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Mulberry River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Arkansas’ whitewater river: the Mulberry runs smallmouth through Ozark National Forest bluffs.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
12 cfs
Air / High
79 / 80 F
Wind
ESE 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07252000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Mulberry River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 12 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:20 PM-12:20 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Tomorrow: Similar at 83 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Arkansas requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $10.50 for residents. What a Arkansas licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with AGFC before you keep anything. The season dates for Arkansas, read off the agency, are on the Arkansas seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Mulberry River near Mulberry.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07252000.

7101312 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 85 years of October 23

At 12 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 07252000 (Mulberry River near Mulberry) is at the 36th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 85 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 22 cfs; the highest was 1,820 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 1median 22p90 418

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 07252000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp79 F
High / Low80 / 51 F
WindESE 8-10 mph
Pressure1020.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:29 / 18:29
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Mulberry River this week

The best day on Mulberry River this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:20 PM-12:20 AM
Minor period
4:14 AM-5:14 AM
Sun
07:29 to 18:29
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Mulberry River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the Mulberry River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Mulberry River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Arkansas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Arkansas license. Smallmouth limits per current AGFC regulations.

Access

Highway 215 pullouts and Forest Service campgrounds at Redding and Byrd’s through the Ozark National Forest.

About this water

A 70-mile Wild and Scenic river through the Ozark National Forest to the Arkansas River, Franklin and Johnson counties.

Fishing Mulberry River: the full guide

A wild and scenic mountain river

The Mulberry River flows about 70 miles through the Ozark National Forest of western Arkansas to the Arkansas River, designated Wild and Scenic and known primarily for spring whitewater. When flows drop through summer, it becomes a clear, boulder-strewn smallmouth stream running through forest and bluffs with almost no development.

Smallmouth in the boulders

Smallmouth bass hold the pools, current seams and boulder gardens, taking tubes, small crankbaits, spinners and topwater on light tackle. Rock bass and sunfish fill out the catch. The river is small enough to wade thoroughly through the summer, and clear enough to sight-fish in the deeper pools when the light is right.

Flows and the seasons

Spring rain brings the whitewater season, when paddlers own the river and fishing is impractical. As flows drop through May and June the fishing opens, staying good through the summer and into fall. Late summer can leave it very low, concentrating fish in the remaining pools and demanding careful approaches.

Ozark National Forest logistics

Access is via Highway 215, which follows the river through the forest, with campgrounds at Redding and Byrd’s and numerous pullouts. Ozark and Clarksville are the nearest towns. The forest setting means no development along most of the corridor, and weekday summer fishing offers genuine solitude in beautiful country.

Common questions

When is the fishing season?

Late spring through fall, after the whitewater flows drop: summer wading is the classic approach.

Is it good for whitewater?

Famously, in spring: paddlers own the river then, and fishing is impractical until flows fall.

How is the access?

Excellent: Highway 215 follows the river through the national forest with pullouts and campgrounds throughout.

Is fishing good at Mulberry River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Dardanelle29 miBeaver Lake51 miRobert S Kerr Reservoir52 miNimrod Lake55 miIllinois River62 miTenkiller Ferry Lake67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07252000 — Mulberry River near Mulberry
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.5000, -93.8700 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.