Old adage: Always keep some worms on hand to tantalize those trout when the water is rising — red wigglers, nightcrawlers or the scented XFactor or Berkley artificial worms. Doesn’t seem to matter; whichever one you’ve had the best luck with in the past. When the water steadies and flattens out some, you can experiment with trusty spoons (a favorite is the hammered red/gold Thomas-Buoyant) or, depending on water level, flicker a peach/moss or orange/brown jig.

Fishing for browns? A mid-sized sculpin played in the deeper holes adds greatly to your chance for a hefty strike. Shad season never really ended this year, so it can’t hurt to alternate a sculpin with some shad. The gold Cleo is moving into first place again after a few years of obscurity; turns out the browns haven’t lost their “taste” for them.

“Our weather is approaching a more seasonal outlook into next week; temperatures will drop about 10 degrees. Still a lot of sunshine after a (hopefully) rainy weekend and warm daytime temps. Perfect autumn weather. Come visit and enjoy everything Cotter.”

Calico Rock Area

(updated 10-1-2026) Dave McCulley, owner of Jenkins Fishing Service in Calico Rock, said, “ Hard to believe we are already in October. The last week, we have seen water as low as 2.5 feet in the mornings, cresting around 4 feet and then start dropping again. The water clarity has been great. With the low and clear water, we continue to see success with artificial lures such as quarter-ounce or one-sixth-ounce Thomas Colorado Spoons in nickel/gold or copper/gold. CD5 Rapala Countdowns in rainbow trout or brown trout colors along with Dynamic HD ghost brown have worked well. We’ve talked to some fishermen who reported eighth-ounce jigs in various colors have worked well. There has been enough current that drift-fishing with Uncommon Bait Neo Pink UV eggs and shrimp worked well.