Bull Shoals Tailwater - Ranchette Access

UTM 15 546890E 4006708N (NAD83/WGS84)

(Twenty-eight miles below Bull Shoals Dam on Marion County or west side. Take Hwy 101 south off of US 412. Watch for turn off to the access at about 6 miles.)

Ranchette Access is half way between Rim Shoals and Buffalo City. Upstream about two miles is Shoestring Shoal and Crooked Creek and downstream about another two miles is the start of Buffalo Shoals--one of the larger shoals on the river. There is also good water closer to the ramp both upstream and downstream. Wade fishing is possible at the access if generation has been shut down for 18 hours or more. Being downstream of a major tributary, the water can be muddy after heavy rains.

The boat ramp at Ranchette has recently been reworked improving the ramp significantly. However, it is of moderate difficulty to launch a motorboat here as there is not much room to park a boat--there being a deep, steep bank directly upstream and a small shoal directly downstream of the ramp.