Fishing report
Lake Catherine: Shane Goodner, Catch’em All Guide Service, said
white bass are being caught on live minnows tight-lined over deep water below the bridge. In periods of current flow, jerkbaits in a black/silver pattern have worked well over rock structure and sandbars. They should be present from the bridge to the dam until late July. Stripers are feeding on shad with some 20-pounders observed below the bridge in late evening when floodgates are open. Anglers should downsize their techniques to match the forage, using smaller Alabama rigs and jigs. Strong lines and rods are highly recommended against these ferocious fighters.
Rainbow trout are extremely slow, a seasonal pattern, with patience key regardless of techniques used. Live bait is best presented under a bobber or just off bottom with a marshmallow floater. Redworms, nightcrawlers, waxworms or mealworms are an excellent choice along with live minnows and crickets.
Lake conditions: 60 degrees, clear, normal summertime pool with Entergy scheduling 8-hour generation periods daily to help maintain lake levels.
Lake Hamilton: Phillip Kastner, Trader Bill’s Outdoor Sports, said the bass bite last weekend was pretty good with a few caught on a spinnerbait but the majority on a Texas-rigged worm.
Lake Ouachita: Todd Gadberry, Mountain Harbor Resort, said black bass are fair on Texas-rigged plastics and crankbaits fished late evening and night in main-lake and secondary points. Walleye are excellent on spoons on main-lake humps and points near brush. Stripers are good on live bait in central and eastern sections. Bream are good 15-20 feet deep on crickets and worms. Crappie are fair on minnows or crappie jigs around
20-25 feet deep near brush. Catfish are excellent on live bait, stink bait and hot dogs 10-20 feet deep.
Lake conditions: 84-88 degrees, clear,
575.50 feet msl (full pool 578 feet msl). DeGray Lake: Local angler George Graves said bass fishing is fair with a decent early-morning topwater bite. Look for surface-feeding fish on the south side between points 2 and 4, especially in the big coves. Most any surface lure will work along with soft plastics such as Zoom Flukes and
3-inch swimbaits. A few fish are being taken at midlake between Edgewood and Alpine Ridge. Work the main-lake points with medium-running crankbaits, both lipped and lipless, especially in early morning.
Quite a few Kentucky bass are showing along rock bluffs at points 14 and
15. Try a 4-inch finesse worm Texas rigged and in green pumpkin coloring.
Crappie fishing is fair with only a few fish reported. Look for fish at midlake between Edgewood and Alpine Ridge, dropping a 2-inch Kalin’s grub in Tennessee shad coloring on a 16thounce jighead just above the brush and moving slowly around cover.
Hybrid fishing is good with fish now suspending in the deep thermocline at
50 feet in more than 100 feet of water. Using sonar to locate the fish, drop a heavy jigging spoon or 3-inch grub just above the fish. Look between the dam and point 4 along the old river channel. Lots of bream still showing in big covers and offshore humps in 1020 feet of water. Tight-line a redworm or crickets just off bottom and move slowly around the point or hump.
Lake conditions: mid-80s, clear, 405.54 feet msl (flood pool 408 feet msl).