Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Walleye prime during March spawning time
Lures, live bait get toothy fish to bite
March winds bring April showers, so they say. Prime walleye fishing arrives when those March breezes begin to blow.
It’s spawning time for walleye in the tributaries of Beaver and Table Rock lakes during March. Walleye chasers get after it in late February, but the spawn really heats up during March as the water slowly warms.
At Beaver Lake, the White and War Eagle river tributaries are go-to walleye destinations. White River downstream from Beaver Dam is a main tributary of Table Rock Lake, but anglers also ply the Kings River arm of Table Rock for walleye.
Already a huge walleye weighing 16.5 pounds and measuring 31.5 inches long has been caught from the White River below Beaver Dam downstream from Houseman Access. Austin Kennedy, a guide from the Eureka Springs area, caught and released the trophy earlier this month.
The state record walleye is a 22-pound, 11-ounce fish caught at Greers Ferry Lake on March 12, 1882, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
The same lures and baits should work wherever walleye roam during the spawn, said Robert Smith of Hickory Creek. He regularly prowls the White River below Beaver Dam and the Kings River arm of Table Rock, trolling lures or live bait slowly behind his boat.
His go-to method is to troll a nightcrawler harness, which is a rig he uses during the summer, too. A nightcrawler harness is a length of line with a spinner and some beads toward the end of the line with one or two hooks at the rear. A nightcrawler is threaded on the hooks in a straight line, not in a wad. Smith makes his own nightcrawler harnesses but the rigs are readily available at fishing stores.
“When I tie a nightcrawler harness, the only two spinner colors I use are chartreuse or orange,” he said. Most of the time he trolls the rig behind a 1-ounce bottom bouncer weight.
Another of his favorite walleye temptations is a jig and minnow combination. Again, bright jig colors are the best, he said. A hair jig of one-eighth ounce is a good size. Thread a live minnow on the hook through the minnow’s nose so it’s behind the jig’s hair, Smith coached. Sixpound-test line is good for working a jig and minnow either casting or trolling.
Trolling or casting crank baits is another way to catch spawning walleye. In my own fishing experience, a crank bait with some chartreuse in the color scheme has put walleye in the boat during March.
I fished with a buddy one March on the White River below Beaver Dam, downstream from Houseman Access. He, too, was fond of chartreuse, but his lures all had some other color on the body as well. His eyes lit up when I stepped into his boat one morning with an all-chartreuse crank bait tied to my line.
“Where’d you get that?” he piped, and I was happy to answer. After our trip, he high-tailed it to that particular fishing store and bought a sack full of those chartreuse crank baits.
Once the water temperature hits 50 degrees, the walleye spawn kicks in to gear, Smith said. But the anticipation gets anglers out walleye fishing before that magic number arrives.
If prime walleye fishing isn’t enough good news, there’s more. The fast fishing for spawning white bass gets hot on the tail end of the walleye spawn.