Fishing Highlight of the Week: Knit gun socks, used to protect rifles and shotguns, make great sleeves for fishing rods, especially those that break down. They’re very cheap, protect rods and keep them together and out of harm’s way on the way to the lake or stream. Most are stretchy enough that they have room for reels, too.

Arkansas and White river levels are available at: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=lzk

For real-time information on stream flow in Arkansas from the U.S. Geological Survey, visit: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ar/nwis/rt

For water quality statistics (including temperature) in many Arkansas streams and lakes, visit: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ar/nwis/current/?type=quality

Family and Community Fishing Ponds: Click http://www.agfc.com/fishing/Pages/Fi...ogramsFCF.aspx for a list of program ponds.

Central Arkansas
North Arkansas
Northwest Arkansas Northeast Arkansas
Southeast Arkansas
Southwest Arkansas West-Central Arkansas
East Arkansas

Central Arkansas


Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir

Bates Field and Stream (501-470-1846) said the water is clear and at normal level. Bream are biting well on crickets and worms. Crappie are biting well on minnows and chartreuse/white jigs. Bass are biting well on white spinnerbaits and top-water frogs near lily pads. Catfishing is good on trotlines baited with minnows and live green sunfish.


Little Red River

Lindsey’s Resort (501-302-3139) ) had no report.

Greers Ferry Lake

Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said hybrid and white bass are still biting well and will continue the trend for a while, after finding the shad , be patient and stay with the fish as they will feed throughout the day, anywhere from 25-40 feet deep. Bream fishing is good using crawlers, crickets and small crankbaits. Walleye are grouping better and eating better, try dragging crawlers in 15-27 feet of water about 1 mile an hour. Catfish are biting well on a variety of baits fished on flats next to channels. Crappie have slowed some but the hotter weather expected should put them over and around brush in 15-25 feet of water. The bass fishing is so-so shallow and a little better deeper (out to 40 feet) on Texas-rigged worms, jigs and Carolina rigs; also try the Arkansas Claw for the suspended fish and have a top water bait close by.


Cody S. Smith of www.fishgreersferry.com said fishing on Greers Ferry is incredibly good right now. Shad are still spawning on the main lake, creeks and rivers. To increase my catch rates, I am spending a lot of time in really small areas and not moving around much at all. Once you find a school of fish, soak the area really well for a good amount of time before you pull the plug. Game fish are beginning to school tight, getting into their summer pattern. It is a must right now to use electronics to find fish. If you are not seeing them on the graph there is no one home! Unlike during spring when fish are so spread out in vast spawning flats that you can practically catch them doing anything, these summer fish are like wolf packs, hanging in prime locations adjacent to shad and feeding at certain times of the day. These wolf packs of various species of fish are relating to the bottom and contour breaks. As spring ends and we get into summer, look for these fish to start suspending in open water. Top waters, spinners, swim baits, big worms and live night crawlers are all producing good numbers of fish daily.

Harris Brake Lake

Harris Brake Lakeside Resort (501-889-2745) said the lake is clear and normal. Bream are excellent with worms and crickets. Crappie are poor. Bass are poor. Catfish are fair on live bait.

Whiskers Sporting Goods in Perryville (501-889-2011) said crappie have been biting No. 6 and 8 minnows, Slab Slay’R and Stroll’R in white/salt and pepper, red/chartreuse shad and bone white, and PowerBait Crappie Nibbles in green or yellow. Catfish are taking minnows, worms and goldfish. Bass are fair on tequila sunrise and dark-colored worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes. Bream are biting great on night crawlers, red worms, meal worms, crickets and rock hoppers.

Lake Overcup

Overcup Landing (501-354-9007) said the water is about normal and clear. Crappie are in deep water, about 15 feet; try fishing 8-10 feet deep. They are fair on pumpkin/chartreuse and chartreuse jigs, Tennessee shad Stingers and No. 6 minnows. Bream are good on crickets and red worms. Bass are slow. Catfish are fair on cut bait and minnows.

Whiskers Sporting Goods (501-889-2011) said crappie are biting No. 6 minnows, Baby Shad, Stroll’R and Slab Slay’R in white/salt and pepper, red/chartreuse, bone white Baby Shad, and PowerBait Crappie Nibbles in green or yellow. Bream are biting great on night crawlers, red worms, meal worms, crickets and rock hoppers. Bass are hitting tequila sunrise and dark worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes.

Brewer Lake

Overcup Landing (501-354-9007) said bream are good around the edges on crickets and wax worms. Crappie are hitting tube jigs and No. 4 minnows around brushpiles. Bass are fair on plastics and catfish are fair on cut shad and night crawlers.


Lake Maumelle

Jolly Roger’s Marina said the water level is 5 inches below the spillway(a little below normal), and the water temperature is around 78 degrees on the lake and 80 in the coves. Largemouth bass are biting well in 15 to 18 feet of water on slow-rolled spinnerbaits, jigs and Carolina-rigged lizards. Spotted bass are biting excellently on Rooster Tails and jighead worms in 10 to 18 feet of water. White bass are being caught near the restricted area and at North Shore on Rooster Tails, trolled crankbaits and CC spoons in 15 feet of water. Crappie are excellent on small jigs, grubs and minnows in 10 to 18 feet of water. Bream are excellent on worms and crickets in 10 to 15 feet of water. Catfishing is very good on trotlines baited with large minnows and prepared bait.

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said bream are good on crickets and red worms 10-12 feet deep. Crappie are good 8-15 feet deep on Kalin’s grubs in Tennessee shad or Popsicle. Bass are good early in the day and late in the evening on black spinners, deep-diving crankbaits and black spiders off main lake points. Catfishing is excellent with live rice slicks or cut shad on trotlines.

Whiskers Sporting Goods in Perryville (501-889-2011) said crappie are in coves and brush piles on Baby Shad and Slab Slay’R in red/chartreuse, bone white and pearl, and orange/chartreuse, as well as No. 6 minnows and PowerBait Crappie Nibbles in green or yellow. White bass are biting in the river channel on Rooster Tails and Baby Shad in salt and pepper. Bream are great on night crawlers, red worms, meal worms, crickets and rock hoppers. Bass are hitting tequila sunrise and other dark worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes.

Lake Valencia

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said channel catfish are good with night crawlers and chicken hearts. No reports on other species.

Sunset Lake

Turbyfill’s Outdoor Sports (501-315-3061) said the lake is clear and at normal level. Bream are excellent on crickets. Crappie are poor. Bass are good; try top-water fishing early in the morning and late in the day. Catfish are good with Catfish Charlie.

Saline River Access in Benton

Turbyfill’s Outdoor Sports (501-315-3061) said the river is clear and low. Bream are excellent on crickets. Crappie are poor. Bass are excellent with frog-colored top-water plugs and small, white buzz baits. Catfish are good with live bait and bream.

Arkansas River at Morrilton

Charley’s Hidden Harbor at Opello said white bass are very good on Fat Raps; cast on top of jetty, crank down and bump jetty top and let it come back up. White bass and stripers are moving to some tips of jetties; use CC Spoon, 15-25 feet deep. Kentucky bass also are being caught on the Fat Rap. Largemouths are very good in grass on plastic worms. Bream are very good with crickets in grass or in willow beds on sandbars. Catfishing is good with whole shad on front side of jetties. No report on crappie. The Game and Fish Commission stocked 27,000 largemouth last week.

Arkansas River (Maumelle Pool)

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958)
had this report from Little Maumelle River and Maumelle River: Bream are excellent on crickets and red worms around cypress knees and in lily pad fields. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Bass are good early and late in the day with stick baits, Gilmore Jumpers, spinner baits with double willow-leaf blades, or black/red worms.

No reports from the main river channel or Palarm Creek.

Arkansas River (Little Rock Pool)

Vince Miller from Fish ’N Stuff said the river is muddy and the level is normal. Bream are good with crickets and worms in backwaters. Crappie can be caught on minnows and jigs in backwater brush. Bass are good on jigs and buzz baits along river jetties. No report on catfish.

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) had this report from Burns Park and the main channel: Bream have been poor, although crappie are fair with live minnows, or pink/white or white/chartreuse tube jigs. Bass are good on creature baits or buzz baits early and late in the day. Catfish are excellent with skipjacks and rice slicks.

Murray Lock and Dam: Bream have been fair with crickets and red worms near the dam. Crappie are fair with live minnows with a slip-cork rig. Kalin’s grubs in money color or Tennessee shad with chartreuse tail are working well, too. Catfish are excellent – try snagging or fishing with skipjack or rice slicks.

McSwain Sports Center (501-945-2471) said the river is clear and normal. Bream are good with crickets. Bass are good, going for a variety of artificial baits. Catfish are good with cut bait and minnows. No report on crappie.

Clear Lake

McSwain Sports Center (501-945-2471) said the lake was clear and normal. Bream fishing is good with crickets and Bream Killers. Crappie are good with Crappie Nibbles in chartreuse with gold flake. Bass are good on top-water baits early in the morning and late in the day. Catfish have been good with night crawlers.

Peckerwood Lake

Herman’s Landing (870-241-3731) said the water is clear and the level is normal. Bream are good on crickets and worms. Crappie are good trolling in deeper water with minnows. Bass are fair on a variety of lures. Catfish are good with worms and chicken livers.

Lake Pickthorne

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said bream have been caught with red worms and crickets. The crappie report is fair, especially with live minnows. Catfishing are going for night crawlers, chicken hearts or cut shad. No report on bass.

Lake Willastein

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said bream are good with crickets, wax worms and red worms. Crappie are fair with live minnows. Bass are poor. Catfish are excellent on chicken hearts, night crawlers, cut bait and shrimp.

North Arkansas


White River

Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said the water is clear and low. Trout fishing is very good, especially with PowerBait. Small spinners and spoons are working, along with jigs in white, green black and brown. Small Rogues and Rapala CountDowns (05 and 07) are good. Fly-fishermen are having good results with Zebra Midges, and Copper Johns (in black and silver, too).

Jim Brentlinger at Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge(870-499-5185) had this report for Buffalo City to Red’s Landing: If you want to catch the most fish in your life, now is the time. Water flow from generation has been zero for a long time and the White River is dead low. You are better off to get a guide who is mobile and do a one-way trip. You will catch more fish than you thought possible. Fly-fishing or spin fishing will produce the same but be prepared to help get the boat past several obstacles. Jigs are continuing to produce a lot of fish, as well as Woolly Buggers in the small runs along the route.

Triangle Sports (870-793-7122) said the river is clear and low. Bream are fair on worms and crickets. Crappie are fair with minnows. Bass are fair with crankbaits, assorted lures, as well as Senkos, grubs and Gitzits. Some catfish and rough fish have been snagged below the dam.

Bull Shoals Lake

Mike Worley’s Guide Service said walleye are biting in 10-25 feet of water on night crawler rigs fished on bottom bouncers. Crankbaits are catching bass and walleye, casting or trolling. White bass are active early morning and late evening, and are biting anything that looks like a shad. Crappie fishing has been good in the creek coves on small tube jigs and grubs. Catfish are biting on night crawlers in 5-20 feet.


Lake Norfork

STR Outfitters Tom Reynolds said striped bass are off the points in the main lake. Fish the points from Diamond Bay to the dam and up to Brushy and Big creeks. Stripers are scattered; the ones I’m catching are on down lines, 25-40 deep. They are feeding on shad and crawdads. There are some schools in 35-40 feet of water. I start fishing when I see one or two fish, and keep weaving between deep and shallow water.


Hummingbird Hideaway Resort Lou Gabric said spring fishing on Norfork Lake has been good for the last week and the weather has been even better. The best bite, in my opinion, on Norfork Lake is largemouth and spotted (Kentucky) bass. Second is striped bass fishing. Bluegills, crappie, walleye, white bass and catfish are coming in on a regular basis. I have seen many 2.5- to 5-pound largemouth bass and very large Kentuckys coming into the dock. Live bait, either large shiners or shad, is the best bait to use to get numbers of fish, but artificial baits are working. I have been finding black bass in 2-27 feet of water on main lake points. At sunrise and sunset, you will see some top-water action, so keep your favorite top-water bait ready for action at all times. My favorite color lure is a white body and a chartreuse head in the Zara Spook Jr. size. Clear and bone colors also work very well. Other baits that have been working are jig and pigs, plastic worms and crawdads, spinner baits on windier days, and some crankbaits. Bass are feeding heavily on crawdads, so this should help on your color selection. Things have not changed much on the striped bass fishing. Fish are being found on main lake points in 25-40 feet of water. In the very early part of the mornings, you may find them right on the bank. The problem is that one day the fish are on a point but the next day they are gone. You do have to do a lot of moving around until you find fish. Catfishing with jugs and trotlines is producing many nice fish. Every morning I see jugs bobbing up and down all over the lake. Crappie are being caught over brush piles in 20-30 feet of water. Fish will be suspended, so keep changing your depths until you find the feeding level. Live minnows and jigs tipped with a minnow are working well. Happy fishing – see you on the lake.

Guide Steve Olomon said the water temperature is still in the mid-70s. The top-water bite for hybrids and stripers is pretty much over with. There were still a few coming up this week but it didn’t last long at all. If you were fortunate enough to be close to them, you usually had one chance to get a cast to them. Bass are coming up on points and back in the creeks. After the top-water bite is over, try throwing a deep-diving crankbait or a swim bait and reel it real slow. Look for suspended fish and drop a jigging spoon. This works better if you mark a lot of fish rather than one or two. They should start to school in deeper water as the water temperature gets warmer.

Campground News: Jordan Campground on Norfork Lake is open April 1-Oct. 1 and managed by Jordan Marina. Formerly run by the Army Corps of Engineers, Jordan Campground is a favorite of families camping on the south end of Norfork Lake and is the gateway to Sand Island and Jordan area beaches. This area also is a favorite of scuba divers, with 30 dive sites within 2 miles of the campground. Jordan Campground has 41 RV and tent sites; sites with 50-amp service and 30-amp service are available for $20 per night. The campground, adjacent to Jordan Marina, also features a swimming beach, picnic pavilion, boat launch and two restrooms. For more information, call (870) 499-7223 or Jordan Marina at (870) 499-7348.

Northwest Arkansas


Beaver Lake

Bailey’s Beaver Lake Guide Service (479-366-8664) said striper fishing is good with the fish finding their way back down out of the river; fish are scattered. Striper can be taken on live shad fished on down lines and lightly weighted balloon lines trolled 50-100 feet back 20-35 feet deep at speeds from .5-3.0 mph. Downriggers also are producing with artificials. Stripers will be found in areas holding bait near the main channel. You will have to hit several spots to get your fish. As always, use live shad, 4-12 inches, when fishing for trophy stripers. Hot spots lately have included Point 5. Check Doc’s cabin and the island between points 5-6, also the channel bend near the shallow gravel bar on the opposite bank. Check Point 6, the Van hollow area near Twin Coves. Rocky Branch is another hop spot. Try the island and the roadbed that extends to the island. Also check the little islands in front of the Larue boat ramp; lots of walleye in the area. Stripers are holding in the channel at Beaver Shores, and in the channel at Escapalia Hollow and Falls Hollow. Walleye are making their way toward big water. Fish the clear water for best results. Most walleye are about 6-8 feet deep; fish are being taken off area flats near the channel. Try trolling the flats with a Slow Death Rig. Move less than 1 mph. The islands at Prairie Creek and near points 12, 9, 8 and 7 have been producing walleye. Flat-line troll with Hot ’N Tots, Rapala Tail Dancers, Shad Raps, Reef Runners or Ripsticks in natural blue or black-back combos, or chartreuse/orange and clown colors. Jigging spoons around brush and rock piles also is producing.

JT’s Crappie Guide Service (479-640-3980) said bass are biting well early and late on top-water baits in front of flooded timber, laydown trees and brush. They also have been biting 4-inch Curly Tail grubs fished on an Alabama Rig at a 45-degree angle along sloping gravel to rock bank. Drop-shotting or Carolina rigging Finesse worms over points has been effective. Also, look for Kentucky bass to be schooling each morning as you are fishing. A Kastmaster spoon or the Alabama Rig will work best for these fish. Crappie have been biting very well early and late. They have been holding tight to brushpiles and timber close to creek or runoff channels 20-35 feet deep. Fish a yellow/white, black/chartreuse or a pink/white tube on a sixteenth-ounce jighead from the bottom up near a brushpile until fish are found. Monte Ne, Blue Springs, Eden Bluff and Horseshoe Bend have been good places to fish. White bass are schooling on main lake flats and adjacent points early and late in the day. They can be caught with Curly Tail grubs on the Alabama Rig or Kastmaster spoons. Night fishing is very good under the Arkansas Highway 12 bridge and along bluff lines on the main lake channel. Fish are biting live shad or minnows under lights 10-20 feet deep. Catfishing has been best in the evening using liver or worms. The Arkansas Highway 12 bridge, U.S. Highway 412 bridge, Monte Ne and Hickory Creek are all good places to fish.

Southtown Sporting Goods (479-443-7148) said the lake is clear and normal. Bream have been good in 3-4 feet and 8-10 feet of water with worms and crickets. Crappie are fair on minnows, live shad and Hot ’N Tots, especially under light at night. Bass are fair with top-water baits early in the morning, as well as crankbaits, dark plastic worms, shaky head rigs or drop shots during the day. Catfish are fair with perch or goldfish on limblines, trotlines and jugs.

Lake Elmdale

Lucky Key at Duck Camp Fishing Retreat
said inconstitent weather has slowed the bite on the lake this week. Barometer changes were up and down like a yo-yo. Wind shifts were occurring, sometimes twice a day. This kind of weather affects crappie and bass the most.

Bluegill are the least bothered by the weather, and several were caught. Try red worms under a bobber 3-4 feet deep; crickets are good, too. Stringers of mixed bluegill and redear were common. Fishing on the bottom in 5-6 feet of water with red worms works best for redear. Bass have been caught on top-water baits early in the morning and late in the evening. Try the Rebel Pop-R with the black back. Soft plastics (worms) in red plumb are working well, too. No word on catfish but cut perch would be my first choice. Night crawlers or chicken liver would be my second choice.

Lake Fayetteville

Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock (479-444-3476) said the water is clear and the level is normal. Bream fishing is fair with crickets or worms. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs; white bass are going for these, too. Bass are good with a variety of artificial lures, including small Finesse worms. Catfish are good with worms and chicken liver.

Lake Sequoyah

Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock (479-444-3475) said the lake was clear and low about 2 inches. Bream are good close to shore; use worms and crickets. Crappie are fair with minnow and jigs in 4-6 feet of water. Bass are good on spinners, crankbaits, top-water lures and a variety of other lures. Catfish are good with chicken liver and shad.

Northeast Arkansas


Crown Lake

Boxhound Marina (870-670-4496) said the lake is clear and at normal level. Bream are good with night crawlers suspended about 10 feet off the bottom. No report on crappie. Bass are good in the evening with crankbaits and jigs. Catfish are excellent with chicken livers and night crawlers.

Lake Frierson

Lake Frierson State Park said the lake was stained and just below normal level. Bream are good on red worms and crickets. No report on crappie. Bass are fair-good with crankbaits, soft plastics and top-water baits early and late in the day. Catfish are good on stink bait, night crawlers and chicken liver.

Spring River

Mark Crawford with Spring River Flies and Guides said water levels are running at 340 cfs at the spring and water clarity is clear. Water levels are getting lower, which makes for great wading conditions. Trout are being stocked every week and the catching has been excellent. Crayfish and minnow imitations were the go-to patterns last week. Mark's Guppie has been very hot. The trout are hitting hot pink Trout Magnets hard.

Southeast Arkansas


Cane Creek Lake

Cane Creek State Park had no report.

Southwest Arkansas


Millwood Lake


Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said Little River’s oxbows have much-improved water clarity. Warmer temperatures have increased surface water temperatures to 78-86 degrees. Largemouth bass are feeding aggressively at dawn through mid-morning, then the heat is driving them deep to sulk the majority of mid-day through late afternoon, then another good flurry of bites after daytime heating subsides in late afternoon. Numerous techniques are catching bass, including buzz baits, soft plastic Bass Assassin shad jerk baits, and soft plastic frogs and toads are starting to turn on. Lizards, worms, spinner baits and jigs around stumps, grass, new lily pad growth and wood laydowns in the oxbows, away from river current, are working. For the oxbows, pitching hot peanut butter and jelly or diablo craw-colored StrikeWorks jigs around stumps, laydowns and in lily pad stems can take 17- to 19-inch bass. Rat-L-Traps will get bites from aggressive white bass roaming oxbows in large, broken schools and nice largemouth bass chasing shad. Best Rat-L-Trap colors in the last week or two have been Millwood magic, sexy west and almost any shad patterns. The key to the best reaction on the Rat-L-Trap bite is deflecting off stumps in creek channels or points in 5-6 feet of water, close to 8- to 12-foot drop-offs. Crappie can be found with electronics in 12- to 17-foot depths on jigs and grubs on light-wire jigheads in brushpiles and standing timber. Very large gar (in excess of 30 pounds) continue to be very shallow and are making fine opportunities for bowfishermen. Catfish remain good this week on trotlines, yo-yos, tight lines, along current and on break lines in the outer bends of Little River. Blue and channel cats continue biting best on cut bait, shad and chicken livers in 14-18 feet of Little River on the outer break lines in current or on yo-yos in 8- to 10-foot depths of the oxbows.

Lake Greeson

Lakeside Grocery and Bait (870-398-5304) said the water is clear and water level is near normal. Bream are biting well, mainly on crickets. Crappie are fair on minnows fished 15-20 feet deep. Bass are fair with crankbaits, top-water baits and plastic worms. Catfish are fair on chicken livers and stinkbait on jugs and trotlines.

For more information on crappie fishing at Lake Greeson, visit Jerry Blake’s website, www.actionfishingtrips.com/tripreports.htm.

Lake Greeson Tailwater (Little Missouri River)

Visit www.littlemissouriflyfishing.com for a daily update on fishing conditions.

DeGray Lake

Local angler George Graves said there’s a wren nest with babies in his garage and he can’t close the door. “That's OK because my big brave dogs will guard it for me. LOL.” The surface water temperature is in the low 80s and the lake is clear throughout. Bass fishing is still good with mostly slot, (13-16 inches) fish being caught. Yes, you have to release these fish. There is a decent top-water bite in the early morning on most main lake points with lots of shad. Throw a surface lure such as a Zara Spook, Pop-R, Sammy, Fluke or 4-inch swim bait. Also try the Alabama Rig with white Zoom Swimming Flukes; this rig has been very productive on schooling fish. When the sun comes up, look to deeper water off the same points and throw a Texas- or Carolina-rigged worm, lizard or Brush Hog. Fish lures 10-20 feet down. Best colors are green pumpkin, red shad and pumpkin seed. Best areas are still between Caddo Drive and Point Cedar. However, bass can be caught from most any point in the lake. Crappie fishing is fair with a few decent catches reported. Fish are in the attractors, (brushpiles) 20-25 feet deep. Fish vertically just above the thickest part of the brush with a Kalin’s 2-inch grub in Tennessee shad, or Garland’s 2-inch Baby Shad in crystal. Fish the lures on a sixteenth-ounce jighead. Also try a rosy red minnow on the jighead if the plastics fail to produce. Usually the fish will bite pretty quickly, so keep trying different attractors until you find fish. Look for attractors at the mouth of spawning coves or off points in major coves. The area between Caddo Bend and Point Cedar is the best because there are more attractors. Hybrid fishing is good with lots of fish and some big ones reported. The fish are now scattered throughout the lake between Shrouse Ford and the islands across from the lodge. Shrouse Ford is one of the better areas where the fish are suspended off the deep side of submerged islands and humps. There is a decent morning bite at the mouth of Brushy Creek. The fish are 15-20 feet down in 28-40 feet of water. Use the sonar to find the schools and troll a five-arm U-rig with 3-inch Kalin’s white Curly Tail grubs. Be sure your rig is running above the fish because they feed up and not down. Usually, 10 feet down is plenty deep. Later in the summer, when the deep thermocline sets up, fish will go as deep as 50 feet. Early morning and late evening are the best and probably the only times for a bite. Bream fishing is good in most any cove with some cover. Use red worms or crickets. Try deeper water at 15-20 feet with a slip-float for bigger fish. Catfish are fair on trotlines and noodles. Use Catfish Charlie, liver, dried blood or soap with hot dogs. Set the lines on humps near deep water and at night. Brushy Creek has been one of the better places for cats.
West-Central Arkansas


Lake Nimrod

Whiskers Sporting Goods (501-889-2011) said crappie are biting around brush piles and the upper Fourche River on No. 6 and 8 minnows, Baby Shad, Slab Slay’R and Stroll’R in white/salt and pepper, red/chartreuse, bone white shad, and PowerBait Crappie Nibbles in green or yellow. Bream are biting night crawlers, red worms, meal worms, crickets and rock hoppers. Bass are going for tequila sunrise and dark worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes.

Lake Bailey (Petit Jean Mountain)

Whiskers Sporting Goods in Perryville (501-889-2011) said bream are biting great on night crawlers, red worms, meal worms, crickets and rock hoppers. Catfish are biting worms, minnows and goldfish. Bass are good on dark-colored worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes.

Fourche La Fave River

Whiskers Sporting Goods (501-889-2011) said the river is stained. Crappie are fair on minnows and, in run-off areas, white/salt and pepper and red/chartreuse Baby Shad, and PowerBait Crappie Nibbles in green or yellow. Catfish are biting stink bait, livers and goldfish in the river. Bass are going for tequila sunrise and dark worms, spinner baits, Rooster Tails and Flukes.

Lake Hamilton

For a daily fishing report from Darryl Morris, visit Family Fishing Trips.

Lake Catherine

For weekly flow releases from Carpenter Dam, visit www.entergy.com/hydro.

Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service reports that water temperature Tuesday morning was 58 degrees by the bridge and dropped to 56 degrees just below Carpenter Dam. Very good numbers of trout are present and thriving around the dam. Schools of rainbows are moving in and out of feeding areas, some of which are accessible from the bank. Wax worms or redworms fished with a marshmallow floater has accounted for many limits of trout. Nightcrawlers cut in 3-inch lengths also work well. Whole kernel corn presented just off the bottom or under a bobber imitates fish eggs very well, which are a favorite meal of rainbow trout. Anglers using any artificial lures are having trouble catching trout this time of year since little generation is occurring due to the lack of rainfall. Fly fishermen continue to cast the tailrace, but have switched to wet flies with added weight to reach fish that have moved to deeper water. Egg patterns in white or yellow and San Juan worms in hot pink have taken a few trout. White bass are present in good numbers around the dam and bridge, but action is hit and miss. Periods of current provide the best opportunity to catch bass by using jerkbaits in bright colors around sand bars and rock structure. Tightlining live minnows over deep water or trolling small crankbaits in the main channel have caught fish more consistently this past week. Freshwater drum continue to spawn and are being caught on shad and crayfish in shallow water. A few walleye have been hooked on spoons jigged in 20 feet of water close to the dam. Very little striper action has been observed. Huge schools of threadfin shad are present in the area, but this hasn't attracted many of the big stripers so far.

East Arkansas


Bear Creek Lake

Mississippi River State Park said bream are biting extremely well on crickets and beetles. Catfish have been biting well on chicken liver and crickets. Bass are good on spinner baits and deep-diving crankbaits around brush. Crappie are being caught near the shore with live worms.

Storm Creek Lake

Mississippi River State Park said crappie are being caught on jigs close to the shore and brush. Bream are being caught on worms and black beetles. Bass are good on spinners around brush. Catfish are good on cut bait and crickets.

Maddox Bay

Maddox Bay Landing (870-462-8317) said the water is stained and low. Bream are good with worms, crickets and jigs. Trolling for crappie with minnows and jigs is a good tactic. Bass – largemouth, white and Kentucky – are goo on crankbaits. Use a rod and reel baited with worms for catfish.

Horseshoe Lake

Local angler Clyde Gregory said the water is clear and at normal level. Bream are good in lily pads with worms and crickets. Crappie are fair with minnows and jigs around piers. Bass are fair with an assortment of lures, especially in lily pads. Catfish are good with cut bait or night crawlers around cypress trees.


Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive | Little Rock, AR 72205 | (800) 364-4263 - (501) 223-6300 | www.agfc.com