Fishing Tip: Although many anglers shy away from high-visibility lines, they can be an excellent aid to detecting light strikes and keeping track of where your lure is. High-visibility lines rarely have any impact on fishing success in stained or muddy water or in areas with current. If you are fishing clear water and are afraid the bright color may affect your fishing success, tie a 3-foot leader of fluorocarbon between your line and the lure. This way, you can still benefit from the high-visibility line without spooking fish.

Statewide Urban Trout Fishing Report: There are plenty of freshly stocked trout in urban ponds across the state. Fishing is good and catch rates have remained high. PowerBait, corn, and marshmallows are taking many fish. Several anglers have been successful using small crappie minnows. Spinners are working very well in ponds where the water is off-color.

In the last two weeks, Rock Creek has been stocked with nearly 2,000 trout, so the fishing has been very good. Rain and higher flows in the creek have spread the trout out considerably. Anglers willing to look upstream and downstream of the traditional stocking sites should find good success and low pressured fish. Drifting chartreuse or pink PowerBait and worms has been very productive in faster moving waters. Look for areas with slower moving or deeper water near the faster water where trout can easily feed. Fly anglers continue to have success with woolly buggers, small nymphs and egg patterns.

For the latest urban trout stocking information, call toll-free 1-866-540-FISH (3474). The following urban destinations are now 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) and Rock Creek, 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.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS:

Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said the lake is low and the water is stained. Bream are biting fairly well on crickets and red worms fished around stumps and brush piles right next to the banks. Crappie fishing is good around Gold Creek on minnows and jigs in white-and-chartreuse, salt-n-pepper, and pink-and-white. Catfishing has been fair on stink bait and chicken livers.

Little Red River: Lindsey's Resort said the river is running clear and the generators are only running for short periods of time. The fishing has been good, especially considering the cold weather that moved in over the weekend. Wax worms and chartreuse PowerBait worked well on the trout, as did the usual sow bug and egg patterned flies. The brown trout are still spawning, so the egg bite is still at its best.

Greers Ferry: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 451.09 feet MSL.

Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said the lake is still low, but has risen a little. Bream are biting fair on worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is good on white stinger jigs and curlytails fished around the dock. Bass fishing has been slow, but a few large fish have been taken right off the pier.

Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the river is at normal level and clarity. Bream are biting fairly well in 2 to 3 feet of water on all kinds of worms. Crappie fishing is fair in 14 to 18 feet of water on a jig-and-minnow combination. Catfishing has been good lately.

Lake Maumelle: Jolly Roger's Marina said largemouth and Kentucky bass have been fair in 15 to 20 feet of water. The largemouths are biting well on drop-shotted soft plastics and spoons, while the Kentuckies are going for the usual pumpkin-colored grubs and tube lures. White bass are slow right now, but you can find a few in the main channels of the creeks and river in 15 to 20 feet of water. Crappie fishing is excellent in 15 to 20 feet of water on small 1/32-ounce jigs and pink crappie minnows. Catfishing is slow, but a few have been caught on Canadian nightcrawlers and chicken livers fished around 20 feet deep in the main channel.

Arkansas River: Charley's Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said the flow from Lock 9 is 900 cubic feet per second with a headwater of 284.50 and a tailwater of 263.80. Stripers are biting fairly well below the lock on silver wobble spoons like the Johnson Silver Minnow. Catfishing is fair along the edges of deep holes in the channel. A shad/nightcrawler combination has been working the best. Kentucky bass are biting well on the rocks in the late afternoon. Look for the bass in 4 to 8 feet of water. Largemouths are holding on the rock edges and biting well on camo-colored worms and tubes. Crappie are in the creeks like Point Remove and Copper's Gap. The fishing is slow, but a few crappie have been caught. White bass are fair in Flagg Lake on broken-back minnow-style crankbaits.

Sunset Lake: Turbyfill's said the lake is at normal levels and the water clarity is decent. Crappie fishing is fair in 4 to 6 feet of water on shad tube jigs. Bass fishing is fair on Norman crankbaits in 6 to 8 feet of water. All other species have been slow.

Saline River Access in Benton: Turbyfill's said the river is running at normal levels and the water clarity is good. Crappie are biting fair in 6 feet of water on shad-colored tube jigs. Bass are biting well on Rebel and Rapala crankbaits in 4 to 6 feet of water. Crayfish-colored cranks are working the best. Bream fishing has been slow.

Terry Lock and Dam: McSwain Sports Center said the water is clear and at normal levels. Crappie fishing has been good on bright-colored jigs fished on the bottom around any structure. All other species have been slow.

Clear Lake: McSwain Sports Center said the lake is muddy and low. Fishing for all species has been slow lately.

NORTH ARKANSAS:

Lake Norfork: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 538.68 feet MSL.

Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is very low and the water is clear. Crappie have been very shallow lately and are relating to brush piles and other woody structure. The best lures have been minnows and jigs tight lined right in the thickest cover you can find. Bass fishing is good with many bass suspending off the bluff walls. Now's the perfect time to try the float-and-fly on these suspended bass.

Beaver Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 1,105.5 feet MSL.

Southtown Sporting Goods said the lake is low and clear. Crappie fishing has been good on jigs and minnows in 5 to 15 feet of water up the river arms. Bass are biting well on chartreuse or shad-colored jerkbaits and crankbaits. Catfish are fair on cut shad. Stripers have been biting well from Perry Creek to Eden Bluff on umbrella rigs baited with curlytail grubs and live shad suspended under a balloon.

Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said they are open again and ready for the anglers to start heading to the lake. Crappie fishing has been fair on crappie tubes in 4 to 10 feet of water around treetops and brush piles. Bass are in the same depth range, but are using larger logs for cover. Bass anglers are doing the best on spinnerbaits and soft plastics. Catfishing is fair on worms and chicken livers in 10 feet of water out in the open.

Millwood Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 259.05 feet MSL.

Lake Erling: Steve's Marine said the water is clear and low. Crappie are biting well from Blackwell Landing down to Cannons Landing over the creek channels. Crappie jigs in white-and-silver, orange-and-white and brown-and-orange are working the best. Bass are biting fair in 4 to 10 feet of water on spinnerbaits. Catfishing is good on stinkbait and live shiners.

White Oak Lake: Charlie's One Stop said the lake has been drained to work on the levees and the water level is extremely low. Bass and crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs wherever you can find a deep hole. Bream are biting well on worms in lower White Oak Lake.

Lake Greeson: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 535.06 feet MSL.

Lakeside Grocery, Motel/Bait Shop said the lake is still extremely low. Bass are biting fairly well on jigs and Carolina-rigged centipedes fished on ledges dropping from 4 to 20 feet of water. All other species have been slow.

DeGray Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 395.2 feet MSL.

Point Cedar Bait Shop said the lake is still very low. Not many people are going fishing lately with the weather, but a few have caught some crappie on the outside edge of the weed line.

Iron Mountain Lodge said hybrids have made their run up the lake. The latest reports on hybrids have come from the Lennox Marcus and Point Cedar areas. In many places, they are starting to school with the white bass. They are biting on spoons, Shad Raps, and gray hair jigs. Some have reported good catches vertical jigging spoons in 25-40 feet of water near bends of creek and river channels. Bream are fair on worms and PowerBait off points and shallow humps in 20-25 feet of water. Crappie biting well on minnows and tube jigs in 21-28 feet of water; focus on 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 feet 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 biting well. Many of the bass, especially Kentuckies, are gathering up into large schools. If you find one, there will be more. Most bass are deep. Some are still being caught on the outside edge of the grass from 18-27 feet of water. Others are positioning themselves in the bends and turns of channels. Black-and-blue jigs and jighead worms have been successful in the grass. Deep-diving crankbaits have also been good. Fish in the edges of channels are biting on spoons and hair jigs.

WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Lake Dardanelle: Early Bird Outfitters said the lake is a little low and the clarity is about normal. Bream fishing has been slow lately. Crappie are biting well in 2 to 5 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Bass are biting well in 4 to 6 feet of water. The best tactic for the bass has been a suspending jerkbait or a Rat-L-Trap burned over the top of brush and other cover. Catfishing has been fair with live shad or live bream.

Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said the water is clear with very little current. When the water is running, anglers are having some success below the dam. Crappie are biting well above the dam on minnows and jigs. Black bass have been biting well on jig-and-pork combos while the white bass have mainly gone for a jig-and-minnow combination. Catfishing has been good below the dam on cut shad and nightcrawlers drifted along current seams.

Lake Ouachita: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 567.39 feet MSL.

Mountain Harbor Resort said the surface water temperature is ranging between 44 and 50 degrees during the day. Largemouth bass are biting well on Rooster Tails, hair jigs and Flukes around wind-blown pockets. Burning a red Rat-L-Trap over the grass in shallower water is also producing some nice fish. Walleye fishing is fair with some good fish being caught on jigging spoons and a jig-and-minnow combination in 18 to 30 feet of water around brush piles and humps. The stripers are holding around main lake points and rock bluffs near the river channel in all sections of the lake. Live bait, bucktails and C-10 Redfins are the best bets. Crappie are in the moss flats and brush piles topping out at 10 feet deep and dropping to 25 feet. 2-inch grubs and minnows are working well on the crappie.

Lake Catherine: Trader Bill's Sport Shop said the lake has risen one foot since last week. Crappie fishing has been decent in 10 to 12 feet of water on a jig-and-minnow combination. Largemouth bass were fair on crankbaits and jigs fished in 12 to 15 feet of water.

Lake Hamilton: Trader Bill's Sport Shop said the lake has risen about a foot since last week. Crappie fishing is good on minnows and jigs around the brush piles in 10 to 12 feet of water. Largemouth bass are biting well in 12 to 15 feet of water on crankbaits and jigs. White bass are schooling up and biting well on spoons fished in the creek channels near the main river.

Lake Hinkle: Bill's Bait Shop said the lake is in good shape with boats getting in and out of the water with no trouble. Crappie fishing has been good on minnows fished in 10 to 12 feet of water underneath a slip cork. Bass are biting well on crankbaits and a few are being picked up on the minnows of crappie anglers. Catfish and bream are both poor.

Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing said the lake is low and the water clarity is normal. Bream are biting fairly well on worms fished in brush piles around the banks. Crappie are excellent on red-and-chartreuse jigs fished in 3 feet of water underneath a cork and worked back to the boat in slow twitches. Bass are biting fair on jig-and-pork combos in the brush. Catfish are excellent in the coves on nightcrawlers fished on a slip-sinker rig.

Lake Nimrod: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake's elevation at 341.53 feet MSL.

SOUTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Felsenthal: Hale's One Stop said crappie fishing has been good for the last few weeks.

EAST ARKANSAS:

Arkansas River (Pine Bluff): River City Sporting Goods said crappie fishing is good in the area lakes and the harbor on minnows and jigs. Bass are biting fairly well on Shad Raps and jigs fished around the harbor. Catfishing in the main channel of the river has picked up with the successful anglers mainly using cut bait.

The river is low and clear. Bream are out in deep water, but a few have been caught on worms fished on or near the bottom. Crappie are biting well on all area lakes and pits on black-and-chartreuse jigs and minnows. Catfishing has been slow, but cut shad are bringing in a few cats on the sand bars.

Maddox Bay: Maddox Bay Landing said the lake is low and clear. Crappie are in 2 1/2 to 4 feet of water and are biting well on minnows and jigs fished in the tops of fallen trees and brush piles. All other species are slow.

Bear Creek Lake: Arkansas Outdoors said the anglers just haven't been fishing lately. The weather has kept many boats off the lake.

Six River Sport Center said the lake is low and the water is clear. The only success anglers have had is trolling minnows for crappie in 14 feet of water.

Horseshoe Lake: Local fisherman Clyde Gregory said the lake is low but the water is clear. The bad weather has kept many people off the lake. Bream are biting fair on worms around the piers. Crappie are also hanging near the piers and are biting well on black-and-chartreuse or red-and-chartreuse jigs. All other species are slow and no one is fishing for them.