bull shoals question

[OKSTATEjiggy]

Going to a buddy's land near bull shoals for the last second half of spring break, and I need to fish while I'm there. Boatless, but willing to fish for whatever I can from the shore and maybe some wading. Smallmouth? Trout? Crappie?

Point me in the right direction

Thanks

[Pomoxist]

If you're bank fishing, your best bet for action is for trout on the White, including below the dam by Lakeview and at Cotter, early and late in the day. Nightcrawlers, Power Eggs, natural-color crappie jigs. Bull Shoals Lake doesn't have the numbers of crappie per acre as most lakes but fishing there for crappie up to two pounds or so has been very good there this week. Bank fishing is challenging here. Try to get permission to fish some long dock that goes out over at least 15-foot water and fish it with a minnow or dull-colored jig. Or go to a game-and-fish brush pile (marked with a blue sign on the bank) and with a long rod cast out a slip-bobber rig to it. Some of these piles are not that far from shore. Lately on the warm days, some good crappie are holding about ten feet deep. Also, in big coves look for white bass wherever you see shad by the surface. Cast crappie jigs, with or without a float. I don't waste my time focusing on black bass...you'll usually catch plenty of them when you go after the crappie and whites. Good luck.

[OKSTATEjiggy]

Thanks for your response. I'm probably going to fling a fly at the trout.

Thanks again

[Pomoxist]

If you're going to fly fish, a #14 light gray Sowbug often produces well in March. The tailwater trout are also used to eating small shad that come down from Bull Shoals Lake in the cold months, so something bigger and white such as a #6 Shad might work into March. The same Shad pattern works for sight-fishing for Bull's crappie this time of year.

[Doodlesock]

Heard from a coworker that a white marabou (sp?) crappie is the hot ticket right now in the trophy area just below the dam. I'm not a trout guy but I wouldn't have thought a crappie jig would do well at all in the river. Our generation has been very irregular lately so if you show up and the water is low and you hear a horn make your way to the bank.