will fish the bottom when targeting rocky points, however, in the summer and fall months, you can find a lot of fish suspended just off the points in deeper water just away from the points. I appreciate any info you all can pass on to me. The areas that have large schools of shad will usually be the spots that hold good numbers of bass and other fish too. We offer real-time climate data, weather forecasts, and alerts, as well as information on the best recreation spots nearby. Another name for the warmouth is strawberry perch as its body is mottled brown, with reddish gill flaps. Nothing messes up a good fishing trip like engine troubles. However, juveniles of both species can look remarkably similar. Listed below are some of the most economically important fish species in the lake system. Fluctuations of river flows and lake water levels have also made it difficult to observe patterns in their spawning behavior. Avoid using the trail during excessively wet periods.Surface Type: Unsurfaced, native material. JUGS!! When searching the creek arms to find fish, you may have to search for certain water temperatures, shoreline cover or schooling baitfish to find the better bite on each particular day. 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