Predicting The Bite

Rising Shoals

Bull Shoals, which spreads across the Missouri-Arkansas border, entertains famous fisheries for bass, catfish, and crappies. Less notorious is the walleye fishery, which many In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pros say is one of the best in the country right now. It falls into that category within which good populations of walleyes are being somewhat ignored.

Ken Shirley, district fishery supervisor for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, says the walleye population has been stable for some time. “Numbers might be rising from an historic perspective, but it’s been stable for the last 4 or 5 years,” he says. “Threadfin shad top the list of forage items, and those populations have been steady, too. Gradually, we’re getting more walleye fishermen, but the main reason for high success rates on Bull Shoals is lack of serious pressure.

“Walleyes reach 17 to 19 inches in their third year in Bull Shoals, which is fast, but they die young,” he continues. “A 7-year-old walleye is rare, here. But by age 6, a female can reach 15 to 18 pounds, and we have a lot of big fish in the system right now.” Shirley says key times to visit Bull Shoals for walleyes include late Prespawn and early Postspawn, the spawn occurring mid- to late March most years.

Walleye pro Scott Glorvigen has been to Bull Shoals many times, most recently during the 2005 PWT event held there. “It’s very unpressured,” he says. “We found walleyes in every section of the reservoir we looked at, which tells us Bull Shoals has a good population. The bass fishermen who catch the occasional walleye are fishing shallow and not really seeing the bulk of this population. Most of the time walleyes seem to set up 18 feet and deeper in Bull Shoals. In stable water conditions, when shad move in to spawn, walleyes collect at the mouths of the bays and baits like Rapala Shad Raps take them effectively.

“Bull Shoals fishes like the prairie reservoirs in the Dakotas,” Glorvigen says. “It has that Midwest feel to it. When you look at the maps and look at the creek arms, I think of Montana and South Dakota. Fish move into shallow brush in rising water in summer, like they do in Oahe or Fort Peck. We caught a lot of fish with bottom-bouncers and spinners along the edge of that shallow brush during June in rising water.”

Increasing numbers could be on the horizon. “Our agency stocks the walleyes in Bull Shoals, and this year we stocked about 400,000,” Shirley says. “Missouri stocks walleyes in their section of the lake.”

Our point in doing a little name dropping is to get you thinking and planning for the season ahead. We’ve focused on a few peaking fisheries, but you also need to follow the status of the fisheries in your immediate area. We often find ourselves spending several years concentrating on one fishery only to head to another, where for one reason or another stats suggest the stars are aligned for walleyes. Just remember that sometimes by the time the word really gets out, it’s too late.