Weekly Fishing Report

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 Feb. 22, 2006. 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: Whether you fish for crappie, white bass, walleye or bream, a speck rig can make your trip much more successful. To make a speck rig, tie a marabou jig or tube jig on your line, leaving a tag end to the knot that’s about a foot long. Then tie another jig of a different color to the end of the tag end. Running the jigs in tandem like this doubles your chances for a strike and lets you experiment with colors and sizes until you find the right combination.

 
Statewide Urban Fishing Report: Pond anglers have been catching trout this week using chartreuse PowerBait, 2-inch white twister-tailed grubs on a small jighead, and 2-inch, gold-bellied Rapala crankbaits. Fish have been extremely aggressive all day long with the overcast skies and low light. Anglers at Rock Creek reported good success with pink Power Eggs, Rooster Tails and Rapalas. The water remains low and clear despite the snow and ice. Fly anglers are catching many fish on egg patterns and woolly buggers.

For the latest urban trout stocking information, call toll-free 1-866-540-FISH (3474).
 
CENTRAL ARKANSAS:
        Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said the lake is low and murky. Crappie are biting well in the shallower coves. A few anglers are reporting some success on orange pumpkin and chartreuse jigs. Bass fishing is beginning to pick up. Catfishing is good on yo-yos baited with minnows at night.

        Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said crappie were biting fairly well on minnows fished in 4 feet of water around Palarm Creek.

 
Little Red River: Lindsey's Resort said there has been very little generation lately. Trout are biting well on wax worms and marshmallows, corn and Power Eggs. Marabou jigs, Little Cleos and Rooster Tails have been some good artificials to try lately as well.

 
Greers Ferry: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 452.13 feet MSL.
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the water temperature has fallen with the recent weather. Bass fishing will be good after things settle down from the cold fronts. With the warm rain, fish will move up to the runoffs and can be caught with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, grubs and tubes. Some largemouth and Kentucky bass were being caught even after the cold front on spoons, grubs and Carolina-rigged lizards fished anywhere from 40 to 80 feet deep. Smallmouths are slow, but a few are being taken around the creek bends on Rat-L-Traps, jigs and grubs. Crappie are trying to move up with the longer days, but the cold keeps pushing them back. White bass and hybrids have moved up the river again, and have gone farther than the last time. They are biting well if you can stay away from all the boats. It seems like they are particularly finicky about any commotion on the surface, so please try to give other anglers some distance if you see they have marker buoys thrown out.  The warm rain should also get the walleye fired back up. So far the bite has been nonexistent, but the extra oxygen, food and reduced water clarity from the runoff should change things almost overnight.

 
  Harris Brake Lake: Coffee Creek Landing said no one has been out since the storm, but before the cold weather the fishing was pretty good. Crappie were biting well on minnows and jigs fished around stumps in the coves. Bass were biting well on spinnerbaits and soft-plastic lures fished around 6 feet of water.

 
Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said the lake has fallen a little, but the clarity is good. Bream are biting well on red worms. Crappie are biting well on pink minnows, black-and-yellow crappie stingers or white tube jigs. All other species are slow.

 
        Peckerwood Lake: Herman’s Landing said the lake is dingy and the weather has really hampered fishing. Before the storm, windy conditions forced anglers off the lake, and the cold weather since has kept them away.

 
Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the river is running at normal levels. Bream are biting fair around the banks on panfish worms fished 2 to 3 feet deep. Crappie are biting well on minnows and tube jigs fished around any cover near the banks. Bass fishing is good on minnows and spinnerbaits fished tightly to structure.

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said crappie were biting fair on yoyos baited with minnows in 3 feet of water.
 
Lake Maumelle: Jolly Roger’s Marina said the lake level is 5.9 feet below the spillway. The launch ramps have been extended by 12 feet and getting into and out of the water is easy. Black bass are in a spring pattern, shallow and biting well on spinnerbaits, topwaters and shallow-running crankbaits. The cold weather has probably moved them deeper into the channels and off sharp points, with drop-shot rigs and tubes being the best bets for the largemouth. Kentuckies are holding in 15 to 20 feet of water and are biting the usual 3-inch pumpkin grubs, tubes and worms. White bass are fair. Many good reports have come from around the chimney. The whites are getting ready for their spring run that will begin in the next week or two. Crappie are biting well in about 25 to 30 feet of water on 1/32-ounce jigs and crappie minnows. Catfishing is fair around the channel in around 20 feet of water. Try using a slip-sinker rig baited with chicken livers or large Canadian nightcrawlers.

 Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said crappie are biting fairly well on minnows fished 15 to 18 feet deep around the west end of the lake, near the Chimney.

 
Arkansas River: Charley’s Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said the flow at Lock 9 is 3,000 cubic feet per second with a headwater of 285.44. Catfishing has been hit or miss around the jetties using nightcrawlers. Crappie have moved up into the creeks and are holding tight to wood structure in 4 to 10 feet of water. White bass have been biting fairly well on shallow-diving crankbaits fished around the drop to the main river channel. Stripers have been biting well below the dam on bucktail jigs, spoons and live shad. Kentucky bass are in 6 to 12 feet of water and are biting well on grubs and jigs fished around rocks on the outside bends of the river.

 
Arkansas River (Little Rock area): Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said crappie were biting well before the cold weather. They were biting minnows fished under slip corks in 21/2 to 3 feet of water. Stripers and white bass are biting well on white and chartreuse twister-tailed grubs on ¼-ounce jigheads. Catfish are fair on cut bait.

 
Lake Valencia: Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said the stocked rainbows are being caught on PowerBait and nightcrawlers fished just off the bottom. Channel cats have also been biting fairly well on chicken livers and nightcrawlers.

       
Sunset Lake: Turbyfill’s said fishing has been extremely slow for all species the last week or so.
 
        Saline River Access in Benton: Turbyfill’s said smallmouth, Kentucky bass and largemouths have all been caught in the river lately on brown jigs and crayfish-colored crankbaits around 7 to 8 feet deep. Walleye have been biting fairly well on live minnows and nightcrawlers fished 7 to 8 feet deep in the deeper holes of the river.

 
Terry Lock and Dam: McSwain Sports Center said the fishing has been non-existent with the cold weather. No anglers have even been in the store to give a report.

 
Clear Lake: McSwain Sports Center said the fishing has been non-existent with the cold weather. No anglers have even been in the store to give a report.

 
 
NORTH ARKANSAS:
 
White River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said there has been very little generation below Bull Shoals Dam lately, providing plenty of wade fishing on the upper river from late morning 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.

Wilderness Trail said Fishing for trout on the White River has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow and pink.   With generation the Buoyant Spoons, Little Cleos, Blue Fox, and Rooster Tails are the bait of choice.  The fly fishermen have done well with very little generation on olive Woolly Bugger, scuds and sow bugs.  The Brown trout are being caught on Flat Fish, Jointed Rapalas, nightcrawlers and sculpins.  

 
         North Fork River: McLellan’s Fly Shop said generation has been a little sporadic lately, but when they have turned on the generators, they haven’t stayed on for very long.  The wade fishing has been very good lately, and fishing high water from a boat has been productive as well.  Scuds, sow bugs, midges, and eggs in low water, and eggs, San Juan Worms, and big streamers like the Articulated Zoo Cougar in high water have been producing plenty of hook-ups.

Norfork Trout Dock said the river is clear and the generators are only running in the mornings lately. Rainbow trout have been biting well on PowerBait, corn, nightcrawlers, Little Cleos and Countdown Rapalas. Many Browns have been pulled from the river on Countdowns and Cleos as well.

 
Bull Shoals Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 644.59 feet MSL.
Wilderness Trail said the winter weather has everything taking a step backward for a week. Up to 6 inches of snow fell around the lake, so many people decided to stay indoors until the thaw.  Largemouth bass can be found in the back of the creeks in the upper lake areas above Lead Hill in 6 to 10 feet of water.  Rogues and small crankbaits are the key baits. Largemouth are hard to find through the rest of the lake, but a few are along the bluff walls with pole trees on them. Brown jigs and green pumpkin Baby Brush Hogs are the best baits to try for these fish. Smallmouth have been spotty. Last week they were on the bluffs and in channel swings where there was a transition area. An angler can try casting Wiggle Warts all day around points and maybe catch one or two, but the bluffs and transition areas fished with Spider Jigs and tubes is producing more fish and better quality. Kentucky bass are on the bluffs ends with schools of shad. Spooning is working on the schooling Kentuckies and brown jigs or black hair jigs are working along the bluffs around the trees.  Walleye are active in the upper lake on points and chunk rock banks striking suspending rogues and Lucky Craft 78 DDs.  Whether the drop in lake temperature will pull them back out to deeper water or not remains to be seen. Walleye around the rest of the lake seem to be in the 46- to 50-foot range. Vertical spooning is the best technique on the deeper walleye.  Also try a shiner down deep.

Sugar Loaf Harbor said crappie were biting fairly well from 30 to 35 feet deep on minnows and jigs before the cold snap. Walleye have started their move up the creeks, and can be found in around 6 to 8 feet of water at night.

 
Lake Norfork: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 539.74 feet MSL.
Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the lake is about 141/2 feet low. Before the weather, bass fishing was very good anywhere from 8 to 50 feet deep, with some bass already beginning to stage for the spawn. The severe cold snap shut everything down, but the fishing should recover by the weekend.

 
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
Beaver Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 1,105.42 feet MSL.
Southtown Sporting Goods said the lake is low and clear. Crappie are biting well in 5 to 10 feet of water on minnows and jigs fished in contact with brush piles. The bass are suspended around points and are biting fairly well on jerkbaits and spoons fished at their level. A few stripers have been taken slowly trolling balloon rigs baited with live shad in the creek channels.

 
Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the lake is clear and at normal level. Bream are fair on worms and crickets. Crappie fishing was fair before the cold weather, with most of the fish coming from 4 to 8 feet of water on jigs and minnows fished around weeds, stumps and brush. Bass fishing was good in 4 to 15 feet of water on soft-plastic crawdad imitations fished along rocky points. Catfishing was good on worms and chicken livers fished in the open water of the main channel. Access to the lake is extremely difficult with the ice and snow.

 
Beaver Tailwater: McLellan’s Fly Shop said there has been very little generation over the past few days, providing plenty of wade-fishing opportunities.  Of course, scuds and sow bugs as well as midge pupa patterns have been very productive; however, cream midge adult patterns have hooked several trout over the past week.

 
SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
Millwood Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 259.46 feet MSL.
Millwood Lake Guide Service said the water temperature is 45 to 52 degrees with a discharge of 391 cubic feet per second at the dam and a slow current in Little River. Largemouth have been holding in the deeper water because of the colder weather. They are biting fairly well on medium- and deep-diving wide-wobble crankbaits, Carolina rigged lizards and ¾-ounce Rat-L-Traps in red or white. Jigs fished along the stumps next to the river are producing well, with pumpkinseed/chartreuse and black/blue/purple colors being the best. The oxbows along Little River are several degrees warmer than the main lake or river channel and bass are slightly more aggressive in those areas. Keeper size largemouths are hitting slow moving Rat-L-Traps, heavy spinnerbaits, and trick worms or Bass Assassin Shads dead-sticked around vegetation and stumps in 9 to 12 feet of water. Kentucky bass are biting fairly well along the river on small Rocket Shads, H&H spinners, and tail spinners. The crappie bite has improved within the last week, but the fish are still pushed back out to deeper haunts along the river. The best depths are 17-18 feet. The best bite has shifted from mornings, to mid-day on white or pink jigs and shiners. Blue Cats are biting well on chicken livers, cottonseed mill cakes and cut shad on trotlines in 9-12 feet.

 
        White Oak Lake: Charlie’s One Stop said the water is low and clear. Bream and crappie fishing are both extremely good on worms and jigs fished around brush piles in 4 to 15 feet of water. The best bite has come on red wigglers. All other species are slow.

 
Lake Greeson: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 537.87 feet MSL.
Lakeside Grocery, Motel/Bait Shop said there hasn’t been much activity on the lake with the extreme cold.
 
DeGray Lake: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 397.49 feet MSL.
DeGray One Stop said the lake is still low and is murky at the northern end. The water temperature is around 48 degrees. Bream are still out in 25 feet of water and are very tight-lipped. Crappie fishing is fair to good in 18 to 25 feet of water on jigs tipped with minnows. Catfishing is decent using live bait in the shallows at night. Black bass are holding in creek turns and on the deeper points off the main river channel. Hybrids and white bass are staging around Point Cedar and Shouse Ford.

 
 
WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS
 
Lake Dardanelle: Early Bird Outfitters said the cold has shut the fishing down lately. White bass and stripers are holding around the discharge at Nuclear One. The best bets are small crankbaits and spoons for the whites.

Moss Point said the lake is clear. Bream are biting fairly well in 25 feet of water on worms fished around the bases on stumps and brush piles. Crappie are holding in 25 feet of water as well, but are biting the best on minnows and crappie jigs fished just over the brush tops. Bass are biting fair in 15 to 22 feet of water on soft-plastics and swimming jigs fished around brush and rocky points. Catfishing has been good on live shad and cut shad.

 
Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said white bass are running upriver, and should be in their spawning runs soon. All other fishing has come to a standstill.

 
Lake Ouachita: As of Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 569.17 feet MSL.
Moss Point said the lake is a little murkier than usual. Bass are biting fair on Yum Dingers, swimming jigs, buzzbaits and finesse worms in vegetation around 15 to 25 feet deep.

Lake Ouachita State Park Marina said fishing is good. The water is tainted in the bays with a surface temperature of 46 to 49 degrees. The lake is still rising. Anglers have reported decent catches of crappie around the hydrilla lines and drop-offs on Kalin’s jigs in Tennessee Shad John Deer colors. Stripers have been caught in the mornings and afternoons on top-water lures such as the Spook Jr., CC spoons and trolled crankbaits. Brood minnows have worked on stripers as well.  C-10 Redfins have been successful on breaking fish. Bass fishing has been fair on finesse worms and spinnerbaits.  A surprising number of largemouth bass are being pulled out of the shallows near structure. Bream fishing is slow and there have been no reports of catfish success. 

 
Lake Catherine: Trader Bill’s Sport Shop said walleye have moved below the dam and should begin their spawn as soon as the water temperature increases back to the 50s. Crappie are biting fairly well in 10 to 12 feet of water on minnows and Roadrunner jigs. Bass are fair on jig-and-pig combos fished along rocky ledges in 12 feet of water.

Shane Goodner of Catch ‘em Guide Service said that despite the weather, rainbow trout fishing at Carpenter Dam is still red hot. The cold weather increased the amount of injured shad coming through the generators, making the trout go on a feeding binge. The temperature has dropped from 50 to 45 degrees; so don’t forget your neoprene waders. Fly anglers have done the best on woolly buggers, egg patterns and San Juan worms. Spin fishermen are doing well on white and black 1/8-ounce Rooster Tails and small crankbaits. Trolling crankbaits in the channels is catching good numbers of trout and the early male walleye that have moved into the area. The water level is slowly rising, refilling the lake, but caution should still be used when navigating the lake.

 
Lake Hamilton: Trader Bill’s Sport Shop said the cold weather dropped the surface water temperature into the upper 40s last weekend. Before the front, crappie were biting well in 10 to 12 feet of water on jigs and minnows. Bass were decent on jig-and-pig combos fished around 12 feet of water. Walleye have begun their move up to the dam and should be back to their spawning activities by the weekend.

 
        Lake Hinkle: Bill's Bait Shop said the lake is clear and empty. The cold kept many anglers away from the lake, and those that did go fishing didn’t report any success. A few crappie were caught on minnows right before the front, but that has come to a stop.

 
        Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing said the lake is a little low and the clarity is normal. Redear sunfish are biting well on red wigglers fished just off the bottom in 6 feet of water. Crappie are biting fairly well on jigs fished around brush piles in 6 to 10 feet of water. Catfishing is excellent on whole dead shad fished right on the bottom.

 
        Arkansas River: Moss Point said the catfish have been biting well on cut, live shad fished right outside of the main river channel. 

 
 
EAST ARKANSAS: 
 
Arkansas River (Pine Bluff): The Tackle Box said that before the cold snap, crappie fishing was excellent. Many fish were caught on minnows fished right against the banks, in as little as one foot of water.

 
Maddox Bay: Maddox Bay Landing said the water is low and stained. Crappie are biting fairly well in 11/2 to 2 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Bass fishing has been good on crankbaits and tubes in 2 to 4 feet of water. All other species are slow.

 
        Bear Creek Lake: Arkansas Outdoors said crappie were biting well in 20 feet of water on minnows and jigs before the weather.

Horseshoe Lake: Local fisherman Clyde Gregory said the lake is clear and low. Bream are biting well, with the best action coming on wax worms. Crappie were biting well before the weekend’s weather on black-and-chartreuse jigs fished close to the piers. Bass fishing has been good on soft plastics pitched close to stumps. Catfishing is good on chicken livers and worms.

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