Bull Shoals Lake Fishing Report & Fishing News
by Ricky Eastwold and Crew, Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock

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Bull Shoals Lake Fishing Report - Monday May 12th, 2008

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Hello everybody. Not many changes from last week. The lake level is still at the 693 level give or take a few inches. I dont think it will drop much until the farmers down south get their crops in. That is usually the way it works.  Visibility continues to be average at 15 to 20 feet depending on where you are in the lake. The bluffs should be the best.  Water temperature is staying around the 60 to 65 degree mark in most places. I have added a new page to look at on the water temp- see Water temp/ oxygen level link. Nothing much new to report except some new fish pictures. SEE picture page.   Everything from here down is the same as last week.  The White River continues to be very very productive for rainbow and brown trout. They have been yo-yo ing the water so there is no predictability there. Sometimes there is a 8 generators going and sometimes there isn't any. But catching has been great. 

BASS-

1. Top water-- its that time of year with the water temp warming up. Flukes, spooks, and any other top water baits are working. This pattern is mostly in the early morning and late afternoon.

2. shallow running rogues, rebels, x-raps and stick baits along the shoreline.

3. Tube jigs or gitzits- this has been the most all day productive pattern this week. Standard colors with and 1/8 oz head worked at different levels of the lake. 1. fairly shallow under evergreen trees. These trees are holding fish due because they are blocking the sun and providing good cover for fish. 2. swimming it over the brush in 5 to 40 feet of water depending on the slope of the bank. 3. carolina rigging it and fishing the old shore line in 35 to 55 feet of water. There are still some fish that haven't moved up yet.

4. Live minnows with a small split shot worked over the top the the brush and around the standing trees. Also, dragging them with a heavier weight in the 35 to 55 foot range in the old shoreline.

5. Spinner baits shallow along the shoreline have produced some bass

6. 1/4 oz white road runners in 10 to 20 feet of water worked over the top of the brush.

7.  Drop shot a small plastic worm or night crawler in 8-15 feet of water around the standing trees out from the bank. Use a weedless hook, leave a 12-14 inch tail of line after you tie the hook. Put a drop shot weight, swivel sinker or split shot on the end of the tail. Fish this straight down on the bottom, jigging it up and down off the bottom around the trees.

8.  Bubble gum plastic worm with no weight in the brush. With the lake rising, a lot of the night crawlers had to go up the bank. The water forced them out and up. When this happened, the fish moved in to eat in the brush. This pattern is good for shallow water .

9. Flippin a jig around the brush. This is kind of like the pattern above but with a different bait.

NIGHT FISHING- Night fishing under lights has started to produce white bass, walleye and crappie. The trick is to be willing to be awake all night because it can take awhile to get the shad coming to your lights. Live minnows while catch fish, or try to catch some shad and use them.

White bass - This has slowed down a lot but some are still being caught back in the creeks on white jigs, spoons, rattle traps and anything that simulates a shad.

Walleye - The bite has been on at night under lights but should get better with the warmer temps. There has been some walleye caught during the daylight hours on several patterns. Most of the bass patterns are producing some walleye. These are being caught by accident while fishing for bass. The people catching just walleye are ding the following. 1. split shoting a night crawler in 30 to 55 feet of water on the old shoreline and ends of the timber bluffs. 2. trolling shallow to medium running reef runners and walley divers along the shoreline above the brush. 3. trolling shallow running crank baits at night along the shoreline.

Crappie - Still haven't seen many crappie. One or two here or there. I would like with the lake level and all the brush in the lake that they would be hard to target. As the lake drops and there is less brush in the lake I would think we should start to catch some. The night fishing under lights has produced some fish.

SEE picture page.

White River:

The river fishing has been great!! Check out the picture page for photos of some big ones caught over the last couple of weeks. Nothing new on the patterns. --- Worms, night crawlers, power baits, salmon eggs, Count down Rapalas, spoons, rooster tails, jigs and just about any other type of trout bait or pattern you have heard of.

Come visit our expanded bait and Tackle department and good luck and good fishing to you all. For current fish pictures - see our picture page.

Check out our newer and expanded tackle selection!

Good luck and good fishing, and please come and see us at Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock for all your fishing needs…Thank you!                                                                                                            

JOHN EASTWOLD’S FAVORITE SAYING - FISHING IS ALWAYS GOOD - SOMETIMES CATCHING CAN BE SLOW.  ___________________________________________________________________

PWT- Professional Walleye Tournament

Win an amateur entry into the Bull Shoals PWT!!!!  Only $20.00 per ticket. Drawing to be held on Memorial Day. Email Ricky Eastwold at boatdock@bullshoals.net, call Mark at 870-405-0830, call Phil at 870-445-4444 for details!!

PWT Pro-Am Returns for Bull Shoals Walleyes in June
    
When the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) pro anglers head to Arkansas, they will search for walleyes throughout Bull Shoals Lake. The June 25-27 Pro-Am competition will feature the top walleye anglers in North America.

    Under the Pro-Am format, fans who fish with PWT pros will learn more about catching walleyes and discover more about fishing a reservoir. Amateur entries are now being accepted.  Amateurs may download entry materials at professionalwalleyetrail.com.    Amateurs fishing the Outdoor Channel Pro-Am, presented by MinnKota, spend three days in pro angler’s boats.    Pros provide all the tackle and gear and take their daily amateur partners to their best spots.

During the 2004 and 2005 tournaments, PWT anglers brought twice as many fish to the scales in late June as they did in a May event. Tactics were more varied on Bull Shoals than all the previous PWT tournaments.  Amateurs will discover trolling tricks (shallow, suspended and in the tree-tops), rigging all manner of bait, bottom-bouncers with spinners and PowerBait or night crawlers, rigging with bait, casting spoons and crankbaits, jigging all depths, and more.  Amateurs also learn boat control, the secrets of sonar and GPS, have questions answered, and make new friends. The largest walleye weighed 9.91 pounds, with several five to eight pound walleyes caught.   The average walleye both years was three pounds.  

The tournament runs from Bull Shoals Boat Dock in the city of Bull Shoals, with daily weigh-in ceremonies – free to the public – starting at 4 p.m. daily.  For more information about the PWT, check out the professionalwalleyetrail.com web site.  Or, call PWT headquarters, 218-829-0620.

    The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Baxter, Minnesota, and InterMedia, America's leading producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners include: Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, Optima Batteries, Minn Kota, Realtree, Outdoor Channel, Northland Fishing Tackle, The Dow Chemical Company, Fin-Tech Tackle, StowMaster, Reef Runner, Yo-Zuri Quality Lures, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt Mud Flaps, Yellow Bird Planer Boards, Allstar Graphics, Ram Mounts, Element Edge, Pflueger, Plano Tackle Systems, E-Cell, Cannon, Do-It Molds, Bull Shoals Boat Dock (870-445-4424), Bel’Arco Resort (870-445-4242) and White River Chamber (800-447-1290).

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