The lake level from the published gauge or the dam operator is in the readings below, with its time and datum.
Bull Shoals Lake is a lake or reservoir in Arkansas, listed as Agency-named bass water by Missouri Department of Conservation.
Missouri Department of Conservation lists 6 species, including largemouth bass, spotted bass and walleye. 9 guides and 1 shop nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is White River & the Ozarks.
Bull Shoals Lake is a lake or reservoir in Arkansas. Our destination hub White River & the Ozarks is 32 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Bull Shoals Lake: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Bull Shoals Lake, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Bull Shoals Lake in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Agency-named bass waterCrooked Creek at Highway 14 in Yellville, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agency-named bass waterBuffalo National River, Arkansas. Photo: National Park Service, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons
Tailwater trout fisheryThe White River near Flippin, Arkansas. Photo: James Powers (Jpowersok), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Tailwater trout fisheryThe North Fork River tailwater downstream of Norfork Dam, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agency-named bass waterRepresentative photo · not Norfork LakeFog on Lake Taneycomo, Missouri. Photo: Luke Wisley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Norfork Lake.
Missouri · about 38 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not North Fork RiverThe Eleven Point River, Missouri. Photo: Charlie Llewellin from Austin, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not North Fork River.
Missouri · about 41 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under bass.
On the Black Bass Special Area Regulations list (Missouri Department of Conservation, read 2026-10-20). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped shoreline. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
409.1 of 711.4 mi of shoreline on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
4 guides name it on their website
Bull Shoals, AR · 22 mi
Lake & stillwater · Bull Shoals Lake & White
Names this water
Cotter, AR · 29 mi
Drift boat · Beginners & lessons · Snake & White
Names this water
Bull Shoals, AR · 23 mi
Beginners & lessons · White & Norfork Tailwater
Nearby
Flippin, AR · 26 mi
Float trips · Drift boat · White & Norfork Tailwater
Nearby
Cotter, AR · 28 mi
Float trips · Beginners & lessons · White River
Nearby
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
A bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), photographed by Ryan Hagerty for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Cotter and Mountain Home sit on the White River below Bull Shoals Dam in the Arkansas Ozarks, with the North Fork tailwater below Norfork Dam and the Buffalo National River to the south-west.
Destination hub · 32 mi away in a straight line
A stillwater fly-fishing checklist for lakes and ponds: a 9–10 ft 5–6 weight rod, floating and intermediate lines, chironomids and leeches, and float-tube options, with estimated prices and where to buy.
9′–10′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating + intermediate lines · Rainbow, brook and brown trout in lakes
Open the checklistChironomids, leeches and where fish hold in a lake.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on stillwater
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Bull Shoals Lake.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “Bull Shoals Lake” (reservoir) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Reading Nov 5, 2:00 PM CST · feet above sea level, as the Corps publishes it
Top of conservation pool for today (the Corps' seasonal normal-pool level): 659 ft (published by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Bull Shoals Lake: hourly data (Little Rock District) Data source (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Dam releases and lake levels are the operators' own provisional numbers, shown as published; observations refresh at most every 15 minutes and schedules hourly. Schedules can change without notice.
Checked Nov 5, 2:28 PM CST; readings refresh at most every 15 minutes and statistics daily. Provisional USGS data can be revised. Conditions change: re-check before you go. This is general guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access.
Running well nowCrooked Creek at Highway 14 in Yellville, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Arkansas · about 23 mi
Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass & panfish
77.2cfsFlow now · normal for the date
Agency-named bass waterBuffalo National River, Arkansas. Photo: National Park Service, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons
Arkansas · about 37 mi
Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass & panfish
360cfsFlow now · normal for the date
Tailwater trout fisheryThe White River near Flippin, Arkansas. Photo: James Powers (Jpowersok), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Tailwater trout fisheryThe North Fork River tailwater downstream of Norfork Dam, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agency-named bass waterRepresentative photo · not Norfork LakeFog on Lake Taneycomo, Missouri. Photo: Luke Wisley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Norfork Lake.
Missouri · about 38 mi
Blue RibbonRepresentative photo · not North Fork RiverThe Eleven Point River, Missouri. Photo: Charlie Llewellin from Austin, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not North Fork River.
Diamond City, Arkansas
Fishing lodge · 3.2 mi
