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 March 31, 2004.

Fishing Tip: Due to the frequent rainstorms in the springtime the water is often muddy. This does not mean bass fishing is hopeless, try using dark-colored worms or lizards (black or blue colors work well) because darker lures are more visible in muddy water.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS: Lake Conway: Bates Field and Stream said redear are getting ready to bed and fishing is excellent using wax worms, crickets or black or brown Tensile Teasers. Crappie fishing is good using red/chartreuse, yellow/white or white/chartreuse jigs or minnows. Bass are hitting white spinner baits and Zoom Lizards. Blue catfish and a few flathead are being caught on trotlines and yoyos baited with small bream or minnows.

Little Red River: Lindsey's Rainbow Resort said trout fishing is good using wax worms with marshmallows or chartreuse Power Eggs. Trout Magnets are working great on low water. As usual, the Rapalas and Countdowns are catching plenty of fish.

Greers Ferry: Burkes Guide Service said the lake temperatures are in the low 50s, keeping the fish deep in the mornings. Shad imitation crank baits have been producing some nice bass. Lots of quality fish have come from Frontier Canyon in Devils Fork this week. The feeding window for whites and hybrids continues early and late along the banks. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are being caught throughout the day with deep diving crank baits, tube baits and jigs. The south end of the lake is showing signs of improvement with balls of baitfish sunning themselves in the coves and creeks. Action is picking up on the lower end with some hybrids and whites being caught at the Blue Hole and Ice House Holler. Peter Creek has cleared up and the fish have returned. Walleye fishing is really good. Multiple back-to-back storm fronts are putting the fish right on the banks. Flashing baits that resemble baitfish are getting the walleye to bite. Look for the run to continue for another week or two.

Harris Brake Lake: Coffee Creek Landing said a few bream are being caught using crickets. Crappie fishing is good with minnows. Most of the fish are being caught around the docks and off the piers.

Lake Overcup: Lakeview Landing said bream fishing is slow with a few being caught on worms or crickets. Crappie still have not spawned and are in the deeper water hitting minnows and small spinner baits. Bass fishing is fair using dark-colored spinner baits or red flake worms.

Cadron Creek: Wooster Grocery said bream fishing is good with worms and crickets. Bass and crappie fishing is excellent using minnows. Fish and Game Guaranteed Guide Service said Kentucky bass and green sunfish are hitting clown Rapalas and spinner baits. Float fishing conditions have been excellent for late March, but always be prepared for dangerous conditions due to spring rains and rising water levels.

Big Piney Creek: Fish and Game Guaranteed Guide Service reports Kentucky bass and green sunfish are hitting clown Rapalas and spinner baits well.

Beaverfork Lake: Wooster Grocery said bass and crappie are being caught on minnows. Bream fishing is very good using worms and crickets. Bates Field and Stream said crappie fishing is excellent two to three feet from the brush piles using yellow/white or red/white mini-jigs.

Brewer Lake: Wooster Grocery said crappie fishing is good using red/white or yellow/white mini-jigs about two to three feet from the edge of the brush piles.

Toad Suck Lock and Dam: Bates Field and Stream said a few sauger are being caught near the dam on minnows and hair jigs.

Little Maumelle River: River Valley Bait said the river is at normal level and clear. Bream fishing is fair about three feet deep around brush piles and stumps using crickets. Crappie fishing is excellent three to 18 feet deep around brush piles, stumps and rocky points with either minnows or jigs. Bass are three to five feet deep around brush hitting good on minnows and spinner baits. Catfishing is excellent at the edge of the bank on the bottom using worms, blood bait, stink bait or chicken liver.

Lake Maumelle: Hatchet Jack's Sport Shop said white bass fishing is excellent around Bringle Creek on the west end of the lake using split tail beetles.

Arkansas River: Charley's Hidden Harbor near Oppelo said water at Lock and Dam #9 is up to 83,900 cubic feet per second with headwater level at 285.08 and tailwater level at 274.03. High water plus the temperature change has slowed fishing. Catfish are on jetty tips and inside wing jetties and are hitting worms. Crappie are in the creeks and small rivers off the main river channel in three to six feet of water and hitting minnows. White bass are on the inside jetties near the mouths of the creeks hitting Beetle Spins in chartreuse with a black stripe. Largemouth bass fishing is slow and spread out over sand banks and jetties. The fish are hitting fire tiger-colored shallow diving crank baits. Kentucky bass fishing is good on flooded timber areas using chartreuse and black spinner baits.

Arkansas River (Little Rock area): Hatchet Jack's Sport Shop said crappie fishing is good two to four feet deep in the backwater with minnows or jigs. Bass fishing is slow.

NORTH ARKANSAS:

White River: Gaston's White River Resort said there was water all weekend and fishing is very good using just about anything white. White Crocodile Spoons or white Maribou Jigs are working very well. White or yellow Power Eggs are hot for the bait fishermen. Fly fishermen are having good luck using white Shad Flies or white Woolly Buggers.

North Fork River: Fly-fishing guide John Gulley said fishing is excellent on the river. During high water, fly fishermen are having excellent results using Egg Patterns and San Juan Worms and on low water size 18 to 20 Diamond Midges are getting good results. We are getting two types of late afternoon Caddis hatches. Try the size 14 green Caddis; size 22 tan Caddis, Caddis Puppa and Emergers. Some great fishing is being enjoyed by spin fishermen using shad colored baits such as Rapalas, Shad Raps or anything with silver on it. Bait fishermen are using shad, minnows, worms, Power Bait and corn with great success.

Bull Shoals Lake: Lead Hill Boat Dock said the water temperature is 53 to 54 degrees and a little murky. Crappie fishing is fair 15 feet deep around brush piles with minnows. Bass are up in the creeks in shallow water and fishing is fair to good and getting better each day using spinner baits or crank baits.

Lake Norfork: Cranfield Junction Quik Stop said crappie fishing is good although the bite is very soft. Try using small minnows, swimming minnows or Bobby Garland Baby Shad. Bass fishing is really good with some good quality four to seven pound fish being caught on any bait you are confident of. White bass fishing is good using Smokey Joe Gay Blade, yellow maribou jigs or Pins Minnow. Striper fishing is improving but still sporadic. There is a little topwater action. Walleye fishing is beginning to pick up. A five pound eight ounce walleye was caught this past week by a man crappie fishing.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Lake Fayetteville: Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock said bream are hitting crickets and small jigs. Crappie fishing is good using minnows and jigs. The crappie are about a week away from spawning. Black bass are hitting Rogues, Rattletraps and crank baits. White bass are hitting Roadrunners.

Lake Sequoyah: Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock said the water level is about two feet high and the water is very muddy. Catfishing is good with worms, chicken liver and shad.

Kings River: Kings River Outfitters said the river is completely floatable and the water temperature is 53 degrees. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are hitting spinner baits and plastics.

NORTHEAST ARKANSAS

Lake Charles: Powhatan Landing said bream fishing is good and improving using worms or crickets. Crappie fishing is good with minnows. Bass fishing is fair.

SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS

Lake Enterprise: Fred's Sport Shop said fishing is beginning to pick up. Bream fishing is good using worms or crickets. Crappie are hitting minnows and jigs. A few catfish are being caught with nightcrawlers and live bait. A few fishermen are beginning to set out trotlines and they are catching a few, but fishing should really improve in about two weeks.

Lake Chicot: Koenig's Bass Tracker Marine said bream, bass and catfishing are all good. Crappie fishing is fair using jigs or crappie bite.

Grand Lake: Koenig's Bass Tracker Marine said a few crappie are being caught on minnows.

SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS

Millwood Lake: Millwood Lake Guide Service reports water temperature is 59 to 67 degrees and the water has a light stain. Largemouth bass are excellent in the four to 10 pound range. The bite continues to improve and is very good on orange or spring-bream (green/orange) Rat-L-Traps, Bass Assassins in gizzard shad, tubes in smoke/purple and chartreuse/white War Eagle spinner baits. Nice bass continue to come to weigh-ins on Millwood. Last weekend's tournaments yielded another huge bass over 10+ pounds and several big females between eight and 10 pounds. Bass on beds have been observed all over Millwood in the last week. Mostly males have been observed on the beds, but the large females are very close by, some have been on beds others are just off the beds. Buzz baits are beginning to take fish. Gitzits in smoke/purple flake or pumpkin/chart, Smithwick Rouges in gold shiner colors, Bass Assassins in gizzard shad pattern, and dark colored lizards, soft plastic salamanders are catching some quality-sized bass over the last few days. Shallow cypress trees in the two to six foot deep sloughs very close to the river, or near deep water, continue to be the most consistent pattern over the last week. Water temperatures have again increased, making the bass bed up for the spawn. The water temperatures have warmed very fast in the last two weeks, and the warmer water temperature is coaxing the spawning females up shallow. The bite continues to improve with the warmer days and bright sun. Lake clarity is improved to six to 10 inches. Oxbows have much improved clarity, such as Mud, McGuire and Horseshoe Lake areas that have approximately five to six feet visibility. Current in the river has diminished since gates and release were cut back this week. Blue cats are biting chicken livers on trotlines in nine to 12 foot deep sections of the river. The crappie bite has improved over the last three weeks. With water temperatures and clarity drastically improving, some crappie are spawning and were caught relatively shallow on live shiners, tiny spinner baits (Roostertails), lizards and jigs. White bass continue running up river and biting well on Little George or Chuck'n Spin tail spinners and red/white Roostertails within the last week. Spotted gar are wanting to spawn as well, as way more numerous to count, big females were observed very shallow with a train of males in tow, in the shallows, making excellent bowfishing opportunities. While bass fishing numerous days this week, there have been a number of very large gar observed in the lake. Some in excess of 15 pounds, in very shallow water.

Lake Columbia: Steve's Marine said crappie are being caught pole fishing in the shallow water with minnows in the late afternoons. Bass are beginning to bed and are being caught using eight-inch lizards in black with white spots or pumpkin with chartreuse tail. A few bass are being caught using a slow moving diving bait fished about two feet below the surface. Bream have not started to bed yet, but a few are being caught on worms and crickets.

Lake Erling: Steve's Marine said bream are hitting worms and crickets. Fishing for crappie or catfish is best using yoyos set very shallow from about 3 a.m. until daylight. Bass are bedding and hitting black lizards with white spots and pumpkin colored with chartreuse tails. A few bass are also being caught on a slow moving diving bait fished about two feet below the surface. A few catfish are being caught on Canadian nightcrawlers.

Lake Greeson: Lakeside Grocery, Motel/Bait Shop said the lake temperatures are in the high 60s and fishing is great. Bream fishing is good using worms or crickets. Crappie fishing is excellent less than five feet deep with the fish weighing in between one and two pounds each. Bass fishing is excellent with shallow-diving crank baits. Stripers are hitting top water baits, crank baits and spoons. White bass fishing is excellent in the river at night with top water baits, crank baits and spoons.

WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Lake Dardanelle: Early Bird Outfitters said the lake temperature is 64 to 65 degrees. Bream fishing is fair using mill worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is good two to six feet deep with minnows or orange and chartreuse jigs. Bass are hitting flukes and suspending jerk baits. White bass fishing is good depending on the flow below the dam with just about any type of bait. Catfishing is fair with chicken liver and big minnows.

Ozark Pool: Lakeside Food Mart said bream fishing is fair using worms and crickets in the ponds. Crappie fishing is good and improving using minnows and jigs. Black bass fishing is slow. White bass are hitting minnows and jigs. Catfish are hitting worms, cut bait and minnows.

Lake Ouachita: Mountain Harbor Resort said water temperature is 56 to 64 degrees, the lake level is 577.50 and the lake is clearing. Largemouth bass fishing is excellent in shallow water around pockets and secondary points using Carolina-rigged lizards, jig head worms and floating worms. Jerk baits have been effective over the moss as well. Walleye are good with most reports of fish still being caught on submerged timber near bends in the river channels from five to 15 feet deep with deep diving jerk baits. Stripers are hitting gray hair jigs, silver spoons and liver bait around the points and rock bluffs near or in the river channels. Reports have been good around Twin Creeks and the Highway 27 fishing village. Bream are starting to get active in water eight to 25 feet deep and are hitting worms and crickets. Crappie fishing is still excellent using feather jigs, two-inch grubs and minnows over brush piles and moss flats. On the main lake points and large moss flats try fishing three to 15 feet deep. The best colors are still white, silver, Tennessee shad and lemon meringue. Catfish are still fair and being caught with nightcrawlers, stink bait and live minnows.

Lake Catherine: Dozhier's Bait Shop and Rainbow Landing said trout are being taken using a wax worm and marshmallow rig, Power Bait and small shad-like lures. Rebel minnows, small Countdown Rapalas are all working well. During periods of power generation small silver spoons like Cleo's and Kastmasters are working well. Crappie have taken a little set-back with the passing of the cold front and are now a bit scattered, but still are being found along the shorelines. Small shiners fished four to six feet deep are working. Bass are going for floating worms, jigs and small spinner baits worked off steep shorelines. Hybrids and stripers are being found early mornings between the dam and the bridge and going for large red fins and live shad. Bream are starting to become active and hitting crickets and red worms.

Lake Hamilton: Dozhier's Bait Shop and Rainbow Landing said bass are hitting jigs, floating worms, lizards and crawfish-colored crank baits with some good action off Big Goat Island. Catfish are becoming active and going for large shiners and nightcrawlers with most of the action out of the main channel. Crappie action is good, with nice stringers coming from the eastern half of the lake. Established brush piles and artificial fish structures are holding a great many fish and they are being taken using small shiners and jigs fished four to eight feet deep. Bream are beginning to move into the shorelines and are being taken using crickets and red worms.

Lake Hinkle: Bill's Bait Shop said crappie fishing is good and getting better using minnows. Bass fishing is good using bass minnows. A nine-pound bass was caught this past weekend. A few catfish are being caught using chicken liver.

Lake Atkins: Lucky Landing said bream fishing is good in the cove at Lucky Landing using crickets. Crappie fishing is fair with minnows. Bass fishing is fair using spinner baits. Catfish are hitting nightcrawlers.

Lake Nimrod: Lake Nimrod Bait 'n' More II said the lake level is at 343 and holding, water temperature is between 62 and 64 degrees. Crappie fishing is good on minnows and jigs. Bream are hitting crickets. Catfish are being caught on worms. Bass are hitting minnows and white bass are running the river.

Lake Wilhelmina: Rocky Store said now that the weather is warming up and the crappie are biting minnows. Catfish are going for nightcrawlers and chicken liver in the evening.

EAST ARKANSAS:

Maddox Bay: Maddox Bay Landing reports the water is a little low. A few crappie are being caught in shallow water with minnows. Kentucky bass are beginning to bite. Some very nice catfish are being caught on yoyos.

Midway Lake: Ed's Boat Camp said bream fishing is fair using worms or crickets. Crappie fishing is good with minnows. Bass fishing is excellent with your favorite lure. Catfishing is good at night using yoyos baited with minnows.

Bear Creek Lake: Arkansas Outdoors said bream and crappie fishing is excellent with jigs and minnows. A few bass are being caught. Catfishing is good on jugs and trotlines baited with live bait.

Mississippi River: Arkansas Outdoors said the water is still high, but fishermen are catching a few catfish.

Lower St. Francis River: Arkansas Outdoors said the river is still high, but a few catfish are being caught.

Horseshoe Lake: Local fishermen Clyde Gregory said bream fishing is good in the shallow water with red worms or crickets. Crappie are still being caught in the deeper water trolling with minnows. Bass fishing is good with some very nice healthy bass up to six pounds being caught on white spinner baits or crank baits. Catfishing is good using stink bait or cut bait.

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