Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Keith Stephens (501) 223-6342,
e-mail: kastephens@agfc.state.ar.us

This is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's fishing report for Dec. 21, 2005. If there is a body of water you would like to see included in this report, please call or e-mail us with information on possible sources for that lake or river.

Fishing Tip: There will be no fishing report for Dec. 28 because of the Christmas holiday. Be safe on the water and have a happy holiday season.

Statewide Urban Fishing Report: The following urban parks are stocked with trout: Lake Atalanta in Rogers, Murphy Lake in Springdale, West Memphis Park Pond, Pleasant View Park Pond in Russellville, Little Rock city park ponds (MacArthur Park, War Memorial Park Youth and Senior's, Kiwanis Park, Otter Creek Park, Boyle Park), Regional Park Youth and Senior's Pond in Pine Bluff, Cabot Community Pond, Sherwood Community Pond, Lake Valencia, Ft. Roots Pond in North Little Rock, and Little Rock Air Force Base Pond. Rock Creek in Boyle Park was stocked Dec. 20. Most of the urban ponds were stocked late last week in anticipation of the central Arkansas trout kick-off, so fishing is excellent. White marshmallows rigged 12 to 18 inches off the bottom are a hot bait right now, and are taking some nice trout. Anglers using chartreuse or white PowerBait and yellow Rooster Tails cleaned up on trout at Boyle Park last weekend. Trout are within a stone's throw of most Arkansans, so get out there and fish. For more information on urban trout stockings, call toll-free 1-866-540-FISH (3474).

CENTRAL ARKANSAS:

Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said crappie fishing is slow. Red minnows are taking a few papermouths around the Gold Creek area. Fishing for all other species has been slow.

Little Red River: Lindsey's Resort said there has been little generation, with most flow coming on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Fishing has been good on wax worms, Power Bait and corn. Fly-fishing has also been excellent on the shoals. Many anglers are visiting the river in their neoprene waders casting egg patterns lately.

Greers Ferry: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 451.18 feet MSL. Shiloh Marina said the lake is low and the water is cold. It took more than 12 pounds to win a local bass tournament at the lake, so the fishing has been good. There just aren't many anglers on the water. Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service <http://greersferry.com/fishfinder> said the water is falling. The hybrid and white bass fishing is good if you can stay on the shad. Follow the birds around and stay up with them, and you can catch some good action around 50 feet deep on spoons, in-line spinners, swim baits and jigs tipped with minnows. Black bass can be caught on channel swings, chunk rock banks and secondary points. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are working well during overcast days. On sunny days, they will be around 25-45 feet deep and can be caught with grubs and spider jigs on football heads crawled on the bottom and Carolina-rigged finesse baits and craw worms. Crappie are still biting well, but are a little deeper now. Most are holding around 25-35 feet deep and can be caught on small spoons, jigs and minnows. You can also pick up a few good bream at the same depth. Walleye are not biting well but should get better with stable water temperatures and warmer days.

Harris Brake Lake: Coffee Creek Landing said the lake is low and the water is clear. Crappie fishing is good in the coves on pink minnows and jigs fished in 3 to 4 feet of water. Bass fishing is fair in 3 to 4 feet of water on spinnerbaits fished near the banks around brush or on Little Cleo spoons fished from the banks where there is open water. Catfishing is good on nightcrawlers in 6 feet of water.

Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said the lake is low and clear. Bream are biting well on small flies like a blue rock hopper. Crappie anglers are doing well on minnows and tube jigs and white stinger-tail jigs. Many shorebirds have been seen along the water's edge, eating the shad caught in shallow water.

Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the water is clear and running at normal levels. Bream are biting well on small panfish worms in 3 feet of water, right against the bank. Crappie fishing is fair on jigs and minnows in 3 to 8 feet of water around any overhangs or covered areas. Catfishing has been good on anything fished on the bottom in the main channel.

Arkansas River: Charley's Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said the flow at Lock 9 is 900 cubic feet per second with a headwater of 284.41 and a tailwater of 263.96. Few people are fishing, with those going out mainly targeting catfish. One angler reported a limit of 8 to 10 lb. cats with one blue catfish weighing in at 30 lbs. He was fishing deep holes, floating live shad and bream 15 feet off the bottom. Some nice Kentucky bass have been caught on the front side of the jetties on Gitzits in crawfish colors. The tube baits need to be crawled along the bottom very slowly. Stripers are holding below the dam and are being caught on jigging spoons. The sauger are coming up to the jetties with sand bars forming behind them. Anglers are doing well using speck rigs in chartreuse and yellow.

Terry Lock and Dam: McSwain Sports Center said crappie fishing has been slow below the dam. Sauger have been biting well below the dam on jigs dragged along the bottom.

Clear Lake: McSwain Sports Center said the bream fishing has been fair on wax worms around stumps and brush piles in 6 to 7 feet of water. Fishing for all other species has been slow.

NORTH ARKANSAS:

White River: McLellan's Fly Shop said Generation has slacked off some this week, with one or two generators usually coming online in the early morning but only running for a couple hours, then shutting off for the rest of the day, providing plenty of wading on the upper river from late morning on through the rest of the day. Wade fishing the upper river has been very productive with tan and olive McLellan's Hunchback Scuds and Woven Sow Bugs. Fishing high water out of a boat has also been very productive using large scuds, eggs, and San Juan Worms. Winter is a great time to fish a streamer (even in low water); try to trigger a strike from the aggressive brown trout by swinging a streamer like the Zoo Cougar or Platte River Spider through a pool. Egg patterns are still hooking several fish as many trout continue their spawning activities. Some of our favorite egg patterns are the Flashtail Mini Egg, the Unreal Egg, and the Micro Egg. For the health of the fishery, remember to leave actively spawning fish alone. Wilderness Trail said fishing has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow and pink. Buoyant Spoons and Rooster Tails are the best baits during generation. Fly-fishermen did well on olive woolly buggers and unreal eggs in peach and white. The brown trout are being caught on Smithwick Rattlin' Rogues, nightcrawlers and sculpin-imitating flies like muddlers.

North Fork River: McLellan's Fly Shop said Generation on the Norfork has slacked off considerably over the last few days, sometimes not even coming online during the daylight hours. Wade fishing has been very good lately, and fishing high water from a boat has been productive as well. Scuds, sow bugs, midges, San Juan Worms, and big streamers like the Articulated Zoo Cougar have been producing plenty of hook-ups. Egg patterns are still hooking several fish as many trout continue their spawning activities. Some of our favorite egg patterns are the Flashtail Mini Egg, the Unreal Egg, and the Micro Egg. Norfork Trout Dock <http://www.norfork.com/troutdock/> said the flow is moderate with some generation. Drift-fishing has been very productive on the rainbows and browns. Crawfish tails, shiners, corn and worms are working the best. Live shad are also taking quite a few good browns. Rapala Countdowns in rainbow, silver and gold are working well for spin-fishermen. Blue Fox spinners with gold blades are also working well lately.

Bull Shoals Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 645.00 feet MSL. Wilderness Trail said the surface temperature is around 49 degrees, from ten feet to 120 feet the temperature is 51.6 degrees. Oxygen level is in the same range all the way down to 105 feet. Therefore the lake is in its winter mode and the game fish can be absolutely anywhere. Crappie become spotty once the lake temperature drops below 50. They will use brush piles, pole trees along the bluffs and drop offs along creek channels as wintering areas. The best way to catch a few is with live crappie minnows on colored jig heads. They will suspend, which makes the bite very slow. Move around and catch one here and there. Largemouth bass can be caught shallow on windblown banks, but you need to cover a lot of water. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits are your best bets. Start fishing three quarters of the way back in the coves, pockets or creeks and work your way out toward the main lake. Spend some time on the bluff walls with standing timber. Try secondary points with spider jigs or a Carolina rig with a Baby Brush Hog from the bank out to 40 feet deep. Smallmouth have moved back onto do-nothing pea rock points and banks both on the main lake and in the creeks. Reaction baits will trigger a few, but you are better off fishing spider jigs, tubes or grubs along the bottom. Keep your boat in about 38 feet of water and cast up toward the bank, and then slowly retrieve in 38 to 45 feet of water. Spoons and drop shots are the way to trigger Kentuckies once you find them. A favorite method with local anglers is to use a 4-inch grub or 23/4" tube on a 1/8-ounce jighead and 4-pound test line. Drop it through any balls of baitfish you can find and work it just beneath the main school. Blue Glimmer or another shad-imitating color will work the best. Walleye are slow but they move a lot during the winter months and are hard to pinpoint. Some walleye are in 48 to 50 feet of water on the bottom of feeding flats and suspended over the top of flooded forests. Spoons and jigs tipped with shiners have been somewhat productive. Long liners are pulling lead core with small baits such as Hot'N Tots, Rapala Glass Shads and Reef Runner Little Rippers down to 40 feet over 45 to 48 feet of water and catching a few each day. Sugar Loaf Harbor said the lake is low and the cold weather has kept many anglers indoors. Crappie fishing is good on minnows and jigs fished around brush piles stretching out from the shoreline. Bass are fair on drop-shotted soft-plastics. The smaller soft-plastics are also catching a few bream in the same areas as the bass.

Lake Norfork: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 539.89 feet MSL. Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is about 14 feet low. Crappie fishing is good on jig-and-minnow combinations fished in brush piles around 10 feet deep. Bass are biting well on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jigs fished from 2 to 6 feet of water against windswept coves and shorelines. Stripers have been fair on live bait.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Beaver Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 1,105.86 feet MSL. Southtown Sporting Goods said the lake is extremely low, and the water is crystal clear. Crappie fishing is fair on minnows near any visible brush. Bass are biting well, with many anglers reporting good numbers of fish on spinnerbaits and crankbaits near the ledges to deep water. Some reports of stripers have come in, with the striped bass biting well on whole life shad.

Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the lake is on the rise, but no one is heading to the lake lately.

Beaver Tailwaters: McLellan's Fly Shop said there has been very little generation over the past few days, providing plenty of wading opportunities. Of course, scuds and sow bugs as well as midge pupa patterns have been very productive. Egg patterns are still hooking several fish as many trout continue their spawning activities. Some of our favorite egg patterns are the Flashtail Mini Egg, the Unreal Egg, and the Micro Egg. For the health of the fishery, remember to leave actively spawning fish alone, and avoid wading through their spawning redds (clean, oval depressions in the gravel).

SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS

Lake Monticello: Outdoor Super Store said the lake is clear and at normal levels. Some really good crappie have been caught on minnows and jigs fished extremely deep. All other species are slow.

SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS

Millwood Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 259.13 feet MSL. Millwood Lake Guide Service <http://www.millwoodguideservice.com/> said the water temperature ranges from 50 to 56 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair to good on spinner baits fished along the pad stems in Little River. Try using clip-on weights on the arms of ¼-ounce spinnerbaits to fish them deeper and slower. Crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps in various shad patterns, are taking keeper black bass and Kentuckies. The slightly deeper running crankbaits are taking the larger bass. Also try deep-running crankbaits like the Deep Little N, in 7-9 feet of water around Snake Creek, Mud Lake and Hurricane Creek. The water temperature is much warmer in Little River than the main lake body. Mud Lake, Horseshoe, McGuire Lake and other oxbows were in lower 60s this week. The activity level of the bass in these different areas of Millwood is dramatic. Some bass were even trying to school in the far reaches of the river. The jig bite continues improving the last few weeks. Texas Craw or pumpkin/ watermelon rind, or black/purple/blue seem to be the best colors. The best success has come from the bases of cypress trees close to the river. Best bite remains on the sunny side of the tree knees and root wads 2-4 feet from the base of the actual cypress tree trunk. The White bass have moved to deeper water in the river, and not been schooling the last few weeks. Kentuckies are still fair to good, along the river on white Rocket Shads, twitch worms or trick worms in green pumpkin, and small Rat-L-Traps in spring bream colors, around creek mouths where they dump into Little River. Kentuckies are still stacked up in the mouths of Snake Creek and Hurricane Creek early this week, but the bite has dropped a notch with the recent cold fronts. Crappie are excellent, with many limits of huge slabs coming in daily. Crappie are slightly deeper in Little River than the last couple weeks. Crappie remain suspended about 13-18 feet deep along Little River. The best bite is on jigs, in contact with planted brush piles and tops. The best crappie areas last week were along Little River in front of Mud Lake oxbow, between White Cliffs and McGuire Lake oxbow, and between Yarborough Point and Outlaw trail on the north side of Little River.

Lake Greeson: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 535.26 feet MSL. Lakeside Grocery, Motel/Bait Shop said the lake is low and the cold weather has the anglers in the house. The few anglers that are going out are reporting extremely slow fishing for all species.

DeGray Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 396.15 feet MSL. Point Cedar Bait Shop said the lake is very low. Not many people have been fishing lately, but those that have are chasing crappie with live minnows. Iron Mountain said hybrids have made their run up the lake. The latest reports on hybrids have come from the Brushy Creek and Point Cedar areas, where big catches have been reported. In some places they are starting to school with the white bass. They are biting on spoons, Rapala Shad Raps, and gray hair jigs. Some anglers have reported excellent fishing for hybrids with vertically jigged spoons in 25-35 feet near creek and river channels. Bream are fair with worms off of points and humps in 20-25 feet of water. Crappie are good on large minnows and tube jigs in 20-27 feet of water around brush piles and marina docks. The most successful jig colors for crappie are red-and-white and black-and-green. Catfish are fair in 15-25 ft of water off main lake points and rock piles on live bait and different types of stink bait. More catfish are suspended rather than on the bottom. Largemouth and Kentucky bass are good on DeGray. Most largemouth are around and in the grass. Depth will depend on how far the grass line comes out. Some success has been reported with crawfish-colored Rat-L-Traps, and jighead worms in 19-26 feet. Some bass reports have included fishing against rock walls, bluffs and open water bends in the river channel with hair jigs and spoons. Some black bass are schooling toward Lennox Marcus and Alpine areas.

Little Missouri River: Jeff Guerin of Little Missouri Flyfishing <http://www.littlemissouriflyfishing.com/> said the temperature hasn't gotten much above 50 degrees this week. Get your cold weather gear ready. Nice loads of fish are already in the river at all five public accesses and more are coming each week. We haven't seen January's numbers just yet, but you can expect some big time stocking going on after the holidays. SWEPCO released their generation schedule and you can access it at their Web page <http://www.swepco.com/news/addResources/default.asp>.

WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Lake Dardanelle: Early Bird Outfitters said the lake is low. Crappie fishing is good on a jig-and-minnow combination in 6 to 10 feet of water. Catfishing has been good below the dam on live bait. The best catfish bite has been while drift-fishing in the current. All other species are slow.

Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said the water is low and the current is slow. Crappie fishing is good in 4 feet of water on a jig-and-minnow combination. Black bass have been slow, but white bas are bunching up below the dam. Both stripers and whites have been caught on a jig-and-minnow combination fished in the current when the generators are running. Catfishing is fair on chicken livers and minnows.

Lake Ouachita: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 567.86 feet MSL. Mountain Harbor Resort said the water temperature ranges from 48 to 54 degrees and the water clarity is stained. Largemouth bass are still schooling and can be caught with Rooster Tails, hair jigs and Flukes. Try windblown pockets for the best success. Vertically jigging spoons near brush-piles has been productive as well. Walleye are fair. They are still being caught over or near brush piles and humps on jigging spoons and jigs tipped with minnows. Try water 18-30 feet deep. Stripers are good on live bait, bucktail jigs or C-10 Redfins. The fish are around main lake points and rock bluffs near or in the river channels on all sections of the lake. Crappie are good and being caught over brush piles and moss flats using feather jigs, 2-inch grubs and minnows. Try main lake points and large moss flats 15 - 25 feet deep. The best colors are white, silver and Tennessee shad. Lake Ouachita State Park Marina said fishing has been really good, especially on overcast days. The water temperature is between 64 and 67 degrees and the lake is beginning to clear from last week's rain. Stripers are biting well in the mornings and afternoons and anglers have been catching them on top-water lures such as a Spook Jr. Anglers are also doing well spooning with CC spoons and trolling Shad Raps. Bass fishing has been good on finesse worms and spinner baits, and top-water action is good in the mornings. The crappie are beginning to move into 10-15 feet of water and have been caught on Kalin's grubs and crappie minnows. Anglers have reported the bream fishing as slow. There have been no reports of catfish success. An occasional walleye has been caught while spooning in 30 feet water around submerged and standing timber.

Lake Hamilton: Trader Bill's Sport Shop said crappie fishing is fair around 30 feet deep on Kalin's Grubs. Bass fishing is fair on crawdad-colored crankbaits fished around rocky points in 6 to 10 feet of water. A small jig-and-pig fished near the boat docks in 10 feet of water is also producing a few fish.

Lake Hinkle: Bill's Bait Shop said the lake is at normal level and the water is clear. Crappie fishing is good on minnows fished near the stumps. A few bass have been caught on soft-plastic worms and Texas-rigged Baby Brush Hogs. All other species have been slow.

Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing said the lake is extremely low. Bream fishing is good on worms fished near the brush piles. Crappie fishing is good on minnows and jigs fished in the same areas. Bass are biting fair on soft-plastic worms and jig-and-pig combos. Catfish anglers have had the best luck on live minnows, either fished with a rod-and-reel or hung on a trotline.

Lake Nimrod: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 341.46 feet MSL.

Arkansas River: Tackle Box said the river is low and the clarity is normal. Crappie fishing is good in 12 to 20 feet of water along bridge pilings and pillars in the main river. The best lures have been jigs and tight-lined minnows fished on the bottom. Largemouth bass are biting well on crankbaits fished around the points.

EAST ARKANSAS:

Arkansas River (Pine Bluff): The Tackle Box said the water is low and clear. Bream are biting fair on worms. Crappie fishing is decent in the harbor on red minnows. All other species are slow.

Bear Creek Lake: Arkansas Outdoors said the lake is low and the cold weather has kept the anglers indoors. Only one boat was out fishing last week.

Horseshoe Lake: Local fisherman Clyde Gregory said the lake is low. Bream fishing is good in 3 to 4 feet of water, even with the cold weather. Worms fished around the piers are taking some good sunfish. Crappie anglers are doing well around the shallow piers and lily pads on red-and-chartreuse jigs and trolling in the middle around 15 feet deep with small crankbaits. Bass fishing is poor, but a few diehards are catching some fish around the cypress trees in 3 feet of water.

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