History
The floodgates closed on Bull Shoals Dam in 1951, creating a 45,440 acre sports lovers paradise with 740 miles of shoreline. At flood control stage, the size nearly doubles to 71,240 acres of surface area. With the surrounding steep bluffs and rock ledges, it almost seems like a highland mountain lake. Most of what little brush that was on the Bottom of Bull Shoals has rotted away, leaving the chunk-rock banks and drop offs to surface as cover. Bull Shoals is a deep lake, and its not unusual to be in 50 feet of water when your no more than 20 feet from the bank.
On july 2, 1952 President Harry Truman dedicated both the Bull Shoals and Norfork dams. A local legend has it that the road to Bull Shoals dam was paved especially for his visit so that the president would not have to travel on a gravel road. Attending the ceremonies were fifteen thousand people. Truman brought along so many of his cabinet members that newsmen refereed dot the Norfork as “the little white house”.
Opposition to Bull Shoals Lake was widespread during the initial planning stages of the lake, not everyone loved the idea of a dam on the White River. Owners of the rich river bottomland especially hated to give up their farms. Many had been in the same family since the land was homesteaded. For the creation of Bull Shoals Lake to be possible much of the town of Forsyth had to be flooded. In the late 1940’s when Forsyth residents learned that the Corps of Engineers planned to build a dam in Arkansas which would result in Bull Shoals Lake, much of the town was very angry. The Cops agreed to reimburse the town for the demolition of its church, lodge hall, courthouse, and all public buildings and to buy the land of the affected individuals if a majority of the residents could agree to move in one direction. Ninety percent of the town’s residents agreed to move “up the hill” where they had extended their corporate limits to enclose a farm and a gold course. The entire town of Forsyth moved west to the top of Shado Rock, once used by the Indians as a lookout and the Corps of Engineers were then able to complete construction on Bull Shoals dam, and create the lake that we see today.
Most of Bull Shoals lake is in Arkansas, a little farther from Branson than either Table Rock or Taneycomo. But for the serious angler, it’s worth checking out. The northern end of the lake touches popular Shadow Rock Park near the mouth of Swan Creek in Forsyth, Missouri. Bull Shoals is well known for Bass fishing. Even so, it has been over shadowed by the later arrival of its sister lake, Table Rock and some say that has made Bull Shoals an under fished lake by comparison. But over the years Bull Shoals has yielded more than its share of trophy fish and state records.
Bull Shoals offers scuba dives and swimmers are attracted to Bull Shoals by its famously clear waters. The clarity also makes light tackle and light line the best choice for anglers.
