Arkansas Fishing Report
No reports.
Felsenthal
(Updated 8-8-2018) Sportsman’s One Stop in El Dorado (870-863-7248) said a few bream and catfish being caught.
Bass and crappie are slow.
SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS Lake Columbia
(Updated 8-1-2018) Sportsman’s One Stop in El Dorado (870-863-7248) reports that a few bass being caught
Millwood Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 257.83 feet msl (normal conservation pool: 259.20 msl).
(Updated 8-15-2018) Mike Siefert at Millwood Lake Guide Service said the lake remains in the 24-inch drawdown; lake level is currently falling at about 17 inches below normal conservation pool and lake level (as of Monday) was at 257.9 feet msl; the discharge was near 1,050 cfs for Little River, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The tailwater below the dam and gates as of Monday dropped accordingly with gate released, about 224 feet msl, with six gates releasing near 1,050 cfs. Water temps have dropped over the past week.
Surface temps as of Monday, are ranging near 83ºF early to 89ºF range later under full sun, depending on location. Be sure and check the most recent lake level of Millwood Lake on Mike’s website, or at the Army Corps of Engineers website, for updated gate release changes and inflow rates with rising and falling lake levels and conditions while the Corps of Engineers drawdown is in effect.
This 24-inch reduction of normal pool elevation is bringing stumps and broken timber to, and very near surface pool. Use extreme caution in navigation during ongoing drawdown conditions on Millwood.
Mike says there was not a lot of change from last week in terms of the fishing. Cooler temps over the past few days, however, did improve the surface activity and allowed the surface strike reactions to last a little longer on cloudy mornings.
The largemouth bass and Kentucky bass continue randomly surface-schooling on shad in Little River and the oxbows of McGuire and Mud Lakes along Little River for the past couple weeks.
It’s random in nature and near midmorning over deep water from 15-20 feet, and at mouths of creeks dumping into Little River on points between 12-18 feet. Bass remain active at daylight up to 2 or 3 pounds on topwaters at dawn.
Feeding activity taper off except for the schooling fish after daylight's first couple hours. Best baits drawing reactions at early morning over the past few weeks are slow-rolling buzzbaits, soft plastic frogs, Cordell Crazy Shads, Baby Torpedoes, StutterSteps and Bass Assassin Shads thrown near pads and vegetation.
Buzzbait colors drawing best reactions continue to be Cotton Candy Lime or Hot Firecracker Candy. Best buzzbait bite continues to be across deeper flats near creek channel swings, with stumps and laydowns, and around lily pads. Cordell Crazy Shads, Arbogast Jitterbugs, Baby Torpedoes and Bass Assassin Shads are working in or near the vegetation and lily pads.
The surface-schooling bass are showing up randomly along Little River and the oxbow lakes most days, midmorning. Use 1/4to 1/2-ounce Rat-L-Traps in Millwood Magic, Ghost, Holographic Transparent Shad, Livin Chrome; also most any shad pattern is catching these schoolers breaking surface on shad, along with Little Georges, Hammered Cordell spoons, Kastmaster casting spoons, Rooster Tails and H&H single spin spinnerbaits.
The majority of these surface breakers are appearing to be younger buck bass, adolescents and juveniles about 1-2.5 pounds in size. These surface feeders are huge time to get kids interested in fishing while the action is hot.
When you see these surface breakers inside the vegetation and lily pads, throw an H&H Spinnerbait, Bass Assassin Shad or Johnson Chrome Spoon with a white grub trailer on the back.
“We are getting great reactions to those baits inside the vegetation where crankbaits would normally hang up in the slop,” Mike said.
Vertical-jigging spoons are still working with Kentucky (spotted) bass and schools of largemouths in Little River behind points and washouts once the topwater bite subsides late in the morning.
Between Jack's Isle and Hurricane Creek along Little River, in 10-15 foot of depth where broken timber and stumps are located, you will find the most aggressive spoon-bass feeders.
Hurricane Creek had some spoon feeding bass early one morning last week, and surface schooling Kentucky Bass and White Bass several days where bends of creeks contained deeper water in the 10-15 feet depth range.
White bass were still randomly surface feeding on schools of shad in Mud Lake and McGuire oxbow lakes with the Kentucky bass this past week.
No report this week on crappie, but the last couple of weeks the live shiners, minnows and jigs were catching a few fish midmorning from 8-9 feet deep.
Catfish have been fair to good on yo-yo's hung from cypress trees in Mud Lake oxbow at night, with live shiners and chicken livers, gizzards and hearts, blood baits and cut rough fish.
Nice blues and channel cats from 3-7 pounds were biting over the past weekend upriver.
Clarity and visibility continued improving over the past week, but it remains stained in places, especially upriver.
As of Monday on main lake structure away from current, clarity and visibility was moderate stain, ranging10-15 inches.
Little River's visibility ranges 10-12 inches with heavy to moderate stain, depending on location and current.
The oxbow's clarity currently ranging 20-30 inches depth of visibility depending on location.
Clarity and visibility can change dramatically on Millwood in just a few hours with high winds, rain or thunderstorms.
Lake Greeson Tailwater (Little Missouri River)
Visit www.littlemissouriflyfishing.com for a daily update on fishing conditions.
Lake Greeson
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 543.84 feet msl (full pool: 548.00 feet msl).
(Updated 8-15-2018) Jason Lenderman of JL Guide Service (870-490-0804) says the lake level on Tuesday was 4.5 feet below full pool of 548 feet msl and has risen some with the recent rains.
Water temps have made it to the mid- to upper 80s. The bass have are in their summertime patterns and have slowed down considerably.
Super Spook Jr’s, Zara Puppies, Booyah Hard Knockers, and small swimbaits are seeing some action on main lake points early and late with some schooling action from spotted bass taking place.
Shaky head rigged Yum Finesse Worms and dropshots rigged with Yum Kill Shots or Sharpshooters are working OK on main lake points around brush, too.
Night fishing has been decent lately using black Booyah Spinnerbaits or Yum Ribbontail Worms. Crappie are slowing down, but still good. They can be caught in 15-to-30-foot brush with minnows.
DeGray Lake
As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 400.07 feet msl (flood pool: 408.00 feet msl).
(Updated 8-15-2018) John Duncan of yoyoguideservice.com at Iron Mountain Marina said the big story on fishing is the schooling fish.
Reports are that they are surfacing pretty well throughout the lake. From Point Cedar to mid-lake toward Iron Mountain. White bass, largemouths, Kentucky bass and hybrids are surfacing. If you can find calm water, that is the trick.
Baits that are producing are spoons, topwater shad-colored baits and rooster-tailed jigs. With these cloudy days you can expect extended morning fishing opportunities. Midmorning after the morning schooling you can troll Shad Raps or two-ounce spoons. Color seems to be critical.
Change you spoon colors till you find what works. Chartreuse, white and purple are good colors. Bream are being caught fishing in pretty deep water around 16 feet.
Worms fished on the bottom are the best producer. Crappie are slow. Try fishing brush piles at least 16 feet deep. Upper lake around Shouse Ford seems to be better for them.
Use minnow and fish about 16 inches off the bottom. Crappie are spread out. When you find them in a brush pile at the right depth, you can pick up several. Rain is coming and that will change everything. Be early and stay late.
(Updated 8-15-2018) Local angler George Graves said bass fishing is getting better, with quite a few nice catches reported the past few days.
Look for schooling fish on the south side between points two and six. Throw
most any topwater plug in a natural shad pattern. Be sure to hit as close to the "break" as possible.
Also try soft plastics such as three-inch grubs, swimbaits and Flukes. Schooling fish are also reported all along the state park between Caddo Bend and the marina.
Look for fish in the big coves and use the topwater lures. Early morning is best time, even before sunup. A few crappie are starting to show on the deeper brush piles at 20-25 feet.
Fish a Kalin's 2-inch grub on a 1/16-ounce jighead vertically at about 15 feet or to the top of the cover.
Tennessee Shad is best in clear water and black chartreuse when the water is discolored. Look for attractors in the upper end at Shouse Ford and on the main lake.
A few hybrids are being caught on jigging spoons in the DeRoche Ridge area in deep water and suspended at about 45 feet down. There is no schooling activity with the fish mostly singles.
These fish are very hard to catch, so don't expect any big catches.
Lots of white bass showing at DeRoche and around the State Park Marina, also in the big coves at points two and four.
Throw smaller spoons, inline spinners and threeinch curly tail grubs. Bream fishing is good most anywhere on the lake in coves with some wood or rock cover. Use red worms or crickets.
(Updated 8-15-2018) Capt. Darryl Morris at Family Fishing Trips said white bass are still schooling early in the morning.
Casting spoons or trolling Alabama rigs will produce. Crappie are biting live bait on brush piles fished 15 feet deep.
SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS Arkansas River (Pine Bluff Pool)
(Updated 8-15-2018) The
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Bass Fishing Team said water temperatures are in the upper 80s to low 90s by end of day.
Water visibility is between 1-2 feet. Very light flow on the main channel, but barely noticeable. The cooler air temperatures and periodic rainfall have helped perk the fish up lately.
Black bass are still slow during the middle of the day but numbers can be caught in the morning, evening and around periods of rainfall. Reaction lures like buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and swimjigs worked along shoreline vegetation or jetties on the main channel can get bites during the active times.
Finesse Worms on shaky heads and light Texas rigs can get bites from offshore brush piles in Lake Langhofer during the inactive times but you must be patient.
Best bet for right now is to cover water very quickly in the mornings and evenings to encounter as many active fish as possible before they go inactive from bright sunlight.
If you continue fishing in the middle of the day, slow down and deliberately work through deeper woody cover with finesse gear.
EAST ARKANSAS Cook’s Lake
(Updated 8-15-2018) The AGFC’s Wil Hafner at Cook’s Lake Conservation Education Center (870241-3373) said the weather is hot and so is the fishing. Anglers are reporting black bass to be hitting Texas-rigged green pumpkin Baby Brush Hogs and Jig-Sooie jigs in the center of dead cypress trees.
Black and chartreuse square-bill crankbaits are also producing. Several
anglers are catching 4-to6-pound bass.
Bluegill can still be caught on crickets or nightcrawlers in the shallow flats or at the base of cypress trees. Crappie fishing has picked up, with a few slabs being caught in submerged brush on black and chartreuse tubes.
Catfish have started biting again with best luck on nightcrawlers.
Cook’s Lake will be open to fishing on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be open the first and third Saturdays of every month through October, water level pending. Cook’s Lake is open to fishing for youth under 16 or mobility-impaired, and up to two helpers (who may also fish).
Bear Creek Lake
(Updated 8-15-2018) Natalie Faughn, ranger at Mississippi River State Park (870-295-4040), says Bear Creek Lake has seen a rise in bream activity, especially early in the morning.
Folks are fishing with live bait (Natalie says, “Selfish plug: worms purchased at Mississippi River State Park’s Visitor Center”) and seem to be having good luck, especially along the shoreline with lots of low hanging trees/sunken branches.
They’ve also seen a rise in catfish activity; people are using homemade stink bait and juglines.
Storm Creek Lake
(Updated 8-15-2018) Natalie Faughn, ranger at Mississippi River State Park (870-295-4040), said Storm Creek Lake still hasn’t had much activity to report as of late.
Some anglers are reporting slight bass activity in cooler morning hours, or in shaded areas in the back coves of the lake. Fishing off of chartreuse jigs.