Millwood Lake Fishing and Conditions Report
07 November 2011
Submitted each Monday/Tuesday for AGFC by
www.MillwoodGuideService.com

""""""<º)))><{""""" Fishing & Species Report """""}><(((º>""""""



The Overall Picture:


As of Monday, 07 November, the Millwood Lake USACE project office recently announced the 4 foot drawdown on Millwood currently in progress will be ended in mid-December 2011, rather than running through February, 2012. This is in part due to allowing sufficient time to elapse to capture enough rainfall to raise the lake 2 feet above normal pool (261.9 vs normal elevation of 259.2) and flush out the floating grass mats and excess vegetation killed during the drawdown, prior to the annual fish spawning cycles which normally begin in late February to Mid-March. This is anticipated to allow enough time to flush out the decaying vegetation and return the lake to normal elevation of 259.2 prior to the spawn.

As of Monday 07 Nov, the best bite of the day remains early through mid-day. The bite over the past week, continues improving for Bass with the cooler night time lows and lower daytime high temperatures. White bass, Kentucky bass, and Largemouth Bass, remain loosely schooling in various locations on Little River, and her oxbows over the past week at various times throughout the day, focusing on and chasing large schools of shad. Cooler night time low temperatures should bunch these fish tighter and closer in larger schools over the next few weeks.



Surface temps dropped again over the past week's lower daytime highs, and are currently ranging 59ºF early to 65ºF later in the afternoon hours, depending on rain, wind, incoming fresh water, location and time of day. Call the USACE for lake level daily updates, Little River current, discharge release, and tail water levels.

Lake level as of Monday 07 Nov, is currently is 256.02 mfsl, and steady, which is 38" below normal due to four foot drawdown conditions. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. The USACE total discharge hot line number is now working again and the discharge rate as of Monday was 1 sluice gate open at 0.9 feet, for a total discharge of 173 CFS. The tailwater level as of Monday was unchanged at 223.97. Clarity as of Monday on main lake is good, visibility is currently ranging approx 15 inches in the River depending on location. The oxbow's clarity are better, with slight stain, ranging approx 3-4 feet visibility depending on location. Water temps are improving lake-wide, due to recent more normal weather patterns. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds or thunderstorms.

Currently, as of Monday 07 Nov, the final of three, successive, four-foot drawdowns are in progress, and USACE recently announced the scheduled drawdown to run through mid December 2011. These four foot drawdowns over the past 3 years have been deemed a huge success by fishermen and residents of the lake by helping eliminating unwanted vegetation and drying lake bed to increase storage capacity of the lake during normal pool levels. USACE recently completed updates at White Cliffs Camp ground with addition of 6-8 more campsites, and other facility improvements. River Run East is still temporarily closed for maintenance and construction by the USACE until further notice. River Run West and Beards Lake are still open for recreation.

Use extreme caution during drawdown conditions, as stumps and other hazards are nearing pool surface, many cut-offs, boat lanes and trails through timbered sections of main lake are extremely shallow and unnavigable during drawdown conditions. To volunteer for one of the cleanup dates or ramp and USACE park information, contact Brooke Kervin at the Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office. To receive updates or volunteer, call the US Army Corps of Engr's toll-free information line at 888-697-9830.


The Details:

Largemouth Bass: The best bass bite over the last several weeks continues trending into fall patterns, best bite has begun shifting to late morning through mid-afternoon, most locations lake-wide. Surface temps dropped slightly this week, the lake rose a couple inches since last week due mostly to rain in se Oklahoma and western Arkansas, but lake wide conditions continue to improve the bite over the past week. Largemouth bass are on early fall feeding patterns relating to, and following very large schools of shad. Largemouth Bass remain relating to points, and in creek channels & intersections with the River. These bass are biting almost any shad imitator baits.

The keeper sized Largemouths are fair; from around 2.5 and up to around 4 pounds each, best bet being Bomber Crankbaits, Cordell Hammered spoons, & Rat-L-Traps around the schooling fish in open water, and Bass Assassin Shads, Johnson Chrome Spoons, and Strikeworks Jigs around isolated cover. The salad and spoon bite with a white grub around pads and vegetation is random, but solid keeper 16"+ size Largemouths are still ambushing targets over lily pads, around 2-6 feet depths adjacent to creek channels, best where creeks intersect these pad stands. Johnson chrome spoons with a white grub trailer on the tail, or a Heddon Moss Boss (white) are working by bouncing over and through the remaining lily pads in and adjacent to creek channel swings. Shad are beginning to congregate in creek channels, and the Largemouths are capitalizing on those locations.


War Eagle Spinnerbaits have been getting good reactions over the past couple weeks, and best colors working lately are Cole Slaw, Spot Remover or chartreuse / white. Best colors of Rat-L-Traps drawing strikes over the past few weeks are High Definition Threadfin Shad, Golden Shiner, or Millwood Magic, in the clearest water locations. The best Bomber crankbait colors we have found generating the highest energy level response are the Citrus Shads, Tennessee Shads, and Foxy Shad colors on points and where creek channels intersect & dump into Little River.

StrikeWorks Jigs in hot peanut butter n jelly, pumpkinseed/chartreuse, and black/blue are taking 15-19" class bass off stumps and laydowns in creek channels, and 10" Yum worms in peanut butter 'n jelly, or plum, are randomly taking good quality Largemouths in the 15" to 17" class, upriver and on the main lake.


White Bass: and Kentuckys, remain loosely schooling from mid-morning, at various locations upriver in creeks and in oxbows through mid-afternoon. These loosely grouped schools are getting tightly packed when cold fronts pass through, then separating into loosely packed schools as the surface temps warm over the course of the days. Cooler night time lows and cold front passages will only bunch these fish closer into larger schools over the next few weeks. Hurricane Creek, Horseshoe oxbow lake, and White Cliffs areas, for the past several weeks are very good locations for finding these loosely packed schools of White Bass and have produced very large numbers of schooling Whites and Kentucky Bass. These schooling fish are hitting Rat-L-Traps and Bomber crankbaits up Little River, running shad & occasionally surface breaking during the day. This schooling bite is most times sub-surface and key is watching for breaking shad, nonetheless the extremely large, loosely packed schools of White and Kentucky Bass remain following and chasing shad schools. Fishermen can fight these hard hitting Whites & Kentuckies, for several hours and catch between 25-40 in just a few hours over the past few weeks. Start at both ends of where Hurricane Creek intersect and dump into Little River, and work back, staying in proper creek channel from 9-14 feet depths. Focus especially around the larger creek channel's outer bends, stumps, and junctions with the river.


Crappie: are fair to good, with the improvement in reduced water temps over the past week. Crappie continue stacking vertically and with the cooler water temps are grouping tighter into planted brush piles along Little River between 10-15 feet deep. These Crappie are biting good on jigging tiny hair jigs and also hitting minnows, in the clearest water you can locate best from around 8am till noon. Additionally, Southern Pro Crappie tubes, small Rocket Shads, and Blakemore Roadrunners were working over the past several weeks. Cordell smoke grubs on light lead head jigs, Blakemore Roadrunners, and Chuck'NSpins were taking some slab Crappie, by vertical jigging in 15-16 feet depths brush piles and along old creek channels and ditches.


Cats: are fair to good on trot lines, yo-yos, tight lines, along Little River. Blues and Channel Cats were biting Catfish Charlie, cut shad, & chicken livers, in 15-20 feet of Little River on the outer break lines in current or on minnows and cut shad on the yo-yos tied along the Little River, in 10-15 feet depths.

}><(((º> Millwood Lake Level & Little River Conditions Report <º)))><{

The Millwood Lake / USACE Four Foot Drawdown is in progress. Use extreme caution during navigation while drawdown is in effect!!

As of 07 November, the Millwood Lake USACE project office recently announced the 4 foot drawdown on Millwood currently in progress will be ended in mid-December 2011, rather than running through February, 2012. This is in part due to allowing sufficient time to elapse to capture enough rainfall to raise the lake 2 feet above normal pool (261.9 vs normal elevation of 259.2) and flush out the floating grass mats and excess vegetation killed during the drawdown, prior to the annual fish spawning cycles which normally begin in late February to Mid-March. This is anticipated to allow enough time to flush out the decaying vegetation and return the lake to normal elevation of 259.2 prior to the spawn.

Surface temps dropped again over the past week's lower daytime highs, and are currently ranging 59ºF early to 65ºF later in the afternoon hours, depending on rain, wind, incoming fresh water, location and time of day. Call the USACE for lake level daily updates, Little River current, discharge release, and tail water levels.

Lake level as of Monday 07 Nov, is currently is 256.02 mfsl, and steady, which is 38" below normal due to four foot drawdown conditions. Normal consv. pool is 259.20 feet. The USACE total discharge hot line number is now working again and the discharge rate as of Monday was 1 sluice gate open at 0.9 feet, for a total discharge of 173 CFS. The tailwater level as of Monday was unchanged at 223.97. Clarity on main lake is good & visibility is currently ranging approx 15 inches in the River depending on location. The oxbow's clarity are better, with slight stain, ranging approx 4 feet visibility depending on location. Water temps are improving lake-wide, due to recent more normal weather patterns. Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds or thunderstorms.

Currently, as of Monday 07 Nov, the final of three, successive, four-foot drawdowns are in progress, and USACE recently announced the scheduled drawdown to run through mid December 2011. These four foot drawdowns over the past 3 years have been deemed a huge success by fishermen and residents of the lake by helping eliminating unwanted vegetation and drying lake bed to increase storage capacity of the lake during normal pool levels. USACE recently completed updates at White Cliffs Camp ground with addition of 6-8 more campsites, and other facility improvements. River Run East is still temporarily closed for maintenance and construction by the USACE until further notice. River Run West and Beards Lake are still open for recreation.

Use extreme caution during drawdown conditions, as stumps and other hazards are nearing pool surface, many cut-offs, boat lanes and trails through timbered sections of main lake are extremely shallow and unnavigable during drawdown conditions. To volunteer for one of the cleanup dates or ramp and USACE park information, contact Brooke Kervin at the Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office. To receive updates or volunteer, call the US Army Corps of Engr's toll-free information line at 888-697-9830.

USACE recently completed updates at White Cliffs Campground with additional 5-8 campsites and other facility improvements. River Run East is still temporarily closed for maintenance and construction by the USACE until further notice. River Run West and Beards Lake are still open for recreation.

Use extreme caution during drawdown conditions, as stumps and other hazards are nearing pool surface, many cut-offs, boat lanes and trails through timbered sections of main lake are extremely shallow and unnavigable during drawdown conditions.

Wear your Life Jacket and kill switch!! If you are suddenly or unexpectedly thrown from your boat, it could be your only chance of survival. Use caution navigating Little River in low light conditions, SLOW DOWN, and pass friendly to other boaters! As always, careful watch for any random floaters and debris in Little River's current, and wearing your PFD and kill switch is a requirement!!

Don't forget, be courteous, and respect the other guy's right to use the lake too. Release those big bass to spawn and fight again, and take home those little 16"ers to fry up! Use caution in low light conditions, and wear your flotation device! If you are suddenly thrown from your boat, or knocked unconscious, your life preserver can potentially be your only hope to survive.

Visit us on the web for the most current Millwood Lake fishing report, updated weekly. See some great catch and release photos, sponsor links, tons of great information and resources on the lake available to you, along with excellent related direct links to Arkansas' State Parks, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Black Bass Program, The US Army Corps of Engineers, and Arkansas.com.

Come see what all the excitement's about!



Millwood Lake Guide Service ~ Arkansas' Best Bass Fishing!

Mike Siefert
Owner/Operator
www.MillwoodGuideService.com
P.O.Box 4957
Texarkana, AR/TX/USA 75505-4957

21+ years in the professional guide business on Millwood Lake, since 1990!