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 Dec. 6, 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: When it comes to winter fishing, not many lures outshine the spoon. Fishing spoons right often means snagging on rocks and timber at the bottom. When you first get snagged, don’t pull hard on the line. Give the line some slack and give it a sharp tug. The weight of the spoon can rattle the hook loose if the barb isn’t completely buried.  

Arkansas River Levels: According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as of Monday the Arkansas River stages are:
6.48 feet at Dardanelle (flood stage – 32 feet)
10.40 feet at Morrilton (flood stage – 30 feet)
7.43 at Little Rock (flood stage – 23 feet)
31.22 at Pine Bluff (flood stage – 42 feet)
26.36 at Pendleton (flood stage – 31 feet)

White River Levels: According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as of Monday the White River stages are:

17.37 feet at Georgetown (flood stage – 21 feet)
30.95 feet at Augusta (flood stage – 26 feet)
19.80 feet at Newport (flood stage – 26 feet)
9.45 feet at Batesville (flood stage – 15 feet)
6.50 feet at Calico Rock (flood stage – 19 feet)

Statewide Family and Community Fishing Program Report: Trout are being stocked weekly around Family and Community Fishing Program ponds and the fishing is great. Fish are biting artificial baits such as Roostertails, Beetle Spins, and spoons in white or silver. Berkley PowerBait and nightcrawlers are also working well on hybrids and trout.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS:

Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said the water is still very low and murky, but has risen slightly from the recent rains. Crappie are biting well on silver minnows and orange/chartreuse jigs. Bass are biting well on chartreuse spinnerbaits and other artificials.
Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said crappie are biting well on pink minnows fished near the main channel.
 
Little Red River: Lindsey's Resort said the water is clear. Generators are running for about an hour in the mornings. The low water is making for some excellent fly-fishing with red brassies, egg patterns and sow bugs. Bait fishing is best with wax worms and marshmallows, chartreuse PowerBait and nightcrawlers.
Mark Owner at The Little Red Fly Shop in Heber Springs said the brown trout spawn has begun. Cool weather has kept hydroelectric generation to a minimum. There had been very little power needed for air conditioning or heating. The primary flies that are working are: Tan bead head sow bugs (no. 14), red or black zebra midges (no. 16), red butt emergers (no. 16-18), copper johns (no. 16), pheasant tails and prince nymphs (no. 16), olive woolly buggers (no. 10-12) and egg patterns (no. 8 to 14) At this time of year, you may see large male brown trout doing aerial leaps and displays. This is part of the spawning ritual and should not be confused with surface feeding. Look for flashes of light reflecting off the female brown trout's sides as she makes her redd (areas of the stream bottom cleared of debris by the mama brown trout prior to laying her eggs).

Greers Ferry: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 460.86 feet MSL.
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the water temperature ranges in the mid- to low 50s and should drop even more with the approaching front. Walleye fishing improved. They are starting their early pre-staging efforts around bridge pilings and the main mouths of major creeks. Troll deep-diving Spoonbill Rebels and Wally Divers with line weights to get down to the fish in about 50 feet of water. Bass are still scattered but are starting to group up in schools. They can be caught with spinnerbaits, jigs and crankbaits shallow. There is always a jigging spoon bite and Carolina-rig bite lately. Crappie are suspended in pole timber about 20 feet deep in 40 feet of water near creek bends. Bream are biting decently around 40 feet deep. The hybrid and white bass action is getting better now that the water has settled. Some can be caught on jigging spoons and in-line spinners near the rock piles in the ditches of Cove Creek and the ditches in Salt Creek.

Harris Brake Lake: Coffee Creek Landing said the water is at normal levels and has medium clarity. Crappie fishing is fair on minnows. Catfishing is fair on minnows.
 
Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said the water is clear and at normal pool. Bream are fair on crickets and worms. Crappie are biting well on black/chartreuse jigs, yellow/black Rock Hoppers and white Crappie Stingers.

Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the water is low and at normal clarity. Bream are fair on worms fished in 3 feet of water near the bank. Crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs fished in 3 feet of water. Catfishing is fair on live and prepared baits. Bass are poor.

Lake Maumelle: Jolly Roger’s Marina said largemouth bass and Kentucky bass are in about 6 feet of water near the channels and are hitting almost anything – crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft-plastics are all working well. Crappie are biting well in 15 to 20 feet of water on red/white jigs and pink minnows. Catfishing is good on large minnows and prepared baits fished on slip-sinker rigs in about 20 feet of water. White bass fishing is slow. The white bass are in the coves and are moving west.
Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said Stripers are biting well on chartreuse split-tail trailers. Black bass are biting well on main-lake points.

Arkansas River: Charley’s Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said flow from Lock Nine is 298 cubic feet per second with a headwater of 286.6 and a tailwater of 267.0. High water has kept most anglers off the river. Catfish have moved to deep holes with the cooler water temperatures. Try fishing a nightcrawler and shad combination on a slip sinker for the best results. Stripers are biting well on 1- to 2-ounce spoons below the dams and at river mouths. Some sauger are being caught around jetty tips on chartreuse jigs tipped with a minnow. White bass and Kentucky bass are in the backwaters around schools of shad. Firetiger-colored crankbaits are working the best on the Kentuckies.  
 
Arkansas River (Little Rock area): Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop said stripers are biting very well below the dam on chartreuse split-tail trailers. Crappie are biting well on pink minnows. Catfishing is slow, but a few have been caught on live or prepared baits below the dam. 

Sunset Lake: Turbyfill’s Outdoor Sports said the water is clear and at normal levels. Crappie are biting well on red/chartreuse jigs fished around brush in 20 feet of water. Bass are biting well on green pumpkin finesse worms fished in brush 15 feet deep. All other species are slow.

Saline River Access in Benton: Turbyfill’s said the water is high and stained. Crappie are biting well on yellow Roadrunners in brush piles from 6 to 7 feet deep. Bass are biting well on green crankbaits and brown/orange jig-and-pig combos. Walleye are biting on live bait. Catfishing is poor.
 

NORTH ARKANSAS:

White River: Wilderness Trail said trout fishing has been good on Berkley Power Eggs in yellow, Sunrise, and pink along with artificial or live wax worms. During generation, Buoyant Spoons, Blue Fox spinners, Rooster Tails and Little Cleos are the baits of choice. Fly-fishermen have done well with little generation on olive woolly buggers, zebra midges, scuds or sow bugs. Brown trout downriver from the catch-and-release areas are being caught on Rapala Countdowns, jointed Rapalas and nightcrawlers.  

Bull Shoals Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 653.06 feet MSL.
Wilderness Trail said with the recent rains, the lake has risen more than 4 feet and the creeks have some color to them. Lake temperature has dropped to 53 to 54 degrees throughout the lake. Check brush piles, deep docks with brush and watersheds for crappie.  They should be tucked in tight or on the bottom.  Forget artificial baits for a while and fish with live crappie minnows until the weather stabilizes. Check the backs of creeks with spinnerbaits and crankbaits to see if the largemouth or Kentuckies have moved back.  If there are some bass in the backs then stay with that pattern, if not move from the back of the creeks out to 50 to 55 feet of water and graph that area for balls of shad. Spoons and drop-shot rigs will trigger both largemouth and Kentuckies around the shad. If neither of these patterns draw a strike, move to the bluff walls and fish tubes, spider jigs or hair jigs through the trees and down the bluffs. Smallmouth love cool water and should be up on the points and along large rock banks searching for crayfish. If the wind is up, fish Wiggle Warts or Bandit crankbaits or slow roll a spinnerbait with gold and silver blades. If all else fails, move out to 35 to 45 feet of water and drag a football jig or a Carolina rig with a brush hog or lizard around main lake points. Walleye were in 40 to 45 feet of water and probably still are. Do some graphing outside of feeding flats, points and along channel swings in 40 to 48 feet of water, you should find them close to the bottom. Spoons and Lindy Max Gap jigs with Munchies grubs will be your best bait selection until the weather stabilizes. Long liners will have to pull deep-running lures such as 30+ Tail Dancers, Reef Runners or Bill Norman DD22s and hope they can trigger a reaction bite.   
Sugarloaf Harbor said the water is murky and at normal levels. Cold weather has kept most anglers off the water.

 Lake Norfork: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 556.48 feet MSL.
Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said the water on the main lake is clear, but the rains have muddied up the creeks. Crappie are biting fairly well on a jig-and-minnow combination. Bass are biting well on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Stripers are excellent on spoons worked close to main river channels.

Norfork Tailwater: Gene’s Trout Dock said the water is murky and two generators are running most days. Rainbow trout are biting fairly well on PowerBait and corn. Brown trout are biting well on chartreuse PowerBait and corn.


NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
Beaver Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 1,118.21 feet MSL.
Southtown Sporting Goods said the water is low, but has come up with the rains. The river arms are still muddy from runoff. Crappie are biting well on minnows and Shinneee Hinneee jigs in brush piles from 8 to 14 feet of water. Bass are fair on drop-shot rigs and CC spoons fished deep. Stripers are biting very well on Roadrunners and whole shad fished 20 feet deep.

Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the water is high and clearing. Bream are fair on crickets. Crappie are biting well on minnows. Bass are fair on crankbaits and Carolina-rigged lizards. Catfishing is good on chicken livers.

 Beaver Tailwater: McLellan’s Fly Shop said there has been very little generation during the last 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. Fall and winter are also great times to fish egg patterns as the brown trout make their annual spawning run.  However, for the health of the fishery, be sure to avoid actively spawning fish and their spawning redds (clean oval depressions in the gravel).


NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
  
Crown Lake: Boxhound Marina said the water is clear and at normal levels for this time of year. Crappie are biting well on minnows fished 20 to 30 feet deep. Bass are biting well on jig-and-pig combos fished around main-lake points and ledges 20 to 30 feet deep.


SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS

Lake Chicot: Koenig Bass Tracker Marine said the water is clear and at normal levels. The cold weather has kept most anglers off the lake.
A few crappies were being caught before the cold front. Most anglers are having luck at the spillway of Connerly and Ditch Bayou. Also, catfish are biting very well on cut shad during the day.
 
Grand Lake:  Fishing success has been low with few reports.
 
Lake Wallace: Anglers are catching quite a few crappie. The fish are suspended, but once you find them, they are biting well on small jigs. Try a using a slip-float to put the jig right in their face.
 
Cane Creek Lake: Cane Creek State Park said the water is still low, but up from last week. Fishing is slow, and few anglers are fishing.


SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
Millwood Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 259.99 feet MSL.
Millwood Lake Guide Service said water surface temperature ranges from 48 to 53 degrees. Surface temperatures are warmer upriver and in the oxbows, by as much as 8 degrees. The water level rose quickly last week and is about 12 inches above normal pool. Little River's clarity is about 3 to 6 inches and current is increased. Main lake clarity is 3 to 4 inches of visibility, depending on location. Bass and Crappie are in typical winter patterns. Feeding periods are are best during the warmest parts of the day. Larger bass are relating strictly to deep-water haunts, and are fair on large Rat-L-Traps in firetiger, white and red coach dog colors with the reduction in water clarity. Largemouth bass are still feeding on shad, but closer to deeper water around grass beds and vegetation. Further upriver, where you can find clearer water, vertically jig Pro-Traps and small Spin Traps over schools of bass and crappie. Bass feeding periods have tapered off during all but the warmest periods of the day, and are becoming shorter in duration. Fish a ¾-ounce War Eagle spinnerbait along the edge of the river channel and work it around brush and stumps near the bottom. The jig bite continues to improve.  Black and blue jig or black and chartreuse jigs with rattles, and the business end of a Bass Assassin Eager Beaver trailer in black/blue tail or green pumpkin, are working near stumps along deep water in Little River cuts. Bang garlic scent is helping fish find the jig in the muddy water. Crappie which had improved over the past week, shut off with the recent 1-foot rise. Channel Cats have dramatically improved with the increase in current along outer river bends of Little River. Trotlines were taking nice size channel cats in the last few days using chicken liver, cut shad and homemade blood bait. Lines set in the current between 8-14 feet, were taking some nice channel cats in the 7-10 pound class.
 
Lake Columbia: Steve's Marine said bream are biting fairly well on red wigglers fished on the bottom. Crappie have been biting very well on a jig-and-minnow combination lately. All other species are slow.

Lake Erling: Steve's Marine said the water is at normal levels. Bream are biting fairly well on worms and crickets fished right on the bottom. Crappie are biting very well on a jig-and-minnow combination.

White Oak Lake: Charlie’s One Stop said the water is too low for fishing.

Lake Greeson: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 539.50 feet MSL.
Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips said the colder days and nights have dropped Lake Greeson’s water temperature to the lower 50s. Crappie are on the move and can be caught on brush piles both shallow and deep. Stripers and white bass are patrolling the secondary creeks. For a day-to-day report visit - http://www.actionfishingtrips.com/tripreports.htm
Lakeside Grocery, Motel and Bait said the water is clear and rising. The surface temperature is around 46 degrees. Crappie are fair. Bass are biting well on centipedes and crankbaits. Catfish and bream are slow.
 
DeGray Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 398.68 feet MSL.
DeGray One Stop said the water clarity is excellent. Bream are biting poorly, but a few have been caught in 20 to 30 feet of water. Crappie are scattered around 15 to 20 feet deep and biting decently on crappie minnows and small multicolored jigs. Catfish are slow and holding in 20 to 30 feet of water. Hybrids and white bass are schooling and moving upriver. The best bite has been on Roostertails and spoons. Black bass are in 8 feet of water during the mornings and move out to 20 feet by 10. Slow-rolled spinnerbaits and deep-diving crankbaits are working the best on the bass.


WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS
 
Lake Dardanelle: Murphy’s Sporting Goods said the water is clear and at normal pool. Crappie are biting well on minnows fished in 12 to 15 feet of water near the creek channels. Bass are biting well on spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps fished around the edges of the moss. Catfishing is good below the dam on large bass minnows and shad.
Blue Mountain Lake: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 395.62 feet MSL.
CNC’s End of the Line said the water is high and clearing. Crappie are excellent on minnows and jigs fished in brush piles around 5 feet deep downriver. Bass are fair. Catfishing is excellent on worms.

Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said the water is stained and has risen slightly. Crappie are fair. White bass are being found below the dam and are biting well on minnow-imitating jigs. Catfishing is fair.

Lake Ouachita: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 574.70 feet MSL.
Poorman’s Tackle and Guide Service said bass fishing is very good with spoons in about 40 feet of water. Most fish are being caught on the drop. Some larger bass are showing up on the bluffs in about 30 feet of water using a jig-and-pig combo. A few Kentuckies are being caught on crankbaits around shallow, flat points. Stripers are fair to good on main-lake points. Watch for the birds. Live shad, spoons and spinnerbaits are working well. Crappie in the creeks are fair on grubs and minnows in about 12 to 15 feet. No report on bream or Catfish. 
 
Lake Catherine: Diamondhead Marina said not many anglers are on the water. No report.

Lake Hamilton: Poorman’s Tackle and Guide Service said bass are good on crayfish-colored crankbaits, shad-colored spinnerbaits and black/blue jigs. Crappie are concentrated in a few areas and are hard to catch unless you find the few brush piles they want to be around. Keep moving and fish small grubs. Once you find them, you can load the boat. There are a lot of small stripers around the bridges. You can catch them on smoke grubs threaded on a ¼-ounce jighead.

Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing said the weather has kept many anglers off the water. No report.

Lake Nimrod: As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 351.99 feet MSL.
Local angler Billy Blankenship said the lake edges are flooded, so fishing has come to a halt.


SOUTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS
 
Felsenthal: Hale’s One Stop said most of the folks headed to the water are after ducks. Crappie are biting well on shiners.

  
EAST ARKANSAS: 
  
White River: Triangle Sports said the river is flooded and no one is fishing.

Arkansas River (Pine Bluff): The Tackle Box said the water level is high and dropping. Crappie are biting well on Pine Bluff Lake on rosy red minnows. Kentucky bass are biting well around Lock Five. Stripers are biting well around Lock Five and Sheppard Island.

Maddox Bay: Maddox Bay Landing said few anglers are on the water. With water on the rise, expect poor fishing until it stabilizes.

Bear Creek Lake: Six Rivers Sport Center said the water is at normal levels and has fair clarity. Not many anglers are fishing.
 
Horseshoe Lake: Local fisherman Clyde Gregory said the water is clear and low. Crappie are excellent on minnows trolled deep in the middle of the lake. Bass are fair on white spinnerbaits fished in the shallows. Catfishing is good on nightcrawlers and cut bait. Hybrids are biting well on silver spoons around deep drops.